Creighton Postgame Thread

[ABCDFE]

This is what I thought I was seeing as well. If we’re right, it merely means she was rushing her shot. Give her a few more challenging games and she’ll work through this.

Bone dog I’m a huge Azzi fan. When she is right physically and mentally she is one of the most beautiful basketball players we’ve ever had. Unfortunately we’ve only seen it for maybe half a dozen games against the best competition.

After seeing Sarah play up to this point I can say that she can be counted on (along with Paige) in the big games. Unless Azzi gets back to that stretch her sophomore year, it will be hard for us to win it all this year. Shade as good as she is skill wise doesn’t have the dog mentality and will be good one game and average the next. We HAVE to get consistent offense from the big 3. They must average about 60 points for us. Azzi is our only hope to reach the mountain top. It’s a lot of pressure on her but I believe she can get there too. I just wish we could see more urgency.

 

[BBallF]

One thing I noticed is that Azzi is not getting as open as she did before she was injured when she is trying to create off the dribble for her pull up. Yet, her side to side defense is better which seems contradictory and I think as good as there is in the country. She was off last night no doubt but she kept on shooting which is good sign. I think it's coming. One good 20-24 point game should help the mind and the body. In my mind, Tennessee will be a good test for her because of their defense. If she has a strong game it will be a good sign.

 

[Bone Dog]

Bone dog I’m a huge Azzi fan. When she is right physically and mentally she is one of the most beautiful basketball players we’ve ever had. Unfortunately we’ve only seen it for maybe half a dozen games against the best competition.

After seeing Sarah play up to this point I can say that she can be counted on (along with Paige) in the big games. Unless Azzi gets back to that stretch her sophomore year, it will be hard for us to win it all this year. Shade as good as she is skill wise doesn’t have the dog mentality and will be good one game and average the next. We HAVE to get consistent offense from the big 3. They must average about 60 points for us. Azzi is our only hope to reach the mountain top. It’s a lot of pressure on her but I believe she can get there too. I just wish we could see more urgency.

I agree, mostly.

About Ash, I think you’re mostly right. She can get rushed, and didn’t solve the problem last season that led to her fade out in the tournament. This is her challenge, to play tougher than whoever is guarding her, and not allow herself to get rushed.

As for the Big Three averaging 60, I don’t think that’s necessary, and may even be a bit contradictory. We want more scorers precisely because we don’t want to be overly dependent on a few players. This means other players must step up, like Ash and Kaitlyn and KK, but also Morgan who has yet to really make an offensive mark. A statement game from Morgan before the tournament would be huge for this team.

 

[huskiemaniac]

I don’t understand Aubrey not getting minutes. We need her physicality, defense, length. She’s a game changer if she can get back to the level she was playing. I wonder if she sat because she was injured there last season?

 

[freshler40]

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.

When things aren't going well the team seems to look to Paige more. Paige can get her own offense and really doesn't need to be feed. The player with the ball needs to see the court better including the bigs down low. Ice holds the ball too long.

Sarah just plays her game, she is very involved in all aspects, not just looking to shoot. She plays the complete game, just amazing for a true freshman. When Sarah went to the bench in the second half, our lead quickly shrunk. Our offensive rebounding, when not shooting well, needs to be reexamined. We need to crash the boards more when settling for three pointers. CRE did a much better job on the offensive boards as the game wore on.

I do love our defensive and switching. It is first rate and keep us ahead during, what was mostly, a poor shooting game. This game was a clear example of defense creating offense. We continue to have long stretches of poor half-court offense except for the Paige jumpers. It did seem like we get into the paint a lot in the first half and, when not converting went to the foul line. This was an important change going forward.

 

[UConnCat]

• 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]

As a longtime UConn fan, it feels odd to be questioning what's going on mentally with the 2 experienced, former #1 recruits.

The assumption on the broadcast last night was that Geno lit into Paige at halftime. True or not, the more important question is why is that even a point of discussion? Why are we talking about Paige waking up at halftime in any game, let alone a big conference game on the road? I don't think Creighton changed its defensive strategy at halftime. Aggressive Paige creates opportunities for others.

KK has been really good. Her decision-making is not perfect, but she always tries to make things happen.

Azzi is an enigma. It seems when things don't go well early on she checks out (i.e., not my night).

When you play on the road in front of a big crowd you want to rely on your experienced players to set the tone from the opening tip and allow the younger players to relax and play their game. Last night it was the freshman who set the tone for the team. That's a problem. A repeat of last night and Feb 6 could get ugly.

 

[BRS24]

The experience of the Creighton team resulted in limited minutes for Jana and Morgan. As HuskyNan and others have mentioned, they have played a lot of games together, so our defense needed to be really tight. Aubrey not playing may also have been a result of what was defensively needed and where she is from a fitness and BB IQ perspective. It takes a bit of time to reacclimatize to live game action, and play instinctively with the group on the floor.

Azzi had an off night and I was, ahem, screaming at the tv, however whatever she and Ash were doing was good enough for them not to be subbed, regardless of points scored.

The offensive rebounding issue could be attributed to those doinky rims. Even the missed layups looked really weird. That was gosh awful to hear on tv.

It will be interesting to see if the pattern is to use the current starting line up to set the tone, and then ramp up the intensity on defense with inserting KK to do more full court pressing, especially against opponents' subs. There also might be too many options for Geno right now, and he has to wade through them to see what is going to work. Psychologically, he went from just having enough players over the last few years, to having a plethora, and it's like a kid in a candy store. Perhaps he's using a bunch of combos because he can, however, I'd like to think that he's using a whole lot of lineups to keep future opponents guessing, as a core starting 5 with 2, maybe 3 subs is a bit predictable.

An interesting observation on original vs current (3rd) starting lineups - with the original of Brady/Bueckers/Chen/Shade/Strong, we averaged 78 ppg, oppg 58, and avg differential of 19.9, in 9 games (excluding the Ft Hays and BU). With the current lineup, in 7 games, we averaged 81 ppg, oppg of 48.1, with a avg differential of 32.7. Interesting.

 

[CL82]

Just using an oft-quoted football analogy that has taken hold in basketball jargon.

Oh, I got it, I just hate it, especially when commentators use it. It makes no sense. Now, if you want to say that an intercepted pass and a basket was a pick two, I guess you could, but that sounds like you're buying off the discount menu at Chili's or something.

 

[oldude]

Is it me or is Azzi not squaring up all the way on her midrange shot? She's almost there and it looks as if she's trying to curve the ball in because she's not square. It's putting a spin on the ball.

Azzi’s midrange shot has always been a little flatter than someone like Paige. As a result, she has a smaller margin for error. Tired legs often force an even quicker and flatter shot. I’m hoping that the more Azzi plays the more comfortable she’ll get from both the midrange and out to the arc.

 

[BobbyJ]

As a longtime UConn fan, it feels odd to be questioning what's going on mentally with the 2 experienced, former #1 recruits.

The assumption on the broadcast last night was that Geno lit into Paige at halftime. True or not, the more important question is why is that even a point of discussion? Why are we talking about Paige waking up at halftime in any game, let alone a big conference game on the road? I don't think Creighton changed its defensive strategy at halftime. Aggressive Paige creates opportunities for others.

KK has been really good. Her decision-making is not perfect, but she always tries to make things happen.

Azzi is an enigma. It seems when things don't go well early on she checks out (i.e., not my night).

When you play on the road in front of a big crowd you want to rely on your experienced players to set the tone from the opening tip and allow the younger players to relax and play their game. Last night it was the freshman who set the tone for the team. That's a problem. A repeat of last night and Feb 6 could get ugly.

1) Exactly. With her amount of experience, nothing should have to be said to Bueckers. When she hadn't scored 5 minutes into the game, an alarm should've been going off for her. After 2-3 years of this, how can she not get it through her head?
2) This was my reservation about Fudd during her freshman year, she has no alpha in her game. The most offensively skilled kids don't wait for the game to come to them. Watkins, Hidalgo, Booker currently, even back to Maya Moore. They attack the game and want to do damage. Coaches can always back them off and make them adjust but the attack mentality has to be there. It's too bad because the skills were there to begin with.

 

[Longtime fan]

What!!?? Do you know how many #1 recruits are on the team? Do you know Geno has had top 5 recruiting classes for quite a while

I am aware that we have many top recruits. But we don't have some of the best players of recent days.While we are grateful to have payers like KK, and Ash, they are not Hidalgo, Miles , Malaysia Fulwiley or JJ Watkins, are they? And we have ICE and Jana but not Laura Betts, ida Crooks, etc. Sarah is the only "can't miss" super star we have attracted since Paige. Chelli and Alli are highly rated guards, but far from the best in their class. Just look at the playing time they got against a very average Creighton team, as we struggled to win with our "A" team 8 players.

 

[Longtime fan]

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

Creighton is not a very good team. They are solid, well coached, and have played together for along time. They were undefeated ( as was UCONN ) in the Big East (8-0) before yesterday's match-up. They will likely be ranked 8-10 in some section of the NCAA tournament. UCON will likely be a 2.

 

[Longtime fan]

We’ve been looking for a challenge in the Big East, we got one.
Creighton is a tough team, play great defense and are a very good shooters. They’re also very experienced.
Great win on the road against a well-coached team.

We can call it a challenge or we can call it something else. That UCONN is not as good as we thought ( hoped). Creighton is considered "decent" only within the context of the pathetic Big East. Seriously, Fort Hays State would beat most teams this conference.

 

[Bone Dog]

1) Exactly. With her amount of experience, nothing should have to be said to Bueckers. When she hadn't scored 5 minutes into the game, an alarm should've been going off for her. After 2-3 years of this, how can she not get it through her head?

Sorry to disagree on this point, but Paige took the shots she could. In the game I saw yesterday, every time Paige tried to dribble inside the arc in the first half she was immediately double teamed. There was no room for her to get off a shot, and the perimeter shots weren’t dropping for them enough to loosen up that defense.

It was a rather different story in the second half. They sank some 3s, and Creighton looked a bit fatigued from the defensive effort they’d already put out, and Paige took over the game. This is what she’s supposed to do — she took the good shots that were available, and when they weren’t she beat Creighton over the head with Sarah, as if she were a club. Paige understands each game a lot better than we do.

 

[Blueballer]

I don’t understand Aubrey not getting minutes. We need her physicality, defense, length. She’s a game changer if she can get back to the level she was playing. I wonder if she sat because she was injured there last season?

After her first 2 games back she could have been sore. Also with her history of back problems if she has so much as a twinge they may be inclined to sit her for a game. I wouldn't read too much into into her not playing.

 

[hookshot]

Bone dog I’m a huge Azzi fan. When she is right physically and mentally she is one of the most beautiful basketball players we’ve ever had. Unfortunately we’ve only seen it for maybe half a dozen games against the best competition.

After seeing Sarah play up to this point I can say that she can be counted on (along with Paige) in the big games. Unless Azzi gets back to that stretch her sophomore year, it will be hard for us to win it all this year. Shade as good as she is skill wise doesn’t have the dog mentality and will be good one game and average the next. We HAVE to get consistent offense from the big 3. They must average about 60 points for us. Azzi is our only hope to reach the mountain top. It’s a lot of pressure on her but I believe she can get there too. I just wish we could see more urgency.

Ash is in the working dog class, not the show dog class you may be looking for

 

[PacoSwede]

Azzi has already taken over a game against Tennessee,

so there is hope!

she can do it, but won't 'take over' again
(and again and again)
or at least act like she could (especially in high pressure games).

time is running out for her, but we can still hope she fixes her issues (whatever they may be) and comes through in the tourneys and in her career.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Azzi’s midrange shot has always been a little flatter than someone like Paige. As a result, she has a smaller margin for error. Tired legs often force an even quicker and flatter shot. I’m hoping that the more Azzi plays the more comfortable she’ll get from both the midrange and out to the arc.

Yea. I think she'll be fine. I just noticed because her shot has always been so consistent.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

The defensive improvement in the past month alone will win a lot of games so I wouldn't overreact in any way. I liked the offense too and imo it's progressing and shaping into the expected smaller rotation.

 

[HuskyNan]

I am aware that we have many top recruits. But we don't have some of the best players of recent days.While we are grateful to have payers like KK, and Ash, they are not Hidalgo, Miles , Malaysia Fulwiley or JJ Watkins, are they? And we have ICE and Jana but not Laura Betts, ida Crooks, etc. Sarah is the only "can't miss" super star we have attracted since Paige. Chelli and Alli are highly rated guards, but far from the best in their class. Just look at the playing time they got against a very average Creighton team, as we struggled to win with our "A" team 8 players.

Sometimes kids just flourish in a certain system or with a certain coach. Not all of the kids you listed were highly ranked - they worked hard to improve themselves and found a team that helped them thrive. That’s hard to predict

• Hidalgo was ranked #5 in the class of 2023 and Fuwiley was #13; KK was #6 and Ash was #15. JuJu Watkins was #1 but not all top rated kids want to go to an established program, preferring instead to blaze their own trail. Audi Crooks is a 6-2 center with a beefy build that was ranked #57 out of high school. The Boneyard would have imploded if she committed to UConn. None of the “big schools “ offered her (So Carolina, ND, LSU, Stanford, etc)
• Olivia Miles was #8 in the class of 2001; Azzi was #1 and Caroline #5.
• Geno recruited Lauren Betts but she wanted to play with her sister at UCLA

So, if the team is all that bad, why do you watch them?

 

[nutmegger]

IDK. It was one game. Azzi could have been slightly under the weather for all we know. As for Aubrey, after playing a couple of games she could have had soreness. Also she has a history of back issues as well. If she feels so much as a twinge anywhere at this stage they will probably keep her out for a game precautionary reasons.

I was at the game and during warmups she was walking around very stiffly as if something was wrong.

 

[BBallF]

There's a reason why in baseball your best hitters are not 8th or 9th in the lineup. You want then to get the most at bats. In basketball, your best shooters have to take the most shots. Especially from the arc. We were 4-20 from the 3. Who knows what the story was with those rims, but beyond KC being 0-6 from there, KK and KC took a combined 18 shots. Azzi needs to get open more and get more shots.

As for Paige, it is just inaccurate to state that she was being double teamed in the beginning of the game and that is why she didn't score a lot. In the first quarter, Paige wasn't double teamed once. She took 3 shots, one of which was an offensive foul for a push off. Chen took 5, KK took 2, the latter of which were forced "going nowhere" low percentage drive shots. Chen was looking to shoot and KK was looking to score. Paige was looking for her team to get the best shots.

Here is the difference. That long beautiful pass that Paige threw to Sarah on the break in the first quarter would not have been possible from KC or KK. Why? Paige looks up when she starts to dribble. Chen and KK just dribble. I don't understand why it hasn't been corrected. By dribbling, you are allowing the defense to set up. The problem is that neither KK nor KC are pure point guards ala Nika for example, most recent in memory. It's an attribute, not a criticism, and when your point guards are more often looking to shoot and score than set up your teammates, there is less ball to go around. Paige got the ball in position for a potential move exactly once in the first quarter, the first play of the game. The other two shots were by her bringing the ball up and letting go with a three, and the drive and pull up move with the push off.

The point is that there is no point guard in the historical sense, no one to set her up like she sets up Sarah. She is an All- American and former NPOY. Give her the ball all the time whether she wants it or not. We cannot win against a tough opponent without her scoring big every game. Honestly, I'm almost willing to jump on the Paige as PG bandwagon. Maybe if she brings it up she will get more shots. Every tough team we play is going to want KC and KK to take a lot of shots. Last night they took 18 combined or 26% off our 70 shots. With Paige, Sarah and Azzi and Ash added in there too, do you really want our two point guards taking more than 1 out of every 4 shots we take?

 

[packwrap]

I am aware that we have many top recruits. But we don't have some of the best players of recent days.While we are grateful to have payers like KK, and Ash, they are not Hidalgo, Miles , Malaysia Fulwiley or JJ Watkins, are they? And we have ICE and Jana but not Laura Betts, ida Crooks, etc. Sarah is the only "can't miss" super star we have attracted since Paige. Chelli and Alli are highly rated guards, but far from the best in their class. Just look at the playing time they got against a very average Creighton team, as we struggled to win with our "A" team 8 players.

Fortunately for women's basketball, the top 15 players don't only go to Tenn and UConn anymore. Sadly, they are still only spread out now in roughly 10 teams, so parity much better, but not yet like men's game.

Still Geno manages to recruit very well. Certainly rolling out a team with 3 #1 high school recruits is a pretty good achievement.

The group of KK, Ash, Morgan and Allie are all top 15 recruits. They won't be winning national player of the year, but could well be 2nd and 3rd team all-americans when they are starting next year. Together with Sarah and maybe a returning upperclassman, we will be excellent again next year.

You are pessimistic about this year's team. We'll learn a lot v Tenn and SC. You only have to beat one good team in round of 8 to make a final four. I think we can do that, and then with decent shooting nights can still win it all.

Lots of work left to do, but still more than 2 months til the elite 8.

 

[ABCDFE]

1) Exactly. With her amount of experience, nothing should have to be said to Bueckers. When she hadn't scored 5 minutes into the game, an alarm should've been going off for her. After 2-3 years of this, how can she not get it through her head?
2) This was my reservation about Fudd during her freshman year, she has no alpha in her game. The most offensively skilled kids don't wait for the game to come to them. Watkins, Hidalgo, Booker currently, even back to Maya Moore. They attack the game and want to do damage. Coaches can always back them off and make them adjust but the attack mentality has to be there. It's too bad because the skills were there to begin with.

bingo. need alphas.

Also if anyone here can discuss this with their knowledge of the game because I'm really a novice here, but would having Paige go back at point guard help the team? I feel like having the ball in Paige's hands as often as possible would only benefit the team, especially now that we have some depth that allows her to take a breather here and there

 

[The deacon]

A win is a win. Strong and Bueckers made clutch plays and buckets to ensure that. Chen is finding her groove, KK is as well.

Azzi had a unmemorable showing and she needs to realize that the screens, looks and plays when Bueckers is in just isn't the same. The team is not finding her or getting her open and she's doesn't seem interested right now in taking contested shots. It was all resolve, but Shade is seeing this as well.

Credit to Creighton because they would not go away like a mosquito in the summer.

Ugh, 'a mosquito in the summer?' Methinks Creighton deserves better.