Michigan Postgame Thread | Page 7 | The Boneyard
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Michigan Postgame Thread

PJCLaw said:
She played the whole 40 minutes and still stuffed the stat sheet, per usual. What did else you expect from her when she got 20 rebounds and a double double?!!
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She certainly stuffed the stat sheet but not quite for 40 minutes. Sat early in the second quarter.
 
oldude said:
Geno’s biggest issue right now is settling on a post player. Serah is athletic but not very physical. Jana is physical but not particularly athletic. Blanca is athletic and physical but undisciplined. If I were Geno, I would consider going back to Jana as the starter and then substitute off her.
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Serah is far more skilled than Jana. Geno needs her to become a reliable 3rd option to take stress off Azzi and Sarah.
 
Blond D. said:
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"?
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Blanca is too foul prone in that situation currently.
 
That 3rd quarter hit hard. Michigan slowed the game down. 4 points? Yikes. It is early in the season and plenty of games left in the season. UConn will figure things out.

Zone offense. UConn will figure that out as well.

Azzi- Huge game. Money at the free-throw line. Salute!!

Sarah Strong- 16/20 and she played the whole game! Salute!!

KK- Her big time 3 pointer. Well done.

The team will be fine.

Those of us in the Big Ten, we should have an exciting season. Michigan is going to make some noise. They got players on the bench who can step in and provide some helps. Michigan is going to be a threat.
 
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boontonbomber said:
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.
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You mean those same teams that UCONN has beaten these last 30+ years?

Yeah as they watch UCONN win 12 titles and go to final four after final four, I'm sure they are thrilled that their players are less tired.
 
I thought the key play was calling time out with 42 seconds left and a lead that had dwindled to three. Geno grew up a masterful play that got Sarah a layup with 26 seconds left. Up five, 68-63.

We needed Azzi’s foul shots to go in from that point but the most important possession of the game was up to Geno and that is why he is who he is.

On the other hand, I don’t know why we weren’t fouling down the stretch to force them to start the possession over. We only had one foul in the fourth quarter, plenty of fouls to give.

The defensive intensity of the first quarter was in sharp contrast to the tentativeness shown on offense in the second half. Even with that though, there were plenty of open shots created that were simply missed.

I was at the game and what stood out most to me was Sarah’s ability to rebound on the defensive boards in traffic. When there was a crowd under the basket, she almost always came away with it. And they were tough, physical, rip it away type rebounds.
 
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oldude said:
Geno’s biggest issue right now is settling on a post player. Serah is athletic but not very physical. Jana is physical but not particularly athletic. Blanca is athletic and physical but undisciplined. If I were Geno, I would consider going back to Jana as the starter and then substitute off her.
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You'll not see that and it would be hard to watch. Williams keeps her job but needs to close the gap between expectations and current performace. For the foreseeable, the core rotation is 8 with Alli, Jana, Brady added based on special needs (foul trouble, match ups, injury, etc)
 
Huskee11 said:
I thought the key play was calling time out with 42 seconds left and a lead that had dwindled to three. Geno grew up a masterful play that got Sarah a layup with 26 seconds left. Up five, 68-63.

We needed Azzi’s foul shots to go in from that point but the most important possession of the game was up to Geno and that is why he is who he is.

On the other hand, I don’t know why we weren’t fouling down the stretch to force them to start the possession over. We only had one foul in the fourth quarter, plenty of fouls to give.

The defensive intensity of the first quarter was in sharp contrast to the tentativeness shown on offense in the second half. Even with that though, there were plenty of open shots created that were simply missed.

I was at the game and what stood out most to me was Sarah’s ability to rebound on the defensive boards in traffic. When there was a crowd under the basket, she almost always came away with it. And they were tough, physical, rip it away type rebounds.
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I said the same thing! They could have fouled down the clock.

My next thing was why even let Swords get the ball.
 
I strikes me that we now have seen a template for what Blanca can grow into offensively: Olivia Olson. Given time and development I can see her grow into a slashing, rebounding, physical 3-level scorer. It may be frustrating, but she's just starting on that road, but, hopefully, tonight's rough outing will serve as inspiration and motivation to become all that she can be.
 
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As a reminder, Hoopgurlz rankings from 2024:

1. Sarah Strong

2. Jaloni Cambridge (OSU)

4. Syla Swords (Michigan)

7. Allie Ziebell

11. Morgan Cheli

13. Kayleigh Heckel

18. Kendall Dudley (UCLA/Michigan)

19. Imari Berry (Louisville)

20. Olivia Olson (Michigan)
 
MilfordHusky said:
As a reminder, Hoopgurlz rankings from 2024:

1. Sarah Strong

2. Jaloni Cambridge (OSU)

4. Syla Swords (Michigan)

7. Allie Ziebell

11. Morgan Cheli

13. Kayleigh Heckel

18. Kendall Dudley (UCLA/Michigan)

19. Imari Berry (Louisville)

20. Olivia Olson (Michigan)
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Wow, 7 of the top 20 in the locker rooms last night at Mohegan
 
husky429 said:
Good game to prepare the team for March.

Need to find a way to rest Fudd and Strong, but that's going to require some depth to score the ball.
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Unfortunately we don’t have it hopefully only right now. Shade is unreliable on offense and seems to have leveled off progression wise. Her decision making has been poor this year. And none of the new players were ready for this level of a game. Heckel can’t shoot, Williams plays soft and Blanca who I believe will be a real contributor can’t shoot either. We desperately need Ziebel to become reliable to be elite like we planned. Sarah and Azzi can’t win a title alone. KK needs to make shots also. Those are the two that can change everything, KK and Ziebel, the other three new players need more time, they just haven’t played UConn basketball enough. I hate to say it but I dont think we can count on the new players too much. It may come down to the players that have been here more so. I actually trust them to do better. This is why we need games against teams with elite rosters because we need the new players too much understand how we play teams like this and what it takes. I did expect a little more from the team as a whole but everyone pretty much played how I expected them too at this point. Geno has his hands full if this is all Williams has to give.
 
oldude said:
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!
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Went right to my first guess - South Carolina 16-3 in the fourth in the Bahamas in Paige’s sophomore year.
 
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Centerstream said:
When Fox displayed this, I thought for sure that we were jinxed...almost came true.
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This was an important win then. Geno has losing records against only 2 schools. La Salle and US International. He could schedule a couple home and homes with La Salle to fix that, but he will forever be 0-1 against USIU. They closed for good in the 1990s.
 
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