Cincinnati Postgame Thread

[uconnfan68]

four of the five were seniors in the last game of their college careers

With 22 wins I expect the WNIT to pick them up.

 

[soxfan23]

Good stuff here from Makurat and Griffin, their genuine concern and admiration for Irwin is very touching!

 

[jabstep]

It is really nice to see the girls having fun and celebrating. We all know they work so hard for the taskmaster.

 

[Plebe]

It was 143, but UConn is the first team to go undefeated in all of its conference games. Texas did lose while it was in its pre-big12 conference.

I'm a child of the Southwest Conference, and I grew up during UT's glory days in the 1980s. Many people erroneously think it was Texas Tech that finally snapped UT's win streak in the SWC. It was actually Arkansas that beat UT in Austin in February 1990. That Arkansas team would go on a run to the Elite 8, where they lost to eventual champion Stanford. (Arkansas would depart the SWC one season later.)

But I digress. UConn can and should set a record for consecutive conference wins early in next year's Big East season. The fact that their in-conference win streak will span membership in two different conferences detracts not one bit from the feat.

 

[Huskee11]

I was at the game and have a few random observations.

Took a little while to get going offensively, the shots were there but just not dropping.

Anna`s court vision and awareness is amazing. Like a good football quarterback she sees the play developing before it happens. She does not settle for the routine pass. Some of her passes in traffic are truly astounding. She seems to be looking for Megan a lot, and with good results. Although she is not a speed demon, she is very good at pushing the ball in transition. That is when UConn is at its best. Speaking of quarterbacks, there were many beautiful long passes for layups tonight.

Having said that, I think this UConn team can get pass happy at times, making them look sloppier than they should. eebmg notes the pass from Aubrey to ONO. There were many other examples. Anna almost always passes off the dribble, she needs to pull up and/or take it to the basket more if for no other reason than to keep defenses honest. An open 15 footer for all these players should be money in the bank; this team needs to recognize that and not trade it for something less. I would have all of the returning players shoot 200 key area jumpers a day in the off season. Get comfortable with that!

CW played as we would have her play. She was relentless going to the basket and rebounded aggressively, I was surprised how high she was getting off the ground. She was playing downhill, not fiddling and diddling (as Johnny Most would say) on the perimeter, as she is sometimes wont to do. Much has been said about all her playing over the last year, but she really had her legs under her tonight. I hope this layoff until the NCAAs is good for her in that regard and that her success tonight gives her something to build on going forward.

Megan was unstoppable, they had no one who could guard her. Her development from Freshman year is nothing short of astounding. She is deserving of a place on the Wall of Honor.

It is obvious in person that ONO is playing with more aggression and purpose.

Aubrey is terrific, athleticism off the charts, but she is very hesitant with the ball in a half court set. Not the first UConn Freshman who has struggled in that regard, of course.

Cincinnati is a strange team. They have no three point game, yet also no one over six feet tall. Thomas is pretty strong inside but she can`t do much against ONO. They kept milking the clock even though down by over 30. What else could they do, I guess. The point guard is very quick and a good player.

The formula for success is to defend, rebound, and get out in transition. UConn certainly did that tonight. They will need to do that when the competition gets tougher.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It’s the postseason. They can win all of the games by one point. I don’t care who shoots what percentage or how they look or how they start the game as long as they win. Survive and advance, baybeeee!

As a reminder to folks, the ND championship team of 2018 had a halftime record of 1-4-1 in the 6 NCAA tourney games. They started slowly and generally trailed at the half, but they had enough to win over 40 minutes. Or 45 minutes.

 

[MilfordHusky]

That's one big snow angel!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Good stuff here from Makurat and Griffin, their genuine concern and admiration for Irwin is very touching!

Aubrey is shy, but she'll outgrow it.

 

[donalddoowop]

Yea, that 1pt loss by Baylor to Iowa St yesterday was pretty bad........

If UConn had not had a slow start in the Baylor game, maybe they would have won by one point.

 

[MSGRET]

If UConn had not had a slow start in the Baylor game, maybe they would have won by one point.

They played even with them until the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter, then they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.

 

[FridaFriend]

Included in the game summary was the following:

"Connecticut's governor issued a voluntary travel ban for state employees on Monday. But UConn says its basketball teams will travel to postseason tournaments, with only essential personnel accompanying the team. The school did not say which employees are considered essential."

I sure hope they consider Geno essential.

 

[Carnac]

just imagine what her stats would be if she played 33 minutes plus a game like the other starters...............

I noticed that she played well early in games she was not in foul trouble, and stayed in the game. We know Aubrey will be the 6th man the rest of the way. I would imagine Molly will be second. Liv has to stay out of foul trouble. If Aubrey has to come in for her early, that would make Molly the next player up off the bench.

 

[UConn2SF]

I can picture Kyla watching tonights game in a hospital bed somewhere triumphantly pumping her fists, fractured elbow and all, as the game clock wound down to zero, too proud and overjoyed to feel any pain.
I have no doubt, her presence was felt by her teammates even though she may not have been there physically.

 

[Dokey]

A commentator said Anna had a sarcastic sense of humor as apparently does Paige. This stereo attack should keep Geno young....

 

[MilfordHusky]

A commentator said Anna had a sarcastic sense of humor as apparently does Paige. This stereo attack should keep Geno young....

And Mir speaks 5 languages. Geno won't even know what she is saying to him.

 

[eebmg]

A commentator said Anna had a sarcastic sense of humor as apparently does Paige. This stereo attack should keep Geno young....

Yes Anna is sarcastic but I think more self deprecating and less likely to challenge Geno than Paige will in time be. But Maybe Anna will grow into the adorable wiseguy that Sveta was

From what I see, Paige is already there

 

[Dokey]

And Mir speaks 5 languages. Geno won't even know what she is saying to him.

Is one of them Polish? That could really drive Geno nuts.

 

[Dokey]

Have we switched to the equivalent of tag team point guard? Someone throws in to CD who advances to near center line and then passes to Anna who assumes role of a traditional point guard distributor, which might explain why she passes up shots until she reestablishes herself on the wing, and CD becomes a shooting guard. Very effective way to use everyone’s talents.

 

[mbr33ct]

you're right about the foul trouble..............how many games did she have two quick fouls and had to sit?............I think she's shown better judgement as the season has progressed.................hopefully she will continue to work on her strength over the summer............I expect another big jump in her play next season and 30 minutes per game shouldn't be an unrealistic target.........

That's only 3.6 more minutes than what she's averaging right now, so yeah if Olivia could stay from foul troubles early in first quarter 30 minutes should be easy target to achieve.

 

[trisailin]

Uhm........6 games in a row in double figures, culminating in one of the most complete games Christyn has played in her 2 years at UConn is hardly a single datapoint.

I think that makes six data points?

But you have to understand - that is only one in a row 6 times. Still obviously a single data point.

 

[JonathanXIV]

This will not be a popular post. If UConn is playing it's best ball of the season and still struggling to get started against weak teams, they won't make it to even the Elite Eight. However, if four of the five starters play at their best offensively, then that would the be the improvement needed to make it far in the NCAAT. There have been too many open looks that the AAC teams have been missing. I doubt if that happens with the better teams. But, if UConn plays defense like it has, combined with the offense they have displayed recently, maybe they will surprise me. I hope so.

They will surprise you. Especially with you setting the bar so low.

 

[FanHam]

They're like one of those luxury cars from the 1950s and 1960s with V8 engines that had to be warmed up for a few minutes before you could wind them out.

I've been watching Geno do this for 25 years (I became a fan in 1995). They have a slow start, he calls a timeout, offers some opinions, and they come out smokin'. I'm beginning to think there's a cause and effect situation going on there.

Christyn went into Beast Mode last night. Wonderful to see. She can be a difference maker.

Olivia was superb, derivative of Bill Russell, erasing drive attempts, deking, standing her ground, keeping the ball up high away from diminutive defenders, and continuing her superb outside shooting. One of the announcers likened her game to Kevin Durant's. In a few more years people may be likening Kevin Durant's game to hers.

Megan and Crystal expanded the legends they are creating. Crystal is a wonder on some of her three-quarter court alley oop passes.

Anna may be the gel in this new team identity. She kept things moving and had eight assists.

Evelyn is like a surprise gift being unwrapped. She blocks out, hustles and has some surprising moves on offense.

I say the sky's the limit for this team.

 

[UConn2SF]

Megan shot 47% inside the arc in her first 22 games this season. Over the last 10, that number up to an incredible 59%. Her three point shooting has been Lou-esque all season but it's nice to be able to fall back on easy two point buckets if you're long ball isnt falling. I believe this development, likely spurred on by improved ball and player movement, is crucial for this team as they prepare for the tournament.
Also, I think it is massively important that Christyn can go into an 11 day break coming off of one of her best all-around and most efficient games of the season. I certainly thought it'd be very beneficial for her to have an excellent game to seize and build onto and not a less than stellar game to sit and stew over for a what could've been an excruciating long and frustrating 11 day break. I think she feels good about her game right now.

 

[meyers7]

four of the five were seniors in the last game of their college careers

I think they are gonna go NIT dancing. So hopefully a few more games.

 

[UConn2SF]

That's one big snow angel!!

Check out the wings(span) on that angel