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Iowa Postgame Thread

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I enjoyed being in NYC for the holidays and watching Tennessee lose by 20+ and UConn win by 20+.

I was impressed by Iowa. There are a talented, well-coached team. But UConn was a lot better. Sarah Strong dominated the first half. I though she could go for 40. Azzi heated up in the second half. As Geno notes, she has the ability to break open games. That's exactly what she did. Blanca is a menace!

Iowa shot 49/47/75, which is usually a winning line. But 26 turnovers can undo good shooting.

Congrats to the Huskies and Happy Holidays to all!
 
oldude said:
Some postgame thoughts on the Iowa game:
  • Iowa is very good and the 11th ranked team in the nation. But like a lot of other good teams, the Hawkeyes could not keep pace with a UConn team that is too deep, too talented and too well-coached.
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Too talented? Yes! Too deep? No! Geno has 6 players he trusts in Top 25 games. All the other players get ten or less minutes of garbage time. Geno is still trying to find 2-3 more players to trust. Probably would be happy with one more. Potential is there but no one is stepping up. I would like to see the Guppy make some strides to push others such as K9. Jana needs to produce in the Big East games to gain Geno's trust for the tough games. Maybe Allie will begin to be the three-maker when Fudd is off. Allie needs to work on her whole game. She is shooting 44% from 3.
 
victor64 said:
-Iowa had 26 TOs. I wonder how many UConn causes on the average per game. DavidInNaples?
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DavidinNaples

Post in thread 'Iowa Postgame Thread'

victor64 said:
-20 pts, 5 steals, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 0 TOs. Great game right? Nope. Strong’s first half stats. We won’t see a better first half from anybody all year.

-Azzi’s 3-9 first half shooting is misleading. All three of her 3 balls went in and out. It is actually a positive that she didn’t hesitate in the second half until it finally clicked in. Man did it click in.

-Iowa’s zone bothered UConn some. Still don’t understand why more teams don’t try it.

-KK making threes is just another part of the great season she is putting together.

-Blanca for Ash is probably Geno’s version of...
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  • Like
  • Love
 
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Vowelguy said:
I thought she was not effective in her minutes. Wasn’t surprised at her lack of time.
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It seems like the K9's lack of effectiveness is due to communication errors between her and her teammates (her and Sarah in the first half). That is something that can only be helped with more time on the court together. If you note, she, Blanca, and Allie mesh well -- as they get time together.

Geno knows what he is doing and I wouldn't want to take KK all that much either, but I hope he finds more ways for her to get reps on the court with the starters. At some point (like against Michigan), KK and Ash aren't going to be contributing all that much and the KK led offense isn't generating great shots for Sarah and Azzi. In that moment, it would be nice if K9 and Allie were better positioned to provide alternatives.
 
SVCBeercats said:
Too deep? No! Geno has 6 players he trusts in Top 25 games. All the other players get ten or less minutes of garbage time. Geno is still trying to find 2-3 more players to trust. Probably would be happy with one more. Potential is there but no one is stepping up.
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I get your point, but I think you aren’t giving Kayleigh Allie and Blanca enough credit. It looks to me like those three are already in the process of stepping up. This is especially true of Allie and Blanca. Kayleigh may have a bit further to go to get fully up to speed. But her role is inevitably going to be more complicated than theirs. Anyway, this says to me that Geno has an 8-deep rotation already shaping up nicely. The only question is whether he can find two more.
 
HopJim said:
Saw a bit of South Carolina and Joyce Edwards play today . She is the real deal. That being said, Serah Edward's shot blocking showcase gives me confidence should we meet SC in the playoffs. Serah may have only been credited with 3 blocks, but she easily changed another 5-8 shots. One of the better shot blocking displays by a UConn player in several years. Best offensive game of the year for Serah as well. Strong had the best UConn 1st half performance but Williams was a major contributor as well throughout the game.
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Who is serah edwards?? And what does Joyce Edwards have to do with this game
 
After listening to the Iowa HC, I now put her in the same category, class wise, as Megan Duffy.

They both were able to take some of the blame for their mistakes after getting blown away by the Huskies. And just as importantly they both gave Geno and UCONN a tremendous amount of credit and praise; saying at least once that UCONN is the standard and that Geno recruits kids that enjoy playing together.

I especially liked Jansen's closing remark at the end of her presser as she was departing, saying to the media, "Thanks for covering our sport". Classy.
 
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One thing that disappoints me is the ESPN recap (courtesy of AP): "Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 23 to help No. 1 UConn beat 11th-ranked Iowa 90-64 on Saturday in the Women's Champions Classic."

It would be a lot more accurate to say Sarah carried UConn to a substantial lead in the first half, and Azzi helped hold off Iowa in the second half.
 
Bone Dog said:
I get your point, but I think you aren’t giving Kayleigh Allie and Blanca enough credit. It looks to me like those three are already in the process of stepping up. This is especially true of Allie and Blanca. Kayleigh may have a bit further to go to get fully up to speed. But her role is inevitably going to be more complicated than theirs. Anyway, this says to me that Geno has an 8-deep rotation already shaping up nicely. The only question is whether he can find two more.
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Not talking about if the "untrusted" players are giving it their all. I am saying right now Geno plays Fudd, Strong, Williams, KK, Shade, and Quinonez exclusively against Top 25 teams except for garbage time. This tells me who he trusts in crunch time. When a 7th player gets 12-15 minutes while the tough games are still even somewhat competitive then I will believe there may be trust forming in Geno's mind. I am certain 2 or three will achieve trust but I don't believe it is there as of now.
 
Bone Dog said:
I get your point, but I think you aren’t giving Kayleigh Allie and Blanca enough credit. It looks to me like those three are already in the process of stepping up. This is especially true of Allie and Blanca. Kayleigh may have a bit further to go to get fully up to speed. But her role is inevitably going to be more complicated than theirs. Anyway, this says to me that Geno has an 8-deep rotation already shaping up nicely. The only question is whether he can find two more.
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Actually I am giving Blanca credit. Again the 6 players with Geno's trust are Fudd, Strong, Williams, KK, Shade, and Quinonez. Quinonez as in Blanca Quinonez.
 
Had great seats at the game and thoroughly enjoyed being there with my crew. When you see them live you do not want the game to end. I would be so engrossed in the game and then look up and see we were up by 20 or more but think it was close.

Sarah had an incredible first half. It's not just the stats it's the other little things as well. My favorite has become popping the ball out of a player's hands from behind. She does it so stealthily.

Blanca is just mesmerizing to watch on defense. You can just sense when she is going to attack and steal the ball. 5 assists and 4 steals is just unreal for a 6th man. She came in early because of some issue with Serah's shoe or foot but didn't do much until the second time she came in when she reverted back to her old form. She is a unique player.

Azzi was so funny when she missed a 3 and the ball went over the backboard. She smiled and just shook her head as if to say "what do I have to do?" but then caught on fire. If she was on at all tonight she would have had 40.

Everybody else did their jobs out there. Iowa is a very good team but you would not know it if you were just watching them tonight for the first time.

Just a note on the first game and a self pat on the back for predicting after our opener that Louisville would greatly improve which they have. That game turned when the Lady Cards pressed and doubled Tennessee back which bodes well for us. The Vols are very, very big and strong but it doesn't mean a thing when the ball doesn't go into the paint enough.

Can't get enough of our team. No lie.
 
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Bone Dog said:
One thing that disappoints me is the ESPN recap (courtesy of AP): "Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 23 to help No. 1 UConn beat 11th-ranked Iowa 90-64 on Saturday in the Women's Champions Classic."

It would be a lot more accurate to say Sarah carried UConn to a substantial lead in the first half, and Azzi helped hold off Iowa in the second half.
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Bone Dog, you probably would have avoided your disappointment if you hadn't stopped reading after the first sentence. Below in quotes is the first five paragraphs of the ESPN/AP recap. Not only spot-on accurate, but it reads sorta exactly what you were hoping for, does it not?.

"NEW YORK -- — Azzi Fudd scored 27 points and Sarah Strong added 23 to help No. 1 UConn beat 11th-ranked Iowa 90-64 on Saturday in the Women's Champions Classic.

Strong also had seven rebounds and six steals for the Huskies (12-0), who remained unbeaten on the season heading into the holidays. No. 16 Louisville routed 17th-ranked Tennessee 89-65 in the opener of the doubleheader.

Strong, the sensational sophomore, dominated the first half with 20 points and five steals as UConn led 42-31.

UConn was up 22-12 after one quarter before Iowa was able to get within six in the second. Strong wouldn't let them get closer as she scored seven points, including the first five, in a 10-2 run that gave the Huskies a 35-20 advantage midway through the quarter. On one play, Strong got a steal, then went the length of the court for a lay-in.

Iowa couldn't get closer than nine the rest of the way as Fudd had 21 of her 27 points in the second half. UConn scored the first six points of the third quarter to put the game away."
 
Congrats to UConn for a completely dominating victory. We absolutely will pay money to avoid UConn in the pairings to attempt to get to the Final Four. Review of the box score was surprising: felt like the Huskies shot about 60% from 3 but alas, it was only 13-29 for 45%.

26 turnovers by us was disappointing; I expected 20 at least, but not the type that UConn forced. So many of them were just "poke aways"; Iowa needs to be much stronger with the ball. The other thing that was really embarrassing was our offensive flow; non-existent would be kind. UConn's could be described as: "pass and cut"; Iowa's: "dribble and watch". Huskies play great D; quite a bit easier when your opponent doesn't even move on offense.

This loss will be beneficial to Iowa's growth. Good luck to you the rest of the way.
 
ec33 said:
It seems like the K9's lack of effectiveness is due to communication errors between her and her teammates (her and Sarah in the first half). That is something that can only be helped with more time on the court together. If you note, she, Blanca, and Allie mesh well -- as they get time together.

Geno knows what he is doing and I wouldn't want to take KK all that much either, but I hope he finds more ways for her to get reps on the court with the starters. At some point (like against Michigan), KK and Ash aren't going to be contributing all that much and the KK led offense isn't generating great shots for Sarah and Azzi. In that moment, it would be nice if K9 and Allie were better positioned to provide alternatives.
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You are correct! K-9 needs more time to blend in with ALL team mates.
 
Surly1 said:
It may be a case of recency bias on my part, but given her current trajectory, Sarah Strong is playing her way onto the pantheon of UConn greats. I honestly can't recall a player of her size with such nimble hands. Her basketball IQ is off the charts and the only true comparison I have for her is Maya Moore.

Blanca is far from a finished product, but under Geno's tutelage, the final version might turn into the ultimate nightmare for UConn opponents. Once she harnesses her natural talents and tightens up her game, she will be an unstoppable force.
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I agree with the comparison of Maya
 
VA Huskie said:
But only when she stops taking a shot a minute and gets that speed under control.
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Honestly, a freshman shooting career 45% after only coming into the game for spot minutes out of rhythm and when the game has already slowed to mostly half-court offense? I say keep shooting! I'd be real interested to see what she could do with serious reps alongside the first unit.
 
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SVCBeercats said:
Not talking about if the "untrusted" players are giving it their all. I am saying right now Geno plays Fudd, Strong, Williams, KK, Shade, and Quinonez exclusively against Top 25 teams except for garbage time. This tells me who he trusts in crunch time. When a 7th player gets 12-15 minutes while the tough games are still even somewhat competitive then I will believe there may be trust forming in Geno's mind. I am certain 2 or three will achieve trust but I don't believe it is there as of now.
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We are only 12 games into the season…I’ll wait and see until late February before I worry about who he trusts. This team will keep evolving with more only 30% of the season completed.
 
Bjbod said:
The other thing that was really embarrassing was our offensive flow; non-existent would be kind. UConn's could be described as: "pass and cut"; Iowa's: "dribble and watch".
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I wonder if this was partly because of the injury to Kylie. Remove her from the offense, the glue player, and it’s harder on everyone else. That was an unfortunate slip.
 
Stagnant said:
I am surprised Geno played the starters so much in the 4th quarter. Maybe he was thinking about the Michigan game? I do think he should have stuck with Heckel to start the 4th quarter. The decision to bring back KK meant she was only in the game for like 2 minutes; she gets some really short spurts sometimes.
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I think he only did it because he feels he needs to get those starters more minutes against good competition.
 
oldude said:
Here’s a stat. With 6 assists and 0 turnovers today, KK’s A/TO ratio is now a ridiculous 5.5, which puts her 2nd in the nation to Rori Harmon at TX who’s at 5.67.
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KK has grown so much since freshman year. People who only look at scoring may not notice this but she is sooooo much better now. She has always been an effervescent personality (and still is) but she now exudes this quiet sense of maturity as well. So glad she chose UConn!
 
Centerstream said:
A really, really good game by UConn. When Iowa cut the lead down to 11, I was expecting them to continue their charge. But we started the 3rd quarter with a run and suddenly we had a more comfortable lead that continued into the 4th quarter.
Even though her stats didn't really show it, I think Serah showed the skill set she had at Wisconsin. I felt like Iowa wasn't really trying to challenge her. She also had a couple of timely blocks...something I hope she will bring to every future game.
Watching live, I had no idea that Stuelke scored 17 points. I thought that we had pretty much shut down Heiden and her. Hmm.
Another fun game to watch the replay of.
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Agreed about Serah. I think we are about to see her break out. Admittedly, it is likely to happen (if it does) at least partially because we are heading into a stretch of non conference games but I don't think that really matters. I think she has essentially worked through the shock of the superior competition and now only needs a couple or three games in which she can put up some numbers closer to what she did at Wisconsin. When that happens, and I believe we are about to see it, we will see a gradual build up to double digit scoring, 7-9 boards, and a consistent 2 or three blocks. If we can get that (or more) going into March Madness, this team will be really scary!
 
Overall, we beat a top team by almost 30 and one could argue that we had a off shooting night in the first.

One thing that scares me about Azzi is that she can miss a lot of shots before she starts hitting again. The good thing is that she then hits a lot of shots. I think she made 4 of her last 5 three pointers which is insane.

KK is the consummate floor general. I have been very impressed with her decision making. Not just by the passes she makes, but also by the passes she doesn't make. You can count on her making the right decision most every time, which is a big relief for a coach. If she could hit a couple more shots, she could be all american. I'd like to know what the Assist TO ratio for our guards is to the opponents. Its nice to know in every game we have better guards that the opposition.

Bianca is just scratching the surface. She is rough around the edges but still good enough to make a huge impact when she enters the game.

Two players I'm still trying to figure out: Jana and Allie. I am beginning to think that Janna is not going to evolve into a scorer but instead a good rebounder and a couple put backs a game.

Allie, she can shoot no doubt, but I think she is a real liability against quicker players, making her a tricky substitution for Geno. Not so much this game, but in others and in the future.
 
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