Marquette Postgame Thread

[Bone Dog]

This team is exceptional, one of the best I've seen in the past 3 decades!

I completely agree. It’s not simply about the talent. It’s primarily about the discipline. Last season’s team pulled together after the Tennessee game and became a seamless unit at both ends of the court. I'm sure we all remember moments early on when we doubted them (maybe not @Tonyc ) but by March those doubts were gone. And as Geno said, after that game they all seemed to love each other.

This season’s team seems to have started a lot further along this same trajectory and appears to have similarly talented parts — no Paige anymore, but Azzi and Sarah appear to have upped their games, there’s more frontcourt depth, Kayleigh appears to be ready to fill the hole left by Kaitlyn’s departure.

And most of all the advent of Blanca is a total wild card that could end up making all of us believe this team is even better than last season’s. To borrow Geno’s words, adding Blanca to an already stacked roster is sort of like adding freshman Svet to any of those great teams of the past. And many of us already think last season’s team was comparable to the best UConn teams — not on the basis of talent, but of discipline.

 

[Ozimoto]

Didn't see the game as I don't have Peacock and don't want to go down the rabbit hole of free seven day offers, etc. So my comments are based on the box score. Anyway, looks like it was an "everybody eats" game and that's not too shabby.

 

[Zonepress]

I was at the game and although it was not a sellout, it was a pretty enthusiastic crowd by Hartford standards, especially given the lack of students in attendance.

I was surprised at how lethargic Marquette played. I know that UConn had much to do with it but unlike Marquette teams of the past, they looked very mediocre and had very little fight in them. I hope that some of the other Big East teams compete harder against UConn than what I saw tonight.

Serah is getting a little better game by game. And Blanca just continues to amaze. We know what we have with Sarah and Azzi. The key to this team is whether Serah and Blanca can continue to make strides as UConn marches towards April.

The full court pressure came in different variations tonight and was suffocating. I feel good about this team as they go to Brooklyn to face Iowa. Given that it is only December, this team is in a very good place. They are best when on defense and in the open court. The half court offense is good but that is where there is most room for improvement.

i was at the game as well and believe your comments about
Marquette to be inaccurate
to me they competed especially on defense tried to move the
ball on offense but didn’t have the athleticism to
be effective
imho marquette competed much better than Usc a team with
much better talent

 

[Geew1992]

Serah seems to becoming more comfortable in the offense.

Jana needs more minutes.

Sarah's going to have a monster game Saturday. I'm calling it now!

 

[CL82]

Kayleigh: 6 pts, 6 assists. You go girl!

K9 is going to be terrific for us. We just need to give her time to adapt to a new system. She is an enormously, skilled, high energy player. When it all comes together for her, she is going to be a nightmare for opponents as she comes off the bench. Even more so than she already is.

 

[CL82]

Didn't see the game as I don't have Peacock and don't want to go down the rabbit hole of free seven day offers, etc. So my comments are based on the box score. Anyway, looks like it was an "everybody eats" game and that's not too shabby.

[whispers] get it. It's a good quality broadcast, with our old friend Meg, doing color, and there are enough games to justify the cost, especially if you are also a fan of the men's program..

 

[CL82]

I know they aren’t the best players on the team. But Allie and K9 are the two players I look forward to watching. I always perk up when I see them at the scorer’s table.

Allie has taken a huge jump this year. I absolutely agree that she's he's fun to watch.

 

[oldude]

[whispers] get it. It's a good quality broadcast, with our old friend Meg, doing color, and there are enough games to justify the cost, especially if you are also a fan of the men's program..

Agree, although the studio crew has a long way to go to equal Kara Wolters & Alan Bestwick.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Wondering why Gandy hasn’t gotten any playing time the last couple games?

Plan to redshirt ??

 

[JwittersPAC]

Some postgame thoughts on the Marquette game.

• Marquette is one of the top teams in the BE. Some may conclude that UConn’s 36 pt victory demonstrates how weak the conference is. IMO, like almost all the wins over P4 teams, it actually shows just how strong this UConn team is.
• Marquette had their entire roster return this season and they shoot a collective 40% from the arc. They also average a rather high 15+ turnovers a game. Tonight, the Huskies held the Golden Eagles to 5/16 (31%) from the arc while forcing 15 Golden Eagle turnovers in the 1st half and 21 for the game
• I like what I’m seeing from Serah who is really settling into her role as she becomes more and more comfortable with her teammates and the UConn system. Specifically, her cuts are sharper and her passing from the high post is excellent.
• Yes, there were some head scratching turnovers by the Huskies in the 1st half. Sarah had been 7th in the nation with a 3.77 A/TO ratio. Tonight she had 6 turnovers and only 2 assists. 🤯
• Blanca continues to be UConn’s X-FACTOR with her quickness and athleticism, making plays at both ends of the court.
• Back in the dark ages I used to play Rugby. The play at halfcourt where 3 Huskies and 2 Golden Eagles were trying to wrestle the ball from each other was the closest thing to a “rugby ruck” that I have ever seen on a basketball court. 🫨
• All 12 Huskies scored tonight. EVERYBODY EATS!!!
• Bring on the Hawkeyes!!!

Marquette Net rank is 59. And they are the highest Net rank team in the Big East after of course UConn which is 1.

 

[oldude]

Plan to redshirt ??

Interesting thought.

 

[HopJim]

So many interesting thoughts after yesterday's game:
-Geno substitued early in the game! While Boneyard has been begging for more minutes for the subs for many years, wondering what motivated Geno. He was likely sending some messages, but which ones?
-As with above, Williams was outstanding the beginning of the game-very aggressive and decisive. Then she was quickly taken out. Always love the small lineup with Blanco stirring things up, but unusual to take a starter out that was over performing and not tired.
-Two thoughts on some subs. While Allie does not have anywhere near the quickness of KK or Azzi, she appears much more confident and is demonstrating outstanding basketball IQ on her drives and passing. Get asset for the future. Jana still is overly deliberate. Particularly on defense, smaller players consistently drive to the basket on her. Could she still be overcoming her early season injuries?
-Kind of of game within a game was watching the physical Marquette guards trying to use their size and strength to get by Shade and Azzi, among others. You got the impression that against other teams this has worked, but particularly with Shade, Perkins kept bouncing off and didn't know what to do next.

 

[MooseJaw]

So this is supposedly the 2nd best team in the Big East (per the preseason coaches poll)? Yikes. 😱

I have to say that not only did the team defense look great, but literally every one who played looked really good to solid. It was nice to see. Spurts where they looked really good.

• Sarah had a nice scoring night, but a career high in TO's... I bet that's what she remembers from this game.
• It was nice to see Williams go off.
• Azzi is just so smooth, but I would have liked to have seen more scoring.
• Blanca continues to shine. One of the best freshmen in the nation.

I thought Kelis looked terrific. Not sure why she doesn't get more PT. She's gonna be really good. LIterally everyone scored. BUT when we had all our subs in, their starters squashed us. I don't ever want to hear this season "where would our bench be ranked if they were their own team"? The answer is nowhere in the top 50.

Having said that, a great game overall. Too many turnovers, some disjointed offense, and coach mentioned that at the post game interview.

Yes, however we must remember USC was in the top 25 nationally and we dismantled them far worse than we put down Marquette. At least that's the way I saw it. What we don't know yet is just how good our team is and what the teams ceiling will be.

 

[Rowdy831]

The defensive pressure is fantastic. They are really applying a lot of pressure without sacrificing their half court defense and that is really hard to do. When UConn plays its top 8 players only they are capable of keeping any team out there to less than 50 points in a game. Geno right now is trying to reduce the margin of victory at the end so his players don't get a big head but I think this team will not be challenged. In my opinion they are every bit as good on offense as last year and way better on defense.

 

[Bone Dog]

K9 is going to be terrific for us. We just need to give her time to adapt to a new system. She is an enormously, skilled, high energy player. When it all comes together for her, she is going to be a nightmare for opponents as she comes off the bench. Even more so than she already is.

I keep telling myself that in her senior year this will be Kayleigh’s team to pilot to the next NC. And the team will be in good hands. She will have Sarah and Blanca and Allie and Morgan and Jana and Olivia to work with — and that’s one heck of a crew to work with.

 

[Centerstream]

The word was that Caroline was nauseous and close to vomiting, which is why she made a beeline back to the locker room. Hopefully it's just the bug going around the team. I keep thinking of KLS vomiting into a pail on the sideline a few years back.

I'm pretty sure that the infamous Katie Lou moment happened in her Sophomore season on the road in a win against Maryland. She seemed unaffected by her incident as she ended up being the Huskies leading scorer in the game.
I also think that Caroline was caught on camera using a can a few seasons ago, when she was being knocked around. Don't remember the opponent.

 

[David54]

I know last year the players had a game about getting certain key words into the press conference. I wonder if “ moldy” was one of those words last night or just Williams awkward attempt to describe team cohesion. Either way they sure had some fun with it.

 

[oldude]

The defensive pressure is fantastic. They are really applying a lot of pressure without sacrificing their half court defense and that is really hard to do. When UConn plays its top 8 players only they are capable of keeping any team out there to less than 50 points in a game. Geno right now is trying to reduce the margin of victory at the end so his players don't get a big head but I think this team will not be challenged. In my opinion they are every bit as good on offense as last year and way better on defense.

I agree with this assessment. My only concern is whether or not UConn will be able to run through opponents during the Big Dance without the “Paige factor.” She provided whatever was needed whenever it was needed. Obviously, other players will have to step up in the clutch, and UConn has some great ones. I guess we’ll know when we know.

 

[DEFCONN1]

The word was that Caroline was nauseous and close to vomiting, which is why she made a beeline back to the locker room. Hopefully it's just the bug going around the team. I keep thinking of KLS vomiting into a pail on the sideline a few years back.

Thanks for the Caroline update. I definitely had some concerns

 

[CL82]

Agree, although the studio crew has a long way to go to equal Kara Wolters & Alan Bestwick.

I have to admit I do miss Kara and Gary Apple at halftime and doing a wrapup show. I do like tuning in early and seeing the national anthem, etc..

It was a happy surprise that Meg got picked up by NBC to do the coverage on the games.

(And as I've noted elsewhere for $59 you can and introductory membership to Walmart+ which includes a Peacock membership, that can be switched to Paramount+ after the season. Walmart+ provides other benefits, like free delivery that seemed to make it a reasonably good value, especially at the introductory rate.)

 

[Jaml]

Two of the things I noticed that I don't think have been mentioned already:

1. Serah Williams and Ashlynn Shade were finding each other with some really nice passes in the offensive sets.
2. Allie Z. had a couple more nifty reverse layups, seems to have the same knack for making those as Azzi.

 

[DEpup]

Yes, however we must remember USC was in the top 25 nationally and we dismantled them far worse than we put down Marquette. At least that's the way I saw it. What we don't know yet is just how good our team is and what the teams ceiling will be.

But things are always different when you play a conference foe. That team knows exactly what to expect and there is no shock and awe. They also are more familiar with UConn tendancies. It was a 44 pt game at the end of 3. Young ones got beat in the 4th by largely Marquette's starters.

 

[BRS24]

Plan to redshirt ??

Not to derail the thread, however not sure she can, as the four game rule in CFB does not apply to CBB, yet. Gandy played in the Loyola-Chicago and Xavier games.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I agree with this assessment. My only concern is whether or not UConn will be able to run through opponents during the Big Dance without the “Paige factor.” She provided whatever was needed whenever it was needed. Obviously, other players will have to step up in the clutch, and UConn has some great ones. I guess we’ll know when we know.

This is also my concern. I've watched the tournament games many times. Paige was amazing in how many little things she did to contribute to winning. She's a Mt. Rushmore face for sure.

 

[#1Genofan]

Glad to have Meg doing the game against Marquette. I enjoy listening to Rebecca and Ryan Rucco because they know what they’re talking about, but other than them and Meg, the announcers this year talk as if every game is the first time their audience has ever seen or heard of UConn women’s basketball. Every little factoid is the same, handed to them by the advertising people, and they much prefer to spout those off rather than actually analyze what is going on in the game.

 

[rt bb fan]

I agree with you that Jana is a better defensive rebounder than Serah but if we're going to look at advanced stats then Serah overall is a much better defender. And looking at the passing stats Serah's advanced stats are much better than Jana's. It's better to have the better passer on Offense so you can get the ball to the much better efficient shooters/scorers.

Jana misses to many easy lay ups.

 

[TheGOAT23]

i was at the game as well and believe your comments about
Marquette to be inaccurate
to me they competed especially on defense tried to move the
ball on offense but didn’t have the athleticism to
be effective
imho marquette competed much better than Usc a team with
much better talent

If you didn’t watch the game on television yet, it was stated that Marquette is the only D1 team where every player from last years team came back. That says a few things: Cohesiveness, I love my coach, I love my teammates and the staff and culture. In addition, they have a bunch of seniors. USC, on the other hand, lost a lot of veteran leadership/ ballers to graduation, injury and transfer. The team is being led by a freshman not named JuJu. That’s not an easy task.

 

[meyers7]

• Yes, there were some head scratching turnovers by the Huskies in the 1st half. Sarah had been 7th in the nation with a 3.77 A/TO ratio. Tonight she had 6 turnovers and only 2 assists. 🤯

That, and she fell down again (she did a couple times last game), which is just weird???

 

[meyers7]

Do the good folks who say that Blanca provides a spark off the bench realize that a spark is the most minuscule possible pyrotechnic event.

Blanca, more accurately, provides a . . .



. . . off the bench.

In this game, she made three or four Magic Johnson passes only to end up with zero assists because her teammates bungled the ball or missed the shot.

Teammate (El Alfy).

 

[meyers7]

I was surprised at how lethargic Marquette played. I know that UConn had much to do with it but unlike Marquette teams of the past, they looked very mediocre and had very little fight in them. I hope that some of the other Big East teams compete harder against UConn than what I saw tonight.

Don't hold your breath, that was one of the better BE we'll face this year.