Albany game thread

[BigBird]

If that's a typical Hughes color commentary day then let's have more of him. Fine analysis, knowledgeable color, and knows the game and the players. He and Eric get an A from me.

Yes. It is hard to do a blowout game, and they drifted a bit in the late stage. But mostly they were on point throughout.

 

[eebmg]

If that's a typical Hughes color commentary day then let's have more of him. Fine analysis, knowledgeable color, and knows the game and the players. He and Eric get an A from me.

And they spoke a lot about Moriah in the 3rd quarter and how pro ready and tough she was. See's a lot of Mo in Crystal. Not a bad time for Crystal to completely take the reigns. Hughes was really high on Nat's performance. I think he is looking at it through the eyes of a pro coach.

 

[VAMike23]

View attachment 20884​

At right, one of "The Few" .... to have a W against Geno in the tourney!

 

[eebmg]

I think Geno left his starters in a little longer than you might expect from the score to put a little extra intimidation
for the 8/9 teams watching. Tying the NCAA tournament record for most points and owning the 3 pt shot (when Lou was off) only adds extra levels of intimidation. Also great to see that our defense tightened in the 2nd half as well.

 

[VAMike23]

Great opening performance after shaking off some rust. Many players had moments to shine and we stayed healthy. All you can ask for.

I hope Nat is earning some trust from the coaches to give some first half minutes if Collier/Williams/Samuelson pick up early fouls. As we saw in first half when Collier was out (not to mention Tulane) she needs to be on the floor in the 2nd half when game is being decided.

Collier is the "Omega" for this team, IMO...

[referencing Edge of Tomorrow]

 

[hoophuskee]

If that's a typical Hughes color commentary day then let's have more of him. Fine analysis, knowledgeable color, and knows the game and the players. He and Eric get an A from me.

I missed most of the game- looking forward to watching and hearing. Though he did say something absolutley wrong highlighting that someone who doesn't watch UCONN much and probably just saw a couple of games of tape. He did say to paraphrase 'Next year Collier will start to knockdown the 3."

UMMMMMMMMMM this year and as all of us UCONN fans know--- Collier has already shown she CAN knockdown the 3. Maybe he meant it will be a bigger part of her arsenal next year. Or just excuse the one misstep. Looking forward to watching the game next year.

***It will be interesting next year to see how much Gabby and Napheesa will move out to the perimeter if they play with Stevens and if they play with Camara. The opposing team will no doubt play a lot of zone. How will their efficiency be affected? Anyhow next year long ways away!!!

Looking forward to the now. And felt bad for the little I saw-- Albany was pretty good. Would have liked to see some of those 15 and 14 and 13 seeds and compare. Seems like travesty they may have gotten ripped off big time with this seeding or least being stuck vs UCONN.

 

[Suebird10fan]

This team just tied the school record for most points scored in an NCAA Tournament game. The 1999-2000 Huskies also scored 116 points in their first-round win against Hampton.

Good omen! Loved that team.

 

[BigBird]

Unless something dramatically changes, the next UConn opponent will be Syracuse.

 

[LasVegasYank]

It's been a long time since UConn matched their first half scoring I the second period. Today was 58-58. Great offensive job ladies!

Did anyone else notice that Gabby had "O" personal fouls?

 

[HuskyNan]

Collier is the "Omega" for this team, IMO...

View attachment 20889
[referencing Edge of Tomorrow]

GREAT movie.

 

[msf22b]

And yet there are little things to work on....as good as it was, I'm sure Geno's not satisfied with everything.
The Albany kids penetrated pretty well and finished (especially in the 2nd quarter)
Clearly some defense matters to consider.

There were a few periods where the offense seemed a bit stagnant.
(Hard to believe with all the points they scored).
Natalie's 1st half entrance was hardly distinguished, but she more than made it up in the 2nd half.

Most encouraging: the all-arounf play of Kia
KLS contributing despite not despite not having a hot touch...Geno's taught her a bunch
the interior tandem's hi-low...amazing...both Pheesa and Gabby are fearless, motivated and unstoppable.
And the continued emergence of Crystal.

Still, it would have been better (and a real accomplishment to hold Albany to within 35-45 point range.

 

[JordyG]

​

More like dominate and advance. The 2nd half was like Sherman cutting a swath through Atlanta.

 

[JordyG]

GREAT movie.

You are not kidding. To me one of if not Cruise's best. It's one of the few movies, along with Pulp Fiction I watch whenever it's on. It was just on last night in the NY area. With Pulp Fiction and Raiders I know way too much of the dialogue. For me though Pulp just has too many scenes that are indelibly burned onto my minds retina. Talk about a movable feast when I close my eyes....

 

[JordyG]

Thanks. Mike just asked me that. I thought one of the 2000-02 teams approached 120.

During the postgame when asked I think that Tate thought UConn ran up the score.

 

[JordyG]

In being realistic about this game it was a typical Husky steamrolling. During the presser Bernabei-McNamee complained again about being a 16th seed. When you lose to both good and really bad teams during the year expect what you get. During the presser she stated one thing they would take away from this loss was how hard UConn plays and that this will help them next year with their seeding. I think winning games against lesser teams may help as well. Tate also stated that she thought the difference in the game was UConn foul shooting. I thought so too since UConn clearly made 5o more FT's than UAlbany.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Beautiful team game...topped off by Gabby charming the socks off a couple of gushing interviewers...

After the SMU/USC game, I am now back on an even keel...thanks, Ladies!

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Score isn't indicate of the performance. Chong looks lost out there. I think Geno needs a sit down with her to let her know she's important to the end goal. Too many times she's overlooked, by everyone, and I think it's easy for her to revert back to her old ways. Why can't Kia on the fast breaks, stop on a dime, wait for the defender to pass and then take the layup? Lot of bright spots though, especially Crystal, Nat too looked better than normal. Collier and Gabby had great stats but still a lot of lapses and silly fouls and turnovers, attributed to the layoff perhaps? And no way Lou was going to mimic what she did against USF, which didn't do the American Conference any good by their performance in Round 1.

 

[HuskyNan]

Score isn't indicate of the performance. Chong looks lost out there. I think Geno needs a sit down with her to let her know she's important to the end goal. Too many times she's overlooked, by everyone, and I think it's easy for her to revert back to her old ways. Why can't Kia on the fast breaks, stop on a dime, wait for the defender to pass and then take the layup? Lot of bright spots though, especially Crystal, Nat too looked better than normal. Collier and Gabby had great stats but still a lot of lapses and silly fouls and turnovers, attributed to the layoff perhaps? And no way Lou was going to mimic what she did against USF, which didn't do the American Conference any good by their performance in Round 1.

Right. Then the next game they can win by 75 instead of 60.

 

[Carnac]

​

Notes on my scorecard - There are a lot of reasons no team wants to be in UConn's bracket. Several of those reasons were showcased this morning.

1 - UConn's 37 point first quarter. That's a very deep hole to try to climb out of right off the bat. Their best quarter of the season. It matches the 37 point first quarter they had against DePaul. The 33 point 4th quarter is another reason teams don't want to see the Huskies. UConn does not stop scoring. If you're behind, it's hard to catch them if they can put up 33 points in the 4th qtr, and 62% fg for the game.

2 - 116 points will scare anybody!!! I'm sure most of the teams that played yesterday watched this game. 116 points is impressive, especially when you make it look easy. UConn looked like a run-a-way freight train going downhill and its brakes were out. Who wants to step in front of it and try to stop it? That's right, nobody.

3 - For Collier and Williams, just another ho-hum day at the office.
4 items of note:

• Nurse is back, and so is her stroke. 6-7 from beyond the arc. That's going to be hard to stop and overcome if you're an opponent. She's locked in and ready to go.

• Dangerfield looked real good today. Four three point baskets, very good defense along with 6 assists, and threw a blocked shot in for good measure.
• Butler looked good today also. Solid on both ends of the court.
  
• The play that really caught my eye was just before the half. An Albany guard was bring the ball up the court along the side line. Chong guarded her tightly all the way up the court. She did not lose her, she didn't get beat, nor did she foul her. The player passed the ball to another teammate as time was running out. Chong did not quit on the play, or her man. THAT play stood out to me. That play exemplified the tight unrelenting defense UConn played for 4 quarters today.

If you're an opponent, who do you stop? Who do you concentrate on? A rematch with Syracuse on Monday. Who ya got?

 

[Carnac]

Was that Crystal Dangerfield doing all the talking during a huddleup?

I noticed that too. The bench mob was in.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Right. Then the next game they can win by 75 instead of 60.

As I said and listen to Geno afterwards, this was far from perfect, the score notwithstanding.

 

[UcMiami]

If that's a typical Hughes color commentary day then let's have more of him. Fine analysis, knowledgeable color, and knows the game and the players. He and Eric get an A from me.

He has spent the last 20 years scouting college teams for players for the NBA so he knows a lot of the coaches and a lot of the players, and I wouldn't be surprised if he is still advising SA and still scout college ranks. He was a pretty good coach and GM and has lived this sport. I prefer a little faster delivery but he is clearly very knowledgeable about basketball and keeps to what he is seeing in the game.

And he gave us a little info on what Moriah was like in her first year - liked him saying from day one it was like talking to Becky Hammon or Dawn Staley or any of the great PGs he has coached previously - her BBIQ was just solid.

 

[Carnac]

I missed most of the game- looking forward to watching and hearing. Though he did say something absolutley wrong highlighting that someone who doesn't watch UCONN much and probably just saw a couple of games of tape. He did say to paraphrase 'Next year Collier will start to knockdown the 3."

UMMMMMMMMMM this year and as all of us UCONN fans know--- Collier has already shown she CAN knockdown the 3. Maybe he meant it will be a bigger part of her arsenal next year. Or just excuse the one misstep. Looking forward to watching the game next year.

***It will be interesting next year to see how much Gabby and Napheesa will move out to the perimeter if they play with Stevens and if they play with Camara. The opposing team will no doubt play a lot of zone. How will their efficiency be affected? Anyhow next year long ways away!!!

Looking forward to the now. And felt bad for the little I saw-- Albany was pretty good. Would have liked to see some of those 15 and 14 and 13 seeds and compare. Seems like travesty they may have gotten ripped off big time with this seeding or least being stuck vs UCONN.

That may be true, but I can assure you that the other projected #16 seeds let out a big sigh of relief, and were elated when it was revealed that Albany was the 16th seed assigned to play UConn. As the Bridgeport Region was revealed first, every other school was praying they didn't hear their name called. They didn't care who they played, or which region they were assigned to, as long as it was not Bridgeport!!
Did you notice how happy Brenda Frese appeared to be during her interview? Classic!!

 

[GoUconn7961]

Collier was a beast today and Butler really took advantage of the minutes Geno gave her. Nice team effort today. I had to record the game as I had an appointment - it was great to skip the commercials..

 

[UcMiami]

In being realistic about this game it was a typical Husky steamrolling. During the presser Bernabei-McNamee complained again about being a 16th seed. When you lose to both good and really bad teams during the year expect what you get. During the presser she stated one thing they would take away from this loss was how hard UConn plays and that this will help them next year with their seeding. I think winning games against lesser teams may help as well. Tate also stated that she thought the difference in the game was UConn foul shooting. I thought so too since UConn clearly made 5o more FT's than UAlbany.

And rightly so - this team was significantly better than 6 teams in the field and should have had the second or third 15 seed. The committee decided 2 hour travel time was a reason to move them down the S curve 6 spots and screw up their seeding. That is BS and they did it to Syracuse as well but Syracuse is 5 hours away. And they did it to SC as well and a bunch of other teams. They might as well have spent zero time figuring out the seed lines because they threw them all out the window - could have done the seeding with google maps! RPI was all important for MD being seeded as a three, but made absolutely no difference when it came to just about every other choice they made. They had four teams with 150+RPIs, but gave the team with a 114 RPI the 64th seed in this tournament. If I was a Albany supporter, I would be pissed off for the next 6 months! The regular season and conference is supposed to mean something come the NCAAs and this year it didn't when they started filling in the regions.

I thought her press conference was pretty solid - lots of nice things to say, said she saw a series of instances when Geno backed off, one being an inbounds where they had 1 or 2 seconds to get over the half court line and he pulled off the pressure for that play before applying it again on the next possession. Said she really liked him and appreciated him posing for a picture with her boys yesterday.