Game Analysis and Comments - Game #6: UConn vs Kansas

[cferraro04]

COMMENTS

How could I start off any commentary without first expressing how sorry I am for Azzi, her family, and the team? Losing Azzi for the season is significant. Say what you want about making up the difference...the sad truth is when you need that knock-down shooter, that extra outside shooter who you can rely on...she isn't going to be there. It is a long season and the loss of Azzi on the roster will be felt in many ways. UConn is fortunate in that they do have options that can develop and make up for the loss of Azizi's 12-15 points / 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 three-pointers per game. Despite the obvious, everyone is keenly aware that Azzi could at any time have a breakout game where she goes off for 30 and that option just isn't going to be there for this season. I will not understate what Azzi means to this team. However, going forward UConn must remake itself, the starters who are struggling need to get back into form, and the new players have to mature earlier than was planned/expected. As far as raw game stats are concerned I believe that UConn has the right player mix who can make up for what UConn loses without having Azzi on the floor.

Getting into Saturday's game on a Wednesday is not all that unusual, however, since we will play UCLA before we play Kansas it is a little unusual for me to do the game analysis now. However, with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up and since I will be traveling to New York to visit grandchildren I will not have access to a computer until late Saturday afternoon therefore the most opportune time for me to do this write-up is now.

I am assuming that UConn wins a tough game the night before this match-up on Friday evening. Kansas will also play a fairly tough game the night before against Virginia Tech. Both teams will be playing on Saturday with tired legs and the offense may be a tad off. The defensive intensity may also not be at the same level as the night before. I am also assuming no more injuries to UConn players.

With that being said Kansas' offense averages 81 points a game while UConn's averages 81.25;

Kansas' defense holds teams to an average of 66 points and forces their opponents to turnover the ball 15 times per game while UConn's defense holds teams to 60.5 points and forces opponents to turn the ball over 18.3 times per game.

Kansas has made 8.7 three-pointers per game while UConn shoots the three at 6.5 per game.

UConn makes 17.5 assists while only turning the ball over 12.5 times per game and Kansas makes 18.0 assists while only turning the ball over 11 times per game.

Kansas - Massey Rating 48, SOS 98, RPI 15.
UConn - Massey Rating 4, SOS 4, RPI 30

UConn has played:
Dayton - Massey Rating 201; SOS 210.
NC State - Massey Rating 3; SOS 36.
Maryland - Massey Rating 15; SOS 3.
Minnesota - Massey Rating 73; SOS 124
UCLA - Massey Rating 10; SOS 93

Kansas has played:
Penn State - Massey Rating 31; SOS 55
Northwestern LA - Massey Rating 345; SOS 140
Missouri KC - Massey Rating 266; SOS 174
Virginia Tech - Massey Rating 18; SOS 96

Kansas will start:
Wynette Mayberry - 5'7" Senior Guard (13.0 pts; 1.3 RBs; 4 Asst; 2 (3s) per game
Taiyanna Jackson - 6'6" Super Senior Center (14.7 pts; 10 RBs; 3 Blks per game
S'Maya Nichols - 6.0 Freshman Guard (12.7 pts; 3.0 RBs; 3.66 Asst; 1 (3) per game
Holly Kergieter - 5'11" Super Senior Guard (18.7 pts; 4.7 RBs; 3.6 Asst; 3.6 (3s) per game
Zakiyah Franklin - 5'8" Super Senior Guard (9.0 pts; 1.7 RBs; 2.6 Asst per game

UConn's defense is starting to ramp up to mid-season form. UConn has been suffocating their opponents in the last two games... I look for UConn to continue its oppressive defense against Kansas.

MATCH-UPS

Aaliyah Edwards, 6'3" Senior Forward vs Taiyanna Jackson, 6'6" Super Senior Center

Aaliyah is no stranger to giving up inches, in this case, 3 inches to her opponent. Aaliyah is a strong defender and if she stays out of foul trouble should be able to contain Taiyanna who only averages 14.7 points per game. She will need to front Taiyanna and limit her touches...additionally, she will need to box out and compete for rebounds. If Edwards can draw Taiyanna out to the foul line or mid-range area it will free up the middle for UConn's guards to slash and drive the middle. I don't see Jackson giving Edwards as much trouble as Betts did the night before. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Paige Bueckers, 6'0 RS Junior Guard vs Holly Kersgieter, 5'11" Super Senior Guard

Holly is a solid ball player but I expect that Paige will be embracing her role as the go-to player now that Azzi isn't coming back. She will look for her shot and she will look to make other players on our team better... I believe she will be a solid 20 and 6 player going forward. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Aubrey Griffin, 6'1" Graduate Guard/Forward vs S'Maya Nichols, 6.0 Freshman Guard

Aubrey will bring too much athleticism for Nichols to contain. I think Aubrey has a great game in both points and rebounds in this one. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Caroline Ducharme, 6'2" Junior Guard vs Zakiya Franklin, 5'8" Super Senior Gaurd

I am still not sure what Caroline will bring to the floor. She is definitely not playing up to form. Given that she has 6 inches on Zakiya and given Caroline's strength she should be able to score on Zakiya. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl, 5'11" Senior Guard vs Wynette Mayberry, 5'7" Senior Guard

Nika's speed, and experience ought to be enough to outplay Wynette at this position. I will be looking for Nika to push the ball and get her teammates involved. Lot's of assists tonight for Nika. Nika's defense will make for a difficult night for Wynette. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

BENCH

UConn will be bringing a lot of scoring and power off the bench. Samuels, Shade, KK, and Brady should allow the UConn offense to continue without a noticeable drop-off. Kansas brings roughly 15 points and 4 rebounds off the bench while UConn will bring 24 points and 9 rebounds off the bench...
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

COACHING

Too much experience on UConn's coaching staff - ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES

I do not see any glaring advantage for either team... neutral court, both teams play the night before... ADVANTAGE - EVEN

SCORE

UCONN - 88
KANSAS - 65

MOV - 23

 

[martyn]

My kind of analysis, the rosy kind. Why not.

 

[Bone Dog]

Thanks again, @cferraro04, for another fine analysis.

I haven’t had a chance to see Kansas play yet. I wonder how Aaliyah will do against Jackson after grappling with Betts the day before. Beyond her, Kansas seems like a small team. Does this mean they are very speedy? I don’t think they can outrun us, but if they are very quick footed it would change the shape of the game.

 

[Tonyc]

Again Cferr a great analysis. Its hard to take Azzi's injury in because of what shes been through already. Its hard being a UConn fan because of all we've been through with so many injuries the past few years but we will make the adjustments and more forward again. I feel Caroline is the answer. We need her 3 pt shooting, her experience and leadership now. Many fans have mentioned Geno needs to go deeper into his bench. Well our bench just got longer. I dont see a short lineup of 5-6 players. Geno will go with the hot hand and give rest to Paige Caroline and Griff because he has to to avoid anymore injuries. I am so sad for Azzi and her family. A lifetime of work and dedication to get to this. Understand this is temporary and a bump in the road which is just another hurdle for her to get over.

Much like Iowa and Clark, UConn is now more dependent on Paige and her minutes played need to be monitored. She too is coming back from injury. I believe Paige has a better supporting cast then Iowa has for Clark which makes me think UConn will still be very competitive. Remember Azzi has been sitting out for a while now and our newbies have gained experience and now with the meat of our season they will need to step up and I believe they will. They will because of who they are and what theyre made of.

I also have to wonder if the team knew of Azzi's injury before the Minn game. So we move forward. We have all talked about our great freshman class and their potential. Well now we need patience as they grow into our team perhaps a little faster then we thought. I am confident we will get the job done and mature over the next few weeks. We still have Geno and he can turn things around quickly as he did with our defense the past couple of games. We win these next few games and everything changes for UConn. We've done it before and we can do it again.

 

[boscolino]

No Caroline tomorrow.

 

[HopJim]

While not a team to be underestimated, saw the 2nd half of a Kansas game and feel they are the perfect opponent for Huskies, particularly now as they recalibrate after recent injuries. With Kansas usually starting 4 guards, the backcourt is the only area of strength and depth for UConn. Nothing seems to come easy, but all in all feel the winning UConn margin will be 15-20 points with the frosh giving Paige more of a rest than usual after a competitive UCLA game.

 

[cferraro04]

I hope we don't have a repeat of last night. On my wish list is Aaliyah having the kind of game we are used to seeing her play; Nika Muhl taking 8-10 shots...if she is only going to get 3-5 assists...she might as well take a few shots while she is at it; Caroline at least getting into the game...limited minutes fine but some playing time. Ice living up to her hype...well maybe not completely...but give us a glimpse of what it is going to be like. KK Arnold continues to dazzle us with her speed and court generalship. Ashland and Q giving us some quality minutes...oh yeah a couple of threes won't hurt. Aubrey...let's have that breakout game...everyone knows it is coming...so how about now? Bettencourt and Amari...just making the best out of the time they are given. Paige...continues to put up AA numbers while staying healthy and not getting hurt. A return to the court by Ayanna Patterson soon...

 

[David54]

I’m watching the LSU game. I think they just said the uconn game will be streamed free. Don’t want to give false hope so if anyone knows more please comment

 

[Longtime fan]

I hope we don't have a repeat of last night. On my wish list is Aaliyah having the kind of game we are used to seeing her play; Nika Muhl taking 8-10 shots...if she is only going to get 3-5 assists...she might as well take a few shots while she is at it; Caroline at least getting into the game...limited minutes fine but some playing time. Ice living up to her hype...well maybe not completely...but give us a glimpse of what it is going to be like. KK Arnold continues to dazzle us with her speed and court generalship. Ashland and Q giving us some quality minutes...oh yeah a couple of threes won't hurt. Aubrey...let's have that breakout game...everyone knows it is coming...so how about now? Bettencourt and Amari...just making the best out of the time they are given. Paige...continues to put up AA numbers while staying healthy and not getting hurt. A return to the court by Ayanna Patterson soon...

Everyone is hopeful that Ayanna will soon be back on the court, although we have heard not a hint that is happening. I also wonder about everyone's expectations. If we are honest, she was a non factor last year. Never took ( or made ) an outside shot that I recall, and made one or two lay-ins from under the hoop. She also has vision impairment ( blind in one eye ). Does anyone really expect her to be a savior? I think it is our dream to be rescued for once, instead of maimed, again and again.

 

[Cuango]

I think we will see a better effort tonight. Will that lead to a win? I hope so. I’m hoping we don’t see Caroline and that next week we will see an announcement that she will medically redshirt and spend the rest of the year getting her health right. After a year of rehab and recuperation perhaps she will be able to make a reasoned and medically supported decision on whether she can continue to play this game that she so clearly loves. She is one of my favorite Huskies ever and I do pray that she will, at some point, be able to play again but I don’t think she should be playing now.
As for tonight’s game (and the rest of the season) I’m hoping for a renewed focus on defense and rebounding. I think those have to be the main focus going forward this season! Our offense is what it is at this point but we can clearly improve our rebounding and defense. Go Huskies!❤️

 

[David54]

Every team is going to try to deny AE the ball under the basket and give her the midrange. She will need to make that midrange shot to force them out. Until or unless that happens we will struggle.