A Lesson Learned

[Zarathustra]

It is what it is. We have key players (a lot of them) on the bench. Two years in a row now. The team we field is what we have. It’s not an elite team. It just isn’t. Sorry.

This team will be lucky to get to the sweet 16. Very lucky. And if they do, very little chance of winning that game. Almost zero.

Hopefully next year they have no injuries and can field a complete team. Wouldn’t that be something?

How we "step up" against South Carolina (and the rest of the schedule) will
determine our "depth" of progress in the NCAA tournament. This loss (IMHO)
will help us to prepare better for future SUCCESS (I hope for the SWEET 16 and
a victory at that level = there is, of course, the "luck of the draw" and the
ebbs and flow of Basketball in general.)

 

[darkstar1]

You could make that argument with respect to Paige. She did not have a good game, one of the worst games I can remember her having. Not trying to make excuses for her but the refs did allow ND to manhandle her for most of the game. That being said, she seemed just worn out by ND’s heavy handed defense by the end of the game. If that doesn’t happen, Shade and KK would’ve been wide open for some shots. Also, as the op said, we definitely miss AG. Nika also didn’t play well, and her early 4th foul seemed to be a turning point.

Were we watching the same game? When Nika was in, UConn played well. When she was out, not. I’d like to see a +/- as it seemed to me UConn was ahead when Nika was in and way behind when she was out. For us to have a chance to go deep, Nika needs to stay out of foul trouble.

 

[HuskyNan]

Were we watching the same game? When Nika was in, UConn played well. When she was out, not. I’d like to see a +/- as it seemed to me UConn was ahead when Nika was in and way behind when she was out. For us to have a chance to go deep, Nika needs to stay out of foul trouble.

 

[Mandoo]

I agree that this will be a learning experience, and although today we look like a Sweet 16 team (but not Elite 8), that can change. IMO, the biggest issue with the loss is that unless we perform really well at SC, we will be a 3 or 4 seed, which puts us against a 2 or 1 seed in the Sweet 16. If we end up a 4 seed, I don't see us getting past the 1 seed.

The game had tinges of the Ohio State game last year. When a single player is tormenting you, don't you devise a way to minimize touches, drives, shots?

 

[Rowdy831]

Did ND. make us play a bad game ?

Yes! They applied as much pressure as UConn usually does and their team was bigger in some areas and quicker in others. If KK is going to play she needs to guard the smaller quicker guards not Nika. That mismatch alone gave ND about 35 points and the rest was their size inside dominated the smaller players from UConn.

 

[Rowdy831]

View attachment 95762

Very misleading stat. The difference was when Nika went out the person who replaced her played zero defense and most of the help side had no rotation at the basket. AE would follow the post out to the pick and then not redirect Hidalgo and she would go straight to the rim. It makes no sense for AE to follow a player out that doesn't shoot the ball from outside 10 feet and she did it over and over. I hate to say it but in this game UConn was outplayed and outcoached.

With that said if the UConn short lineup can matchup with the other team UConn will be better. In this type of game they will need to play exceptionally well and keep the players fresh which they didn't do Saturday night. And ND was a lot better than people expected them to be.

 

[Cuango]

I am still having trouble digesting that all of Notre Dame's points were scored by only 4 players. Hildago, Westbeld, and Citron accounted for 72 of Notre Dame's 82 points, and a freshman off the bench (Marshall) came in and scored the remaining 10 points. If Notre Dame's team is just those four players then I have to say this was an off game for UConn. It is also hard to get out from under the fact that we have Azzi, Caroline, and Aubrey on the bench along with two post players who would have made a difference.

I am not saying yeah if we had those five we would have won...it is what it is. We have injured players so does Notre Dame. What I am saying is that if Notre Dame only has 4 players and that would be three players who can score and who can impact the game then it shouldn't be hard to devise a defensive scheme that would limit the effectiveness of those players. There is no way that Hildago should be allowed to go off for 34 points and drive the basket without impunity. Weak-side help, stepping in to take the charge, taking away the right side of the basket would change that immediately. Westbeld should have been defended better...she got too many open shots. Nobody put a body on Marshall, the kid is a freshman...Ice has to do better.

Lessons learned from this game:

1. Get up for every game
2. Understand that on a team that is depleted by injuries you have to be able to stay on the floor and play...no dumb fouls.
3. Nobody comes into your house and takes away your will to win.
4. You cut off the head of the snake and the rest of the body has no venom.
5. You have to rebound the basketball and box out.
6. Do not let the other team out-hustle you.
7. Set screens and free up your shooters.
8. You must communicate on defense, bring the weak side help; step in, and take a charge.

Seriously, do we really believe in the luck of the Irish or do we believe in making our own luck?

I’m willing to say it! If our full roster were healthy, we would almost certainly have won! Furthermore, I think it’s very likely we would be undefeated and be ranked #2 in the country!

 

[ctchamps]

The 3 previous losses were with Aubrey also

KK and Shade were not the players in those losses that they are now.

If Aubrey was available to come in instead of Ice when Nika was in foul trouble it would have resulted in a completely different outcome imo. ND had their best runs with Ice and Edwards on the floor. Bad spacing on offense. Too slow on defense.

When Nika was on the floor UConn had its best runs.

I felt we had a decent chance to make a final four before Aubrey got hurt.

 

[#12in21]

In games against talented teams we can't afford to have any of Paige, Nika or Aaliyah out for extended periods of time. Significant foul trouble (or god forbid injury) to any of those three throws off everything on both ends of the floor. Nika's inability to stay on the floor, IMO, was a significant factor in our loss to ND, as also and at least equally would have been the case if we had lost either Paige or Aaliyah. If Aubrey were available and whichever of the remaining two of the three seniors were playing well we very well could have weathered the storm.

That being said, given Nika's role and very vocal leadership (constantly yelling out about positioning and switches, etc., on the defensive end) compounded our inability to adjust to what ND and Hidalgo in particular were able to get offensively at will. As others have mentioned, I would of liked to see Ines in there for a lot of Ice's minutes to, at a minimum, use up her fouls to take some charges while blocking Hidalgo's path to the basket and possibly to alter or limit a bit Hidalgo's ability to constantly drive to the right. The outcome could most likely still be the loss but perhaps Hidalgo's impact and the margin of victory reduced.

On the offensive end, Nika's absence was also impactful as she in her new role, rather than always handling the ball, is a roaming outlet for a pass out from a scorer if their play is blocked and she is always aware of all our scorers' locations and ceaselessly looks to feed them. Her presence on the floor may have helped to allow us to continue to get more shots for Aaliyah and better opportunities for Paige, Ash and KK.

 

[TCC Kid]

Alot went wrong for us and alot went right for ND. We have been playing really good with 13 wins in a row and we have 5 wins over top ranked teams and now 4 losses against top ranked teams. That not bad at all. We found yesterday we have some things we have to work on and clean up. They were exposed yesterday and now we go to practice and figure them out. This team has come along way this season. We're all disappointed and were expecting better. I dont need to mention what went wrong and what went right because everybody else has done a good job of that. What will be done at practice is we will pick up the pieces and take another step forward. This team is better then they showed yesterday. We arent as bad as we looked, we had a poor game. It was a good lesson to learn from

A coach approaching 70 and 40 years of coaching---one would think he saw everything. So why are there lessons o be learned? \
The Major lesson--no one ever learns with a limited team--how to play hurt or injured. Paige from the opening whistle looked not well
Notre Dame played exceptionally well--Uconn had 4 or 5 in double figures--that is Great--so did ND and their top scoree out scored uConns top scorers.
I'd ask Geno to Push Ashlynn to take the lead in scoring--with Paige out of the game--Shades can do it ala Citron

 

[TCC Kid]

I’m willing to say it! If our full roster were healthy, we would almost certainly have won! Furthermore, I think it’s very likely we would be undefeated and be ranked #2 in the country!

IF is the greatest excuse in hhe world , most used. You are what you are. All coaches can only play what they have--Great coaches--win with the troops the brung. The trick is having the troops o win---

 

[ERWUC65]

We now see the consequence of the loss of Aubrey when we play the 'better' teams. Not only for her specific skill set, but just having the ability to sub when needed. I think Geno's hope was that Q might fill that role, but she is just not ready (justifiable so as a freshman with no big game experience). Personally I think we need to try Ines here - we might lose some scoring, but she has shown good defensive abilities, good ball handling and seems comfortable in big game situations, albeit mostly at the end of sure wins. Geno has to find the best bench player to give the team good minutes when the starters get tired.

 

[ctkaiser]

This team had too many walkovers in the Big East and it showed in this game that was really competitive. Paige wasguarded tight as a drum and that team has size across the board.

This was not Geno's best coaching job either. Defense was very suspect. Aubrey's loss was very evident and Notre Dame just wore them down in the end. It would be nice to have a full complement of players just for one year, Don't you think?

Coaches seemed to totally forget about Aaliyah in the 2nd half. I understand Paige is great but you had to see the double and triple teams were not going to let that strategy work.

 

[Tonyc]

Coaches seemed to totally forget about Aaliyah in the 2nd half. I understand Paige is great but you had to see the double and triple teams were not going to let that strategy work.

IMO we shouldve had Paige handle the ball and continue to get Edwards the ball with Ash and KK taking the lead because Paige was getting double and triple teames. We were tied with 7 or 8 minutes left and Paige was suffocated

 

[hjoerring]

At some point injuries must be put aside-- ND also have injured players sitting. I'm very impressed with Ivy coaching abilities. She knows how to out-coached or if you prefer beat Uconn. And am now puzzled and questioning why all the looking back to glory days (including bringing back on the bench former coaches. Sometime it is better to move forward with new blood/eyes). We are not a better team than ND on paper or in real games. I saw no signs pointing in such a direction. Edwards is a star and Shade is very good. Why we abandoned them in the 2nd half to hunt elsewhere is puzzling. For me, the problem with KK isn't that she is too fast, or lacks full understanding of the offense-- all the other top teams have been forced to use FF (including ND), it's that she cannot consistently finish around the rim/basket. Jefferson had a similar problem and resolved it-- indeed, she killed the opposition with her drives to the basket. That is a coaching issue-- I have lost track of the responsible coach for the guards. I'm a lot more positive about Q than most commentators. She can rebound and play defense (better than Shade), and quite mobile. And the key, I think, is for Uconn to go small and smaller if necessary.
What I am trying to figure out is why a guard oriented team as Uconn is so poor at defending guards who goes to the basket. I might be wrong on this but after Jefferson graduated every team that have
given us a good beating have had similar guard plays. Remember that ND did the same last year. The easy answer is-- we lack stoppers; perhaps, but could it be a hole in our system-- a structural problem to be resolved at the system level? For some reasons I have the impression that defensively the guards are stepping aside thus giving their opponents an open lade to the basket-- as if Stewart et al are waiting.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

1) Need to know how to play a zone, which should have been tried against Hidalgo.
2) Need everyone to know who covers who, which was missing yesterday- there was a lot of mad scrambling with missed assignments
3) Obviously, need to know how to stop a player like Hidalgo and a play like the pick & roll

Zone was tried against Hildago. It was terrible, she scored on it with more east than man to man.

 

[Dynastic]

Or Westbeld, it seemed to me. Or Citron.

The dribble penetration by Hidalgo was detrimental , as was their pick and roll.The other two on ND are just smart and veterans. Muhl didn’t look 100% and definitely played like it, can’t foul out in the beginning of the fourth. Paige was off, but just trying to do too much... may have been emotional game for her because she initially hurt herself against ND. The freshman played like freshman and that can happen from time to time. We need to play cleaner and smarter… we don’t have the luxury of height so we have to play within ourselves and stay focus on the present situation in front of us. The game was closer than the ending… we can’t afford to take moments off, it’s not the good ol days.

 

[Florida Fan]

Syracuse beat ND twice, guessing they had superior, disruptive bigs, controlling the boards.

 

[Cuango]

IF is the greatest excuse in hhe world , most used. You are what you are. All coaches can only play what they have--Great coaches--win with the troops the brung. The trick is having the troops o win---

And yet…….
No one said anything about not being “what you are” or that it was an excuse! The point is that we have five starting level players, high level starters, on our bench, unable to play! If they were healthy, we would not likely have lost any of the games we have lost. That’s not an excuse, it is a statement! You may disagree with it but you cannot just make it mean what you want it to mean!

 

[reelfan]

If this team is to have a decent season it is essential that ICE Brady make major improvements in her game.

 

[HopJim]

ND was the better team for one night. I hope a rematch can occur in the NCAA tournament.

Totally support your comment about "better team for one night." While ND exposed every flaw UConn has, if Paige was Paige, scoring another 10+ points, and our defense limited Hidalgo, we won by 10+. I would bet on both if UConn meets ND in playoffs.

 

[jeff30189]

View attachment 95762

This says it all. Nika +13, next best was Paige -5 and then

First game I can remember Nika being in foul trouble in.... gotta be 2 years. Yes it underscores the importance of her staying OUT of foul trouble, but it shows her value (tangible and intangible) of simply being on the floor for everyone else.

 

[CTFan]

I think many underestimated Notre Dame because of their losses to Syracuse. They are very tough, disciplined, and Hidalgo loves pressure and performs exceptionally well under it. We have always been known for our defense, attitude and scrappiness. Those traits don’t seem to be quite as evident as in previous seasons. The injuries and inexperience have taken their toll. I actually think Geno has done a good job keeping the team together and focused. They will improve, but I just don’t see them going beyond the sweet 16 this year.