Baylor post game thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Baylor post game thread

I posted earlier in the week, after watching Baylor on TV, that they would be a handful. I got a lot of flack, but I'm going to say "I told you so." Some observations on this game: UConn hung in there for 3 quarters, but there were lots of bad signals. You can't win with only 3 scorers. Liv was non-existent, which Geno obviously saw, since he sat her the whole 4th quarter. Kyla was clearly over her head in this game, which many of us expected would happen against a very good, athletic team. Christyn played hard and played well, but her inability to hit a 3 pt shot (plus a lackluster performance from the foul line) hurt us big time. Megan was good early, but her inability to finish down low ( that missed open layup late was big, momentum wise). Crystal was just "ehh"...
Now, having dropped the hammer on our Huskies, I think they can compete with the best teams if they can improve in the areas mentioned above. Live HAS to be a factor. Christyn HAS to hit some 3's. Kyla HAS to play better, or needs to go to the bench. Crystal HAS to shoot well in big games ( she's done it in the past). Anna and Aubrey HAVE to do more.
All of that is possible. I haven't given up hope. But reality reared it's ugly head tonight.
 
I was hoping that Geno was saving Aubrey as a spark plug &secret weapon for tonight. But she faltered in her first few minutes & never received another chance.
 
BroadwayVa said:
Hey, I wasn't worried about Baylor neither and I'm still not worried about them. I don't worry about wins or losses. I don't worry about records, awards, notoriety. When you live in reality you rarely worry.
Its just a blankety blank game.
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Nah, Baylor is FAR better defensively than the Huskies. They're also much tougher. UConn would've scored 40 if not for extra possessions.
 
BostonBay said:
Almost a mirror image of last year's game. Baylor has just too much talent, depth & physical presence - that wore UConn out by the 4th quarter. UConn would have to shoot lights out for 40 minutes to beat this team. Not even close tonight.
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Not really. They shot 45% from field which they don't always do by a long shot. We shot 29% which we don't always do. There's a LOT of room between 29% and "Lights out" for us to have been able to win. Just Not a great scoring night. Not a bad loss. A loss in the American would be a bad loss.
 
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Wow,

Liv was really bad. Cox made her look REALLY BAD. She has to get stronger.

Meg & Christyn played pretty well and Crystal finally started scoring in the second half. I was hoping we could execute better in the fourth when we got within 1. Richards played a difference guarding Meg in the second half, but I think she settled for a lot of jump shots.

I wish Kyla hit those open threes she was given. It would have made a difference. Smith is a monster for Baylor and Cooper following up here 30-pt game with 27 vs. UConn was definitely surprising.

Think we’re all disappointed in our fourth quarter execution. It was abysmal! On to the next one.
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the Baylor game:
  • The game started out like two heavyweight fighters measuring each other while circling in the ring. In the end Baylor got the knockout in the 4th qtr.
  • There will be a lot of over analysis about this game. To me, it simply came down to Baylor’s interior size and strength. They were too much for UConn in the paint.
  • Christyn, Megan and Crystal all put up double figures, but UConn needed more from their supporting cast.
  • Keep the faith. Liv will have much better days. Today, Cox was a mismatch for her.
  • So much for home winning streaks. Time for the Huskies to start a new one.
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Hard to win when 2 of your starting 5 score 0 points. UConn just doesn’t have the height to match up in the front court. I hope this isn an omen of things to come ie South Carolina. We went toe toe with them for 3 periods. In period 4 we looked tired and our lack of depth off the bench was evident. Fortunately the cavalry is coming with the next 2 recruiting classes.
 
Centerstream said:
Kind of a shame that Kyla wasn't able to make her shots after being so on in recent games. Otherwise I liked her play, steady on defense and offense.
Just feel extra bad for her (and for everyone) after this hard fought loss.
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The pressure to make was much greater for ALL. If she had nailed one in the first quarter (or taken one then) she may have replicated her great game. All in All she played way beyond the Irwin I had become to know. Kudo's to her a very very good game by Kyla, Aubrey, Ania they need to shoot when open.
 
Williams played really well tonight and I am not the least bit surprised. If she starts shooting well from 3 and the FT line, she can easily be our best player. I hope this is the start of consistent play for her.

ONO, on the other hand, is really going to want to forget about tonight. I hope she uses it as motivation to get better because she is a crucial piece to the puzzle. With her out, we were so exposed on the interior. I really hope CD is able to get her to stop swatting and shooting layups from her hip because at her height, there is no reason for her to be so ineffective against similar size.

The team played a solid 34 minutes and hung with Baylor, but we won’t win against the top teams by relying on only 3 players. We need to play 5v5.
 
No matter what ONO does, she will never be Stef or Kiah in the lane. Hopefully we are bringing in some big bodies that take up space around the basket and are hard to move in the coming years.
 
ghost said:
something up with ONO? has not been good past few, maybe playing hurt?
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Playing against much larger competition. Cox has a ridiculous wing span is a shut down defender. Tough matchup for anyone going up against her. I didn't see the SMU game, but per their box score they had a 6-4 girl inside going up against her for much of the game. Against smaller opponents she's been able to score at will (Ex. DePaul, Oklahoma).
 
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Hey we lost but I still support this team no matter what. As cliche sounding as it is, this is the kind of game that we needed to see what we need to work and improve on. I trust Geno and staff to make the needed adjustments. I wish I could see the team's next practice after today's game for what will be addressed. Otherwise, GO HUSKIES! :cool::cool:
 
oldude said:
Liv was suffering from a bad case of Lauren Cox. Fortunately, Cox will be in the pros next year.
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I have been tough on ONO this year but predict after this game she will learn she is truly 6'5". Being a bit facetious, but all she needed to do was turn around and in one motion shoot over Cox. Cox is good defender but has no "ups" and would not have been able to guard turnaround. Would have been good if Geno had taken ONO out early in game and done some coaching. Glad this happened to ONO early in season.
 
MooreMayaNY said:
Wow,

Liv was really bad. Cox made her look REALLY BAD. She has to get stronger.

Meg & Christyn played pretty well and Crystal finally started scoring in the second half. I was hoping we could execute better in the fourth when we got within 1. Richards played a difference guarding Meg in the second half, but I think she settled for a lot of jump shots.

I wish Kyla hit those open threes she was given. It would have made a difference. Smith is a monster for Baylor and Cooper following up here 30-pt game with 27 vs. UConn was definitely surprising.

Think we’re all disappointed in our fourth quarter execution. It was abysmal! On to the next one.
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Uconn didn't "execute better because there was a good team on the floor with them. Uconn was well scouted and executed against. If Uconn had another AA or 2 it may have been different when 3 of the starting 5 does all the scoring that isnt a good night. Baylor had how many scoring --10??
 
This was what I was afraid might happen, only worse. Never mind Lauren Cox. Somebody tell me how UConn was supposed to have an answer for that Smith kid, because she was the issue throughout. Tall and mobile and just plain good. Kyla played as well as she could, which was pretty well. Megan did well, and after not being much of a factor early, Crystal made her presence known with some important 3s.

I really did not expect Olivia to be a no-show, though, but Cox and the rest of the Baylor front line really schooled her. Williams was spectacular, but if she hadn't been, this might have been a blowout. Consider that, folks.
 
We played
Centerstream said:
Kind of a shame that Kyla wasn't able to make her shots after being so on in recent games. Otherwise I liked her play, steady on defense and offense.
Just feel bad for her (and for everyone) after this hard fought loss.
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I feel bad for her too, but let’s face it - if she’s the best we can do for a starting player then, we aren’t going to be a contender. Tonight we weren’t even competitive. Unfortunately, in addition to Kyla doing absolutely nothing, ONO also did practically nothing as well, so basically we played 3 on 5. We don’t have an alternative for ONO, but at least can’t we just call this a rebuilding year and put an elite athlete in there to get experience in Kyla’s place?
 
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ghost said:
something up with ONO? has not been good past few, maybe playing hurt?
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ONO is a great player but you saw a relative inexperience sophomore go up against a dominant physical senior. Cox made ONO look rough but it will be good for ONO in the long run. She wasn't ready for that kind of physicality and presence tonight. She will get better.
 
Urshurak said:
We have been saying all week someone besides the core three needs to step up. We got nothing. 29% shooting, Ono a big zero (I said several times she was key to getting a win tonight) and only three players contributed and a whopping 6 points in 4th. Hoping they learn a big lesson tonight.
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What were the numbers from the bench for both teams?
 
BostonCanuck said:
Geno said we'd learn some things tonight, and he wasn't kidding. My biggest takeaway is that if your last name wasn't Dangerfield, Walker or Williams, you were in no way ready for prime time tonight.

I'm really glad he benched Aubrey and Olivia for the rest of the game. Hopefully that will kick-start their development in time to make a difference by this year. Too bad it left him with nobody to sub in for Kyla, though. Just not enough pieces.

I wonder how much longer the team has to underperform in both layups and foul shooting before Geno makes what I feel are long-overdue changes to his practice sessions to address the matter.
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I could be wrong but I believe that probably 99% of college players make 99% of their layups and 80%+ of their FTs in practice. Game situations are entirely different.
Geno tweeted this to me once. :rolleyes:
 
iri10 said:
Our 1-2-3 players are championship caliber, IMO, but when forced to do it all they can be beaten as they were today. And so it goes.
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Completely agreed. It doesn’t matter if we have the most players on the watch lists; Basketball is a game of 5v5. We have 3 of the best guards in the country, but 3 really good players won’t beat 5 good players.

Looking forward to seeing how those who didn’t have a big impact tonight step up in the next big game.
 
Sluconn Husky said:
Nah, Baylor is FAR better defensively than the Huskies. They're also much tougher. UConn would've scored 40 if not for extra possessions.
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Missed open layups would have given UConn at least 10+ points. Have to give credit to Baylor defense but doubt we will see this amount of missed bunnys again.
 
Last year, about this time, some fans were saying that this year's team would only have 3 players.........they were right tonight.
 
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Haven't read any of the Posts before this one.

Its time for Geno to end this Kyla Irwin Experiment. Yes, the offense may run smoother with her in the game, but he needs production. Irwin is not going to provide that against Elite Teams/Players. I wish I knew why Evelyn Adebayo can't get off the bench. I presume she's got bad practice habits and/or doesn't know the offense. If she's not an option, then I start Aubrey Griffin. She will score points and get rebounds.

Tonight it was 3 UConn Players against 5 Baylor Players that are slightly more talented then UConn. Baylor's Front Court scored 36 Points, UConn's front court of Irwin and Nelso-Ododa score ZERO Points. Olivia wasn't ready for Prime Time and because of that and the Extremely COLD shooting in the 4th Quarter UConn had no chance.

I don't think Baylor is 16 points better then UConn. However they are the better team. If UConn got any production from a 4th player and didn't go cold in the 4th quarter its a much closer game. Olivia tried tonight, but couldn't produce. She's got some soul searching to do after today's performance.

ON to the Next Game. Lots of teaching moments in this game.
 
Centerstream said:
Kind of a shame that Kyla wasn't able to make her shots after being so on in recent games. Otherwise I liked her play, steady on defense and offense.
Just feel extra bad for her (and for everyone) after this hard fought loss.
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Kyla understands uconn HOWEVER has limited physical abilities and is not an asset overall !
 
Folks, Baylor got 63 of their 74 points from three players. Their bench provided little of anything either. The result was due to the massive difference in defensive abilities of these teams. It doesn't help that UConn makes it easier by being too much of a 1-on-1 offense.
 
I really like the first half and part of the third. It was a really great game until .... well, you know. Look, bottom line, you still have to make the ball go threw the hoop and score and you have to make your layups and foul shots. I thought that their defense for 3 quarters was good, but when they couldn't get baskets, they were just plain beat.

I like Baylor, they stayed in the game, they are tall, and they seemed to the scoring that they needed to do to challenge UConn. Mulkey still says that the program is the program that all coaches want to achieve. But she is the one a few years ago who said, that I want all of the bigs that "I" can get and we will figure it out from there. I like her style.
 
jaydee602 said:
The lack of scoring from two starters was diappointing. But I was shocked by the margin that their shots missed. Kyla & Ono threw airballs on shots that they usually drain with ease.
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Kayla was predictable and she played more than well. Baylor took Olivia out of HER game. It is not all in what a player can do or usually does--good defense takes that away. Uconn took away a lot of Baylors favorites in the first half, not so much in the second.
 
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