Xavier Postgame Thread

[Valleyfan]

Agree with Geno - they are consistently inconsistent. Hopefully he’s able to work some serious magic getting this team some mojo back. Usually during the season he breaks them down to build them up for a March/April run. This next run will have to be his masterpiece.

The team feels like it’s pressing. Pressing on offense is going through the motions and not really seeing the openings or have the presence of mind of going 1 on 3. Even their transition offense is struggling. But the defense is still decent for the most part, just not tonight. Still would love to see him change the pace and press some teams to dictate pace. We seem to settle and play to the level of the competition.

Go Huskies

 

[UConnCat]

This team has not been the same since the South Carolina game, after which Geno said he felt good about his team. The drop-off in play since that game has been pretty dramatic, but for a solid win at Villanova. Hopefully they can find some answers.

 

[Longtime fan]

Not much gas left in the tank. Each game is an adventure. How do you miss wide open players?

We only have one player who can find others who are " wide open." And that is Nika. Did you also notice that our 18 point lead went down to 10 in the 2 minutes DeBerry was on the court? She was hard to watch. And there iw good reason why she gets no playing time. Sorry to say.

 

[UConnCat]

I'm over the whole bench thing. Going forward Nika will have to play 40 minutes unless the team is up by 20 with 3 minutes left and then put Ines in. Same with Amari. Maybe Patterson can give a few minutes though she's typically a net minus for her minutes.

Indiana essentially goes 6 deep. If Azzi is back UConn will go 7 deep. That's just the way it will be for the remainder of the season. Buckle up.

 

[BobbyJ]

Which Big East teams are just as talented as UConn without Azzi Fudd?

Right now I would say the teams that they've struggled to beat or have lost to. Marquette, Villanova, and Creighton are physically comparable and they are playing smart. And IMO that's a mental talent. I'd still take UConn's physical talent over St. Johns. As I said, the margin is too slim to play dumb.

 

[NutmegDog]

The two teams we'll draw in Storrs for the NCAA are definitely going to be tougher outs than XU. If the team shows up and expects a 13/14 seed or a 5/6 seeded team to rollover because of the shirts we're wearing and the banners in the venue, we may all wind up very disappointed.

 

[Huskee11]

The pregame ceremony was done fairly well. They played two anthems for Lou, Mexican and French, and the Hungarian anthem for Dorka. Then the introductions - five managers, Lou, and Dorka. Large appreciative crowd.

Only glitch in my opinion is that the public address announcer started talking about Dorka`s accomplishments while we were still cheering for Lou. I don`t know why he rushed it like that.

Well, that and the fact that Dorka didn`t play.

It was starting to snow when the game ended. It did not keep the crowd down, the place was almost full, but a lot of people left early to avoid the snow.

The game itself was disappointing, as practically everyone has pointed out. If we were shooting better that would make up for some of the other deficiencies, but we are not shooting it real well right now. We played well in a couple of spurts but could not sustain it. Very tough going when Aaliyah was not on the floor.

Our players seem to be constantly hitting the deck, especially on the offensive end. I worry about that. Lots of reasons - increased physicality generally, overly aggressive opponents, players trying to draw charges, and on the good side our determined takes to the hoop. I also sense that some of it especially lately is coming as a result of our sloppy play and bad decision making.

Kudos to Nika for breaking the assist record and doing it in the regular season. Beating out Sue Bird and a host of other legends is something special.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Anyone else notice the bruises on Jana's knees ? Girl must have hit the floor a time or two in practice.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Ugliest game of the season by far. Just some inexplicable things done on the court, missing point-blank layups, head-scratching passes, defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown. Xavier is all kinds of awful and UConn matched them tonight.

Bench was as bad as it's been all season and showed why they aren't reliable even against teams as awful as Xavier.

I say this while fully appreciating what this team has been through and accomplished. Despite all that, something is not right with this team. There isn't enough time before the BET for Geno to go back to training camp as he said post-game. Something like that may need to happen between the BET and NCAAT after a few days of rest.

I was thinking this is the first season in a long time when I don't feel confident penciling UConn in for the BET championship game. I'm now worried about Saturday's game.

I'm expecting our MOVs, if we win the tourney, to be all single-digits.

 

[Boreifs]

View attachment 84491

Look at the plus/minus stats in the box score. If any of those three subs has to play meaningful minutes in a post season game, UConn will lose. Keep in mind that those stats were achieved against a team that failed to win even one conference game.

 

[fomalhaut]

Everyone has injuries this time of year

Only Notre Dame among the top teams is within a million miles of the injuries Connecticut has suffered.

 

[JBK]

The pregame ceremony was done fairly well. They played two anthems for Lou, Mexican and French, and the Hungarian anthem for Dorka. Then the introductions - five managers, Lou, and Dorka. Large appreciative crowd.

Only glitch in my opinion is that the public address announcer started talking about Dorka`s accomplishments while we were still cheering for Lou. I don`t know why he rushed it like that.

Well, that and the fact that Dorka didn`t play.

It was starting to snow when the game ended. It did not keep the crowd down, the place was almost full, but a lot of people left early to avoid the snow.

The game itself was disappointing, as practically everyone has pointed out. If we were shooting better that would make up for some of the other deficiencies, but we are not shooting it real well right now. We played well in a couple of spurts but could not sustain it. Very tough going when Aaliyah was not on the floor.

Our players seem to be constantly hitting the deck, especially on the offensive end. I worry about that. Lots of reasons - increased physicality generally, overly aggressive opponents, players trying to draw charges, and on the good side our determined takes to the hoop. I also sense that some of it especially lately is coming as a result of our sloppy play and bad decision making.

Kudos to Nika for breaking the assist record and doing it in the regular season. Beating out Sue Bird and a host of other legends is something special.

I am one that does not like to hear we are tired and I know Geno commented on that last night. But.
Why does our players get blocked a very high percentage when they go to the hoop or post up ?
Maybe - they are just not getting off the floor because their legs are shot.

 

[veryolddog]

I am glad that they won. However, I miss the old days of UConn basketball when they could move that ball with precision, players constantly moving, cutting, and players hitting the target including making layups. I also miss a defense that use to smother the opposing teams offense in every category.

Right now, I think that they may get through the BE Tournament but winning it is not a sure thing. The NCAA Tournament .......... not with this style of play.

Sorry to see Dorka and Lou end their careers. Wonderful to have seen them play. There goes 30 points per game. He ought to see if there are more folks from Europe are available.

These young women need an energy boost somehow and bring back more precision to offense and intensity to defense. I don't have the answers and I am glad that I am not the Coach. Bottom line, it is up to the individual player and Coach. He can lead them to water but he can't make them drink.

 

[LarryLegend]

Only Notre Dame among the top teams is within a million miles of the injuries Connecticut has suffered.

would be an interesting exercise for someone with way way too much time on their hands to go through the top 25 and list the injuries for each, maybe in terms of both games lost and number of players. Would this exist already somewhere?

 

[Pharos]

Re: "4": Perspective... opponents who believe and try their best... is the best it gets. It's a game played by emerging adults. In a small way it gives them a way of looking at all the stuff that can happen as the rest of their lives unfold. Life can be very, very tough. Tough opponents are a healthy thing to face.

 

[Skeets]

Well one thing seems obvious, it is a fan base that clearly values style points over wins.

Not quite right. The fan base, at least here on the BY, wants both style points and wins. One without the other and BY folks will (not sure I can use the "b" word) complain.

 

[Pharos]

View attachment 84491

The "Shooting by Period" is telling. What I'd like to be able "to see" from statistics is how many times a "possession" could have become "a shot taken." There is some number of total possessions. ORs add to that. TOs take away from that. Then I'd be interested to know how many times all those possessions turn into points. The number of "shots taken" seems low. And the frequency of success seems low. Then I wonder what they could do to improve those. I've said before "hoist 'em up" and "go get rebounds." Sometimes they seem reluctant to shoot open shots.

 

[freshler40]

Taking his share of the blame

Honesty can be a hard pill to swallow. Love Geno for this!

The entire team, coaches included need to take inventory. The talent seems to be there, the integration of the parts results in too many poorly connived breakdowns. We're playing down to the opponents in large part due to poor starts and lack of runs. Concentration???? Seems like the team is on remote with a heavy pass first mentality.

The TV view shows too much pointless passing and failure to shoot open shots. We are mechanical. Look like a team at practice. How a team shifts to game time from that is a mystery to me but perhaps playing to a 15 second shot clock might help. Move the ball toward the chance to score, not forever side to side. Our offense is tunnel vision, easily scouted. Our ball handlers need to create opportunities beyond a pointless pass to a player not in position to score. Many times CD posted up well and deep. Our ball handler never got her the ball instead continues to pass the ball around the 3 point line.

When the shot clock runs down we have too many players that have the ball in their hands who are not natural scorers. We need fewer passes and more determination to score early in the shot clock. Why let the defense set up?
We don't seem to play a pick and roll any more but surely got burned by it a number of times in this game even with two of our best defensive players involved. A coaching adjustment might have helped here.

 

[BBallF]

A few random thoughts. Caroline started out on fire and very strong and then edged back due, I think, to the extra minutes she played. It's very encouraging to see 14 points from her. As for the turnovers, there is just no explanation against a team like Xavier except that it is who we are now and that is very un UCONN and a real problem going forward. I truly hope the Azzi factor will improve that dramatically.

We went to the Villanova- Seton Hall game last night in the snow in South Orange and sat in the second row from the floor. Had a funny exchange with Maddy Seigrist's mother at the Will Call table. She is very pleasant and funny. Villanova looks like a strong Sweet 16 and even better team to me and Seigrist had a great game.

Three words now for us. Fix the turnovers.

 

[temery]

Stop describing a player, coach or the team as awful, terrible, despicable, putrid, a cancer, not to be trusted, etc.

This is not a request.

Be better.

 

[Ron and Vida]

Another thing I liked about this game?
Lou saying “Enough is enough!” When she got clocked on both ends of the floor. Don’t blame her at all for getting ticked.
Also loved Caroline sticking up for her teammate there.

I too was impressed how Caroline backed her teammate

 

[wingsfan055]

Geno's offensive scheme requires a LOT of moving, precision, shooting accuracy. It works well when you have the talent and they are reasonably healthy and rested. However, you are seeing the "dark side" of using this scheme. It breaks down badly when players are tired, hurt, not focused, have to play physical, and have players playing who shouldnt be... Unfort., the offensive woes of the last 6 weeks is starting to seep into our defense, which has left perimeter shooters open, getting consistently beat 1-on-1, etc.

I think Geno has big decisions to make going forward. Does he simplify the offensive scheme given the move towards more physical play in wcbb. Does he recruit different types of players.

 

[cohenzone]

So true--incredibly poor time to sub, but I guess Geno felt at least they could maintain the big lead. Wrong. Yes, as you said, maybe put one in at a time. At least though, we can say, they're freshmen and in learning mode. What is inexplicable to me are upper classmen airmailing errant passes when her intended targets are wide open and on the defensive side allowing uncontested layup after layup...

The turnovers were bad. Subbing, hmm. Lou is beat up so badly he has her miss practice time. Aubrey was getting banged up all night. Caroline is still gaining her sea legs. Nika and Aaliyah are playing huge minutes and are both nicked up I think anyone who thinks this current squad can be handled the way Geno historically coaches need to be real. There are certainly some things a coach can try to fix. He cant recreates talent and wear and tear. How many truly bad losses have they had? The good old days when enjoying a win was the most fun without armchair coaching the whole game.

 

[Rb335]

Which Big East teams are just as talented as UConn without Azzi Fudd?

Based solely on how the team has been playing recently:

Providence - win by 10
Villanova- two wins, by 5 and 9
Marquette- loss by 7
Georgetown- win by 8
Creighton- win by 2
St John’s- loss by 5
DePaul- win by 3
Xavier- win by 9

The gap between us and the top half of the big east isn’t big. Granted, I don’t think any of these teams are better or as talented as Uconn without Azzi Fudd, as you ask. Villanova is the closest, which also reflects in the AP poll. But this season, on an off night, I could see us losing to any of Villanova, Marquette, St John’s, Creighton, or DePaul in the BET. This will be the most compelling conference tournament in years.