Baylor post game thread

[Florida Fan]

@oldude Someone on the BY has been harping on Uconn needs to make their layup's. Had they made half of them it could have been a win.
Then someone else said that Baylor would run out of energy in the 4th. That was Uconn. I and others said if ONO had less than 3 fouls in the 4th Uconn would win. Well she had 3. No win. Something is amiss when a bench player in 1/3rd of the time out rebounds a 6 ft 5.
Geno has work to do, lots of it. But first he has to work on conditioning and shot selection--it was horrid. Does this mean Uconn is done for this year---H-E-L -L NO. This is the begining of the run for the NCAA the faults are now known and how to play Baylor is not known.
TRUE very TRUE other players must shoot when open---notice I didn't say others must step up--no they just need to shoot when they have the shot and not pass and pass and pass to Danger, Walker, CW. ONO has to learn to play against big defense. Simple(not on your life)

And, down the road, sometime, somewhere, Ana and Aubrey will start, get in the flow, miss a couple and then start to knock them down. That will take some of the offensive pressure off the other starters. Don't want a "Z" flash back in a critical, late-season contest.

 

[Topsail]

Bottom line the game was a repeat of last year. We were close until the 4th Q and then it fell apart . When you look at the box score shooting %, rebounds even, asst, margin in favor of Baylor like last year, I knew this would be a tough game to win due to match-ups. Ono needed a monster game and I just could not see it happening given her trouble lately.

 

[Geesworld]

The half court offense was actually not bad. The offense achieve it primary purpose which was to create shots. UCONN just did not make enough of those shots. You can credit Cox for a big part of that she played all 40 minutes and she did an excellent job of blocking (4) and challenging shots (12) at the basket. Cox was definitely in Liv's head but she also in Megan's and Kyla's as well. BTW the sequences when Squeaks takes over is and has always been part of the half court offense. You can always tell when UCONN is going to that sequence because Squeaks is in the middle of the floor vs starting on a wing.

I agree.The offense wasn't that bad. We just didn't make shots last 4 and half minutes and I think they felt the pressure of the ball not falling. Although Liv, didn't have her best game I think not having her on the court makes a difference because it does keep the big attached and drives to the basket and weakside rebounding opens up more. What I noticed is lack of mid-range threat from high post to elbow area. That's where UCONN usually thrives. I would like to see Liv in motion a little more with in the offense. Mid to high post has to be a threat to keep defense honest.

 

[VAMike23]

Geno:

 

[UConn2SF]

Its unfortunate this team cant get more "easy points." little offense in the way of transition, free throws, and via turnovers. CD has all but eliminated her slashing and transition game. Meg missed lots of shots shes made all year. Overall, tonight we got 69 shots off but 49 of them were beyond 16ft. when 71% of your shots are deep jumpers, its feast or famine
.

 

[victor64]

Geno:

Thank you for posting this. It should be required listening for all those in this thread and other threads critical of Geno. His view of his team and the game were spot on. The guy is classy in victory and the rare defeat.

 

[meyers7]

Tough game. But it was supposed to be a tough game. As Geno said post game (and has been saying most of the season), we are young. Baylor has 3 seniors and 1 junior playing most of their minutes. We don't.

Irwin was supposed to come off the bench and give us 5-10 minutes, not be a 20+ minute starter. But that's where UCONN is at right now. Having a Westbrook or a "what we thought we might get" Camara would have been helpful. But that's not where UCONN is at right now.

We have a good team, not a great team. A lot of us expected 2-3 (3-4) losses this season. And a run at a FF. Don't think that many were counting on a NC. But you never know. We could get lucky. But we got a lot of work to do to get lucky.

Remember, Charles was abused by Fowles and turned into a monster. Dolson was embarrassed by Griner and came back a 2X AA. DT had one of the worst games ever (1-15) and came back the GOAT (arguably ). So we'll see how this plays out. Still a lot of season to go. A lot of career to go for ONO.

Most teams (talking 98%, 99%) of teams would kill (or maim anyway) to be in our shoes (although I'm sure OldCoach would find something wrong with them). 12-1, with a decent shot at a FF, a outside shot at a NC, with a couple incredible recruiting classes coming in.

Sorry to be a voice of reason. I know I'm usually a "glass lying shattered on the floor kind" of guy. But you gotta have a little perspective. Season's not over, we got another game tomorrow.

 

[Conquistador]

Liv was suffering from a bad case of Lauren Cox. Fortunately, Cox will be in the pros next year.

I thought Aubrey was pretty effective against her. I would’ve liked to see her more. She’s longer than people realize and was right in there for the rebounds.
She could’ve been in more instead of KE and would have run Cox around more!

 

[Huskie02]

Who the hell cares about Houston?

I agree! Their conference is very weak and makes UConn look deceptively strong. They struggled and won against some pretty mediocre teams thus far. This game really exposed their weaknesses. Irwin is a liability against elite teams. The huskies have a month and a half to prepare for March Madness. I’m not sure at this point if they can make it to the round of Elite Eight. I’d give Anna and Griffin more playing time to get experience knowing the cavalry is coming with the next 2 recruiting classes.

 

[Ozimoto]

After 8 pages I'm sure what I have to say is pretty repetitious but here is my nickel on the game.

UConn hung with Baylor for three quarters even though Baylor is a horrible match up for this Husky team. Then it became a game of "too's."

Baylor was too big, too quick, too long, too experienced, and too deep for this group to overcome. This is a good team, but not a great team. Shooting 30% from the floor isn't going to cut it against decent teams.

I expect similar results when they play Oregon. USCe is young, so we may have a better chance there. The Gamecocks will present the same challenges and the results could be similar if things don't change.

Other teams with size will cause problems and could lead to another loss or two moving forward. It all depends on how the team adjusts. Do they step up and accept the challenge (which I suspect will happen), or has their confidence taken such a hit that it impacts them negatively moving forward? (I think Geno is too good of a coach to let that happen).

Until we see how they react over the next few games, we just don't know.

 

[pvdoggy]

Geno's reactions all over the place from incredulous to resigned.

Mike Anthony: UConn crumbles late against Baylor as 2019-20 reality is driven home

No matter the No. 1 national ranking, despite what has come to be expected or assumed underneath all those national championship banners, there have long been a number of subtle signs that 2019-20 …

www.courant.com

This quote a bit over the top?



“Let me tell you how immature they are, too. There’s a minute left in the game and they’re fouling, thinking we can get a 16-point play. Is that dumb, or what? 'Oh, you know, we’re going to lose by eight. What’s the difference if we lose by 17?’ Dummies.

Agree. That's a bit harsh. As a coach, he has that control to tell the team what to do in those situations.

Also, Geno expected Uconn to make 12-13 out of 26 3-pts shots in this game? He does not know his team if that's the case because they have not been doing that against weaker opponents most of the year.

 

[bluedevil]

Ono does not have a jump shot...she does not drain shots from 6 feet on with ease...sorry....

 

[Najee76]

As I've said in another post, we are not prepared or equipped for prime time. Olivia is not prepared or equipped for prime time. Neither is Aubrey, Anna or Kyla. To act otherwise is just madness. We are not a very athletic team, and if you look at the most successful teams they are the ones that have the greatest opportunities to win big games, behind talented and athletic teams. I will go back to Mississippi St in '17. We have players who have a long way to go and we are very undersized and athletically challenged. I accept it and hope it changes as our players work on their development. My only complaint about the UConn coaching is why hasn't Olivia learned the jump hook that made Stewie a nightmare down low? I love our Huskies, but we are as far as we have ever been from being amongst the Title contenders. Go Huskies!

 

[Centerstream]

Untrue. Did you see Kyla grabbing the back of Aubrey’s jersey and directing her to the right spot on the court? She did that for the younger players several times. She also blocked out really well and actually chased down loose balls. Kyla did what she could

And as you have implied, if not stated, Kyla did/does what the Coach expects her to do while the freshmen learn the offense and defense. Kyla knows where to be and what to do on both ends of the court. How many years is it going to take for us BYers to realize that the vast majority of new team members are not going to step onto the court and have immediate impacts on a game, day in and day out???
Just my opinion and I apologize if this has been previously stated, ad nauseum.

 

[BostonBay]

As I've said in another post, we are not prepared or equipped for prime time. Olivia is not prepared or equipped for prime time. Neither is Aubrey, Anna or Kyla. To act otherwise is just madness. We are not a very athletic team, and if you look at the most successful teams they are the ones that have the greatest opportunities to win big games, behind talented and athletic teams. I will go back to Mississippi St in '17. We have players who have a long way to go and we are very undersized and athletically challenged. I accept it and hope it changes as our players work on their development. My only complaint about the UConn coaching is why hasn't Olivia learned the jump hook that made Stewie a nightmare down low? I love our Huskies, but we are as far as we have ever been from being amongst the Title contenders. Go Huskies!

Geno may have to alter his coaching/recruiting strategies. He's relied on a complicated (but beautiful) passing game, with lots of cutting, transition baskets, etc. A very finesse game, and not dependent on size. But, the game is changing. Players are getting bigger and stronger & have a combination of size & skill that didnt exist 5 or 10 years ago. He just doesnt have the talent today to compete for a title in this new era. The middle & rim was completely owned by baylor last night. UConn would have had to shoot lights out to win. I dont even think Baylor played all that well last night, and still coasted to victory. Same pattern emerged in the last 3 . UConn couldnt hold on to 4th quarter leads because of style of play.

 

[HuskyNan]

Reporter: "After this game, how do you prepare for Houston?"

Squeaks: "All the anger, frustration from this game - gonna take it out on them. They just happen to be the team next. Sucks for them."

Yikes!

I remember years ago UConn played poor Providence after a loss. It was an 80 point win for the Huskies. I don’t know if Providence got 40 points

 

[pvdoggy]

Geno may have to alter his coaching/recruiting strategies. He's relied on a complicated (but beautiful) passing game, with lots of cutting, transition baskets, etc. A very finesse game, and not dependent on size. But, the game is changing. Players are getting bigger and stronger & have a combination of size & skill that didnt exist 5 or 10 years ago. He just doesnt have the talent today to compete for a title in this new era. The middle & rim was completely owned by baylor last night. UConn would have had to shoot lights out to win. I dont even think Baylor played all that well last night, and still coasted to victory. Same pattern emerged in the last 3 . UConn couldnt hold on to 4th quarter leads because of style of play.

but this team is not that good of a passing team compared to previous Uconn teams.

 

[Centerstream]

Geno may have to alter his coaching/recruiting strategies. He's relied on a complicated (but beautiful) passing game, with lots of cutting, transition baskets, etc. A very finesse game, and not dependent on size. But, the game is changing. Players are getting bigger and stronger & have a combination of size & skill that didnt exist 5 or 10 years ago. He just doesnt have the talent today to compete for a title in this new era. The middle & rim was completely owned by baylor last night. UConn would have had to shoot lights out to win. I dont even think Baylor played all that well last night, and still coasted to victory. Same pattern emerged in the last 3 . UConn couldnt hold on to 4th quarter leads because of style of play.

I am glad that you watched a different game than a lot of us did and that you also know exactly what Geno needs to do in the future. I certainly hope that Geno reads your post and takes the appropriate steps to remedy the situation. He will probably have to scuttle his next two incoming freshmen members and start over to please you. Good luck with that.
BTW, how many other teams have lost in the last 3 National Semifinals? Do those coaches not know how to do their jobs too?

 

[DeeHusky]

I don’t care what y’all say. They were pretty good to me. They matched the intensity until the end. I wish Aubrey Griffin had been in the game more to neutralize the scoring and rebounding of NaLyssa Smith or at least affect it. They’ll be better, it’s still very early in the season.

 

[Majic Hands]

Ad nauseum, in fact

Like nobody else has noticed

 

[wbball novice]

Glad I didn't visit the Chat section last night; must have been harsh. CW had some great moments, getting rebounds and making some crazy layups. Still hovering around 50% on FTs -- she was very reliable on FT last year, and still hasn't been consistent mid- and long range -- she is quite aware of this. Can't really expect Meg to be hot shooting 3s for an entire game, and her size was clearly a disadvantage against Baylor's big guards; same story for CD. Despite the size handicap, both Meg & CD gathered rebounds respectably. Kyla's 3 pt shooting success in a couple of the previous games was kind of an outlier in my opinion; probably more typical last night. I don't know the finer points of bball so I rely on those who do for her non-shooting contributions. ONO did not have a good night; she's not Lauren Cox obviously. AG & Anna Mak are freshmen, by the way.

Overall, Baylor had the advantage in size & great skills -- compare FT percentages, among many other things -- and I believe both teams had the same number of FTs. T'ea Cooper was a revelation. Lauren Cox, coming back from injury -- hard to imagine how much better she'll be playing when she's back in shape -- a monster player. N'alyssa Smith made UConn guards seem to be even smaller -- excellent defense, opportunistic scoring. When the Bears were challenged inside, they disrupted the UConn plan with reliable outside shooting. Despite all their advantages, UConn was hard on their heels, sometimes back and forth, for 3 Qs -- love the fight in those kids. I'm guessing the UConn plan was to exhaust the Baylor bigs with their speed & go in for the kill in Q4, but best laid plans ... Lauren playing till the end, and it was the UConn starters ran out of gas, lost their legs, whatever. Doesn't the coach often say: "It is what it is"?

Great game for women's bball. Australia in flames, glaciers in Greenland melting faster and faster, war with Iran. Terrific recruiting class coming in. Try not to be glum or angry, at least for UConn bball.

 

[eebmg]

.... Australia in flames, glaciers in Greenland melting faster and faster, 4th Quarter UConn vs Baylor at home, war with Iran. ....


Does not seem that out of place.

 

[donalddoowop]

I thought Aubrey was pretty effective against her. I would’ve liked to see her more. She’s longer than people realize and was right in there for the rebounds.
She could’ve been in more instead of KE and would have run Cox around more!

UConn does not have a KE on the team.

 

[donalddoowop]

Glad I didn't visit the Chat section last night; must have been harsh. CW had some great moments, getting rebounds and making some crazy layups. Still hovering around 50% on FTs -- she was very reliable on FT last year, and still hasn't been consistent mid- and long range -- she is quite aware of this. Can't really expect Meg to be hot shooting 3s for an entire game, and her size was clearly a disadvantage against Baylor's big guards; same story for CD. Despite the size handicap, both Meg & CD gathered rebounds respectably. Kyla's 3 pt shooting success in a couple of the previous games was kind of an outlier in my opinion; probably more typical last night. I don't know the finer points of bball so I rely on those who do for her non-shooting contributions. ONO did not have a good night; she's not Lauren Cox obviously. AG & Anna Mak are freshmen, by the way.

Overall, Baylor had the advantage in size & great skills -- compare FT percentages, among many other things -- and I believe both teams had the same number of FTs. T'ea Cooper was a revelation. Lauren Cox, coming back from injury -- hard to imagine how much better she'll be playing when she's back in shape -- a monster player. N'alyssa Smith made UConn guards seem to be even smaller -- excellent defense, opportunistic scoring. When the Bears were challenged inside, they disrupted the UConn plan with reliable outside shooting. Despite all their advantages, UConn was hard on their heels, sometimes back and forth, for 3 Qs -- love the fight in those kids. I'm guessing the UConn plan was to exhaust the Baylor bigs with their speed & go in for the kill in Q4, but best laid plans ... Lauren playing till the end, and it was the UConn starters ran out of gas, lost their legs, whatever. Doesn't the coach often say: "It is what it is"?

Great game for women's bball. Australia in flames, glaciers in Greenland melting faster and faster, war with Iran. Terrific recruiting class coming in. Try not to be glum or angry, at least for UConn bball.

Liv is not Lauren Cox and Lauren Cox is not a sophomore. As a sophomore, her coach sat her a number of times because she was not performing as well as expected. Plus, she had Kalani Brown to help. She played better during the latter part of her sophomore season.

 

[CL82]

I think Kara (not last night but recently) said that UConn needs that kid who will grab and teammates jersey and demand excellence from them. That's what we were missing in the 4th quarter last night.

Unfortunately Jen Rizotti's and Diana Taurasi's are hard to find. Fortunately, I think we've got one on the way.