Iowa Postgame Thread | Page 4 | The Boneyard
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Iowa Postgame Thread

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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
 
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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.
 
jazz said:
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.
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Azzi of the past would have stopped shooting if she was missing a ton of shots. See the 2025 USC game. This Azzi that keeps shooting… that’s what we want
 
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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IMO, Geno will not call off the dogs until the opposing coach does. If you are down by 20+ points in the 4th Q and there's really no way to score and stop the winning team, I've always thought it was the losing team that usually does it first. Then again, if UConn is up by a healthy 30+, I'm betting Geno does sub out.
 
Monte said:
God forbid, but what if injuries pop up to some of the starters? Give your 4 or 5 top reserves MORE playing time. Let them be ready so there will be no pause in the forward movement of this team.
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IMG_1940.jpeg
 
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Couple X's and O's questions:
Why do you think UConn did not trap much yesterday? Most of the pressure was just on-ball.
Why does it seem that UConn does not try to front the post on the block. We seem ok with playing behind the post. Remember against UCLA in the Final Four Jana was super successful fronting Betts.
 
SVCBeercats said:
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.
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To refute your point, go back and take a look at the Michigan game replay. When Michigan got to two points with 26 seconds remaining, Geno subbed in Allie for Serah Williams expecting Michigan to foul, which they did. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Sarah got the ball into Azzi, who is probably one of the best free throw shooters in the nation. Allie wasn't the recipient of the inbounds pass, but Geno trusts that she is a better free throw shooter than Serah. But the point remains, you don't sub in someone you don't trust when the game is on the line (unless fouls or injuries dictate otherwise.) Depending upon the situation and match-ups, Geno does trust Blanca, Allie, and Kayleigh to deliver.
 
FanSince17 said:
Couple X's and O's questions:
Why do you think UConn did not trap much yesterday? Most of the pressure was just on-ball.
Why does it seem that UConn does not try to front the post on the block. We seem ok with playing behind the post. Remember against UCLA in the Final Four Jana was super successful fronting Betts.
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Traps happen when the team you’re guarding gets stuck in the corner or picks up their dribble without a plan to pass or shoot the ball. Iowa is a well coached team that works hard on not getting themselves into those situations. With that said, UConn did trap yesterday, whenever those opportunities arose, forcing several turnovers.

Fronting the post is a highly risky defense. In fact, many posts try to get defenders on their back, facing the basket (fronting the post) resulting in an easy entry pass and layup. That happened several times yesterday with Iowa post players. One of the very best at it is Sarah, who will get a player on her back, lock her there, turn to the basket and receive an entry pass for an easy layup.

There are only a handful of defenders I have ever seen who are consistently effective when attempting to front a post. The best was Gabby Williams. While she is only 5’11”, Gabby’s incredible athleticism and jumping ability allowed her to front a much bigger post and still get her hands on most entry passes.

You mention the game against UCLA last year. UConn did not play Betts the same way all game. I wouldn’t call what Jana was doing “ fronting.” She was overplaying to one side, with her arm extended to try to get a hand on entry passes. UConn also doubled and tripled Betts whenever she put the ball on the floor. In the first half, UConn was very effective against Betts as the Huskies built a big lead. In the 2nd half, not so much, as Betts ended the game with 26 pts.
 
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oldude said:
Traps happen when the team you’re guarding gets stuck in the corner or picks up their dribble without a plan to pass or shoot the ball. Iowa is a well coached team that works hard on not getting themselves into those situations. With that said, UConn did trap yesterday, whenever those opportunities arose, forcing several turnovers.

Fronting the post is a highly risky defense. In fact, many posts try to get defenders on their back, facing the basket (fronting the post) resulting in an easy entry pass and layup. That happened several times yesterday with Iowa post players. One of the very best at it is Sarah, who will get a player on her back, lock her there, turn to the basket and receive an entry pass for an easy layup.

There are only a handful of defenders I have ever seen who are consistently effective when attempting to front a post. The best was Gabby Williams. While she is only 5’11”, Gabby’s incredible athleticism and jumping ability allowed her to front a much bigger post and still get her hands on most entry passes.

You mention the game against UCLA last year. UConn did not play Betts the same way all game. I wouldn’t call what Jana was doing “ fronting.” She was overplaying to one side, with her arm extended to try to get a hand on entry passes. UConn also doubled and tripled Betts whenever she put the ball on the floor. In the first half, UConn was very effective against Betts as the Huskies built a big lead. In the 2nd half, not so much, as Betts ended the game with 26 pts.
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I appreciate your terrific response. I always look for your posts and I value them greatly.
As with most tactics and strategies, there are pros and cons and/or two sides of the coin. I loved the game and I'm not quibbling about any of Geno's decisions. I am just opening up the possibility that we had some advantages that we could have exploited more.
In my "career" I was taught how to front a post. You are certainly right that it opens up a high pass overtop. A lot can go wrong when the offense lobs a pass. UConn is fantastic at sliding over weakside, so that would be done. Our posts, especially Sarah, Serah, and Blanca are incredibly agile and they are going to intercept or disrupt those passes. Basically, I'm just talking about overplay, which UConn is doing 94 feet better than anyone else in the country. Overplay the posts. That's all.
I'll be honest, it bugs me when a post can catch the ball on the block and just turn and score.
I have posted and you have liked my analysis of UConn post defense against Betts. It was masterful. The guards came down beautifully and doubled. And yes, Jana took away numerous post passes, including 2 or 3 steals. You don't have to call me on that. Fronting the post is a legitimate strategy and IMO the tactic would be effective for UConn. You're the best!
 
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