Game Analysis - UConn vs DePaul

[cferraro04]

Sorry guys/gals...I was missing in action for the Butler game...I had a big event at our dojang this past week and all my attention was there. Glad to see UConn firing on all cylinders for that game...Lou and Aaliyah were great...as was Dorka...thank God for our graduate transfers. This game, unfortunately, for DePaul will more than likely not have the same intrigue as in recent years. DePaul only really has 7 players who produce stats of any significance. However, they do have the incredible double/double machine Aneesah Morrow...this kid is capable of putting up huge numbers in both points and rebound. UConn will have the challenge of trying to keep Aneesah's numbers in the earthly range...and it will be quite a task...as very few teams have been able to do so. The overall team stats for DePaul and UConn are similar enough...with DePaul scoring around 77 points per game and UConn averaging 81 points per game...DePaul averages one more three than UConn (not surprising with Azzi and Paige on the bench), Both UConn and DePaul average about 41 rebounds per game. DePaul's players are better thieves than UConn's as they average two more steals per game than UConn. UConn blocks 1 more shot per game than DePaul. And we turn the ball over a couple of more times per game than DePaul... All in all the team stats are very similar...however...UConn plays a tougher schedule than DePaul...UConn is ranked rpi number one and number two in SOS. Both teams are playing with depleted rosters. Let's hope that neither Edwards or Jorka get into foul trouble tying to stop Aneesah from being a one woman wrecking crew. DePaul's starters are actually more over-worked than UConn's as each starter averages more minutes than the UConn starters.

Dorka Juhasz vs Aneesah Morrow - What can you say here Dorka is playing great this assignment may not be hers the entire game as you may see Dorka switching on and off with Aaliyah in an effort to limit Aneesah's touches...they will both have to work in the paint to limit Aneesah's rebounding. In any case in a straight up match-up Aneesah more than likely will prove too much for Dorka (and Aaliyah) - ADVANTAGE - DePaul

Aaliyah Edwards vs Jorie Allen - Jorie is DePaul's other forward. She Averages 7.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds. She will not be able to keep up with the potential AA Aaliyah Edwards - ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Lou Lopez-Senechal vs Kendall Holmes - Kendall is DePaul's third best producer...she can shot the three...averages about 2.2 per game...she is a double figure scorer with 10.2 points per game...but, Lou will keep her busy as she will force Kendall to chase her around all night. Lou is a scorer and she will get hers against Kendall. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Aubrey Griffin vs Anaya Peoples - no one really matches up will with Aubrey...she is just too athletic for any of DePaul's guards...but besides Aneesah Anaya is DePaul's best stat stuffer...she averages 9.0 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, can shoot the three, gets 2.4 assists, 2.2 steals per game...will she be able to do that against the stingy defense of UConn and with Aubrey lurking around...that remains to be seen... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl vs Darrione Rogers - this will be an interesting match-up (should it happen...you could see Lou covering Darrione). I have Nika on Darrione because like Nika Darrione is DePaul's playmaker averaging 5.4 assists per game (probably bolstered by shoving the ball into Aneesah and letting her do her thing). UConn will probably try to deny Aneesah from getting the ball. She also is a very good scorer averaging 18.5 points per game. Darrione can be lights out from three averaging 2.75 threes per game. I expect Nika to be an absolute pest and will make life difficult for Darrione so it will be interesting to see if Darrione can maintain her numbers with an elite guard in her face all evening. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Bench - Bench? What bench? Neither team can claim a potent bench, however, in this game UConn may actually have a better bench than DePaul...with DeBerry's size and her recent increase in playing time we might witness a pretty good game from her. Bettencourt when she gets on the court given the fact that DePaul plays its starters almost the entire game will more than likely be facing a DePaul starter and it may be difficult for her to make much of an impact in the game. This would be a great game to see Patterson back on the court but at this time I don't know if Patterson will play. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Coaching - Bruno is a great guy, great coach...and he does a lot with less better than most coaches...however Geno and staff are simply the best - ADVANTAGE - UConn

Intangibles - Home court advantage...look for the UConn fan base to be in a frenzy to welcome Bruno and his Blue Demons... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

 

[Topdawg]

If UConn manages the pace of the game and keeps the turnovers down, it should be a decisive win.

 

[DEpup]

I think the path to victory is shutting down Rogers and snatching rebounds from Morrow. Morrow is going to get her points and no reason to foul her in the process. Without a second scorer, even Morrow by herself can't win the game.

The pattern I see in their losses is when Rogers is not scoring.

 

[Next 12]

Just chalk up another win for UCONN.Why do I say that? GENO is 16-1 against Doug Bruno, De Paul's coach. GENO is so lopsided in wins and losses against league competition, It's laughable. GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Morrow will get hers because that's what she tries to do. She's shooting about 35% since Dec 12, by the way.

 

[oldude]

Morrow will get hers because that's what she tries to do. She's shooting about 35% since Dec 12, by the way.

Morrow also takes an incredible 36% of all DePaul shots this season, including 113 x 3’s, which she hits at a fairly mediocre 22%. To put that in context, Lou is the highest volume shooter on UConn with just 21% of all shots taken.

 

[sun]

Morrow tries really hard but she can only do so much using her own efforts.

"She [Morrow} became only the fourth player to record 30 points and 10 rebounds against Connecticut. The other three — Candace Parker, Angel McCoughtry and Jackie Young — were all No. 1 picks in the WNBA draft....

....Her standout freshman season put Morrow on opponents’ radars, and now she is swarmed by double- and triple-teams....

...Morrow reached 1,000 career points in 43 games — only 12 women in NCAA Division I history have done it faster — and she broke the single-game school scoring record with 45 points last month in an 81-63 victory over Northwestern."

MSN

 

[Bone Dog]

I think the path to victory is shutting down Rogers and snatching rebounds from Morrow. Morrow is going to get her points and no reason to foul her in the process. Without a second scorer, even Morrow by herself can't win the game.

The pattern I see in their losses is when Rogers is not scoring.

I agree. Rogers is a key. She’s their Swiss Army knife.

And you’re right, it doesn’t matter if Morrow scores, though not fouling her is important. She gets a lot of extra points from the free throw line after getting fouled on put backs. I think Dorka and Aaliyah learned this the hard way last season. But keeping her off the boards is a team-effort kind of thing, and Aubrey and Nika may be key to this. In the past, DePaul shot well from 3 which made it hard to help on the boards. But they don’t have this sort of game now, which means we can cheat off the perimeter to chase down every loose ball and long rebound.

 

[JellyBean]

Great analysis. DePaul just seems to bring out the of the other team's offensive capabilities. I just hope that the players got some good reps in on shooting since the last game because I can see Lou having a great shooting night.

 

[HopJim]

Sorry guys/gals...I was missing in action for the Butler game...I had a big event at our dojang this past week and all my attention was there. Glad to see UConn firing on all cylinders for that game...Lou and Aaliyah were great...as was Dorka...thank God for our graduate transfers. This game, unfortunately, for DePaul will more than likely not have the same intrigue as in recent years. DePaul only really has 7 players who produce stats of any significance. However, they do have the incredible double/double machine Aneesah Morrow...this kid is capable of putting up huge numbers in both points and rebound. UConn will have the challenge of trying to keep Aneesah's numbers in the earthly range...and it will be quite a task...as very few teams have been able to do so. The overall team stats for DePaul and UConn are similar enough...with DePaul scoring around 77 points per game and UConn averaging 81 points per game...DePaul averages one more three than UConn (not surprising with Azzi and Paige on the bench), Both UConn and DePaul average about 41 rebounds per game. DePaul's players are better thieves than UConn's as they average two more steals per game than UConn. UConn blocks 1 more shot per game than DePaul. And we turn the ball over a couple of more times per game than DePaul... All in all the team stats are very similar...however...UConn plays a tougher schedule than DePaul...UConn is ranked rpi number one and number two in SOS. Both teams are playing with depleted rosters. Let's hope that neither Edwards or Jorka get into foul trouble tying to stop Aneesah from being a one woman wrecking crew. DePaul's starters are actually more over-worked than UConn's as each starter averages more minutes than the UConn starters.

Dorka Juhasz vs Aneesah Morrow - What can you say here Dorka is playing great this assignment may not be hers the entire game as you may see Dorka switching on and off with Aaliyah in an effort to limit Aneesah's touches...they will both have to work in the paint to limit Aneesah's rebounding. In any case in a straight up match-up Aneesah more than likely will prove too much for Dorka (and Aaliyah) - ADVANTAGE - DePaul

Aaliyah Edwards vs Jorie Allen - Jorie is DePaul's other forward. She Averages 7.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds. She will not be able to keep up with the potential AA Aaliyah Edwards - ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Lou Lopez-Senechal vs Kendall Holmes - Kendall is DePaul's third best producer...she can shot the three...averages about 2.2 per game...she is a double figure scorer with 10.2 points per game...but, Lou will keep her busy as she will force Kendall to chase her around all night. Lou is a scorer and she will get hers against Kendall. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Aubrey Griffin vs Anaya Peoples - no one really matches up will with Aubrey...she is just too athletic for any of DePaul's guards...but besides Aneesah Anaya is DePaul's best stat stuffer...she averages 9.0 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, can shoot the three, gets 2.4 assists, 2.2 steals per game...will she be able to do that against the stingy defense of UConn and with Aubrey lurking around...that remains to be seen... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl vs Darrione Rogers - this will be an interesting match-up (should it happen...you could see Lou covering Darrione). I have Nika on Darrione because like Nika Darrione is DePaul's playmaker averaging 5.4 assists per game (probably bolstered by shoving the ball into Aneesah and letting her do her thing). UConn will probably try to deny Aneesah from getting the ball. She also is a very good scorer averaging 18.5 points per game. Darrione can be lights out from three averaging 2.75 threes per game. I expect Nika to be an absolute pest and will make life difficult for Darrione so it will be interesting to see if Darrione can maintain her numbers with an elite guard in her face all evening. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Bench - Bench? What bench? Neither team can claim a potent bench, however, in this game UConn may actually have a better bench than DePaul...with DeBerry's size and her recent increase in playing time we might witness a pretty good game from her. Bettencourt when she gets on the court given the fact that DePaul plays its starters almost the entire game will more than likely be facing a DePaul starter and it may be difficult for her to make much of an impact in the game. This would be a great game to see Patterson back on the court but at this time I don't know if Patterson will play. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Coaching - Bruno is a great guy, great coach...and he does a lot with less better than most coaches...however Geno and staff are simply the best - ADVANTAGE - UConn

Intangibles - Home court advantage...look for the UConn fan base to be in a frenzy to welcome Bruno and his Blue Demons... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Overall, a good assessment but not sure why you have a Dorka, Morrow match up. Similar to Edwards, Morrow gets many of her points bulling her way to offensive rebounds and turning them into layups. Edwards is the only Huskie strong enough to box Morrow out and in the same sense, Morrow is the only DePaul player able to stop Aaliyah.

 

[oldude]

Overall, a good assessment but not sure why you have a Dorka, Morrow match up. Similar to Edwards, Morrow gets many of her points bulling her way to offensive rebounds and turning them into layups. Edwards is the only Husky strong enough to box Morrow out and in the same sense, Morrow is the only DePaul player able to stop Aaliyah.

DePaul really doesn’t have any size to speak of. Morrow at 6’1” is the only regular rotation player over 6’ on their team. I think UConn starts with Dorka defending her, and changes up with Aaliyah and perhaps Aubrey taking their turn.

UConn should dominate the glass against DePaul, and that should be the difference in the game.

 

[Bone Dog]

Also, last year, much depended on where the game was played. In the first game, Morrow dominated, scored 30 including 8-9 FTs. She also got some very friendly officiating (Chicago-style officiating) and Liv and Dorka were in foul trouble the whole game. They made the mistake of trying to block Morrow's shot in that game, and really did commit a lot of touch fouls. But Morrow got away with a lot of heavy contact on her side, including one swipe-from-behind block attempt in which she smacked Christyn hard on the side of the head. Ordinarily, the refs would have reviewed the tape and looked to elevate that foul, but no foul was even called. By my count, she'd have had 3 fouls in the 1st half and fouled out in the 3rd quarter, or at least played much more cautiously in the 2nd half. As it is, she got called for 2 fouls and Liv and Dorka got 9 between them.

In the rematch in Gampel, the officiating was not so lopsided, and even though Liv didn't play we won by 24. Dorka and Aaliyah played more cautious D, didn't attempt so many blocks and avoided foul trouble. Morrow got 20 on 9-20 FGs and 1-5 FTs. She also got whistled for 4 fouls, 3 in the 1st half. And just to be clear, she still got 16 rebounds. She is a force.

Don't get me wrong, Morrow is a major talent and will probably be a high draft pick in the W. But she cannot make DePaul win by herself. She needs better support from her teammates, but her passing skills are not as good as they need to be. She doesn't make good use of her teammates.

 

[MSGRET]

You also need to remember two main contributor's are no longer with the Blue Demons. Both Lexi Held and Sonya Morris didn't stay for their Super Senior year at DePaul. Sonya Morris transferred to Texas and Lexi Held went to the WNBA. These two were the outside shooter's for DePaul last year and the floor generals. They have no one on this years team that can compare to these two young ladies.

 

[Forego]

This game had to be squeezed into the schedule and both teams have minimum recovery and preparation time with short benches. DePaul had to travel so the home team has a little more of an advantage than usual.

 

[SLY63]

Hopefully we can rotate AE, Dorka, Aubrey AND AP on Morrow to wear her down and even trade fouls. We can win the war of attrition.

 

[Jokerman619]

All I can say is that Catlyn is a power shooter. And the team spark. And did some good things in the first half. But nothing in the second, why?. Uconn made her uncomfortable and off of her spot. And I think that last year was the first half. They know of her. She will get some shots. But one can not beat a team. Just from a outside point of view. Have faith in the girls and in the coaches. Just another day. Go Huskies.

 

[visitingcock]

Just chalk up another win for UCONN.Why do I say that? GENO is 16-1 against Doug Bruno, De Paul's coach. GENO is so lopsided in wins and losses against league competition, It's laughable. GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[Bone Dog]

Hopefully we can rotate AE, Dorka, Aubrey AND AP on Morrow to wear her down and even trade fouls. We can win the war of attrition.

I hope we don't even trade fouls -- It's better not to foul Morrow at all. Amari and Dorka have gotten better at defending with arms straight up (they have long arms!) and not attempting to block. Make her shoot over them and her percentage will go down. That's enough.

But boxing out has to be a team effort against her. Most of her scoring comes on post moves and putbacks, and she's very quick and active. Limit her rebounds, and don't worry about blocking her shot.

 

[cferraro04]

Overall, a good assessment but not sure why you have a Dorka, Morrow match up. Similar to Edwards, Morrow gets many of her points bulling her way to offensive rebounds and turning them into layups. Edwards is the only Husky strong enough to box Morrow out and in the same sense, Morrow is the only DePaul player able to stop Aaliyah.

Good point regarding Edwards possibly being a better match-up for Morrow...that is why if you look at the write-up I made for the Dorka vs Morrow match-up I wrote the following: "Dorka is playing great this assignment may not be hers the entire game as you may see Dorka switching on and off with Aaliyah in an effort to limit Aneesah's touches...they will both have to work in the paint to limit Aneesah's rebounding".

 

[Huskiefan23]

Depaul doesn’t play defense. Just let Morrow get hers and it should be a comfortable win.

 

[DEpup]

Does anyone know yet whether we are fielding 7, 8, or 9 players tonight????

 

[FridaFriend]

I think it will come down to fouls and turnovers. If UCONN is effective in dealing with both and the refs are not going crazy, UCONN will win easily. If not, it may be a long evening.

 

[Geew1992]

Ayanna is available to play!

 

[darrell]

 

[cgshuskie]

It will be great for Jana El Alfy to see Aneesha Morrow. It will give an idea of what greatness, energy, power and determination is at D1. A good thing to see!

 

[cgshuskie]

Also, her teammate, Aaliyah Edwards. wow....

 

[SLY63]

How will Geno deal with distributing the time across so many players?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

It will be great for Jana El Alfy to see Aneesha Morrow. It will give an idea of what greatness, energy, power and determination is at D1. A good thing to see!

Morrow takes a ton of awful shots, seemingly eschewing any kind of team offense. Not a good role model. There are far better for Alfy on her own team.