Creighton Postgame Thread

[HuskyNan]

There are too many positive posts.

 

[Plebe]

Is Creighton a very good team? How did they get smoked by UCLA by 29 pts?

Kansas State also completely demolished Creighton. Having a dominant large post player was a major factor and is something we quite notoriously lack. UCLA just seemed far more athletic and skilled at every position, and that was without Betts on the court.

For what it’s worth, Creighton is pulling votes at 27th in both the AP & Coaches polls. As for losing at UCLA by 29, you will recall that SC lost at UCLA by 15.

Creighton and UCLA played on a neutral court, and Betts did not play that game.

 

[Plebe]

So, what solution do you propose?

Pray for a miraculous growth spurt?

 

[Dogstar]

I love KK to death for her defense but the drives into the lane are killing me. It just isn’t productive.

Totally disagree....she's gotten a lot better at driving and finishing this year and and her drives moves and collapses the defense plus draws fouls......she had 0 turnovers along with her velcro defense. Out of curiosity wht would you have her do?

 

[Stagnant]

Azzi having games where she doesn’t shoot well and doesn’t score well is a bit concerning to me. She doesn’t get the easy buckets that Sarah and Paige get.

 

[The deacon]

Is Creighton a very good team? How did they get smoked by UCLA by 29 pts?

UCLA is better than very good...

 

[and one]

The hot shooting of the last couple of games was bound to cool off at some point and today was that point. Sarah and Paige kept up.the pace, the rest of the crew not so much. The sound of the ball hitting those rims was like the sound of a dentists drill, which is to say unpleasant. They were tight rims. If a shot wasn't a swish it was probably a miss.

I know the rotation tightened but no minutes for Aubrey? Was there a reason for that I wasn't aware of?

 

[WLT1717]

• Sarah great. Paige finally woke up. And KK continues to play well. Just need a few more shots to drop. Some good mins from Ice.
• I said it was hard to evaluate the Villanova game bc the Cats aren’t very good. Creighton is a better team, but still not a top 15 team. This won’t cut it against SC.
• As much as I love Azzi, she has these games where she disappears. [which oddly, fans seem to forget about]

Interestingly, Sarah has quietly delivered on her top recruit rep whereas Azzi is nominally relevant. Would not have imagined that having watched her in HS

 

[ERWUC65]

The hot shooting of the last couple of games was bound to cool off at some point and today was that point. Sarah and Paige kept up.the pace, the rest of the crew not so much. The sound of the ball hitting those rims was like the sound of a dentists drill, which is to say unpleasant. They were tight rims. If a shot wasn't a swish it was probably a miss.

I know the rotation tightened but no minutes for Aubrey? Was there a reason for that I wasn't aware of?

She's just not ready. Not for a tough, highly contested game. Just look at Azzi, she's back a lot more than Aubrey and she's still not back to her old self. Apparently its a rough adjustment, both mentally and physically to come back like before. We all just need more patience.

 

[The deacon]

Massey’s prediction was that UConn had an 81% chance of beating Creighton. The score was predicted (by the computer model) to be 74-63

Yup, most of us underestimated Creighton.

 

[HuskyNan]

I just noticed the Creighton roster. They’re loaded with seniors and grad students. Their freshmen played a total 2 minutes (no sophomore on the team). UConn’s freshmen and sophomores played 104 minutes, more than half the team’s minutes. Several of the grad students have been at Creighton for 5 years and are using their Covid year. That’s a long time playing together

 

[Vowelguy]

Something is off, shots are short, low trajectory, she doesn't seem to have the speed to get clear to post up or drive to the basket when closely guarded. Whether it's mental or physical she is just not the old Azzi. .

When did Azzi gave a continuous run of really good games?

 

[The deacon]

“I thought Ice gave some solid minutes, I’ve noticed she helps Paige’s flow offensively. She looks for Paige and they work well on the handoff.” I agree, why does it seem that only Sarah, and sometimes Ice, set solid high screens for Paige?

Morgan does as well, but didn't get the chance in this game.

 

[Vowelguy]

If UConn had shot at their normal percentage, especially from distance, tonight's game could easily have had about a 30-point MOV.

Perhaps the opponent had something to do with the shooting percentage?

Folks see UConn shoot well against the big east dregs and seem to think that’s automatically going to carry over to better opponents.

 

[Stagnant]

I didn’t realize Creighton was down a starter today.

 

[HuskyNan]

When did Azzi gave a continuous run of really good games?

Sophomore year

 

[The deacon]

 

[BobbyJ]

“I thought Ice gave some solid minutes, I’ve noticed she helps Paige’s flow offensively. She looks for Paige and they work well on the handoff.” I agree, why does it seem that only Sarah, and sometimes Ice, set solid high screens for Paige?

Because it’s the specific job of the position they are playing to set that high screen within the offensive set they are running. Those screens and picks are not randomly done, they are designed as part of a sequence of movements.

 

[Ralph]

Pretty obvious why Jana had limited time. Not a bad game for Ash, she did lots of little things. When Morgan freezes on her brief shot opportunities, she diminishes her utility, Brady also Chen did lots of good things but disappointing that her shot has left her

Key play, or non play for Jana was on a Creighton missed free throw. Jana on the right side

Jana was banished to the bench due to her failed solo efforts to drive to the basket. She was out of position with no teammate in sight.

she also had a very bad play on a missed Creighton free throw. The player to her left was not boxed out at all, went around Jana and got the offensive rebound. For many of our players it seems like they have never been taught to box out, but somehow I think they have been taught to do it, they just don't. Maybe the plays are drawn up with so many far away from the basket they can't rebound. I don't know.

 

[Centerstream]

Interestingly, Sarah has quietly delivered on her top recruit rep whereas Azzi is nominally relevant. Would not have imagined that having watched her in HS

Probably has nothing to do with her injuries (I know, she was injured in HS too, but college bb is waaaaay more challenging than HS, especially playing for UConn)...

 

[The deacon]

Sophomore year

View attachment 106523

That early-season run in 22-23 was very impressive, Nan, and got all of us super excited about the years to follow.

Yet beyond that stretch, and I think more to the point, Azzi has had very little success in NCAA tournament games against the better teams, and that's what's most concerning to me. Will we be able to expect standout play from Azzi come the Sweet Sixteen and following games this season?

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[HuskyNan]

That early-season run in 22-23 was very impressive, Nan, and got all of us super excited about the years to follow.

Yet beyond that stretch, and I think more to the point, Azzi has had very little success in NCAA tournament games against the better teams, and that's what's most concerning to me. Will we be able to expect standout play from Azzi come the Sweet Sixteen and following games this season?

In her freshman year, Azzi was sick for the championship game. During the best game of the tourney, vs NC State, she put up 19 points. In her sophomore year, she came back from an injury during the Big East tournament but still put up double figure scoring vs Baylor and Ohio State. She DNP last year.

Final Four report: UConn's Azzi Fudd limited vs. South Carolina with illness

South Carolina brought its top-ranked season to a victorious end, but an injury-plagued season only got worse for UConn during Sunday's final.

www.startribune.com

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

Need more plays or picks designed to give Azzi space to shoot

Azzi just needs to play with more motivation, respectfully. Azzi has to remember that she was the best high school player coming out of high school. I'm craving for Azzi to just take over a game. Hopefully it can be against South Carolina or Tennessee.

 

[jdote33]

It's hard to assess this team. I'm happy that they won, and it's easy to assess Sarah. She's amazing. But overall, I'm not sure if this is a step in the right direction. I did like the defense. Paige on Lauren Jansen was super impressive at times. Sarah's blocks were equally as impressive. KC had some really good deflections. KK also was a pest. But offensively I'm disappointed that no one was really in a rthym. I feel like they should look into the post more. I think they look too much to get the ball to Paige. I'm actually not that concerned about Azzi.