UConn vs. Syracuse post game - on to the sweet 16!

[RockyMTblue2]

Some thoughts:

-Paige can get herself open around the foul line and
score on virtually any play...really a different player
then say Clarke.

-She was also tough defensively on Fair at the end.

-We're going to see plenty of these one-on-one
scorers as we advance...Surely it's an important
area of concentration.

-Ice was on the verge of losing her composure at the
end...I would have put in another guard...But what
do I know?

-Ash has had a couple of good games in a row...very
helpful for the team...,How's that for an
understatement. And reliable on D and the boards.

-KK had some of her patterned drives where she
might have passed and then others where she might
have shot, but boy that 3 at the end was timely.

What other guard @msf22b ?

 

[Rowdy831]

liya was getting knocked all around so some of her t.o. ya gotta expect. still, the (2?) travels were not good. it was a rough game compared to her typical performance, but uconn would've lost without her..

ice, OTOH, had me tearing my hair out. terrible mishandling of the ball. unforced for the most part. she's got to settle down. she's recently shown she's cam rein in that flaw. nerves? like kk, it's at times like she has 'freshman-itis'. kk, of course, has been a major contributor (but when she learns all the ropes, she will be outstanding).

Ice is at the point in her career where the speed of her brain moves to the level of the game. She was so flustered and nervous out there and that is something that most likely won't change this season but she will need to be ready because UConn will need her at her best at some point to win the next 4 games.

 

[bbfanLA]

I could be mistaken but the runner up streak of consecutive Final Fours is 6, and UConn is one of the teams (separately from the 14) that holds it.

After UConn’s 14, there is a tie of 5 consecutive Final Fours between UConn, LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame.
After UConn’s record 16 consecutive Elite Eights, next is Duke with 7.
After UConn’s record 30 consecutive Sweet Sixteens (and counting), next is Tennessee with 27.
Those are all records that MAY never be broken.

 

[Rowdy831]

Fouls. A team playing a zone is naturally going to have less fouls than a team that plays an aggressive man to man. The team with the most height is going to get less fouls going over players for rebounds and the team that gives up the most offensive rebounds will be out of position the most while trying to match up. UConn was on the wrong end of every one of these and still only had one player who fouled out and she only fouled out because she gets bull headed sometimes.

UConn can win if the referees continue to call the game like they did last night. They need all their players available the whole game since they have such a short bench. Next weekend will be some exciting BB.

 

[Longtime fan]

In the 4th quarter, Syracuse's plan was "Don't let Paige or Shade beat us. The other three can't shoot."
It almost worked. Thank you, KK Arnold!!

Paige knew better, and fed the ball to an open KK.

 

[Centerstream]

After UConn’s 14, there is a tie of 5 consecutive Final Fours between UConn, LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame.
After UConn’s record 16 consecutive Elite Eights, next is Duke with 7.
After UConn’s record 30 consecutive Sweet Sixteens (and counting), next is Tennessee with 27.
Those are all records that MAY never be broken.

Thanks for the correct number. I know I looked it up after our game on Saturday but obviously got it wrong a day later. Doh!

 

[Longtime fan]

That was too close for comfort. Syracuse made UConn earn it. Damn Aussies. It seemed every time Syracuse needed a three, they got one.

It's official. KK and Ashlynn are no longer freshmen. Safe to say that three was KK's biggest bucket of her collegiate career.

We are beginning to run out of superlatives to describe Paige. Once Nika fouled out, Paige gave everything to stick with Fair, and that is after expending so much energy carrying the team. Her midrange pull-ups were reminiscent of the NC St classic 2 tourneys ago.

I think I lost count the number of times Aaliyah was slammed to the court. She will feel it tomorrow.

Great game - now I can relax and watch Iowa/West Virginia.

All due respect to the marvelous Nikka, but she fouled out during the most critical moments of the game, and Fair did score 20 ( without Nikka on her, that maybe would be 30...and game over ). That insurance bucket by KK showed that Paige ( best player in country ) had confidence in her. And KK now has the memory. of that big shot. As Geno says, " teams don't advance at this level unless players make big shots at big moments. " Syracuse recruited a whole different team to rebuild their culture. And that was a dog fight of the highest caliber. I don't think Duke is that much of a challenge. We'll see. But we can't have 0 points from ICE Bradyfor 17 minutes work. She missed bunny after bunny and then, it became obvious, she had no condfidence to shoot from anywhere. I get it that it is difficult for her to go from, " this is all on me " ( last two games of BE tournament ), to " I am back-up" again. But she has to b better than that. If not, we have no future.

 

[MSGRET]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

 

[Longtime fan]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

It just means that the hills are getter harder to climb. Everywhere.

 

[MSGRET]

All due respect to the marvelous Nikka, but she fouled out during the most critical moments of the game, and Fair did score 20 ( without Nikka on her, that maybe would be 30...and game over ). That insurance bucket by KK showed that Paige ( best player in country ) had confidence in her. And KK now has the memory. of that big shot. As Geno says, " teams don't advance at this level unless players make big shots at big moments. " Syracuse recruited a whole different team to rebuild their culture. And that was a dog fight of the highest caliber. I don't think Duke is that much of a challenge. We'll see. But we can't have 0 points from ICE Bradyfor 17 minutes work. She missed bunny after bunny and then, it became obvious, she had no condfidence to shoot from anywhere. I get it that it is difficult for her to go from, " this is all on me " ( last two games of BE tournament ), to " I am back-up" again. But she has to b better than that. If not, we have no future.

It's Nika, she has been around for four full years and you still spell her name wrong. To me that is an insult to one of the best PG UConn has ever had.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Just an advance warning: Joe Vaszily was one of the referees the NCAA selected last year to officiate at the final four. Most of the referees selected for the final four are repeat offenders.

Incompetent organization and incompetent referee.

 

[Henry]

I don't fault Nika for not scoring or even looking to score in that game. Her focus was on playing PG, and, most importantly, guarding Fair, neither of which was an easy task. Until she picked up those 3 fouls in quick succession, she was doing very well with both things she was tasked with. Had she not fouled out, this likely would've been a double digit win.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Good point! There were several times when Alliyah got a tough defensive rebound, only to have it knocked out of her hands. Her shot was blocked too.
I hope the week long break will help her to regain her dominant style.

She needs to be more aware when a second and third person comes to guard her, and when she puts it on the floor during these times is when she’s most vulnerable. Know full well that every team is going to do this to her.

 

[HuskyNan]

I believe so too. And maybe this is what Coach Jack was referring to during her post game remarks, when she mentioned Fair‘s ability to get her shot. She throws herself at her defenders, so she gets to the free throw line.

What Fair does is take diagonal hop steps after a defender commits. The defender then ends up bumping into Fair. It’s a legit move but I though Fair might have gotten away with a walk on at least one of them

 

[HuskyNan]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

I’ve seen this crowd complain about 40 point wins

 

[VaConnFan11]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

Because, by all statistical measures, UConn is considered the 2nd best team in the country. The only people who don't consider this is the pollsters and the seeding committee.

 

[MSGRET]

On paper UConn has the easiest path to the Elite Eight, they play seventh seeded Duke. The next easiest is both USC and Iowa who play fifth seeds Baylor and Colorado. On the other side Albany 1 and Portland 4 are playing 1-4 and 2-3 match-ups.

For all you Dukies (@triaddukefan) out there, I'm not saying it's going to be easy, they all have to play their game. I'm just stating that ON PAPER they have the easiest path.

 

[jaydee602]

What Fair does is take diagonal hop steps after a defender commits. The defender then ends up bumping into Fair. It’s a legit move but I though Fair might have gotten away with a walk on at least one of them

Yes! A couple of fouls on Nika were suspect because of Fair's shuffle move. But Nika's last two fouls were self inflicted.

 

[jaydee602]

Paige knew better, and fed the ball to an open KK.

Paige also fed Ashlyn at the end of the 3rd period for a wide open three pointer.
But Paige ended the 1st half with a basket on a long jump shot.
She had the uncanny knowledge of when to shoot & when to pass.

 

[Cuango]

I really want Ice to do well, and I think she has skills and can contribute, but I think she would do better being less deliberate and just making quick decisions to shoot. Especially with sitting out a year rehabbing, she should know the offense a little. She can shoot the ball, so when she gets it, just let it fly. She will have to work on rebounding- after all, she is 6'3. But her touch around the basket just isn't there, and this surprises me. Maybe it was just an off night as lately she has had some good games. She did show quicker feet on defense tonight which is good, and there was one rebound where she really leaped for the ball and grabbed it, which is encouraging.

I think she was just overwhelmed by the pressure f the moment. The intensity of the tournament was just too much. Hopefully she will settle in and be able to contribute by next week!

 

[jaydee602]

As Geno says, if the shots aren't falling, find other ways to help the team. Ice may have not been there offensively, but she impacted the game defensively.

You will notice on the replay that on KK's three point clincher, Ice Brady had fought for position & was ready to secure an offensive rebound. She knew her role & why Geno kept her in the game.

 

[VA Huskie]

If you all didn’t well up just a bit watching KK hit that 3 and the pure joy and emotion she had you’re not human…

Keep it going Huskies!

I was there and I didn’t well up. Nope, I threw both arms up and screamed with joy!!! After the game though, while discussing the game with my wife, I did get choked up at what we’d watched. Loudest crowd I’ve ever been part of.

 

[jaydee602]

I’ve seen this crowd complain about 40 point wins

Stay out of the Chat Room, Nan!
It is a den of gloom & doom.