Georgetown Post-Game Thread - BET

[Papa33]

She’s back! Was there ever a doubt? After her first two games where she was hesitant offensively, Paige looked in mid season form, particularly shooting the ball. I don’t think any of her 4 three’s touched the rim. Far from her aesthetically pleasing play, having her getting into form will make UConn that more formidable.

It will be interesting to see UConn’s next two games against more offensively talented teams - how much of their improved team defense makes a difference. The other is to see just how far UConn has improved relative to teams they have played with their full complement of players.

It doesn’t matter where UConn is seeded. Clearly, they are one of the top 5 teams in the nation right now. If the scheduling committee refuses to recognize this, they are doing a disservice to the fans. If they truly cared about what is best, UConn will be in Bridgeport and no less than a 2 seed.

If my memory is correct, it has been a number of games since Aaliyah either: (a) missed a layup; (b) had a rebound stolen out of her hands; (c) failed to get multiple contested offensive rebounds; or (d) failed to make at least one midrange jump shot. I am starting to see a glimmer of Asjha Jones materializing in the UConn front court.

I also see Dorka right where she is supposed to be on nearly every possession on both offense and defense. That was certainly not the case at the beginning of the year, including against South Carolina in the Bahamas. It would be a shame if she leaves just when she has mastered the system.

It doesn’t matter where UConn is seeded. Clearly, they are one of the top 5 teams in the nation right now. If the scheduling committee refuses to recognize this, they are doing a disservice to the fans.

I think the focus is off a trifle here: The disservice will be to the players and the team.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

It's post-season! Wishing I could be at Mohegan Sun for the games with my family. @MilfordHusky is with them tho, so it's all good!

Ragged starts to Q1 and Q3. But then it was off to the races in the first half. And it was great to see Geno liberally using all 9 players. Loved seeing the full court press start early in the first half. Our defense was smothering after Georgetown scored 6 points on a pair of 3's. Finished the half on a 37-6 run.

• Of course it was great not only seeing Paige out there, but also with her shooting touch back. Points, rebounds and assists all on display for her. Paige being Paige - LOVED IT!!
• LOVE Azzi's confidence and all around game, but it's so odd to see her shot off. She missed more than she made today.
• Olivia was surprisingly MIA today. 1 point, 2 boards, 3 TO's. Not what I'd expect from a senior in her last BET.
• Nice all around game for Christyn. Hit her first 3 deep shots, then went 0-4 the rest of the game. But 5 steals? NICE!!
• Another nice game for Aaliyah. She's really strung together strong and consistent efforts.
• Not a lot of "stats" for Nika, but she is such a pest. DPOY well deserved!
• Nice solid games for Dorka and Evina
• Not sure what is going on with Caroline, but she seems to have regressed as the rest of the team has gotten healthy. Maybe it's the freshman wall. Hope she rights the ship soon.
• Great seeing Amari in and scoring!

Tourneys are all about surviving and advancing. This BET seems unique for UCONN in that IMHO we need to make a statement and really dominate. It's not like in the past where we knew we had a 1 seed locked up. We sure made a statement in the first half. 2nd half not so much. It was solid but unspectacular. Credit Georgetown for battling the entire game and coming out hard in H2.

Our core group of 9 all played and scored. Paige and Christyn really shined. Strong game by Aaliyah too. Geno said before the game that this was going to be an experiment. Win big, learn a few things, and on to the next game.

Geno has said in the past that the regular season is time to teach, learn, experiment, etc. It's when he has players working on things they don't do well to make them better players. When tourney time rolls around, critical Geno mostly disappears and Geno focuses more on what players do well and encourages more of that throughout the rest of the year. But we've never had a season like this before so the experiment continues! GO UCONN!!

Caroline is definitely a worry for Geno. Since the head injury she has not been the same, and to say she has regressed is an understatement, she’s gone from one of the top five freshmen in the country and the teams leader to a backup.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Are we finally done with these games. So hard to evaluate the team against such weak opposition. Broken record- I so wish UConn could be in a power 5 conference. Even the quarterfinals in the SEC, Big 10, and ACC were interesting. Imagine being a player in the original BE men’s for example and having so many live-or-death games throughout the season. Anyway, it should start to get really fun.
The little droughts UConn has get kind of covered up by the total ineptitude of these teams. (Of course defense contributes to that) Does anyone worry that we shoot too many jumpers, like Geno said at halftime. Shot selection would always be better if UConn had tougher competition to measure it against.
We play a top 5 team, have a 3 minute lull, with missed shots and turnovers, the opponent hits us hard, and UConn is in the center of the ring slugging it out with a slugger, like AZ, not boxing, like the UConn team.
So glad the competition will improve from here on out…

 

[MD#12Fan]

UConn is the best #2 seed if everything plays out like it should. Therefore UConn should be in the quarter of the bracket with the fourth best #1 seed. Fair for everybody. Don’t care where the regional is. I would care if I could buy a ticket. Sorry folks

 

[JJTB]

The scary part is that Uconn is not really playing that well yet as Fudd said the other day. Caroline's shot has been really off since she came back from her head injury and Azzi's shot is also pretty off today. Can't wait to see them rolling on all cylinders.

The scary part is that Uconn is not really playing that well yet as Fudd said the other day. Caroline's shot has been really off since she came back from her head injury and Azzi's shot is also pretty off today. Can't wait to see them rolling on all cylinders.

CD’s shot looks flat.

 

[CTBballfan243]

I liked Geno’s rotation today. It will be a much tougher game tomorrow. This was a good opportunity to get the rust off. Anyone that starts slow tomorrow can be subbed for after the first 4-5 minutes.

We want to come out hot and crush our opponents’s spirit right away. The only way to do that is to make baskets and make stops. You want at least a double digit lead at the end of the first quarter.

Geno will need to shorten the rotation. 9 players is way to many. Maybe if the playing time is 80% - 20% in favor of Paige, Fudd, Ducharme, Williams, Edwards.

 

[Geesworld]

Shot a lot of 3's today.

 

[donalddoowop]

Shot a lot of 3's today.

Do you think maybe the coaches wanted the team to shoot threes in order to work on their accuracy?

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Geno will need to shorten the rotation. 9 players is way to many. Maybe if the playing time is 80% - 20% in favor of Paige, Fudd, Ducharme, Williams, Edwards.

Given the kind of season they had, conditioning is NOT supportive of a short rotation. 9 is fine. Maybe in the FF or the Regional Final, it gets shortened a bit. Or, Coach can continue to send them in waves to keep the energy level up on defense.

 

[cabbie191]

Good game. UConn still struggles in the quarter court against zones and collapsing M2M. Liv really struggled against these two defenses. She also failed to attempt a single outside shot. For the second time Azzi shot poorly against GT when her parent(s) are in attendance. She'll fix that. But her defense, and UConn's as a whole was solid, Paige looked like the old Paige. Geno tried a lot of combinations trying to get them all acquainted with each other. CD misses long, sometime short, on a lot of her shots. Short means she's aiming, long means her shooting form and hence her shot is a little too flat. She sometimes hurries her shot, even on layups. She'll fix it. I was really happy to see AE continue to develop her mid range game. She shoots FT's well, so when she flashes to the foul line, or stands inside the arc, she could potentially become very
dangerous. On to the next victim.

I felt the refs were really clamping down on traveling calls today. I wonder if Olivia being whistled for this on our first possession got into her head.

 

[JordyG]

I felt the refs were really clamping down on traveling calls today. I wonder if Olivia being whistled for this on our first possession got into her head.

In case you haven't noticed, UConn gets a lot of traveling calls. What I was more than happy about was the lack of illegal screens called. That really made my day.

 

[DrummerDee]

"Not playing well" is a nothing but hyperbole. When you are up 43-9 at halftime, there is a natural tendency to take your foot off the gas.
Also, Geno wanted to get the bigs involved inside , which when we force, causes most of our turnovers.
Moving forward , opposing coaches may think twice about zoning us.

If the guards would stop attempting bounce passes at their ankles, we could be more successful inside. I was at the game and man.....that is so frustrating. Nika is on one of her "I'm not shooting" sprees. She was open a few times and backed off.

 

[jdote33]

Quick random thoughts on the game.

Great defense by the whole team. The BE DPOY with the steal and bucket we've seen so many times this season, was great to see. I also heard NM at times through the game screaming commands.

PB- I actually think the turnover she had trying to feed AE on the break, and then shortly after a 3 falling got her going a little bit. She did the thing that Azzi has done this season, where they just decide not too miss anymore after slow starts. lol. She basically looked like PB. I don't know if she will be running around like crazy as she was earlier this season, like diving on the ground and switching ends, but she played very well. Could've easily had 2 or 3 more assist. Also, really thinking she could've had 2-3 more fga's. It wasn't a big deal but I thought she passed up some wide open shots. I'm not talking about the one's where she kicked it and found an open teammate, just more in Georgetown messed up and wasn't guarding her and she didn't pull the trigger and just ran offense.

Dorka - 18 min = 7 points 7 rebounds. She played great. She'd still be a double double machine but she chose to join this team and get better. Respect. One slight critique, although she's a great passer, the past like 3 games she's tried these passes when she's deep in the lane to another big. I'm hoping she just goes up with it, or takes a little fadeaway.

CW- got the party started. Really stepped up in a big way when Azzi was cold to start the game. I like that she kind of has that responsibility with the way the starting lineup is configured. She should be aggressive and lead the team off the gates.

I don't want to do the whole team. But everyone played like I expected in their minutes. Azzi and CW missed shots, but I feel like they took the right shots for the most part. AE was great as well.

I do think they will be challenged the next two games so I'm really looking forward to them.

 

[msf22b]

The scary part is that Uconn is not really playing that well yet as Fudd said the other day. Caroline's shot has been really off since she came back from her head injury and Azzi's shot is also pretty off today. Can't wait to see them rolling on all cylinders.

We scored 84 points with Azzi 4-13. Nika 1-4, Olivia with 4 points and Caroline 2-8.
And yet we shot 50% in toto

Seems unlikely

But that's the advantage of having nine, starter-type players
No one scored a ton but everyone else was over 50%
and got enough shots to matter, relatively few turnovers

If Azzi and Caroline have a good game (or any two from above) added to what we saw today?

That's the definition of "nasty."

 

[Longtime fan]

It's post-season! Wishing I could be at Mohegan Sun for the games with my family. @MilfordHusky is with them tho, so it's all good!

Ragged starts to Q1 and Q3. But then it was off to the races in the first half. And it was great to see Geno liberally using all 9 players. Loved seeing the full court press start early in the first half. Our defense was smothering after Georgetown scored 6 points on a pair of 3's. Finished the half on a 37-6 run.

• Of course it was great not only seeing Paige out there, but also with her shooting touch back. Points, rebounds and assists all on display for her. Paige being Paige - LOVED IT!!
• LOVE Azzi's confidence and all around game, but it's so odd to see her shot off. She missed more than she made today.
• Olivia was surprisingly MIA today. 1 point, 2 boards, 3 TO's. Not what I'd expect from a senior in her last BET.
• Nice all around game for Christyn. Hit her first 3 deep shots, then went 0-4 the rest of the game. But 5 steals? NICE!!
• Another nice game for Aaliyah. She's really strung together strong and consistent efforts.
• Not a lot of "stats" for Nika, but she is such a pest. DPOY well deserved!
• Nice solid games for Dorka and Evina
• Not sure what is going on with Caroline, but she seems to have regressed as the rest of the team has gotten healthy. Maybe it's the freshman wall. Hope she rights the ship soon.
• Great seeing Amari in and scoring!

Tourneys are all about surviving and advancing. This BET seems unique for UCONN in that IMHO we need to make a statement and really dominate. It's not like in the past where we knew we had a 1 seed locked up. We sure made a statement in the first half. 2nd half not so much. It was solid but unspectacular. Credit Georgetown for battling the entire game and coming out hard in H2.

Our core group of 9 all played and scored. Paige and Christyn really shined. Strong game by Aaliyah too. Geno said before the game that this was going to be an experiment. Win big, learn a few things, and on to the next game.

Geno has said in the past that the regular season is time to teach, learn, experiment, etc. It's when he has players working on things they don't do well to make them better players. When tourney time rolls around, critical Geno mostly disappears and Geno focuses more on what players do well and encourages more of that throughout the rest of the year. But we've never had a season like this before so the experiment continues! GO UCONN!!

I think Christen actually went 5 for 5, although one might have been waived off. But, you are right, then she went cold. And Caroline does seem to have regressed. Freshman wall or trying to deal with "not being the key person" who has to step up, to keep the ship afloat? I will tell you this, however: I have been watching the ACC and BIG10 conference tournaments. There are some really good teams, deep with talented players. It is so difficult to judge UCONN, watching them play ( and generally overwhelm ) the powers of the Big East, I mean DePaul has one really great player; So does Villanova. But none of them have 6-8 really great players. My point is, we can't beat many of the good teams we are soon going to face if AZZI misses more shots than she makes. If Caroline can't convert her drives. If Olivia scores 4 points, and Muhl 2 points.. We have a great edge in that we can bring in waves of players who are all as good as the players they are replacing. We can wear people down. But enough of the inconsistency. "There are no freshman on the team at this time of year." We need several stars to shine if we are to have a shot. And AZZI has to be one of them. Otherwise, we'll go home in the sweet sixteen.

 

[Wbbfan1]

UConn, played ok today against an Georgetown which had no chance of winning because of the talent disparity. UConn's low post play in the half court was not good, especially considering Geno in the 2nd half place an emphasis on getting the ball into the low post. Marquette if they play like they did today will be a challenge. Marquette is not afraid of UConn and they play a physical game. Hopefully Oliva will play more effectively then she did today.

If UConn ends up in the Greensboro Region with So Carolina they'll have to get great play by the Post players in order to pull off the upset.

 

[housekeys]

seriously tho, we're winning games by 6 touchdowns, or more.
in march.
when exactly do some constantly worrying fans here flip the switch, kick back, and instead just enjoy the ride?

You are mischaracterizing what some fans are saying. Speaking for myself, I am not worrying, and I am confident UConn can play and beat anyone, in the current state they are in. However, to answer your question, of when to stop "worrying", my answer is, when ONO becomes a factor in these 6 TD games. If ONO is not a factor against the top seeds, UConn will struggle to win those games. Hate to focus on just that one player, but that is just the way it is. Still, I have confidence in Olivia and UConn as a whole.

 

[HopJim]

I felt the refs were really clamping down on traveling calls today. I wonder if Olivia being whistled for this on our first possession got into her head.

I had watched a couple of SEC games prior to UConn and was amazed. While the footwork was similar, very few traveling calls in either of the SEC contests. Wondering if the leagues give their referee teams different guidance.

 

[STLCardinal]

Caroline is definitely a worry for Geno. Since the head injury she has not been the same, and to say she has regressed is an understatement, she’s gone from one of the top five freshmen in the country and the teams leader to a backup.

Not hard to understand why an 18 yr old kid going from having to play 35 minutes a game and carrying a big load to fitting into a nine player rotation, all while sufferering a head injury, would alter your shot a bit. On the other hand, your criticism, well that requires a thought process I don't want to understand.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Caroline is and will be fine. She defends, she rebounds, she moves off the ball and she's active around the rim. Her shot will work itself out.

 

[hoophuskee]

UConn, played ok today against an Georgetown which had no chance of winning because of the talent disparity. UConn's low post play in the half court was not good, especially considering Geno in the 2nd half place an emphasis on getting the ball into the low post. Marquette if they play like they did today will be a challenge. Marquette is not afraid of UConn and they play a physical game. Hopefully Oliva will play more effectively then she did today.

If UConn ends up in the Greensboro Region with So Carolina they'll have to get great play by the Post players in order to pull off the upset.

I'd be extremely surprised if there was much of a challenge.

 

[Bigboote]

' If you look close enough,'
i did, 4 months ago, and this is what i saw, only dependent upon health.


we're healthy now, so, too bad for everrone else.

Geez, I love Jimmy Cliff. I know what I'll be listening to tomorrow! (Aside from a couple hours at the symphony.)

 

[Bigboote]

I tell you what. There is no way SC, Stanford, or Louisville are afraid of UConn.

If I were Louisville, I'd be scared of UConn after the way Lou played yesterday.

 

[TeamFirst!]

All the sudden Caroline is fighting for PT, after having less pressure before and playing as much as she wanted. And it is not surprising that the injury set her back some and may still be affecting her some. I have no doubt she's doing her best and will have better games going forward. Maybe focusing more on just running to get open and getting those mismatches under the basket would be a huge contribution right now. Playing strong defense. Not worrying about shooting at all. It takes the pressure off and those are the core contributions she can make.

 

[MD#12Fan]

All the sudden Caroline is fighting for PT, after having less pressure before and playing as much as she wanted. And it is not surprising that the injury set her back some and may still be affecting her some. I have no doubt she's doing her best and will have better games going forward. Maybe focusing more on just running to get open and getting those mismatches under the basket would be a huge contribution right now. Playing strong defense. Not worrying about shooting at all. It takes the pressure off and those are the core contributions she can make.

One of the hardest things for a basketball player to learn is what a good shot is for them. Especially for a scorer like CD that scores many different ways and is a volume shooter. PB and can get 20 with 10-12 shots.
IMO Geno has to limit what CD does in the remaining games this year. He can tell her the shots he wants her to take. It will also help her to have a more defined role.
I‘m worried that UConn will be in a back and forth game and miss like 4 J’s in a row and find themselves down 6-8.