Michigan Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Michigan game:

• Michigan is a very good, well coached team that plays hard. During the 1st half it looked as if UConn would blow them out of the gym. But they fought their way back into the game in the 2nd half and gave UConn a real scare.
• A lot of interesting numbers in the 1st qtr. Sarah’s 9 rebounds were extremely impressive. But my favorite numbers: MI was 2/20 (10%).
• Every game, Sarah does something amazing. Tonight it was her steal and ridiculous length of the court pass to Ash for an assist, while lying on her back. But it was her lunchpail effort on the boards that keyed UConn's win today. She had a career high 20 rebounds.
• This may sound absurd. But it felt like Azzi had a relatively quiet 1st half until I realized she dropped 18 on the Wolverines. But her biggest shots were the 3's she dropped in the 4th qtr that were desperately needed by the Huskies.
• UConn’s offensive execution continues to be inconsistent. At times they look unstoppable and at times they struggle to execute. The 3rd qtr tonight was particularly brutal. When was the last time UConn was outscored 18-4 in a qtr?
• MIchigan's 2-3 matchup zone gave UConn fits, and Syla Swords is absolutely unconcious.
• Some big shots by KK and Sarah down the stretch along with Azzi's clutch FT's provided the Huskies with just enough to pull the game out.
• Surprised to learn that UConn and MI have never played each other. It’s been 29 years since UConn lost to a 1st time opponent……and fortunately it didn’t happen tonight.
• Bring on the Utes!

 

[maple]

Good teams find a way to win bad games. There have been a lot of times in recent years when we fumbled away close games. But not tonight.

A great defensive stand to close out the game. Fitting.

Swords played lights out for Michigan. Props to her.

 

[Dove]

Swords shot daggers.

Caitlin Clark v. 2.0

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well, I said the other day a close call or two would be good. I didn't mean this close, but it'll do.

 

[jcoton56]

Just enough gas in the tank!

 

[Ct Dog]

Take the W but they exposed us in some areas —

 

[uconnbaseball]

I can see how they beat ND by 40 now. Jeez.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[Kaizen]

Azzi played 39 min and 31 pts... just unbelievable ...

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[reelfan]

UCONN has to learn about ball denial.

 

[Huskie78]

Heartstopper of a finish!
It has since restarted.

Go Huskies!!

 

[Bone Dog]

Sarah and Azzi played 40 minutes each, as did Swords and Olson for Michigan. Sarah and Azzi are incredibly tough customers. Sarah in particular looked really tired in the last few minutes. The Paige question re-emerges: can Geno afford to sit her down in close games? It isn't clear this question has been answered yet. I hope that eventually Blanca can be the one who holds the fort while Sarah gets a blow. But currently there's no one who can really do that.

The other thing this game shows is that we're not as deep as everyone has been thinking. Geno effectively played 6 deep. Blanca and Allie played 8 minutes each. But he didn't trust them in crunch time. Only Kayleigh got real minutes off the bench. And I think we saw exactly how far from big game ready Blanca still is. She'll get there soon enough. But not yet.

Once again, UConn's kryptonite turns out to be a zone defense. Their execution isn't crisp enough yet to reliably break a zone. It will come, but we're not there yet. And opponents perimeter shooting is another weakness. Syla Swords hit 8-14 from 3 including some really clutch shots down the stretch. Azzi did too, so it's not like we're the only team who can be beaten from the perimeter.

In closing, Michigan is a really good, well-coached team. But UConn is better. Olson and Swords are two of the best players in the country. But Sarah and Azzi are better. Personally, even though it was a nail biter, I appreciate games like this one. When pushed really hard, to their limit, the Huskies dug deep and grabbed a hard fought win with both hands.

 

[EricLA]

Thrilla in Manilla... so to speak. This was one of those games we just needed to escape. Some really low points for the team and untimely turnovers and poor play. Even that bad pass by Ash in the end almost gave them a chance to tie the game. Lots of things for Geno to go over with the team.

Great game and learning experience, though. Michigan is for real and KBA is doing some great things there. Swords - wow. Welcome to the NPOY short list LOL 8-14 from 3? Gotta find a better way to defend her. But Fudd with the answers and ice water in her veins. Hell of a game!!

 

[pghhuskydoc]

It was a Kim Barnes-Arrico team doing what they do best. Making life heck for UCONN.
Swords was unconscious coming down the stretch and Strong was understandably gassed.
And still, we won.
Team will learn a lot from this game.

 

[Jumpy Radar]

Whew! That's all I can say.

 

[TRest]

Not as deep as we thought.

 

[HuskyNan]

When I read some pre-game posts, I sometimes had to shake my head. At times, UConn fans forget the days of intimidating opponents with just the name on the jersey are long gone. Other teams have great coaches and players now and games won’t always be a cakewalk.

 

[HuskieDawg]

Not going to win every game by 30 or play your A game. Need to win the games when you are less than your best and they did that. No one should discount that.

Azzi and Sarah really showed out tonight and I was happy for KK making a couple key baskets.

Offensively it’s hard to get in a flow when no one is hitting their open shots. We really struggled shooting and that bogged everything down. Hoping Allie starts getting her shot down because that could give us a nice lift.

The good thing is our defense really plays at a high level game in and game out. Sword for Michigan was just unconscious from three. We could have done better stepping out on the switch off the screen but she was just going to knock them down at will.

On to Utah!

 

[faninwisc]

It wasn't pretty but I actually think this kind of game is what Uconn needed. Going out there and winning by 30 would have been nice but this was a learning experience for them. This will give Geno plenty to work on.

 

[PJCLaw]

Take the W but they exposed us in some areas —

Teams have to have the personnel to expose them! They better do it soon because once Blanca gets more experience, it will be almost impossible to do what Michigan did tonight!

 

[iri10]

What a fascinating game. After the 1st quarter, I thought the story of the game would be one thing (incredible defense! unstoppable!).

After the 3rd quarter, it was clear that the narrative would be very different. Lots to learn from this game, IMO. For both the players and Geno.

 

[Kaizen]

Great game and learning experience. Michigan is for real. Swords - wow. Welcome to the NPOY short list LOL. But Fudd with ice water in her veins. Hell of a game!!

Swords is great but Fudd is even better ~~~

 

[reelfan]

UCONN's low post game needs a lot of work

 

[Stagnant]

Not as deep as we thought.

That was my takeaway. We looked like a team really dependent on two players. This feels a bit like a loss.

But it just shows we shouldn’t get cocky. And we need to improve. This was a good early season test. That’s why Geno schedules these games. And honestly, we could have folded after the third quarter. But we didn’t.