Marquette Post-Game Thread

[DefenseBB]

It does and even more so when you factor in Muhl’s 2 in the first minute and a half.

What was worse is the whole pace of play slows down when Evina takes over. At least Nika pushes the ball up the court where as Evina always walks it up the court. With Evina running the point for 18:25 of the first half minutes, we had a measly 24 shots. In looking at our season shots, we average only 59.9 per game down from our 5 year average of 63….that is a function of pace. So yeah, I want Paige back so Evina isn’t running the point.

 

[Rb335]

General comments about themes on this thread.

Geno said recently in a postgame that in big wins, he tends to give seniors the extra minutes alongside the end of the bench. CW has at most 11 games left in her career, that’s why she was playing. However, he did say he doesn’t like when the one remaining starter thinks it’s their opportunity to take all of the shots, which she kind of did in the last few minutes.

Caroline doesn’t have a great A/TO ratio, but then again, not many active players on the roster do. She’s had a few games with lots of turnovers, and a bunch of games without. But if you look, Evina, Aaliyah, and Liv are also averaging a similar amount per game. It’s a team weakness to me.

This team has finally found depth, but I feel like they are struggling to figure out their roles. With so little continuity, it’s hard to find your place and work at getting great at that role. The most obvious right now is Caroline adjusting from nearly becoming the offensive focal point, to trying to figure out her role as 7th or 8th off the bench. But the same can be said for everyone experiencing changing roles.

Looking forward to the remainder of the week, now that we are healthy. I’m proud of this team for continuing to stick together and play hard.

 

[Ozimoto]

The game was kind of sloppy offensively. The way Marquette plays defense had a lot to do with that.

This one was never in doubt.

 

[HuskyinWRNY]

Westbrook is emerging as a needed team leader...something we need until Paige returns and beyond. Everybody played hard, but at times looked like an accident waiting to happen. 30 point win looked much better than the last time we played Marquette. I hope Dorka is ok.

​

paige is still the leader of the pack. notice she was out on the court when dorka got hurt. shes the one

 

[BRS24]

Some thoughts on the Marquette game:

• If I am correct, tonight’s starting five for the Huskies (Liv, Christyn, Aaliyah, Nika & Azzi) is yet another different starting lineup this season. Not sure if it’s # 10 or #11? Unlike past lineups, this iteration had nothing to do with injury or illness.

This is lineup #7 (originally on 2/6 vs Tenn), and the 11th time we've seen a change.
The longest stretch was lineup #1 (6x):

The 2nd longest was lineup #9 (4x):

Geno said he would stay with #9 until it wasn't working, and if memory serves, Juhasz didn't start well vs G'town in last game, so perhaps that's why he made the change to start ONO.

 

[oldude]

This is lineup #7 (originally on 2/6 vs Tenn), and the 11th time we've seen a change.
The longest stretch was lineup #1 (6x): View attachment 73702
The 2nd longest was lineup #9 (4x): View attachment 73703

Geno said he would stay with #9 until it wasn't working, and if memory serves, Juhasz didn't start well vs G'town in last game, so perhaps that's why he made the change to start ONO.

I stand corrected. TN feels like ages ago and my memory only goes back to breakfast….

 

[Charliebball]

To me, one of more significant things that happened this evening happened before the opening tip-off. Liv was restored to the starting lineup, but Caroline was not. Since they both seem to be at the same (nearly complete) level of recovery from their injuries, this suggests to me that (at least for now) Azzi has taken Caroline's place in the UConn starting lineup.

While it is unkind for someone to lose her starter's status because of an injury, I think Caroline may find herself "Drew Bledsoe-d" by Azzi "TB12" Fudd. Given the way Azzi has played and shot the ball in the time she has been a starter, it is hard to argue with Geno making this decision. Caroline will still make a major contribution off the bench. What a luxury for Geno to have the "3" position covered by a depth chart of Azzi / Evina / Caroline! They could play together if need be, meaning that one or two of them would also cover the "2".

I think it's pretty clear that when Paige returns (no longer saying "if" after Geno's latest comments), she will replace Nika in the starting lineup, and the two of them will cover the PG position very adequately. Nika will still have a major role since I don't think Paige will play more than 20-25 minutes in any game this season.

Suddenly the front court is looking like the least deep part of the roster. I hope that after the last two games, no one still thinks the either Amari or Piath is ready for significant minutes in a "win or go home" game.

Two other comments, mostly unrelated to the above:

1. Those who think Christyn should get far fewer minutes are still failing to identify who else we have on the roster who can successfully defend an opponent's fast guard. Evina is not particularly quick, Azzi less so, and Caroline Ducharme is not quick at all. Nika and Paige are not fast enough to do that job, and Paige in particular should not be asked to do that in the next six weeks.
2. Caroline scored OK in tonight's game (though I can't remember her missing a layup like she did tonight), but she has a real problem with turnovers. This was true even before her injury, and it continues to be true. If there is a concrete reason why she should get fewer minutes than Azzi or the current version of Evina, that is it.

It appears to me that Ducharme is not playing at the same high level as she was before her head injury........just not as sharp at either end of the floor........,.in addition to Fudd's good play, perhaps that's why she's not getting more minutes right now.........I'm hoping she's just hit a little freshman wall and snaps out of it by the big tournament......

 

[Charliebball]

also if I remember correctly, Paige wasn't playing quite as well as last year at the beginning of this season

 

[oldude]

A lot to unpack here. AE mediocre? What game were you watching? Aaliyah had 10 pts (4/7), 5 rebounds, 3 steals & 1 assist. She was tremendous on D and played a solid all-around game.

Caroline should never take another 3-pt shot? I’ll acknowledge last night wasn’t her best, but Caroline has proven to be a deadly 3-pt shooter, when she gets into a groove. She has come up BIG in several critical games from the arc, and will do so again.

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't post to these threads early so I can digest all the comments and points of view.
I like to hear Geno's press conference regarding the game, because, lets face it, his opinion carries the most weight.
His comment about, winning is not easy, but because UCONN wins so much we take it for granted. That point of view permeates this board and comments.
That was a very good basketball team that we easily beat last night. Some fans here never give any credit to the opposition we play. Instead, we moan and groan about turnovers, minutes, who is starting......meaningless dribble.
We should be focused on some of the positives. We were up 17 points at halftime with CW scoreless, Nika on the bench the entire half, Azzi getting one shot, two points. With our team in the best shape health wise this year, the defense can now play UCONN defense, no fear of fouling, rest when a player needs it, way more aggressive than when we have only 6.
The other main takeaway, with all the weapons we now have, we can live with the inconsistent play that we have seen all year. Geno can sub an Evina for a Nika, a Caroline for a slow starting CW, etc... and still get production.
Lastly two random thoughts:
Coaches need to work with Caroline and show her how she is travelling and break her of that bad habit.
Paige in uniform is a tease that she is right about to come back.

I agree with everything you are saying here except that this (traveling) is not limited to Caroline. It has been happening since the beginning of the season Nika, Evina, Azzi, CW, Dorka, Liv and even Paige before she was injured have all been called for this violation going back to the beginning of the season. This violation was called on 4 different UCONN players in the first half of Arkansas game and something the entire team should have adjusted to by now.

 

[oldude]

I have often seen teammates go onto the court or playing field to both console and sometimes assist an injured player off the court. Not sure why U would object to that. Nika may be the leader on the court. But Paige is still the leader of this team, even when she’s injured. Don’t think for a minute that Geno does not want Paige to be involved in every aspect of this team.

 

[donalddoowop]

You are wrong. Caroline is a good three-point shooter. She is also good at driving. She is not going to be as good now that she is not starting. She had more room for error when starting. She is adjusting to her new role. Too many people have unreasonable expectations for some of the players on UConn.

 

[HopJim]

Curious comment about Caroline not being a good 3-point shooter. Fudd has two horrid 3-point shooting games of the past 4-5 but my comment would be to have her shoot more, not less, to get back in the groove. Similarly, Caroline is a streaky long-range shooter but seems to hit them when its most needed. Most that have watched the entire season would want her taking shots at all distances.

 

[donalddoowop]

Have you ever posted anything positive about this UConn team or do you like looking for things to complain about?

 

[hoopsfan22]

Have you ever posted anything positive about this UConn team or do you like looking for things to complain about?

We were up 33 in the 3rd quarter against one of the better teams in our conference and people were still complaining that it wasn't enough.

 

[oldude]

I’m sorry, but your objection to Paige coming onto the court to check on an injured teammate makes no sense. The fact that Paige was the only player to do so and she wasn’t actually playing in the game are completely immaterial points.

 

[Mdoggie]

paige is still the leader of the pack. notice she was out on the court when dorka got hurt. shes the one

Take a compliment for EW and make it about Paige. Good grief! Posters said E was becoming a needed team leader, not THE leader.