Butler Postgame Thread

[Bigboote]

I'm really liking the lack of falloff with the substitutions. Ashlynn, KK, and Ice give a very different look than the starters, but they're all very effective. The energy that Ash and KK bring is just wonderful. I was initially disappointed they weren't starting, but I get it now, that they come in mid-late first quarter when the opponents are a little gassed or have their somewhat less effective subs in. Ice's passing is wonderful for a backup post.

 

[freshler40]

Seems like we are fielding two top 10 teams, each with different skills but mostly based on strong defense. Our full court press is beautiful as is our half court press, both were on display in this game. KK, Sarah, Paige, Ash, Chen and company are difficult to play against. Great to see a faster pace triggered by this defense.

Our offense had six (6) players in double figures. This is the kind of balance that is hard to defend as everybody on this team can hurt you. I would like to see better offensive rebounding on missed shots, especially important for Sarah and El Alfy. They are great at putbacks. Several players, led by Paige and KK are splitting seams for easy lay-ups, similar to what the best of the guards we play against do to us. We are finishing our shots around the rim with authority. Morgan and Ice need to look to shoot more, or dribble penetrate. Thanks for a stress-free Sunday afternoon.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Jana gave me one of my three wishes. Ash - yes yes, yes.

 

[Stagnant]

I thought in particular, the defense in the first quarter was great. It was swarming. And butler didn’t even get a shot off until their third or fourth possession.

 

[Stagnant]

 

[ERWUC65]

First kudos to Butler, well coached and played well, especially down 2 starters. Their effort helped magnify some of our remaining defensive issues, first being some adjustments needed when running press is the need to get back to cover opponent outside shooters (3's), second being rebounding, where we seem to either be out of position or tenative in our efforts, third allowing easy layups off a pick and roll, i.e., loosing track of player cutting to basket. We will need to be spot on against TN here as I think our offense will hold up well as we have better shooters.

 

[Huskee11]

This was the last weekend game at XL this season so it was not a surprise to see a large, enthusiastic, festive crowd.

There were some tributes to SNY, and Gary Apple and Kara Wolters were at the game and not at the studio in New York. The executive and production team, including Gary and Kara, were introduced at half court - I think it was during the second quarter - about eight guys and one woman, who was a head taller than the tallest of the guys.

After only scoring 11 points in the first half against Seton Hall, I was not expecting the respectable offensive effort that Butler put up. 12 threes by 7 different players and 18 assists on 21 field goals. But defensively, they had no answers.

There was a lot of up and down with few stoppages in play. At times it felt like a YMCA pickup game.

I was glad to see Paige come out aggressively after a meh performance against DePaul.

Sarah had tape on her right wrist but the tape around her thumb from the last game was gone.

Minor in the overall game, but nice to see Chen hit a couple of threes - after hitting three the game before. She is 5 of 6 from three in the last two games. Adding that factor to the "big three", plus Shade's offensive contributions off the bench, will be needed.

I would like Jana, Ice and Morgan to all try taking the open shot that appears right away - because what comes later is often not as good. But, while I would like Morgan to shoot the ball, she did make a lot of good assists today and played her customary good "floor game".

I think we are in a good place as we head to Tennessee.

 

[AzzisBraids]

A great team win, Bueckers had verve since her last outing and started off hot, Strong got some good looks, Chen is continuing to be the scoring threat that keeps defenses honest and it makes me so happy, Fudd's overall floor game is brilliant from the defense, to the passing, then she pops 3's casually.

Shade and KK were huge off the bench and I now see what Geno is doing with their roles. Shade's shot was automatic and KK with 4 steals and those Mo Jeff drives were so good.

El Alfy and Brady are coming along, they both are gaining confidence in Big East play. UConn is gaining confidence in their traps too and with Tennessee coming up, they will be able to press the pressers.

 

[Bigboote]

Is anyone else thinking maybe UConn should play Brady and El Alfy more -- like 20 minutes apiece instead of closer to 15? They might need to go 20-30 apiece against some bigger teams. Just a thought.

 

[Bone Dog]

I was watching some of the 1st half while still at the Syracuse game and man, you really can take for granted how smooth UConn is when they’re running plays and defending.

I have long noticed this optical illusion: we’re so used to watching how smoothly UConn plays that we take it for granted. But watch other teams and you notice all the rough edges, the missed defensive assignments, the ragged one-v-one offense. In that context there’s lots of ‘hero’ plays but some pretty uneven basketball. And then we watch a UConn game and complain when we don’t see so much ‘hero’ ball.

 

[Cornell Lt]

3 pt FG defense is of concern. Butler was allowed way too many open 3's (12-27) 44%. That isn't a good sign if it continues

 

[BBallF]

Some thoughts on the Butler game:

• It doesn’t get much better than watching UConn WBB in Hartford on a Sunday afternoon in January.
• Some BY-ers, as well as Geno, have lamented the fact that our 6’5” center has repeatedly lost the opening tipoff to smaller opponents, so today Geno did something about it having 6’1” Sarah Strong contest the opening tip against Butler’s 6’3” Sydney Jaynes…..PROBLEM SOLVED-
• UConn started the game by hitting their first 6 shots from the floor on their way to shooting 65% for the game, for a comfortable 42-point victory.
• KK continues to be an absolute pain in the ass on defense for UConn’s opponents, as she has developed into one of the most ferocious and disruptive guards in WBB.
• Sarah has mastered the art of sealing her defender on her back at the high post, and Paige, Kaitlyn and several other Huskies have mastered dropping soft dimes that lead Sarah into easy layups. It’s not really a conventional low-post offense, but it sure is effective.
• Paige had her typical, brilliant, all-around stat-stuffing game with 18 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. But to be honest she had an average shooting game. There is a game...It’s coming...Paige is going to fill up the stat sheet and shoot lights out!!!
• I think it’s safe to say that Azzi is back in her zone when it comes to shooting the basketball, and Kaitlyn has found her zone as well.
• While UConn’s stars all did “star-quality” things, I was in awe of Ashlynn’s hustle today. She was everywhere on the court, playing D, chasing down lose balls and rebounds and knocking down shots. Ashlynn has really embraced her role as UConn’s SUPER-SUB!
• The Huskies head to Knoxville on Thursday for what will clearly be a big OOC test to see just how far this team has come and how far it needs to go to get to the promised land.

The single most significant takeaway for me was very simple- That was a new, game faced, determined Paige out there from the new hairstyle, which was no coincidence, to the way she played from the opening tip. It just carried over onto the rest of the team who were fully energized and confident. That was the best player in America out there today flat out who made everyone on her team better. I can't wait for Thursday night.

 

[Bald Husky]

3 pt FG defense is of concern. Butler was allowed way too many open 3's (12-27) 44%. That isn't a good sign if it continues

I want to mention the Butler 3's also. 12. 12. How can we beat Tennessee if we can't guard the three against a team like Butler? Anyone who has seen Tennessee play knows that they take as many as possible, and against some bad team they took 63 I believe, and made 30. Also, Paige did not have a great game as some have mentioned. Good, maybe, but we expect more from her as the face of our team. 5 of her 7 field goals were layups, and she actually missed one. Not to be a downer, but I want to just voice my nervousness about Thursday. SC not so much actually, but Tennessee, we just can't lose to them. Good 3 point defense and timely 3 point shooting by our group.
Well, go Huskies, lets do it.

 

[tomcat]

Some thoughts as we reflect on the Butler game and look toward Tennessee:
1. It's really hard to tell how good UConn is against a team that's as understaffed (feisty, well-coached, but understaffed) as Butler.
2. The Paige who showed up today is the Paige that UConn needs for the rest of the season. If she can score a few baskets early, it will set the tone for the game.
3. The defense looks really good, but we'll see how it reacts to the offensive juggernaut that is Tennessee.
4. The disappearance of Morgan Cheli is disturbing. She has had no impact in the last three games, quite unlike earlier in the season when she was a real contributor. Freshman yips, or what? The opposite could be said of Quadence Samuels, who in this game seemed to be getting her mojo back.
5. It sure looks great when the team has five who can nail three-pointers. Kaitlyn Chen is looking solid.
6. Aubrey looked very good today, At the pace she is improving, she will be a great help in the BE and NCAA tournaments.
And on to Tennessee.....

 

[Rowdy831]

There is nothing you can say negative about how UConn has been playing lately. The issue I have is with the quality of the teams in the Big East and total lack of preparation so many teams have shown when playing UConn. I realize UConn is head and shoulders ahead of them in the quality of player they can put on the court but the gap shouldn't be ten points a quarter.

This UConn team has three number 1 players in their recruiting class and that should result in them winning number 12. My fear is that the conference quality isn't preparing them for the best teams out there. I feel like when they get up against the South Carolinas of the world you will finally see where the weakness is on this UConn team and that won't leave much time for correction before the tournament.

In the meantime I guess they can only control what they can control. I am glad they will have Tennessee this week who can give them a headache or two. I expect UConn to handle them easily but it seems like most teams shoot threes better against UConn than they normally do and that is a concern.

 

[Bone Dog]

3. The defense looks really good, but we'll see how it reacts to the offensive juggernaut that is Tennessee.

It may be a misnomer to call Tennessee an offensive juggernaut. They seem more like a defensive juggernaut. Withstand their press — that is, take away all the transition baskets — and they don’t look so potent offensively. Of course, withstanding their press for an entire game is not that easy. The challenge for us is not the starting five we put out there, but what happens when they get tired.

 

[HuskyNan]

Please don let this thread drift - stick to the UConn-Butler game

 

[AzzisBraids]

The single most significant takeaway for me was very simple- That was a new, game faced, determined Paige out there from the new hairstyle, which was no coincidence, to the way she played from the opening tip. It just carried over onto the rest of the team who were fully energized and confident. That was the best player in America out there today flat out who made everyone on her team better. I can't wait for Thursday night.

I noticed this too, whenever I'm having a bad spell I change my hair and become a new person. I love Ponytail Paige. I dyed my hair copper red a decade ago and had the best years of my life as this new version of myself.

 

[The deacon]

The disappearance of Morgan Cheli is disturbing. She has had no impact in the last three games, quite unlike earlier in the season when she was a real contributor. Freshman yips, or what?

I think we all wish Morgan would take an occasional shot, tomcat, but to say she had no impact is quite misleading... she played 11 minutes and had three rebounds and five assists, three of which came during her first-half stint while playing with starters.

Morgan has been a point guard, a tall one for sure, and she still harbors those instincts. I hope Geno and CD would take her reluctance to shoot more to heart, perhaps run plays for her to shoot in practice, and tell her she's off the court if she doesn't take the shots. Clearly she shows something more in practice than she has in games or Geno wouldn't continue to send her out there.

For all the frustration we all feel about it, I'm still convinced she'll be a major player in the future. I just wish it had come more quickly.

 

[BBallF]

I noticed this too, whenever I'm having a bad spell I change my hair and become a new person. I love Ponytail Paige. I dyed my hair copper red a decade ago and had the best years of my life as this new version of myself.

She said in a post game interview that it was because her friend who does her braids wasn't available to do them. This was a lean and mean, no frills Paige we saw yesterday and we will see if it was just by happenstance. If it makes her play like she did yesterday, let it ride!

 

[my2cents]

Celli had 5 assts., she hardly disappeared.
We win this game by 60-70 points if we keep our starters in, so always makes no sense to me analyzing the "state" of our team in these games.
Our post players are currently too slow to be getting more playing time. In big games, they will barely play. IMO.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Their trapping defense is getting better and better along with their switches and fighting through screens.
That last line of defense is guarding the three better since teams seem to shoot lights out against them.
Azzi is really underrated on the defensive end IMO.
It was a fun game to watch. The highlight video on YouTube is fun as well. I'd post it but my work laptop (which I'm on now) won't allow me.

 

[msf22b]

Apologies Nan for drifting:

Tomcat said it very well:
It's really hard to tell how good UConn is against a team that's as understaffed (feisty, well-coached, but understaffed) as Butler.

Watching this game a 2nd time; I have absolutely not a clue as to how this team will do against the likes of our future top-25 and top-10 opponents.

Butler provided open lanes to the basket for Paige and KK...unlikely to see much of that going forward.

The shooting (especially` from outside) has become more consistent but was certainly not rushed by the Butler D.

I'm a perennial worrier....Just wish I had more relevant information.