If you were Muffet

[RockyMTblue2]

They have some fearsome offensive weapons. Try to hit from outside early and get the O to drive for early fouls. If O would pass if she doesn't looklike what she's seeing pass to Shepard.

 

[Vowelguy]

I would agree with the Slough off CD strategy IF you agree that last Monday was an aberration. I haven’t checked the stats but it certainly was above average.

The issue with a shooting performance like the other night is expecting everything to go in next time and getting frustrated/tight if they don’t.

 

[Checkmate]

 

[Gus Mahler]

I'd say Woodford and Knob Creek are comparable. I prefer Woodford but I know people who feel the opposite.

Ditto that.

 

[Los24]

A

Interestingly, the 3 teams in the Final along with UConn are all teams that I thought going into the tournament have the offensively capability to scoring enough points to really make a run at UConn. Just a tinch off in shooting for any of the 4 teams could be trouble for each of them - we saw that last year...

All that is true yet it was defense that beat us last year in the final four.

 

[itsasport]

Muffet in the press conference talked about the issue of only having a 7 player rotation

Remind me, what is the UConn rotation?

Assuming each team shoots the ball pretty well, it is going to come down to conditioning, and team speed...both favor UConn.

Also, UConn will have the rare advantage of height. Z is going to have a big impact.

 

[DICKG]

how would you go about devising a game plan for tomorrow?

I would borrow Sister Jean.

 

[JordyG]

You can have a mass anywhere...after all, we bring the priests with us!

You may need to. I especially like your take on Lou on McGraw's Bench about the last time ND played UConn. Lou who, covered mostly by Mabrey, limped throughout the game and finally limped off, "Marina Mabrey, who had the gaul to play defense on Katie Lou Samuelsson, who is still pouting about it. M2 outscored KLS, too. " Somewhere I think I missed the Lou pout part. Perhaps the same M2 will cover her again tomorrow .

 

[bballnut90]

They really don’t match up at all with UCONN, but if they’re going to win they need big nights from Arike and Mabrey. What Notre Dame lacks in atheticism they make up in craftiness. None of Mabrey, Shepard, and Young are extremely athletic, but all are extremely crafty and capable of creating their own shot. I think Westbeld could be a huge weapon too because she is very good from the high post, and if she can knock down a couple of shots early, it may generate looks for Mabrey and Arike on the perimeter, or open lanes for Young to get to the basket. If Arike starts to play hero ball, it’ll be a long night for ND. She can’t force shots.

Most important is they cannot settle for perimeter shots. All of their players are capable rebounders, but perimeter shots mean long rebounds that UCONN will have an edge to grabbing due their quickness and it’ll lead to fast break opportunities. They cannot get in a running game with UCONN.

Defensively, I think they need to give open shots from 12 feet and back to Collier, Stevens and Williams. Close out on the 3 lights out perimeter shooters, and do the best they can on Z.

I’m sure Muffet has something up her sleeve. The only time she was really blown out by Geno in the last 6-7 years was the 2014 title game when they just lost Achonwa and Dolson/Stewart completely abused freshman Taya Reimer inside. Even the 2013 semifinal was a close game until about 5-6 minutes to go.

Another factor I haven’t seen mentioned is that no one on ND’s roster has ever beat UCONN. For as much poise and confidence they show compared to most other teams, they self destructed in December. If they find themselves in a similar position, I’m not convinced they’ll remained poised and be able to close it out.

 

[Orangutan]

None of Mabrey, Shepard, and Young are extremely athletic

Would disagree with respect to Young. There's a reason why she jumps for the tip-off at only 6-0. There's a reason she was able to get 13 boards against Oregon. Etc.

She doesn't have the kind of lateral agility and (for lack of better word) shimmy that Arike does but she's a good leaper and has excellent body control.

 

[JoePgh]

Another factor I haven’t seen mentioned is that no one on ND’s roster has ever beat UCONN.

That is not technically true, unless you strictly mean Notre Dame's currently active roster. One of their injured players, Lili Thompson, did play a significant role as a member of the Stanford team in beating UConn in 2014. She hit the 3-point shot at the end of regulation that tied the game and sent it into overtime.

 

[Dillon77]

Perhaps the Tonya Harding approach x 6?
View attachment 30237

Hey, ND is in the frozen four, too. Let's bring in ND Hockey Coach Jeff Jackson for some advice.....

 

[Tenspro2002]

I would face guard Samuelson all over the floor and deny her touches.
I would sag off Dangerfield and force her to beat me from the outside.
I would take away the paint and force Williams to make jump shots.
I would look to pound the ball inside and use my size.

I've said this all year.

Go to a box-and-1 against Lou, make Nurse and Dangerfield hit 3's, make Williams, Collier, and Stevens hit the foul line jumper or finish through contact.

On offense, drive and kick for 3's. We have struggled to lock down the 3-point line at times.

 

[Mister2]

If I were MM, I really would need no elaborate battle plan against UCONN (I know too well how they play already for crying out loud). Barring injuries to and fouling outs of players on both teams, to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat ALL of the following would have to happen:

1. their defense breaks down;
2. their shots not dropping; and
3. we shoot lights out.

In other words, to beat UCONN, they would have to have an off-night, and we would have to play the mother of all games.

Possible? Of course. Probable? You might say that, I couldn't possibly comment.

 

[TitleTown]

Who is going to face guard Lou?
What happens when CD starts nailing 3s?
Who is going to take away the paint with Z and Pheesa in the game? And Gabby is making her jump shots.
What inside size? Did it work in the last game?
But all good ideas in theory. I think Dawn and SC had similar plans...

Young would probably guard Samuelson.
If Dangerfield beats you from the outside, you just tip your hat.
Shepard, Westbeld, Mabrey can take away the paint. Williams hasn't been able to consistently make a 15 foot jump shot for 4 years.
Shepard and Westbeld both are taller than any of the UConn starters. Yes, it did
SC is not even close to being as good a team as ND is!

 

[Bronx23]

There are a lot of really insightful comments about ND, it's players and it's coach, MM. She's probably the closest thing to Geno that there is currently and has been for many years. She will surely come up with a variety of strategies to counteract all and any of the advantages U Conn has. She also has some very gutsy and skilled players, but no more and no less than her opponent - essentially both have a short bench. So the more I read these comments with bright, well thought out posts, this sounds like a tough, close game, that seemingly U Conn will pull out. And yes, if many things go ND's way they could actually win.
While I wouldn't say I'm 100% sure, I'd like to propose an alternate universe. As U Conn did against SC, they will come out driven and on fire and then MM will use a timeout or two to re-focus her team. At that point they will either hang in and keep it close, or maybe on this one night, tomorrow night, it won't matter as U Conn is playing on another level. Then the goal will be to prevent an embarrassing loss.
I truly don't know which way this will go tomorrow night. Logic tells me ND & MM will make it close but I'm feeling a very one sided game from early on.
But, that's why they play the games. I can't wait!
Bronx23

 

[itsasport]

What amazes me about Geno is that he can remember salient points about games from decades ago.

I, on the other hand, had petty much forgotten almost everything about this year's ND game.

In my previous post, I ventured that Z would take ND apart. Well, that wasn't such a stretch because she did it in that game. Unless their tallest player can jump in 4" heels, there is no reason to believe that things will change in tomorrows game.

Additionally, I forgot that Gabby had a migraine. She played 17 minutes and was 1/7. Also Lou went out in the second half with a sprained ankle; but still scored 18 in 28 minutes.

If UConn does not have a horrible night and ND still manages to win, Muffet should be crowned "Coach-of-the-Year-for Life," and the players should be nominated for sainthood. It normally required 5 miracles, but they would probably be granted a pass
(with Geno's recommendation, because we all know that he is in tight with the Almighty.)

 

[eebmg]

Hey, ND is in the frozen four, too. Let's bring in ND Hockey Coach Jeff Jackson for some advice.....

Does ND WBB really need advice from hockey? They already know how to body check. Still our resident hockey player (NDPOY) may have something to say.

 

[the Q]

I would face guard Samuelson all over the floor and deny her touches.
I would sag off Dangerfield and force her to beat me from the outside.
I would take away the paint and force Williams to make jump shots.
I would look to pound the ball inside and use my size.

This. This is the very narrow path ND has to winning.

And then you hope that Mabry and Ogum are hot from the outside.

 

[inthisopinion]

We certainly have advantages
But to deride ND is silly
They played a wonderfully efficient 2nd half the other evening; really quite brilliant.

If I was Muffit, I would be looking into ways of getting Ms O. some free space to do her thing and ways for Marina to get looks.

If I was Geno, I'd be countering these moves.

Remember in the early game, we rallied with Gabby on the bench and Lou in the locker room.

We certainly have advantages (redundant) but you have to play the game.

Basketball is a simple game mostly because there are only 5 on a side. ND should build their offense around Mabrey & Ms O while concentrating on taking KLS out of the game. Mabrey definitely has to look to score much more and limiting KLS should be relatively easy because UConn's history has been to not oppose that plan very strongly. They are able to get away with it the vast majority of the time because the competition is not strong enough. These things are ND's only chance for a chance to win.

 

[HoopsFan21]

We will have our answer in 12 hours. I think we see a lot more Z tonight especially if Crystal Dangerfield isn't lighting it up like she did the other night. I think the "big" line up of Kia-Lou-Gabby-Collier-Z line up could be problematic for ND.

 

[HopJim]

This. This is the very narrow path ND has to winning.

And then you hope that Mabry and Ogum are hot from the outside.

While these are all interesting tactics, if ND is hot from outside the game will be a toss up.

 

[Dillon77]

On Friday evening, I respectfully submit that the Irish will have to:

- start off scoring with the Huskies from the get go, particularly from range. In games against UConn away from home, Marina Mabrey does this, often carrying the Irish until Arike Ogunbowale and/or Jackie Young gets in gear. Irish cannot afford to fall behind like they did against Texas A&M. "We're not in Spokane, anymore Toto..." If the shots are falling early, everyone gets confidence.
- be careful with the ball. S. Carolina's turnovers against UConn were like giving mulligans to Tiger Woods in his prime. Once again, that's primarily on Mabrey as the de facto "lead" guard, but also Jackie Young (no cross-court passes, Jackie!) and Kat Westbeld's entry passes from the foul line/elbow.
- battle the Huskies on 50-50s. In rebounding, put butts on bodies and cut down on UConn's second chances. That also allows the Irish to get into transition, which we do awfully well. On the offensive side, battle hard...might get some put-backs and, even if not successful, can slow down UConn's breaks, which are just as fearsome.

On loose balls, tough task because I feel like the Huskies are a team of triathletes and while the Irish are in much better shape than some think, no one is going to accuse Shep or Koko Nelson of running long distances and Kat Westbeld probably couldn't now with her ankle injuries. But just don't give up on the situations. This will fall primarily to Young, Ogunbowale and ...who else...Mabrey.

- On defense, It's a bit of a quandry. Would like to go man on your guards, but UConn's bigs -- be it as it may with some -- are so much quicker than the Irish bigs (see comment above). Maybe a bit of both zone and man. If Irish go man, I could see Marina put on Samuelson; renewing a match-up that started at the McDonald's game.

- Keep the intensity up and keep it close. Try to get the Huskies thinking (more than) a bit.

Lot of this feels like normal, common-sensical which I admit it is. But that's what the Irish have to do to eliminate the "little" things from adding up: a box-out missed here, a sec late for a missed ball that leads to a lay up there. Make an extra pass to free up Mabrey for a 3. Have Jackie slip a box out for a put-back there.

Proud of the Irish all season and in this tourney. Admire UConn's performance this season. Let's play ball!

 

[UConnCat]

UConn will attack Notre Dame in the paint as they have the past few years, including when Turner played. UConn has felt it has the advantage there and I don't see them thinking differently heading in to this game. Notre Dame has been playing zone mostly (3-2 and occasional 1-3-1), but has switched to occasional man in the tournament. I'm sure Muffet has some junk options available depending on how things are going. Muffet said last year that Young was the only Irish player she thought could defend Samuelson so I suspect that'll be the match-up if ND plays man. UConn will get plenty of good shots; they just have to make them.

Shepard is a more skilled offensive player than Turner so her presence makes ND even more difficult to defend. UConn plays primarily a switching man defense but will play more zone with Z on the court. Should be an interesting chess match.

 

[Centerstream]

Young would probably guard Samuelson.
If Dangerfield beats you from the outside, you just tip your hat.
Shepard, Westbeld, Mabrey can take away the paint. Williams hasn't been able to consistently make a 15 foot jump shot for 4 years.
Shepard and Westbeld both are taller than any of the UConn starters. Yes, it did
SC is not even close to being as good a team as ND is!

I see what you did there "starters"...well, Gabby sat out the second half with a migraine, so Z and Pheesa started the second half, so who is taller and they scored 17 and 15 points respectively so I guess the size of of ND prevented them from scoring 20 or 30 points.

But hey, these are opinions on what Muffett will do so any plan is going to work in the mind of the beholder...I am looking forward to the game, Mabrey's whining, and ND getting all the calls...because as everyone knows, they have been dealt such a bad hand this season with the 4 ACLs! Can't tell me that isn't a factor in their games.

 

[Golden Husky]

Unless I missed it, I'm surprised no one has posted an angst poll.