Creighton Postgame Thread

[oldude]

If you can enjoy watching these games, you'll love Jason Stratham movies.
But, hey, I don't mean to be negative. I'm sitting here with the menu of games remaining and wish UConn could play someone a bit challenging.
Geno says that his profession is to provide entertainment. He's right.
PS/What Massey says doesn't change a thing; it just makes the situation sadder.

Some of these games are hard to watch. Every game is a 40-50 point blowout.

I am not sure if this helps us or hurts us. This Big East Conference is really bad. I mean there are some extremely bad teams and zero competition.

Of course I want Uconn to win by 50 every night but I wouldn't mind seeing some team give us a little bit of a fight...

The other problem with playing bad teams is that we risk injuries to our players because of the sloppy play of our opponents. (Ie: Strong, Blanca already) I have seen K9 take some really cheap/hard shots too.

I miss the days when we had Notre Dame, Louisville and those excellent Rutger teams in our league.

Just a thought.

I and thousands of other basketball fans enjoy watching UConn games because no other team in WBB executes at both ends of the court with the beauty and precision of UConn. Through the years I and others have described Geno’s offense as a beautiful symphony of movement and scoring.

It’s not Geno’s job to make all his opponents competitive. If you find these games “unenjoyable” and “hard to watch,” I have a suggestion for you.

Don’t watch.

 

[Ozimoto]

The beautiful offense we all love is rounding into form. Yes, there are still a few instances of sluggishness and head shaking moments, but when it's going well, the team is an offensive juggernaut.

Having said all that, the defense is what will bring home the national championship if they are to get one this year.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I've become a Kayleigh Heckel fan. I was ambivalent when she arrived, maybe even skeptical. But now I get a kick out of watching her play. And by her senior year, she should be dynamite+.

I took the same journey. Absolute fan. Hustle, smarts, shots that are falling more and more. I get a kick out of her demeanor. Miss Matter Of Fact.

 

[Pharos]

Again, this was a TEAM win. 5 players in double figures and the bench with 39 points and the starters with 55. The BIG thing, Uconn won EVERY statistical category. Again, I say Uconn is in March Madness readiness. The emerging players to be counted on during the Tournament are emerging. Allie, Ashlynn, Kayleigh and Ayannah. I am counting on Blanca being healthy and playing also. GO!!!!!GO!!!!! HUSKIES!!!!!

(small quibble thing. But good to see Ashlynn with her full 2 syllable name)

 

[Pharos]

I took the same journey. Absolute fan. Hustle, smarts, shots that are falling more and more. I get a kick out of her demeanor. Miss Matter Of Fact.

And she walks like a dancer...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

And she walks like a dancer...

You know, now that you mention it her hairdo says ballerina!

 

[hoophuskee]

If you can enjoy watching these games, you'll love Jason Stratham movies.
But, hey, I don't mean to be negative. I'm sitting here with the menu of games remaining and wish UConn could play someone a bit challenging.
Geno says that his profession is to provide entertainment. He's right.
PS/What Massey says doesn't change a thing; it just makes the situation sadder.

You and others that think these games are hard to watch and many that like these games are "Jason Strat fans" are off base. For me I don't like his movies, I know it’s not what you meant but games that are close but both teams playing a mud-wrestling match where the score is close but teams don't score much is usually unwatchable for me.

You might be watching among the greatest teams of all time. Even if not that, you might be watching the greatest top 4 caliber shooting/scoring team in the history of the sport. Both men and women. Last night the efficiency they were shooting 3's was spectacular. How could you not love what they showed last night as far as shooting?

The TS% from UCONN's outside shooters last night, so it wasn't just layups, was Fudd 71.1%, Sarah 73.4%. And Shade with an Amazing 83.1%. Ohh by the way, the leading scorer last night, Allie, had a TS% of 95.5%.

Their 3pt shooting this year in relation to the number of shots they take from 3 and the number of players that can shoot it, is off-the-charts. So yeah, some of us that aren't even Jason Strat fans can still love to enjoy this. Maybe some of us are pure basketbal fans and not just fans of close games. Overall I'm lucky to watch how Aureima has ben able to get his teams to pllay regardless of the opposition. Last night was yet another example of why I'm such a huge fan of the style they play. And stomp on any team that tries to get into their way. Maybe some of us are fans of Apocalypse Now instead.

Anyhow last night was a fun game. Plus I loved seing Serah take the jumpers instead of trying to be mostly a power player.

 

[BRS24]

A quick shout out to K9, who impresses us more and more each game with her speed and uncanny ability to drive to the hoop. Every time she's dribbling down the court, you have to wonder what's going to happen next

I hope she is embracing and enjoying this experience. The amazing thing is that I wouldn't even know who she was if she didn't leave USC and join UConn. Incredibly thankful that she did.

 

[Charliebball]

There's no bigger risk of injury playing weak teams than there is playing good ones. Strong doesn't have an injury or else she wouldn't have played against Creighton. She has some tightness in her calves (that she's had in the past) which has nothing to do with who UConn played. And Quinonez' first shoulder injury occurred in practice before the season opener and this one is an aggravation of it. Again in practice. And of Fudd's latest two major knee injuries, one came in practice and the other was against (you guessed it) Notre Dame. So you can ditch that half baked theory.

Blanca was injured playing against a really good team........UConn......... ☺️

 

[Charliebball]

A quick shout out to K9, who impresses us more and more each game with her speed and uncanny ability to drive to the hoop. Every time she's dribbling down the court, you have to wonder what's going to happen next

I hope she is embracing and enjoying this experience. The amazing thing is that I wouldn't even know who she was if she didn't leave USC and join UConn. Incredibly thankful that she did.

Heckel played that way in high school which is why I was disappointed when UConn didn't go after her hard back then......she's turned into an important part of the team at both ends of the floor and is getting more playing time as a reward.......watching her and KK playing defense together is great fun although not so great for the players they are hounding....

 

[Rudy1927]

It’s hard to criticize anything they did last night. To succeed against the best teams we need Blanca to get back and play and get our third option up to par.

 

[browns]

Another sub par first quarter..if they didn't have a 5 pt spurt at the end of the quarter it would have been a tie game
Nice to see k9 get more minutes which she deserves
Tightness in Sara's calves is concerning..thinking of Durant n Tatum..don't know how you treat that except to rest..I'm sure the medical staff knows what their doing though

 

[mainerhuski]

Give Kayleigh time and she might get the "scowl" down.

I love Kayleigh’s poker face!

 

[JellyBean]

For me, I love it when we get paint touches and get a kick out three point shot or a floater in the lane. I also love the bench points in this game. 39 points from the bench! That is a recipe for success. Great win.

 

[ec33]

It hasn't been said yet, but I think it is a positive development that both KK and K9 looked for their own offense a bit more -- especially in a low-stakes game in which the opponent was giving them both a lot of space. As with Nika, UConn is going to need opponents to respect them as some kind of threat. Plus when Geno is playing them together it is hard for the team to function in the halfcourt offense with them both being limited to drive-and-dish-type players

 

[Bone Dog]

Another sub par first quarter..if they didn't have a 5 pt spurt at the end of the quarter it would have been a tie game

I find myself less interested in quarter-by-quarter analysis. I know, I should pay more attention to it. But mainly what I saw in the 1st quarter was Sarah looking dominant when she needed to be — and I also saw how she was moving, and it didn’t look fully free — and Azzi was like lightning in a bottle, especially in that end of quarter spurt.

When I see the two of them play like that — turning defense into offense — I am much more confident than ever for the tournaments.

 

[hoophuskee]

I find myself less interested in quarter-by-quarter analysis. I know, I should pay more attention to it. But mainly what I saw in the 1st quarter was Sarah looking dominant when she needed to be — and I also saw how she was moving, and it didn’t look fully free — and Azzi was like lightning in a bottle, especially in that end of quarter spurt.

When I see the two of them play like that — turning defense into offense — I am much more confident than ever for the tournaments.

I think you should be doing what you always do--. you offer good analysis on this site. Other than brief observation the qtr-to-qtr analysis is pretty useless vs your trained eye as you're pointing out with Sarah and Azzi.

Basketball is a 4qtr game. Not a 1 qtr game. The team aren't pros - they are college players. What has bene shown throughout the season and apparent even in the Creighton game, they are very capable of missing many shots then overcoming that with terrific defense and explosive offense that can turn instantly.

In this game the 3pt shooting was fantastic. It was fantastic. Who cares one qtr it wasn't. great? Three pt shooting teams are going to miss a lot more shots than they make from 3. If you have 1 amazing qtr, eventually you wull revert back to the mean.

What could be great though is to see if Serah can hit that jumper in the lane. I expected her to use her touch much more this year rather than trying to be Betts or Beers. that jumper she made, it looked so sweet. Loved the jump hook and jumper she took. maybe next game see if it could be replicated more.

 

[Cuango]

In the postgame presser, listening to Ash a thought occurred to me. The other day I posted about how Kayleigh must be very happy to find herself in Storrs. It occurred to me that Ash has been similarly happy for two and a half years to find herself in Storrs. The way she speaks is a tip off, but also the way she glows during and after games. She is a mature young woman who is right where she needs to be to express and expand the full range of her talents, and she knows it.

I had a similar feeling about Allie after hearing her speak in the pregame presser yesterday. And when Geno said after the game that Ash Kayleigh Allie and Jana are doing exactly what they need to be doing for the team, I can’t help thinking that the team is at a very good place on the development curve for this season. If KK’s finger can recover in time, and Blanca can get back up to speed over the next 5+3 games, then there’s a very good chance the entire 9 player rotation will be peaking at just the right time.

I can’t quote her exact words but I do remember seeing an interview with Ash where she described her feelings after her official visit (actually it might have been another visit) and how she knew as soon as she arrived that this was the place for her! I can’t really convey how she said it but it was very touching and very sincere.

 

[mhshuskies]

When they unfurled the “Basketball Capital of the World” banner, the announcer referred to 17 championships? Maybe I miscounted, but I thought it was 18. Is my count wrong? It’s not like I am counting being ranked #1 at the end of the season without playing a tournament?