Louisville Post-Game Thread

[UConnCat]

I do realize that this game may be an aberration for her because she has supposedly been very good this year though I haven't had a chance to see a lot of their games because I live in Florida.

Not supposedly, Crystal has been terrific this season. That's a fact. Not her best game tonight.

 

[Centerstream]

According to Andy Landers, Louisville won the second half because Coach Walz made the correct adjustments at halftime which I guess also means that Andy doesn't think that Geno did. Hmmm.

 

[Carnac]

Congratulations to Geno, his staff and the players for a hard fought win over the #4 team in the country. Congratulations are also in order for those posters that had the conviction and the onions to predict a double digit win tonight. My hat is off to you all!!!

 

[Zinethar]

To me it appeared that the starters pushed hard to get up 20 then they took the foot off the petal and just tried to maintain. Many teams do that for just as many reasons. Problem with that strategy is when the other team gets hot that lead can shrink. Each time it did plays were run to bring it back under control. I never felt the result was in danger. Biggest thing I've noticed since Chrystal has had to rest is that when Kia runs the point her place as the #2 scoring threat stops. It then makes the offense much more limited.Relax all, Louisville was/is the #4 team in the country. Handled. No one appears to have been seriously injured. I thought the announcing was outstanding from both the studio and arena. The conditioning is a result of trying to get more floor time for the bench. Can't do both - give bench time and get starters in shape for 40 minutes.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Hopefully teams will learn from playing against us (UConn) and make adjustments so come tournament time we get really exciting games where we don’t no the outcome of the game until the very end.

Is this a serious take?

I hope we win every game by 50.

 

[UConnCat]

According to Andy Landers, Louisville won the second half because Coach Walz made the correct adjustments at halftime which I guess also means that Andy doesn't think that Geno did. Hmmm.

Good for Jeff. He made adjustments.

Not all games are decided in the 2nd half or the 4th quarter. Some games are decided in the first half or, like tonight, in the 1st quarter. When the game was being decided Jeff's team didn't make shots and turned the ball over.

A month ago UConn was down 10 in the 1st quarter to an inspired Texas team in front of a raucous crowd. That game could have been decided in the 1st quarter had UConn not made plays and made shots to keep it close. That's what winning teams do.

 

[eebmg]

In the second half, we got open shots but missed more than usual and Durr played outstanding and Hines played well against a pretty tight defense imho. We probably should have tried a little more pressure because we did not force turnovers but I think we felt the offense would come naturally.

 

[Jaybird65]

A very interesting game to watch from the UConn side. Foot on the gas like crazy 1st half. Louisville cut down on turnovers & made shots 2nd half; we cooled off shooting as one would expect; sometimes pass a little too much. I actually thought the pace of the 2nd half played into UConn's hands; Louisville was pretty much in a position where they needed to make just about every shot in the 2nd half to come back because of the length of possessions; the time of each possession minimized the number of possessions for Louisville. We did what we needed to do to win the game & that's the objective.

 

[Lynx23]

Kia face guards and stays in front of player better while Gabby creates more turnovers, can recover better if initially beat, help defends better and obviously (defensive) rebounds better. Gabby also contributes on offense more even when guarding a tough opponent where it seems Kia does not score much (when guarding/focusing on a high scorer.) Both should be all defense though.

Your points are well taken but Kia usually has the tougher assignment, chasing the opponent's best shooter all over the floor all game long, which may explain why her offensive production suffers. However, the remaining four on the floor are all shooters and don't ordinarily require her points so this is rarely an issue. Kia simply does her job as a defender, which becomes her primary role on the floor. She played great tonight and wasn't personally responsible for many of Durr's points, which came when she was either on the bench or after she had switched off to another player on defense.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Is this a serious take?

I hope we win every game by 50.

Yes, it’s a serious take. I personally prefer to watch close games in lieu of blowouts. To me they’re more entertaining.

 

[rt bb fan]

I agree about the starters. Our starting five look good and I don't think there is a better starting five out there. But when you sub, and even Geno has to at some point, yikes. I like the starting five being roughly the same height, 4 of the 5 can shoot the 3, they can all defend, spacing tends to very good, everyone is fast enough to run the fast break, or cut for back doors, etc. When they sub in Z everything is disrupted.

I agree when Z comes in everything is disrupted, she brings no continuity to what the team is doing. The flow of the game changes. It's too bad MW got sick, because she was fitting in with the team. Now she gone back to where she was at the beginning of the season, to bad,

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Shout out to Kia: "Thanks to the suffocating defense by UConn’s Kia Nurse, national player of the year candidate Asia Durr did not score her first points until 5:49 remained in the first half. By that point UConn already led by 18 points." UConn women strike quickly, take down No. 4 Louisville

 

[NEforceUConn]

One flaw is there is no spark or instant offense coming in off the bench. At times I thought MW would bring this and I do hope she develops more over the next month. She has shown she can hit the 3 ball. Z on the other hand can be a spark given the right matchup (ie like the Texas game).

In second half we missed shots that we normally make and as others have pointed out CD was not CD.

 

[BostonCanuck]

I agree when Z comes in everything is disrupted, she brings no continuity to what the team is doing. The flow of the game changes. It's too bad MW got sick, because she was fitting in with the team. Now she gone back to where she was at the beginning of the season, to bad,

Azura has to stop picking up those quick and undisciplined fouls when defending close to the basket. Right now I feel that Z is best utilized later in games when starters get fatigued or in foul trouble, or to maintain scoring momentum when bench check into the game in numbers. But having her is such a gift; I would take her on the floor at any time over the version of Natalie Butler we had last year.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Funny, but that's not how games are decided.

When I was in college, we were losing the Homecoming game (football) 29-0 at the half. Final score was 29-6 and the coach told everyone we won the second half. Funny, but we still lost.

 

[Centerstream]

Good for Jeff. He made adjustments.

Not all games are decided in the 2nd half or the 4th quarter. Some games are decided in the first half or, like tonight, in the 1st quarter. When the game was being decided Jeff's team didn't make shots and turned the ball over.

A month ago UConn was down 10 in the 1st quarter to an inspired Texas team in front of a raucous crowd. That game could have been decided in the 1st quarter had UConn not made plays and made shots to keep it close. That's what winning teams do.

I couldn't agree more...

 

[huskies29]

I thought it was a moral victory for Louisville. UConn looked like they should have won by much more, but basically put the brakes on in the second half for whatever reason. Seemed like the energy was sucked out of them. Maybe they were surprised at how easily it seemed in the beginning. I think the coach of Louisville will use this to prepare for the next meeting possibly in the final four.

I think Louisville has to be thinking how they couldn't beat U conn with mediocre games from crystal, stevens and pheesa with Megan a non factor tonight. Not like to happen again if they meet.

 

[snlMINAJ]

anyone know the song they play at the beginning of the 4th quarter?

 

[wallman]

My humble opinion. You just blasted Louisville in the first quarter, game over. Basically, they couldn't guard you and they couldn't play against you. I can see why Geno slows the game down as why kill your players when it's basically impossible for Louisville to come back enough to make it a game. This by the way with subpar games from a couple of your players. What it showed me about Louisville is that they were better and tougher with Marya Moore. I don't get why Walz allows Durr to coast and only play when she wants some buckets. Hines Allen IMO is their best player, she works hard on both ends, sets screens for her teammates and looks to pass.

 

[Centerstream]

I agree when Z comes in everything is disrupted, she brings no continuity to what the team is doing. The flow of the game changes. It's too bad MW got sick, because she was fitting in with the team. Now she gone back to where she was at the beginning of the season, to bad,

I wonder why they run the same offensive sets when Z is on the court. What I mean is, why does she have to go to the wing or the top of the key when running the offense. It just confuses me but I really do know that Geno knows what the heck he is doing and it is up to Z to make the offensive flow work...and maybe not put up long distance jumpers just cause she is "open".

 

[Centerstream]

I thought it was a moral victory for Louisville. UConn looked like they should have won by much more, but basically put the brakes on in the second half for whatever reason. Seemed like the energy was sucked out of them. Maybe they were surprised at how easily it seemed in the beginning. I think the coach of Louisville will use this to prepare for the next meeting possibly in the final four.

Is there a moral victory NC? Just remember that three or four of our players had sub par offensive games all 4 quarters and yet we got the victory that counts. Maybe the Louisville coach will see this when he reviews the tape too.

 

[eebmg]

We will not have the air of invincibility we had in our 4 peat period against the top 5 teams. That is clear. It will be a battle to win the NC this year. I had hopes that Z might be as good (or nearly as good) as stewie but I think this is too much to ask and the talent level continues to rise in the top 4-5 programs. We should be favored but the gap is getting smaller.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I thought it was a moral victory for Louisville. UConn looked like they should have won by much more, but basically put the brakes on in the second half for whatever reason. Seemed like the energy was sucked out of them. Maybe they were surprised at how easily it seemed in the beginning. I think the coach of Louisville will use this to prepare for the next meeting possibly in the final four.

The thing about a "moral victory" is that it's still recorded under the LOSS column in the Team's record.

Sure Louisville will learn something from this game, but so will UConn...including that they took way to many unnecessary shots in the 2nd half! Some one posted that Z should have to wear a dog shock collar that goes off when she wanders outside the 3 point line....she wasn't really close, and when she's out there she isn't using 6'6" to get the offensive rebound and put back. Too many second half 3 attempts by people not named Lou... why?? Gabby is dynamite near the back board, but didn't hit many (if any of her top of the key jumpers. Run offense in the 2nd half like you did in the 1st...and get the open layup or short jumper. and if that doesn't work, don't hand the ball to Lou 1 or 2 ft from you with 1 second left on the shot clock expecting her to throw up a prayer!

 

[buddy]

Is there a moral victory NC? Just remember that three or four of our players had sub par offensive games all 4 quarters and yet we got the victory that counts. Maybe the Louisville coach will see this when he reviews the tape too.

I believe that the coach of Louisville knew that it was a long shot for them to win. Their goal was to learn and keep things respectable...and they did!

 

[boontonbomber]

Stevens had 8 points and 4 rebounds in the 4th quarter.