Marquette Postgame Thread

[huskeynut]

We won. That's the bottom line.

A lot ot stuff to unwrap so here goes -

No the sky is not falling. The world will not end. We came out flat and Marquette came out aggressive and ready for bear. And Marquette battled the entire game. Good for them.

The team worked thru the sluggish start and prevailed.

Was Sarah sick? Who knows. Bad first half and dominant 3rd quarter. End of story.

Blanca was not available and I don't expect to she her until the BE tournament. Whatever the problem is, it's not minor.

Next up is Nova. The team will be ready.

 

[uconnfan68]

She seems to having lower leg issues too, based on the tape from her ankles up toward her calves. Hope it’s not serious. She struggled like I haven’t seen before in the first half.

 

[Vowelguy]

I said this in another thread. I actually think we are pretty unproven on the road. Fortunately, the tournament takes place at neutral sites.

Fort Worth won’t be neutral if against TCU Baylor Tex

 

[oldude]

Fort Worth won’t be neutral if against TCU Baylor Tex

If it comes to that, there will be as many UConn fans there as any school from TX. Plus, let’s be honest, neither TCU or Baylor can match up with UConn, regardless of where the game is played.

 

[Longtime fan]

-Another game that demonstrates the cornerstone of this team is their defense. They seemingly never take plays off. Forced 22 TOs today.

—The first half stats showed UConn’s struggles offensively. Outrebounded 22-17 (42-29 for the game), Sarah Strong 1/9 from the field. Allie no shots attempted in 12 minutes.

-Geno expressed concern about the lack of rebounding from others besides Sarah. It sure seemed like a lot of one and done offensively.

-Sarah Strong’s shots all seem to be short. Could she have some leg issue that prevents her from getting the push she needs? It is weird seeing her miss shots that she normally makes. Of course, she was brilliant in the second half but I still don’t think she is 100%

-When Jana gets her head up and finds the basket after receiving an entry, her results are a lot more positive. Numerous times I have noticed her head is down resulting in a miss.

-I don’t think it often but Sklar Forbes would fit in at UConn. Nice player at both ends.

-The team has some things to deal with (injuries, rebounding). Energy, effort and motivation though are not problems. This team always plays hard.

-Hopefully we see Blanca Wednesday at Villanova.

It was Azzi in the first half and Sarah in the second. Ash is a relentless tiger on the floor. And her shot is usually pretty lethal. Less so today. KK showed her mettle ...ball handling, passing and driving to the hoop. Allie got to take one shot and missed from three. Sarah is by far the best post player we have. Neither Williams nor Jana are playing better than " filler average." They both can fill the post position for a while, with some effect. But nothing to worry about if I am the other team. I was glad to see K-9 back in the game at the end. The tv did not replay her collision that showed her slow to get up ( the one under the basket ). And she limped about for a bit. I. feared a non contact injury. And Kaleigh has proven a fantastic acquisition. I also think it is possible that Geno will see growing value in Patterson, although there isn't too much time left to do so. She is athletic, appears healthy, jumps really well and is ox strong. She was a super HS player beset with injuries at UCONN. Maybe she will emerge a bit more. I find it worrisome that the doctors and trainers did not clear Blanca to play today. Geno had told us " this shoulder injury is far less severe than the earlier one." Although the reality is, she has missed more time, and many more games, trying to recover from this " less serious" injury. We all know that our eyes tell the story. She is not playing still. I'm surely influenced by what Patterson experienced with a shoulder. Please let me be 100% wrong here. Blanca adds so much to what this team is.

 

[fomalhaut]

I thought Azzi Fudd might make a run at the team 3-point record after having 5 at halftime in a close game. I don't know if she even attempted one in the second half.

 

[Zarathustra]

I know that they won. I know that I Azzi and Sarah S carried the team. But, they seem to play with a lot of difficulty and seemed to labor at making a basket. At the end, I think that they just plain tired out Marquette which as a team played their darndest to stay with UConn.

The Golden Eagles had a 6th player on the court..... a slippery floor! OUCH!

 

[HopJim]

Hey, I just want to say I agree with this. It does sort of defeat the purpose to have her out there if she isn’t a weapon on offense.

If you saw the game, Allie was tightly guarded and rarely got the ball in a position to shoot. That being said, she did lool a little tentative.

 

[Cornell Lt]

I missed the second half because when a 5 year old says it's time to go sledding, it's time to go sledding. I'm glad I did because the 1st half was about as poorly played as any game I've seen this year. Thank heavens that Sarah came around and Azzi made some 3's in the 2nd quarter.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Did you see that? Did you see that? Jana made a left hand layup! Whoo who!

 

[Centerstream]

Even with SS going off in the 3rd Qtr, we only won the 2nd half by 3 points. A game to forget . Not only awful on Off but just as bad on Def. We need OV this year because we are not getting anything from the post; one handed swats at rebounds, shots blocked by much shorter players; missed bunnies, balls knocked out of their hands.

This is helpful but I have no idea what it means. Remember, when Jana committed to UConn, she was going to be THAT post player too. As the ol saying goes...how you play in HS (or overseas) doesn't always translate on how you are going to play against D-1 college players.

 

[Jim]

When Sarah missed two bunnies early I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of BoneYarders cried out in terror…

Sarah’s game was off today, and Marquette learned a bit on how to handle the UConn press from the beat down in Storrs. If teams around the country need two of our top three scorers to be less than 100% and they need to have played us once before to learn, I like our chances in March.

 

[HopJim]

Sarah sure looks like still suffering effects of illness that made her puke in last game. She had a great flurry but I think she spent her last bit of energy there. Sarah will be fine once she is recovered from this illness.hopefully Sarah is fully recovered for Villanova or could be a repeat of this game..rebounding again is a concern with today’s effort.

Rare that one person gets a bug and it doesn't spread. Here's hoping Geno has a big bottle of disinfectant for the hand shake line.

 

[Centerstream]

If you saw the game, Allie was tightly guarded and rarely got the ball in a position to shoot. That being said, she did lool a little tentative.

As was Azzi and Sarah. And you work the offense to get her the ball, just like it's worked for Azzi and Sarah.

 

[Dogstar]

Well, I thought the emphasis was on better rebounding. When their guards out rebounded our Bigs something is not quite right. Our Bigs need to play bigger and command the paint. We are giving up too many offensive rebounds in many games. Thus, we can't fast break if we don't have clean rebounding and quick passes down court. Help!
Our most consistent offensive moves are when KK feeds Sarah. She has great hands and quick moves to the hoop. When Blanca returns that should provide a third scoring option. That will keep defenses honest and provide rebounding help.

Our most consistent offensive moves are when KK feeds Sarah.

True...I've noticed this last year and this year, KK seems to throw tht perfect pass to Sarah whn she's posting up down low or whn they're on a break. Almost automatic.

 

[EricSD]

Calm down everyone. Last season UConn had back to back mediocre offensive games at Georgetown & St Johns scoring 73 & 71 points respectively. Somehow, the Huskies managed to right the ship.

Also, how about giving some credit to a well coached Marquette team that played their hearts out. The sky is not falling if the Huskies don’t win by 50……

Why is it when anyone is remotely realistic about what we just saw, we are told to "calm down"? I'm very calm, as is everyone else who is calling it like they saw it. Even Azzi was critical of the team today. No one is saying "we suck" or "the sky is falling". Just pointing out a poor effort.

It seems sometimes that if people aren't "Yay rah rah this team is the greatest thing ever in the entire universe", it's called out.

 

[browns]

Uconn has a real problem at the center position,Never mind UCLA,Texas .S.C. but other teams they may play that have just a decent center and Uconn could be in trouble..Jana and Williams just aren't getting it done..Getting outrebounded by 13 today was terrible
Allie played 20 mins and was a non factor
First half was the worst half I've seen Sarah play but the second half she scored at will
Thankfully the "D" was terrific most of the game

 

[slug25]

Geno needs to have another chat with Allie. She was totally disinterested in being an offensive factor today. Hard to fathom when playing in her home state before friends and family.

 

[Monte]

Today, I was worried about K9. We all know by now about her hustle, diving and rolling on the floor. Today, it got quite scary. There were really 2 serious crashes, and with both of those incidents, I felt she was injured seriously. She came back with her usual hustle from both. That kid is just filled with courage!

 

[oldude]

Why is it when anyone is remotely realistic about what we just saw, we are told to "calm down"? I'm very calm, as is everyone else who is calling it like they saw it. Even Azzi was critical of the team today. No one is saying "we suck" or "the sky is falling". Just pointing out a poor effort.

We can all acknowledge that this was not UConn’s best game without running around like Chicken Little yelling out that “the sky is falling.” That’s the part that gets to me. I’m not saying that you do so. But a number of BY’ers go there immediately after a less than perfect game by the Huskies.

I point out in my postgame thread that Sarah’s 1st half was her “worst shooting half I’d ever seen.” That was an absolutely “realistic” assessment. If I were Chicken Little I might go on to say, “If she shoots like that the rest of the season UConn has no chance to win championship #13.”

UConn is the greatest program in the history of WBB. Geno is the greatest coach in the history of WBB. This roster is the most talented in the nation. I’m exceedingly optimistic this year, regardless of the way today’s game played out.

Oh by the way. UConn won today.

 

[Blond D.]

I'm sure many will think I'm going overboard, but I think Geno needs to sit Sarah and Blanca until the Big East Tournament starts.......UConn can't win it all without both of them being healthy, and starting them back up in Big East Tournament will allow for both to get rid of any rust.....

yeah you are right......many think youre going overboard.

Sarah sat for a game and couldn't get going till the second half. Bubble wrapping players never works.

 

[Bills Fan]

olddude - 100% agree AND it will all come together when Blanca returns & the coaching staff switches up the 5 spot and starts Jana El Alfy and has Serah Williams coming off the bench

Conncan, well we certainly can agree one one thing; Serah is not the player we thought we were getting who could take over the post position but we are seeing JEA's contributions much, much differently because I do not see her as the answer at the 5 spot, unless the opponent's big is physically imposing, such as Betts If that is not the case, then I think our best lineup has SS and BQ as the 2 bigs. That's why, I said earlier that Blanca is necessary for this team to go all the way in April.
Geno is clearly frustrated with both SW and JEA and no, AP is not the answer Her late entrance into any game says all that's needed as far as Geno's current evaluation.
I absolutely love Jana's positive attitude and team support and I want her to succeed during her fourth year at Storrs. To do that I hope she spends the off season improving her jumping ability (this problem could be a result of her major injury), becoming a strong threat around the basket and most importantly improve her hand strength. This last item is the major cause of her turnovers as balls are knocked out of her hands and/or she is unable to hold on to passes to her. She will never develop the hand strength of Sarah, but neither will 99% of D-1 players

 

[ABCDFE]

Okay, I'm gonna scratch this one off and call it an anomaly game. The team is obviously dealing with the bug for a while. We've been playing tag with the cold/flu/covid in our household so kudos to the kids for pushing through.

However, there are some things I noticed this game that could be an issue down the road against top tier competition. REBOUNDING. Many of our post players are looking to tap the ball back instead of going up with two hands boxing out and going to get the ball. I felt today the other team wanted the rebound more than us, and too many times, our guards are thinking of getting a head start on offense thinking someone is going to grab the rebound and outlet. Other times, the ball is loose and the reaction of the guards are focused on the player and not the ball. We need all 5 players going for the ball. Rebounding is a mentality of "want to". I will say that if we don't rebound well in the latter stages of the tournament we will get beat, no matter how well Sarah and Azzi play.

This is the first time seeing (since Michigan) supporting cast looking too tentative and not being aggressive enough and passing through motions with no clear objective. Our bigs offer absolutely no threat at the elbow once they get the ball there as they look to hand off to a guard. Our bigs (outside of Strong) need to play better, offer some type of threat in the mid range game or ability to drive to basket. This is going to make our matchups with the bigger teams more problematic if we have to go to the small ball lineup we will most likely be compromised on the rebounding end and if our shots are not falling, it means a lot of one and dones on the offensive end.

This game tells me we will need Blanca to be full go for the tournament and if she is compromised I have to say I will be quite worried going up against teams like SC.

Lets hope this was a one off game and the result of various players recovering from being sick. Lets also hope that this is a one off where Allie looks like freshman Allie. Shade wasn't great today too which compounded the issue, but I trust her more because she's been in high stake games for several years now and she'll know what to do. Lets also hope this data point won't be one where opponents can use against UCONN because UCONN will have figured the aforementioned issues out.

 

[ucmiami2]

One of those games where you say 'winter doldrums' (usually happens a month earlier), or just tip of the hat to Marquette for being disruptive and hammering the O-boards.

What I will say, was with the exception of KK (and Jana to a degree), none of the supporting cast stepped up when Azzi/Strong struggled. Yes Azzi scored 17 in the first half and hit 5-8 from three, but she went 1-6 inside the arc and Strong was going 1-9 for 3 points, the other 'scorers' in 42 minutes on the floor in the first half were:

Shade - 15 min, 1-3/0-1, 1 R, 0 A, 2 TO, 1 S
Allie - 12 min, 0-0, 0 R, 3 A, 0 TO, 1 S
K9 - 10 min, 1-2/0-1, 2 R, 1 A, 1 TO, 1 S
Serah - 5 min, 0-0, 4 R, 0 A, 1 TO, 0 S, 1B
Totalled to:
42 floor minutes 2-5/0-2, 7 R, 2 A, 4 TO, 3 S, 1 B

And then in the second half those 4 combined for:
45 floor minutes going 3-12/0-3, 5 R, 2 A, 1 TO, 2 S, 1 B

The two not mentioned above: KK, Jana played 46 in the game and combined for:
5-6/0-0, 9 R, 10 A, 3 TO, 2 S

The defense was good in the game and everyone contributed, but I would say they were often a step slow in rotations and they gave up a lot of bunnies. leading to a surprising 37.5% shooting for Marquette and 56 points. The O-Boards were a problem as well, again partly because of Uconn's scrambling out toward open shooters.

We did better when Sarah sat out a game, then when she was a no-show for the first half today. Allie is supposed to be a scorer and took zero shots in 12 first half minutes, K9 took 2, Ash 3. It was amazzing watching Sarah miss all those shots as a fan, as a teammate besides Azzi, no one else stepped up, and I think that is likely to be the message from the coaches!

And finally welcome back KK, and hello Jana, you seem to have heard the message.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Why is it when anyone is remotely realistic about what we just saw, we are told to "calm down"? I'm very calm, as is everyone else who is calling it like they saw it. Even Azzi was critical of the team today. No one is saying "we suck" or "the sky is falling". Just pointing out a poor effort.

It seems sometimes that if people aren't "Yay rah rah this team is the greatest thing ever in the entire universe", it's called out.

I get it. A vigorous 2 minute debate between two of my favorite people here. I have to admit I originally intended a game post which had more negative content, because we certainly did punch down a weight class or two. But the bigger picture is these kids routinely crush it and for a day they didn't; not a crushing, just a licking. But as fans with much invested we should be allowed critical observations without the offer of a sedative. Everyone's heart is in the right place.

 

[BRS24]

IMHO, this game is this year's version of last year's vs TN. LOTS of tape to dissect.

When the team's avg MOV is 30+, it seems like we're doomed. I compare it to asking a runner to crack 2:30 in a marathon every week for 18+ weeks.

 

[CONNCAN]

Uconn has a real problem at the center position,Never mind UCLA,Texas .S.C. but other teams they may play that have just a decent center and Uconn could be in trouble..Jana and Williams just aren't getting it done..Getting outrebounded by 13 today was terrible
Allie played 20 mins and was a non factor
First half was the worst half I've seen Sarah play but the second half she scored at will
Thankfully the "D" was terrific most of the game

I think recently, Jana El Alfy is out playing Serah Williams and should be moved into Starting Lineup as the offense and defense moves a bit (not allot more but slightly better) better with Jana than Serah (as it was during last season's NCAA Playoffs).

 

[Charliebball]

yeah you are right......many think youre going overboard.

Sarah sat for a game and couldn't get going till the second half. Bubble wrapping players never works.

Apparently, I wasn't imagining things based on what Geno said after the game,......Sarah is still under the weather and is clearly dealing with some lower leg/foot issues that are impacting her normally solid shooting base.......why would you want to see her out there against lowly Big East competition with four meaningless games to go if she's not close to 100%? Doesn't seem like a crazy idea to me under the circumstances.....

 

[Linart]

God, that first quarter---I thought we were having an Ilia Malinin moment.

 

[SCNCHuskie]

Also we got out rebounded 42-29. I suspect this is connected to our poor shooting.

I believe this had a lot more to do with the lineup. Serah and Jana played 10 and 16 minutes respectively. The majority of the time it seemed UConn had a very small line up on the court; Azzi, Allie, KK, and K9.