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

[JellyBean]

Nika had most of the defense assignment on Fair in the first half, Fair only scored 2 points in the first half. Maybe she was exhausted from that assignment, but I believe that at least two of the fouls that were called against Nika should have been called charges on Fair.

Many people have also stated the both Nika and Aaliyah had subpar games. Maybe they were a little anxious/nervous with it being their last game ever at Gampel.

I agree. A couple of those foul calls against Nika were very suspect. I am not saying that our Nika doesn't foul. I am just saying a few of those calls could have went the other way.

I get it. Folks are going to complain about Nika and Aaliyah having the so called "subpar" game. For me, I look at it differently and say Nika and Aaliyah had a great game. They sacrificed their game for the betterment of the team. Nika made things pretty tough and interesting for Fair, especially in that first half. Nika gave up scoring to focus on defense. We don't know Nika's mindset. For those of us that played or still play basketball, sometimes you have that player on your team that is in the zone and just say "Hey. I will focus on defense, rebounding, and feeding you the rock. You are in the zone". That could have been Nika and Aaliyah's mindset. Plus, I wish that I could have a double-double "subpar" game.

 

[BBallF]

Just got home to North Jersey from Storrs a little while ago. Took 50 minutes to get out of the North garage. Seats were good section 221 center court. When Syracuse had the ball I basically watched Nika and Paige play defense as I always do. Nika held Fair to 2 points in the first half. Amazing job. In the second half, the wheels came off the wagon for her. I think Nika, Ice and Liyah were all exhausted and it showed in the ball handling for Ice and Liyah and in the meltdown for Nika in the second half with those 3 quick fouls, the last 2 of which were fatigue fouls and the last one of which was fatigue plus Nika's own loveable brand of being annoyed. It was an exhausting game and very predictable if you listen to Geno. He has said because we have such few players and can't rest them, that we run out of energy and go cold as a team and have those spells. It happened twice last night but each time we had Paige to right the ship. What a great player to be able to watch on both ends of the court. It was worth the 6 hours in the car to see her and the team and this game. When KK hit that 3 from the corner, it sounded like an outake from Oppenheimer. Glad we won. Nika, despite her assist record, would have been despondent. On to Port;and and Duke.

 

[hoophuskee]

Read the first three pages and didn't see any mention of Nika not scoring. Why when we need Nika to score she doesn't take open shots. I was on an airplane and didn't watch the game I will Tuesday Night. I"m sure I will see Nika not looking for her shot as Box Score showed didn't score any points. She's a Senior she should be able to get 8-10 points a game.

 

[Glenn]

I don't understand the folks who say we have overperformed. Supposedly we have Paige, a very special player, AE, a borderline all-american, and Nika, the all time assist leader and top notch defender. And we are a 3 seed. Overperforming will take two more wins in my book, with Duke having beat the 2 seed and made our path easier.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Great game!!! Closer than it probably should have been, but, given that our Huskies are dancing on the very perimeter of how far, with their obvious shortcomings, they can likely go in this tournament, they richly deserve our unvarnished praise. Syracuse was a damn tough opponent, and beating them was no walk in the park. I'm so proud of our favorite team's effort, but their lack of dominant size in the post and their WOEFULLY short bench loom large going forward. In my opinion, they can and will beat Duke despite these issues, and even though beyond that looks pretty shaky. they've already outperformed expectations. Sooo delighted for them!!

 

[RedStickHusky]

I don't understand the folks who say we have overperformed. Supposedly we have Paige, a very special player, AE, a borderline all-american, and Nika, the all time assist leader and top notch defender. And we are a 3 seed. Overperforming will take two more wins in my book, with Duke having beat the 2 seed and made our path easier.

Two freshman forced into playing huge minutes; A 3 and a 4 playing out of position at the 4 and 5; and a bench that gives us maybe 20 minutes total against top-level competition... I think it's fair to think they have exceeded reasonable expectations. I'm sure the expectations in the locker room are higher and I hope they get to play four more games but I'm past the point where I'd consider this anything other than a good season. I might be disappointed in the outcome of a game but not in the team or the season. BTW, sweet 16 is chalk for a 3 seed, beat Duke and we'll have outplayed our seed.

 

[Forego]

So we don't get a time for Saturday until tonight's games are done?

8-00 PM Eastern

 

[fomalhaut]

What? No, it isn’t and it’s not even a close comparison. 30 Straight Sweet 16s is remarkable but 14 straight final fours to survive the gauntlet of the top 8 and 16 teams is infinitely harder than beating the top 32 and 64/68 teams. Go and ask any coach who is proud just to make 1, 2, 3 or 4 final fours in a CAREER never mind 14 in a row. Sheesh….SMH

I said in a way, and you missed the entire point of my post. The Sweet Sixteen streak shows an almost incomprehensible dominance over a much longer period. And it's so easy to run up a long Sweet Sixteen streak, that only seven teams who made the S16 in 2023 also did so in 2022. And four of those seven missed this year: two didn't even get out of the first round.

 

[Forego]

I don't understand the folks who say we have overperformed. Supposedly we have Paige, a very special player, AE, a borderline all-american, and Nika, the all time assist leader and top notch defender. And we are a 3 seed. Overperforming will take two more wins in my book, with Duke having beat the 2 seed and made our path easier.

I’m confused. After Saturday’s game a lot of people thought we underperformed because we didn’t beat a 14 seed by larger margin of victory. Now they are saying we over performed when defeating a six seed? Which is it?

 

[freshler40]

Read the first three pages and didn't see any mention of Nika not scoring. Why when we need Nika to score she doesn't take open shots. I was on an airplane and didn't watch the game I will Tuesday Night. I"m sure I will see Nika not looking for her shot as Box Score showed didn't score any points. She's a Senior she should be able to get 8-10 points a game.

Two of our players playing major minutes did not score. One took two shots?, the other zero (0). While scoring balance is one key, they do contribute in other ways like great defense. I do agree, that with scoring balance, it takes off pressure on other players. At this point in the season and our short roster, there aren't a lot of changes likely.
Against the Syr zone, Paige was able to get inside the foul line for pullups. That was very effective as were Shade's pump fakes and pullups. KK has to develop that part of her game against taller players. These three players are able to get off their shots without a pick which is very hard against a zone. We went with what worked playing against a zone. Another result was that we didn't often drive to the hoop playing against a zone, so few fouls were called. This was not a normal game. We won, great adjustments. On to Duke.

 

[Urshurak]

I don't think this team has over achieved. I said a while ago that this is a sweet 16 team, plus the "extra" we get from Paige really is the sky is the limit. Can she take this team to the Elite 8? I think she can.

Duke----->USC/Baylor----->Iowa/Colorado

Iowa did not look good yesterday. Far from it. Colorado can beat them I think.

In either case, I like our chances and feel that a Final 4 or beyond is possible. Maybe even a Natty12. Possible. I did NOT feel that way before the Big East tournament. THis group has proved otherwise.

Regardless, I am so proud of what they have achieved with what little they have. Remarkable to be honest.

On to Duke!

 

[Urshurak]

I don't think this team has over achieved. I said a while ago that this is a sweet 16 team, plus the "extra" we get from Paige really is the sky is the limit. Can she take this team to the Elite 8? I think she can.

Duke----->USC/Baylor----->Iowa/Colorado

Iowa did not look good yesterday. Far from it. Colorado can beat them I think.

In either case, I like our chances and feel that a Final 4 or beyond is possible. Maybe even a Natty12. Possible. I did NOT feel that way before the Big East tournament. THis group has proved otherwise.

Regardless, I am so proud of what they have achieved with what little they have. Remarkable to be honest.

On to Duke!

Forgot to add LSU/UCLA in the list above......

 

[Siestakeyfan]

Man, them refs, did everything they could to give Syracuse the game. What a bunch of clowns. And the Syracuse flopps. Never ever seen anything like it. But thanks to uconn fighting spirit. On to Portland.
GO HUSKIES.

Refs seem to intentionally call against UCONN ?

 

[RoadMaster]

1 swipe for highlights..

 

[Siestakeyfan]

Gutsy win. When Nika fouled out I was like here we go again. Putting Paige in Fair was a great call. KK with the clutch 3. Ash with the sharp shooting. Paige being extra Paige!

It was UConn against Syracuse and the officials all night. Good guys won.

Ice not great tonight, but it was a big game. She will learn.

What’s that smell? Pew!!! It smells like Dukie! Time to clean it up!

Ice has to concentrate - stop missing gimmies and throwing ball away !!!

 

[Boreifs]

Survive and advance. KK with that CLUTCH, BIG TIME 3 had me like:

UConn did not always play pretty offensively, but they made their shots when it counted. And our defense was as good as you could possibly be against a team like Syracuse (who beat many teams with their insane rebounding and fantastic perimeter shooting). We made them work for practically every shot.

The officiating was, in my opinion, great in the first half. I didn't mind the refs swallowing their whistles on both ends and just letting the players play. Of course that couldn't last though and in the second half, particularly Q4, the refs decided to take over the game. Some bad calls on both sides and the constant stops and starts threw both teams off their rhythm. But how wonderful it was to see the team hold fast even after Nika fouled out. They were not about to be beat.

Also, it was incredible when Paige grabbed the loose ball and immediately called a TO. That's peak basketball IQ right there!!

I followed Syracuse all season long and I knew that no matter what the score was, no matter how big the lead seemed, they were going to come charging back in Q4 and make it a game. Tonight was no exception. Of course I am happy that UConn won, but it's with all the sincerity in the world that I tip my hat to Coach HLJ, Fair, and the rest of the team. Absolutely no quit, dominated the rebound game, scored the big 3s when they needed them ... they play a tough, physical (but not dirty) game. This was a game I was insanely nervous about as a Husky fan because I knew how good Syracuse can be when it's clutch time.

Although Syracuse lost, Fair cemented her place in history amongst one of the highest scorers ever in WBB. And she did it was almost no flair, no showboating or complaining, and without almost any media attention. Just showed up every game and balled out. Nothing but respect.

All the respect to Coach HLJ as well. I hope I get the chance to meet her next season. Her squad was fired up and ready to go. Nearly gave me a stress induced aneurysm down the stretch for the last 4 minutes. Damn.

SWEET SIXTEEN HERE WE COME!!!

Before saying that Syracuse dominated the rebounding game, you might have checked the box score. Syracuse 36; UConn 37

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[jeff30189]

Two of our players playing major minutes did not score. One took two shots?, the other zero (0). While scoring balance is one key, they do contribute in other ways like great defense. I do agree, that with scoring balance, it takes off pressure on other players. At this point in the season and our short roster, there aren't a lot of changes likely.

In every team sport, each player has a role and a job to do. This is particularly true in basketball at all levels including the pros. Ashlynn and Azzi are shooters. 'Liya and Audrey (when healthy) provide rebounding. Nika is your shutdown defender, much like Deion Sanders was a DB in football. If a player can do more than one thing very well, that's great. Paige is the rare swiss army knife who can do a multitude of things very well.

The point is that Nika did her job until she inexplicably reverted to freshman Nika and fouled everything she could see. Fair had 2 points in the first half, and after Nika fouled out I think Fair had more than half her points. Nika's JOB last night was to play shutdown D on Fair; it wasn't shooting or scoring.

Ash, Paige, KK and for 30 minutes Nika... they did their jobs. 'Liya had a quiet night but she still had a double double. Nika fouling out and the turnovers by Ice and 'Liya were almost the difference in the game. Mental and execution errors that need to get fixed by Saturday.

 

[HuskyNan]

All you people complaining about the refs - rewatch the game and Nika’s defense on Fair. Nika should have fouled out earlier since she was holding Fair most of the game. And Aaliyah was being just as physical with SU as they were with her.

The refs let them play. It was physical, yes, but neither team was dirty.

 

[BRS24]

The chat room is always like walking into a crowded local dive at midnight; if you're surprised you probably shouldn't be there.

DIdn't say I was surprised, it was just an observation. It seemed as if we had a bit of a respite from non WBB fans and trolls during the BET, however there were a few last night banging the same drum over and over.

 

[Blakeon18]

Did we ever hear why Q got zero seconds?

 

[PacoSwede]

obviously it was geno's fault. atrocious coaching.

 

[BBallF]

Im a member of the Aaliyah“the ultimate warrior” Edwards fan club, so understand, this is not meant a criticism. Aaliyah was not herself tonight. She was involved in a couple of brutal collisions in the beginning of the game and I wonder if she played the whole game with some sort of injury, other than her nose. I’m just hoping she’s okay.

I was there. I don't think she was injured, just gassed and beat up physically. When you are exhausted you lose everything in this sport, except for Paige who just continues to astound.

 

[BBallF]

I’m confused. After Saturday’s game a lot of people thought we underperformed because we didn’t beat a 14 seed by larger margin of victory. Now they are saying we over performed when defeating a six seed? Which is it?

Neither. Seedings mean zero except how they determine your venue and path. In my view, if we get to the FF and that is a big big if, it is Geno's best coaching job ever or at least a top 3.

 

[maple]

Before saying that Syracuse dominated the rebounding game, you might have checked the box score. Syracuse 36; UConn 37

I stand corrected!