Michigan Postgame Thread

[WiseWillie]

UCONN's low post game needs a lot of work

A lot

 

[boontonbomber]

Can't play Strong, Fudd and KK 40 minutes and not expect a drop-off in defensive intensity. Coaches everywhere know how to give their best players a blow now and then. Why is that such a challenge for UConn coaches? And not the first time UConn has struggled against a zone. You'll probably see teams doing a bit more of that until UConn makes them stop.

 

[Blond D.]

I wondered why Serah didn't play more. The small ball lineup wasn't working in the second half because KK, Ashlynn, Allie and Kayleigh were not hitting shots (KK did in the 4th quarter) so I didn't understand Serah sitting. I thought one reason we went after Serah was so that she would bring more size. We could have used a few more high-low plays between Serah and Sarah.

Serah looked like she was lost and couldnt find the ball about half the time. Jana played like her shoes were on the wrong feet. Neither of them hustled after the first quarter. Maybe riding the pine will help that.

I did wonder why Geno put Allie in when we needed a quick tall defender like maybe Blanca in the last minute to deny Swords the shot or play under, so that Sarah could play out on Swords further. But who am I to question the "G.O.A.T"?

 

[Stagnant]

I think it is a good idea to give Ziebell every opportunity in the world to figure things out this season. That additional shooting she is meant to provide could really be beneficial.

 

[Vowelguy]

Serah looked like she was lost and couldnt find the ball about half the time. Jana played like her shoes were on the wrong feet. Neither of them hustled after the first quarter. Maybe riding the pine will help that.

I did wonder why Geno put Allie in when we needed a quick tall defender like maybe Blanca in the last minute to deny Swords the shot or play under, so that Sarah could play out on Swords further. But who am I to question the "G.O.A.T"?

1) who is better FT shooter
2) whose judgment does Geno trust around things like not fouling

 

[uh-no]

when was the last time Geno gave up a 20-2 run? ever?

 

[bantamlaker]

Azzi was clutch down the stretch. Glad to see that we were able to inbound the ball to her multiple times near the end of the game; she is certainly the one we want shooting free throws with the game on the line.

 

[Centerstream]

The Postgame Pressers should be interesting.

 

[Rudy1927]

Sereh Williams never boxes out that’s a huge problem. Needs to use her body a lot better than she does.

 

[Blond D.]

I think that Sarah needed an Azzi mentality tonight. She missed her first 2 3s and didn't take another. If they had the opportunity, they needed to run the elevator play for her in the 3rd quarter.

Michigan's zone really slowed Sarah down

 

[HuskieDawg]

Sereh Williams never boxes out that’s a huge problem. Needs to use her body a lot better than she does.

Which is odd because she was a very strong rebounder previously.

 

[DemonDeac22]

I think it is a good idea to give Ziebell every opportunity in the world to figure things out this season. That additional shooting she is meant to provide could really be beneficial.

I’d sure like to see Allie live up to her billing as a great shooter at some point. Right now it’s not making its way into the real games.

 

[Bigboote]

In 2016-17 Geno said, “This team needs to lose a game, and lose badly.” But that team won every game by double digits till the final four.

I’m hopeful that this game provides that learning experience. There’s plenty of time for UConn to get things in order.

After the first quarter, I told my wife that this game wouldn’t continue like that. But I wasn’t expecting a three-point win. Kudos to KBA and the Wolverines team.

 

[huskeynut]

I agree about the question, but I’m not sure the answer. I would love for Jana with her size to take on that role, but her offensive game isn’t developed yet. So Williams, I guess, who should be able to rebound and score

Serah is still adapting/ learning the UConn offense. It takes time.

Jana has not got a lot of pt so far.

 

[cferraro04]

I knew this was going to be a tough game...I had the MOV in the prognosticators thread at 11. I did not think that it was going to be this close, however. There were a couple of things at work here. First and foremost, both Azzi and Strong were amazing tonight. Azzi knocking down 7 triples was huge. Her icing those 4 free throws at the end of the game were also huge. Strong was double-teamed the whole second half...kudos for KBA for making the half-time adjustment. Holding Sarah to 16 points was huge for Michigan. However, Sarah was an absolute beast on the boards, and that was a good thing because both Jana and Serah came up short in the rebounding category.

Another stat that jumps out at me is the turnovers stat. Michigan only had 14 turnovers while UConn had 17. For all the talk about UConn's defense, Michigan, despite its youth, handled UConn's defense pretty well in my opinion. UConn was able to rattle them in the first quarter, but Michigan settled down after that and did a pretty good job protecting the basketball. UConn, on the other hand, was uncharacteristically shaken in the 3rd quarter and made mistakes that they normally wouldn't make. The worst one, in my opinion, was the ill-advised cross-court pass to Shade in the 4th quarter that ended up being a Michigan steal. Michigan proved to be a scrappy team going to the floor for almost every loose ball. KBA has done a great job with this program over the past five years.

In my opinion, Serah, Blanca, Allie, and Kayleigh still need more time and game experience before we get to March. I think they will all be great contributors come post-season. I am concerned with the play of Jana El-Alfy...I am not seeing that "sophomore jump" that sports writers like to talk about. My concern is that if she doesn't start to have good games, her confidence could take a hit, and it could have long-lasting consequences on her level of play. It is telling that neither Patterson nor Caroline got into the game. Caroline may not be able to return to her former level of glory that was on display in her Freshman year. Geno does not seem to have confidence that Patterson can contribute in these kinds of games. Gandy and Fisher obviously continue to be a work in progress.

Clearly, we need that third consistent scorer...who is it going to be? Someone needs to emerge, to step up. I think it could be Shade, it could be Serah, and it could be Blanca. But whoever it is, it needs to be soon.

Final thoughts: Will Michigan be a factor in the postseason? I believe it has a lot to do with Michigan's ability to defend. They will sort out things during Big 10 play, and as long as they continue to play tough defense, they will continue to win games. I think they will drop a few games in the regular season because I do not believe they will be able to sustain the same kind of performance from Swords night in and night out. Michigan will have a chance to do something special over the next three years as they are a sophomore-laden team, and these players are going to be together for the next 3 years.

I think UConn will be alright and will learn from this game, as they have given the coaching staff plenty of material from this game that will serve as motivation to push the team harder. There is plenty of season left for our players to round into postseason form. I do not think we will see another 4-point quarter for the rest of the season. We dodged a bullet tonight, ND wasn't so lucky, which goes to show that Michigan is no fluke they are for real.

 

[ABCDFE]

This is the type of game that I believe will help us enormously. We had every opportunity to put them away but now’s the opportunity for Geno to really push the team because tonight we found out that outside of Strong and Azzi, is there anyone else you can trust to get a bucket. I think Blanca to me can be that option but she does the craziest things on the floor. Shade is another player we really need to be that consistent offensive threat for us. Heckel shot really poorly and KK god bless her cannot be counted on for offense. So it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. The low post and the 3rd consistent scorer is what I’m most interested in finding out going forward. My bet is on Serah and Blanca.

 

[jaydee602]

The 4 bench players were 2 for 10 & 0 for 5 from three point range. They also had 3 turnovers & 5 fouls.
As the season progresses, we expect much more production from the non- starters.

 

[donalddoowop]

That was a nightmare turnover for Ash at the end of the game. I am glad for her that it turned out to be a meaningless one.

Shade is a third-year player. Blanca is a first-year player. The mistakes Shade made overshadowed anything good she did and some were inexcusable for the experience she has. Give Blanca or some other player half the minutes Shade gets. Someone in the chat room said Blanca is not ready for the kind of competition Michigan posed. No way the games against pros are not as intense as tonight's game. One thing that bothers me are people who say the team will go undefeated and soon as they struggle, they complain about the team's short comings. Complained about the bench well, the bench players were not on the court at the start of third quarter when the game changed.

 

[huskeynut]

A zone defense exposes us because, on the whole, we have not shot the ball well this season. Our easy transition buckets masks that but if teams are going to pack it in, we're going to have to make some outside shots. (other than Sarah and Azzi!!!)

UConn is known as a 3 pointt shooting team. It's an internal part of the offense. A smart coach will use a zone to slow the team down. Tonight it worked.

UConn has not show a strong inside game except for Sarah.

UConn did no exploit the main weakness of the 2 3 zone - the foul line area. UConn has the shooters, Azzi, Sarah, Ash, to exploit it. Why they didn't I don't know.

Another aspect of the game to work on.

 

[Stagnant]

I’d sure like to see Allie live up to her billing as a great shooter at some point. Right now it’s not making its way into the real games.

I agree. I have really only seen a shooting clinic from her during first night during her freshman season. Maybe in practice she is a great shooter though? I remain optimistic that it could eventually show up in games.

 

[donalddoowop]

WOW!!!!!! That was a game. Down to the wire.

Kudos to Kim and her team. They came back in the second half and turned the tables on UConn. UConn held on for the win.

Michigan is for real and Syla Swords is for real.

This was the 5th game of the season. This team has yet to gel. For those saying our bench is not that deep, I remind you that last year's team did not gel until after the Tennessee loss. The bench will improve as will the rest of the the team.

A difficult game is a prime learning opportunity.

They are not going to always play that well. Look at some of the teams they lost to last season and that was after Swords torched SC at the start of the season. UConn has a reputation of bringing out the best in three-point shooters, even players who rarely make three pointers. So, it is not a surprise a player of Swords ability would make a lot of threes.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few Thoughts:
*Credit to Michigan. A real good young team with a great coach. They are good this year but could be scary good the next 2 seasons as their stars are sophomores.
*Azzi played like a POY. cool as a cucumber under pressure.
*Sarah had a great 1st half but was clearly tired in the second half and it seems that the constant double teams and, missing some easy shots, took the aggressiveness from her on offense. 20 boards is unreal, she clearly needed some help on the boards which she wasn't getting from Serah.
*Serah didn't have a good game but her pass to Sarah in the end of the 4th quarter was critical.
*KK was real good. just wish she could shoot better. She will be left open a lot and must be able to hit those open 3's.
*Shade was real disappointing on offense. after a great start with the 2 3's she couldn't hit anything and had all kind of bad decisions.
*Blanca is clearly the main candidate to be that third scorer the team needs but she is a freshman and hopefully she gets it soon enough. I was surprised that Geno played her so little in the second half if at all.
*Allie got a lot of chances this game, but she MUST hit those open 3's to be a reliable part of the rotation.
*Kayleigh Heckel was disappointing aside then the nice take to the basket for and 1. her 3 point shots were horrible.
*Jana couldn't find her place and those 2 quick fouls were not good fouls.
*4 point in the third quarter for UConn??? i don't remember any game where UConn scored only 4 points in a quarter.
*UConn must find a reliable 3-point shooter aside than Azzi. Ash? Allie? Kayleigh Heckel? KK? Blanca? someone must find their 3-point shot and be a reliable option. The UConn offense is way too predictable if they can rely only on Azzi and Sarah.
*I don't think anyone will want to meet Michigan in an elite 8 game.
*Swords did show some Clark shots with those unconscious shooting. Very impressive and she is only a sophomore.
*There is a lot of teaching for Geno to do from this game. A real good game to have early in the season.
*On to Utah on Sunday and if i have to guess, UConn will go all out on them and run over them.
*

 

[JellyBean]

Well needed wake up slap

Thinking the same thing. Hats off to Michigan for making this a competitive game down the stretch. UConn need a good shock to the system.

 

[PJCLaw]

there was a 13 mins stretch where she scored 0 points; I was hoping for more from the best player in the country

That's a myopic view because, while that may be true, how many rebounds, assists and steals did she have during that same period of time. Who else was rebounding if not her?

 

[uconnfan68]

Just enough gas in the tank!

They looked out of condition next to Michigan. And they need work on breaking a zone. Not good for my BP.