Creighton Postgame Thread

[Woof 101]

Decent game, I know many complain about the competition but some should give them credit. Most teams as Creighton did tonight bring a very good game vs UConn. A 32 point win that would have been 50 or more a few years back. The game all around is progressing.
I enjoyed seeing Nika hell bent in the first and taking advantage of the offer Geno has provided with her starting on the point. Sad it is at the expense of Anna's injury but that is the game.
There are times when Evina simply does not look comfortable at all and then a flash of this is what we need. A question mark for myself at this time.
Not fun to see 11 turnovers to diminish the 12 steals but a learning experience all the way around. This while getting the W that clinches The Big East Title.

She missed several shots, that's not supposed to happen.

No attack but another that never wants to give the defense credit. The word is out, she will be the most guarded for the rest of at least this season. Other teams watch film, they know who to guard. Any surprise this has opened up CW's inside game?

I guess these games are used to have players work on some things but theses laughers game after game are no way to get ready for the late rounds of the tourney. Other top seeds will end their seasons playing games where the outcome is in doubt going into the 4th quarter. UConn won’t unless they just don’t show up. Plus it’s a lot more fun to watch a good basketball game.

Gotta love the constant complaints about lack of competition like that is what the team, staff or anybody else desires. No attack but everyone's remote has the button to push to watch another basketball game they see more competitive. It's simple, change the channel and have more fun.

Paige (and the team in general) relies too much on the 3. Live by the 3, die by the 3...

Again NO attack but I somehow have to believe with, Geno, CD, Shea, and Jamelle. At least one of them would have brought this up as a problem. Just my take.

- So Nika was hot as a bonfire in the 1st quarter ...and she didn't even get a shot in the 2nd? I thought
one of the principles of BB is you feed the hot shooter.

It is also a principle of the opposing coach with an extended time out to explain, shut her down! And they did but it left others open. Totally did her part and finished as the high scorer with 19.

 

[Littlemin]

The bar is high though, isn't it? She shot the three poorly at 1-5. Subtract the threes and she was 4-7. Lots of kids would love to shoot that poorly. However, I'm sure she wasn't happy with it.

Of course it’s high, it is for all great players. But you can’t just subtract the fact that she shot 1-5 tonight from 3 and say she had a good shooting night, the fact is she didn’t. Instead of recognizing how impactful a player she is even when she shoots poorly and turns the ball over, people act like it is a personal affront.

 

[Cecil9]

Paige is my new Larry Bird. Sometimes us old folks worry that we'll never have another favorite player. Larry's my age. First saw him play in the NCAA tournament against DePaul and Arkansas, both cinderella upsets for Indiana State. Everybody on that team knew their role and they even came up big in the clutch. He helped give them the confidence to play at the highest level.
Paige is the maestro on the floor. She has the baton. She's not the oboe player in the 4th row of instruments. She's figuring out what she needs to do for the team to play its best. It's a lot of responsibility. The floor opens up for the team because 1) no one can stop her 2) she sees the floor even before things happen and 3) everyone knows to move and look and they'll get the ball for a layup.
I always wondered how Larry knew when to shoot and when to pass. It's got to be innate. Paige is still perfecting that. I think when the competition stiffens, it will be more obvious to her. I want her to get 30 points and a triple double every game. Can't help but be a tad disappointed. (excited for Nika though) Got to enjoy the process. It's gunna be a fun ride I think.

After watching her play, and after Geno's post-game statements that Paige is such a consummate team player, my impression is that she

Paige is my new Larry Bird. Sometimes us old folks worry that we'll never have another favorite player. Larry's my age. First saw him play in the NCAA tournament against DePaul and Arkansas, both cinderella upsets for Indiana State. Everybody on that team knew their role and they even came up big in the clutch. He helped give them the confidence to play at the highest level.
Paige is the maestro on the floor. She has the baton. She's not the oboe player in the 4th row of instruments. She's figuring out what she needs to do for the team to play its best. It's a lot of responsibility. The floor opens up for the team because 1) no one can stop her 2) she sees the floor even before things happen and 3) everyone knows to move and look and they'll get the ball for a layup.
I always wondered how Larry knew when to shoot and when to pass. It's got to be innate. Paige is still perfecting that. I think when the competition stiffens, it will be more obvious to her. I want her to get 30 points and a triple double every game. Can't help but be a tad disappointed. (excited for Nika though) Got to enjoy the process. It's gunna be a fun ride I think.

Maybe she realized this would be a relatively easy win, and decided to put her offense in a lower gear so as to share the glory, so to speak. After watching Geno's post-game interview describing Paige as more interested in assists than her own scoring, there is a possibility that she is growing uncomfortable with all the fawning-media attention and wishes to shift the focus a bit----and Creighton provided such an opportunity. In case that sounds like the excuse of all excuses known to mankind, consider the shots she passed up, and Geno's comment at halftime that in regard to shooting the ball, it looked as though she had gone on strike.
She didn't need to shoot much this time, but I'm betting on a different story going into tournament play.

 

[Happydad745]

Looking at the time spread for players, I will venture to say Geno is looking ahead to the big tournament. I hope Anna makes it back in time for work on her game.

 

[Calbysdad]

I love watching Aubrey on defense. She has an extremely intimidating stance and literally envelopes opposing players with her long arms and legs.

I have never seen a player defend with such a wide base yet be so laterally quick. @CocoHusky with you been the defensive guru, have you noticed this? Seen it before?

 

[Jingo]

Same in Mass.

Silly to wear masks during bb games, eh?

 

[Blue Huskie]

Of course it’s high, it is for all great players. But you can’t just subtract the fact that she shot 1-5 tonight from 3 and say she had a good shooting night, the fact is she didn’t. Instead of recognizing how impactful a player she is even when she shoots poorly and turns the ball over, people act like it is a personal affront.

Sure you can. She just didn't shoot that poorly. Just from three. It's not a personal affront it's just incorrect to say that overall she shot poorly. She didn't shoot great but not poorly either.

 

[Gurleyman]

Sure you can. She just didn't shoot that poorly. Just from three. It's not a personal affront it's just incorrect to say that overall she shot poorly. She didn't shoot great but not poorly either.

A 42 percent shooting game is basically just an average game for a typical guard.

But it is true her jumper has been off the last two games. She had 3 layups and a 3-pointer after the ankle injury against X. Today she had two layups (one from Nika, one off her own steal), a 3 and two mid ranges. So her jump shot has resulted in something like 4-16 (2-10 from 3, 2-6 from midrange).

Paige has perhaps tended to lose focus on her shot when the game gets out of hand. She was 3-3 against Xavier early, we led by 30, and she finished 4-11. Today she started 5-8, but missed her last four with a lead of 25 or so. When she had huge shooting games against Saint Johns and Marquette through 3 quarters, she was quiet in the fourth. We saw how she shot against SC and Arkansas late - and even Seton Hall when she was 4-5 in the fourth when we led by only 6 after 3. So it isn’t a question of tiring. Just maybe she stays locked in when it matters and drifts when it doesn’t - or at least that’s what we hope. We don’t want her to try to flip a switch in the tourney after coasting, and then not have the light go on. So it’s maybe something for her to concentrate on these next 5 games through the BET - stay locked in no matter what.

 

[cbraarj]

UConn's defense would sometimes hold Creighton until the clock ran down and then allowed a lay up with less than three seconds on the clock. That had to be frustrating to the coaches. However, the team played well for the most part and any criticism of Paige or Muhl is unfair.

Weak side defense wasn't there to much today. Also when an outside shot is taken Liv stands at the foul line watching it instead of crashing the offensive board.

 

[Boreifs]

The evidence of the last 20 years would say different. The women's side of the BE had just blossomed when football ended it all. UConn waltzed through the BE back then just like now (Notre dame being an exception).

Louisville was also in the Big East, as was Rutgers.

 

[Littlemin]

Sure you can. She just didn't shoot that poorly. Just from three. It's not a personal affront it's just incorrect to say that overall she shot poorly. She didn't shoot great but not poorly either.

Thanks for proving my point. Ok, she shot poorly from three but it wasn’t her fault.

 

[jaundicedeye]

I’m actually happy about her relatively poorer shooting. She had been shooting at an unsustainable level. I wanted her to drop off some and then get hot in the postseason. So far, my plan is working.

Good plan, now for the execution in March!

 

[jazz]

My two cents

I didn’t think we played consistently well on defense. Too much penetration throughout. Luckily it is rare that we play against a team that moves as much or as well as Creighton.

PB – weird to say that she didn’t have her best game when she almost had a double double to go with several steals and knocked down passes. But against top level teams, we will need more point production. Still had a very good game though, just not so much against expectations.

CW – played well. Shot well. Hit some 3s where it was based on timing and she couldn’t wait. I think she is better this way. Seems to be shooting well over the last few games. That is really huge.

NM – As much as I like NM, I didn’t see this coming. But essentially she hit most of her wide open shots AND added a mid-range where she created some space for herself. It would be really great if she and CW could hit a couple 3s every game and shoot at roughly 40% doing it. Keep in mind most of these 3s are where they are both wide open.

Still can’t seem to make contested layups otherwise she has over 20 points. She got away with the swipe attack today but I don’t think it works very well against top level guards and then leaves her vulnerable for the drive. I wish she just wouldn’t do it. She is just an all-day pest for the opposition.

EW – She hasn’t shot that well for quite some time now. Shot is off right and flat. I wonder if she needs a week off to get back to form.

Liv – did what she had to do and nice game. My issue with her is that even when she has the open outside shot and with a smaller player on her, she still tends to fade a bit which makes her shot come up short. This is something she finds hard not to do.

AE – solid game again. Not sure why she didn’t get more minutes. She needs to play and get used to playing over 20 minutes a game… She had a few too many turnovers.

AG – again didn’t play that much. But she still makes an impact immediately as usual.

 

[darkstar1]

Bueckers had a very good game, but shot poorly and had some turnovers, the excuse making here for her is ridiculous. She is an outstanding player and doesn’t need multiple excuses and rationalizations every time she proves she is human.

Wow, I did not know that I was making any excuses for PB. Her game was as you said AND she was phenomenal passing. My comment was more directed to the players that bobbled or weren’t expecting passes, to be ready at all times. Since your defensive comment seems to be directed at the BY in general, I will not take it personally.

 

[Wbbfan1]

I was disappointed Team could not stop Carda from getting to the Rim for most of her 24 points. Carda did make to three point shots. The team did manage to keep her off the Free Throw Line. It didn't matter who guarded Carda, she was able to get to the rim constantly. They'll play better guards in the tournament and this needs to be corrected. Low Post Defense needs to get better.

 

[meyers7]

Silly to wear masks during bb games, eh?

It is what it is, this year. Kids can handle it.

 

[meyers7]

Not fun to see 11 turnovers to diminish the 12 steals but a learning experience all the way around.

Actually considering we average 14.7 a game, it was fun to see only 11.

 

[BBallF]

My two cents

I didn’t think we played consistently well on defense. Too much penetration throughout. Luckily it is rare that we play against a team that moves as much or as well as Creighton.

PB – weird to say that she didn’t have her best game when she almost had a double double to go with several steals and knocked down passes. But against top level teams, we will need more point production. Still had a very good game though, just not so much against expectations.

CW – played well. Shot well. Hit some 3s where it was based on timing and she couldn’t wait. I think she is better this way. Seems to be shooting well over the last few games. That is really huge.

NM – As much as I like NM, I didn’t see this coming. But essentially she hit most of her wide open shots AND added a mid-range where she created some space for herself. It would be really great if she and CW could hit a couple 3s every game and shoot at roughly 40% doing it. Keep in mind most of these 3s are where they are both wide open.

Still can’t seem to make contested layups otherwise she has over 20 points. She got away with the swipe attack today but I don’t think it works very well against top level guards and then leaves her vulnerable for the drive. I wish she just wouldn’t do it. She is just an all-day pest for the opposition.

EW – She hasn’t shot that well for quite some time now. Shot is off right and flat. I wonder if she needs a week off to get back to form.

Liv – did what she had to do and nice game. My issue with her is that even when she has the open outside shot and with a smaller player on her, she still tends to fade a bit which makes her shot come up short. This is something she finds hard not to do.

AE – solid game again. Not sure why she didn’t get more minutes. She needs to play and get used to playing over 20 minutes a game… She had a few too many turnovers.

AG – again didn’t play that much. But she still makes an impact immediately as usual.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have never seen a player defend with such a wide base yet be so laterally quick. @CocoHusky with you been the defensive guru, have you noticed this? Seen it before?

Aubrey was especially active on defense in this game. As far as having seen it before from a UCONN player Kalana Greene was exceptional and Kelly Faris was world class good at it.

 

[oldude]

I have never seen a player defend with such a wide base yet be so laterally quick. @CocoHusky with you been the defensive guru, have you noticed this? Seen it before?

That wide defensive stance is something you see more frequently in the NBA, so I’m guessing that it is something Aubrey picked up from current NBA coach, former NBA player and lifelong dad, Adrian Griffin. As you point out, Aubrey’s lateral quickness makes it all work.

 

[BBallF]

I agree as to Evina especially. She shoots her 3 slightly off the right side of her body ordinarily and that is her miss but lately it has been more pronounced. I think the problem is with her footwork. She is not squared up to the basket when she receives the ball and has an open 3. In other words she doesn't "hop" into position to shoot before she receives it because she doesn't want to shoot it lately and is oftentimes out of squared up position.

As to defense, we shut everybody else down but Carda had a memorable night against the best team in the country. Many of her shots came at the end of the shot clock but I agree with you that the lock down defense wasn't there on her. I thought Evina would be that type of defender but she does not have the side to side movement right now because of her knee. I think she will be a different player next year wherever she is because the knee will be further strengthened. We need her to be a 40% three point shooter for the NCAAs.

The team shoots 35% from the arc but if you take Paige out of the equation, we drop down to 30%. The simple solution is for Paige to be shooting the majority or plurality of the 3s if possible in the tourney.

ONO actually has very good free throw form and has a good 15 foot shot. It is when she goes out farther that the shots seem to be less likely to go in. She also has to be on the low block more and I mean the low block. If you watch her, she will be about 2 feet in front of it, not in ideal position.

Finally, that little pull up J by Nika was "we didn't know you had that shot but we really like it". I loved her comment when interviewed after and asked about her steals. She said that she did have 5 steals but putting that aside the team did not play good defense so she obviously has a bigger picture in mind which I thought was great. All about the team. People talk about Paige and AE when they are seniors. Imagine Nika 4 years from now as well. And Kara Wolters is right, there are a lot of similarities in Nika with the grit and fire of a point guard on the 1995 team whose initials are JR.

 

[my2cents]

Did Clark Kent , jump in the phonebooth, tear off his suit ( His clothing costs had to be outrageous) and fly to a traffic stop? NO he only came to the rescue for something serious.
Paige Bueckers has no interest in scoring points UNTIL or unless they are needed. A great game for her against these outmatched foes, is to get assists. Her shooting, in her mind, is not needed. She wants to get other players more involved.
Opposition teams slack off Muhl and Liv , leaving them wide open. When they make those shots , as did Nika yesterday, it does open the floor for the TEAM.
Geno's only concern moving forward is that when Nika and Liv STOP making those shots, he doesn't Paige to stay in that passive mindset.
Superwoman may need to reappear!

 

[topogigio]

I hope everyone noticed that Anna was not in a boot at today's game... Geno says he doesn't know when she'll be able to play but progress must be taking place if she's out of the boot.

Yes, one of the first things I was looking for. Still can't figure our why all the hush-hush about the injury, and timetable for return. I'm also miffed that Geno does not give Autumn a minute or two at the end of the game. Is it just me??

 

[donalddoowop]

When Paige scored 30 points or more for three games, some were saying she needed other players to step up and help. So, now that she has not scored as many points as she had been and her teammates have been contributing, some are saying she must have hit the freshman wall and needs to start scoring like she had been. UConn won by 31 points and Paige scored 13. Her scoring is not always needed to be in the twenties. What does it take to satisfy some of you? When Paige scores a lot, some say her teammates need to help more. When her teammates score a lot, some say Paige needs to regain her shooting touch. One poster said UConn will be playing against guards better than Carda. They have already played against guards just as good or better than Carda and yet they have lost only one game. She did not score much in the first game they played. It is not unusual for a player who has not scored well in previous games, to go off on UConn, especially three point shooters. Usually after a player scores a lot against UConn, they don't score as much the next time they play. Yes, many UConn fans are truly spoiled.

 

[ABCDFE]

I’m a bit more positive than some on the game. I thought for most of the game the defense was stellar and we made them use the entire shot clock a lot. Aubrey when guarding Carda shut her down. It was more of when Paige was on her or Nika some defensive breakdowns occurred but to be fair I think the team was working so hard the entire game against another team that moves so much that I’m ok with it because conditioning still looked great

• Paige - I’m not worried about Paige one bit. Yes her shot has been a little off ever since she tweaked the ankle but the other areas she’s contributing tells me her shot will come around Plus we’re seeing lots of confidence in the team right now to pick up the scoring slack
• Liv - I though was effective and didn’t press offensively or defensively. There are times where you wonder why she doesn’t go down low or score near the basket more given the competition but I think she just doesn’t like that part of the game. She enjoys facilitating and shooting outside shots and receiving passes for layups. Her one on one post moves seem to thrown out of her arsenal right now
• CW - solid game. I loved the mean look she gave the ref when there was a late foul call. She’s mentally in the game now and it’s been a few games in a row where she’s letting the game come to her and not pressing. Happy for her and where she’s at
• Nika - amazing q1 and even though her shot is a little higher arc than I’d like but it does look nice when it rips the net when she doesn’t rush her form. Hope she can keep it up. Like many have said if she can be a threat to just shoot it will be so huge for us in the tournament. She cradles the ball a bit when she drives hard and when she has to extend to make a layup it takes too much time and thus some missed layups
• Evina - I think when she plays the midrange game and the short floater near the basket that’s when she’s at her best. I was glad to see one three go in the hoop but her shot does seem to be drifting to the right. I hope in the next few games she will continue to shoot during games because we need her to have the confidence to do so in the tournament and right the ship. As always solid game for her.
• AG - thought had a great defensive game and although scoring wise was not needed she does seem to be less hesitant. One bad air ball though. Maybe we need her to envision Geno wearing #33 every time she shoots
• AE - solid. She does what she does
• Mir - doesn’t look great out there. Saw at least one blown defensive assignment and offensively is out of control; loves going up against multiple defenders
• Saylor - she looks better in terms of knowing where to be on the court and she didn’t have that shoot first mentality. Perhaps Simeon has asked her to reign in her shots per minute pace.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

[cohenzone]

If Paige is hitting the freshman wall, I want to hit the same wall. She is constantly looking for someone wide open, often in the lane. The team has scored over 80 the last few games. She fills a stat sheet. If this were a team that needed her to score 25-30 a game, which she could do, we’d be a good but not great team. One thing about her shot. It is almost always dead on line. She misses short or long but rarely off to a side. And I suspect her ankle isn’t 100%.

And Edwards hmm. I’m trying to remember if Tuck or Collier were as good as freshman. Consistent as heck.

Muhl has started to make her not necessarily always scoring.

Even Mir on a different team would be fine. She’s very active and doesn’t disappear when she’s on the floor.

Great class.

 

[browns]

Aubrey was especially active on defense in this game. As far as having seen it before from a UCONN player Kalana Greene was exceptional and Kelly Faris was world class good at it.

Ashley Battle was probably the best ever

 

[RedStickHusky]

They look pretty much on track to me. Geno seems to be getting them used to the idea that they can push a different button every night. Let's dial up a game from Christyn one night, Nika or Liv the next. Not sure that Evina has too many 20 point games in her, but she's still glue with her handle, passing and rebounding. Teams that force us to play the arc have been able to get in the lane but Liv and Aaliyah are both doing much better at not giving up stupid fouls. I think we're locked into a 7-deep for meaningful minutes. Stay sharp and healthy for the next couple of weeks and they'll have better than a punchers chance. Five or six teams maybe with a shot at the NC but we won't have to play more than two of them.

 

[Gurleyman]

Paige really only guarded Carda in the fourth - Geno put her in and had her face guard her, chasing her all over the court. It was sort of an odd move - we’ll likely not ask her to do that and waste so much energy in a close game. There was some Geno message being sent there, or else maybe he was seeing how she’d respond in that role if we did have to try it someday. In that stretch, Carda got a couple paint jumpers on her at the end of the shot clock, and Paige had a couple steals denying the ball, so maybe a wash, but I didn’t see anything that led me to believe she could be Kelly Faris. A few times she was a step slow reacting to cuts and wasn’t able to make the pass difficult.

 

[Carnac]

This team has a lot of answers and they play as a team. Big things are coming this year.

They can go as far as they want to if they play for each other, and play as a team. EVERY UConn player has to BE IN AND STAY IN THE MOMENT. Understand where you are (offense or defense) and be ready to make a play at any given moment. UConn committed 8 personal fouls yesterday sending Creighton to the line 3 times. That was outstanding!! You're going to be very hard to beat if you only send your opponent to the line 3 times. The 11 turnovers is acceptable given the pace of the game, although I'd like to see our TO's kept to single digits. Creighton for example had 17.

You're also going to be able to keep your best players on the court without foul trouble. THAT is of paramount importance. We are not the same team with ONO on the bench. Edwards is good, but she's NOT ONO. Piath is nowhere near ready (maybe this time next year) to step in to play meaningful minutes in a NCAA tournament game yet.

You know the road to the final four will not be easy. They are going to see some very "stiff" competition along the way. Their first game against a 16 seed should not present much of a problem. In Charlie Creme's proposed bracket, UConn plays the winner of Iowa State (15-9)/Virginia Tech (13-7) in game number 2. Both teams with winning records from a P-5 conference. Arkansas is 18-7 from a P-5 conference.