Oh. Poor Baylor without their PG

[mustafa]

The comparison of Nika to Didi is a huge reach when it comes to their importance on each team. Didi is vital to Baylor's success. Nika is not vital to UConns success. She's just a great player to have.

Just goes to show how much of a better team that UCONN is than Baylor. We still beat them without our STARTING PG playing at all. Not for 30+ min out of 40 but for 0 minutes out of 40.

If they are poorly constructed w/ only 1 PG, then that is their fault and doesn't detract from the shine that UCONN is due.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Just goes to show how much of a better team that UCONN is than Baylor. We still beat them without our STARTING PG playing at all. Not for 30+ min out of 40 but for 0 minutes out of 40.

If they are poorly constructed w/ only 1 PG, then that is their fault and doesn't detract from the shine that UCONN is due.

This has nothing to do with UConn's shine. Stay humble. UConn only played 6 players. If they were to have an injury from that starting 5. The game would have went the other way. It's basketball. One injury can impact a whole game. I'm definitely not taking anything away from UConn's win. Even the call. I really thought that both teams had calls that wasn't whistled. So that last no call wasn't a bother to me.

Soo.. again. Comparing a role player vs reigning national defensive player of the year absence is still a reach.

 

[Gurleyman]

and yet if I'm not mistaken Bueckers had already scored either 17 or 19 points midway through the third quarter before DiDi got hurt so it wasn't like she had stopped Paige from scoring........

She had 18 on 6-11. Then had 10 on 4-11 the rest of the way (0-5 to finish). But she was kinda gassed at the end from how hard Richards made her work.

Not all of the 6-11 was on DiDi. There was a 3 on a break after Aaliyah’s steal. But she got her backdoor a couple times, blew by her through the front door once for a driving layup, and of course hit a jumper on her early for a 2-0 lead. I think she got by her for a tough pull-up over Egbo, but that might have been a switch.

 

[hoopsfan22]

This has nothing to do with UConn's shine. Stay humble. UConn only played 6 players. If they were to have an injury from that starting 5. The game would have went the other way. It's basketball. One injury can impact a whole game. I'm definitely not taking anything away from UConn's win. Even the call. I really thought that both teams had calls that wasn't whistled. So that last no call wasn't a bother to me.

Soo.. again. Comparing a role player vs reigning national defensive player of the year absence is still a reach.

Compare rosters though. Kim has 13 players at her disposal. All but four are upperclassmen. Why can't one of the others step up? It's not like they lack in experience. UConn has a roster of 12. 7 are freshman with only 3 upperclassmen. 1 is a walk-on and 2 are injured. Baylor was in a way better position to deal with an injury.

 

[bluedevil]

LeBron always wants to interject like the world is waiting for him to offer judgement. He is too much about self publicizing. Don't care about his opinions. He will never be Michael.

I will care about what La Bron says the day I buy my first flying car.

 

[bballnut90]

Exactly. Richards as a PG doesn't do much more than come down one side and make the first pass to the top of the circle. 90% of her value is on defense.

That's quite inaccurate. Baylor hit 4 straight buckets before Richards went out with injury. In the first 25 minutes with Richards at point, the team had 3 TOs and Nalyssa Smith took 11 shots. After she went down, Ursin hit a jumper but Baylor gave up 19 points and during that run had 5 missed shots and 5 turnovers. The last 15 minutes Smith only took 2 shots and never had the ball in crunch time. Carrington took some rushed shots and clearly felt the added burden to do it all herself without Richards on the court. If Richards is handling the ball, Carrington doesn't take as many bad shots and the offense likely goes through other players more frequently. Andrews made several poor passes that players didn't catch in rhythm so they couldn't take good shots. If Richards makes those passes, those players likely catch them in rhythm and take higher percentage shots or are able to get shots off. Richards averages 6+ assists with a 2.55 to 1 A/TO ratio. That's a lot more than just dribbling the ball up and making the first pass.

Injuries are part of the game, and as others have noted, UCONN seized the opportunity, but downplaying Richards impact on offense just comes off as defensive IMO rather than based in logic.

 

[ConnecticutBB]

any word from Baylor as to what Richards injury is...can she return next year?

 

[Zinethar]

I absolutely agree that losing Didi affected their team greatly and was likely the spark UConn needed to go on that run but adjustments should have been made to stop it. Kim waited to try to use the end of the quarter to get Didi back in instead of readjusting to work without her. Game over.

Also I would agree tht losing their active point guard during a game is worse than before the game but it should have been discussed as something to have an answer for. I loved the "but her replacement was just a freshman" whine. UConn could not use their starting point guard, a freshman, the whole game. To me her loss is the reason UConn had very few asssists and she keeps the offense moving and allows Paige to do other things.

 

[Blacketh’D]

Too much trying to compare a player who's been out the past couple games to a player in a tight game getting injured near the end of the third quarter. I'm surprised how much of this forum are really petty winners.

 

[Heytherego]

Too much trying to compare a player who's been out the past couple games to a player in a tight game getting injured near the end of the third quarter. I'm surprised how much of this forum are really petty winners.

I would have to agree. Nika is good player and sure would have helped but she is a role player at that. Plus Geno has had time to make adjustments. Baylor lost their national defensive player of the year, and really the glue to their team mid game. Even Paige said that changed the game. I feel for Didi, there was a shot of her with tears rolling down her face when she knew she couldn’t come back in.
However a win is a win and Baylor had plenty of opportunities to clinch the game, same with UConn. It came down to a last second Hail Mary by carington. She was out of control and looking for the foul, didn’t go her way. Oh well! You have to live with the calls as well as non calls.

 

[bballnut90]

I absolutely agree that losing Didi affected their team greatly and was likely the spark UConn needed to go on that run but adjustments should have been made to stop it. Kim waited to try to use the end of the quarter to get Didi back in instead of readjusting to work without her. Game over.

Also I would agree tht losing their active point guard during a game is worse than before the game but it should have been discussed as something to have an answer for. I loved the "but her replacement was just a freshman" whine. UConn could not use their starting point guard, a freshman, the whole game. To me her loss is the reason UConn had very few asssists and she keeps the offense moving and allows Paige to do other things.

Last game without Muhl UCONN racked up 30 assists.

It's not so much that Andrews is a freshman as much as it's that she wasn't expected to play at all during the game and then gets thrown into the fire. I guess part of that can be blamed on Kim for not playing and developing backup PGs more throughout the season, but the timing of it was incredibly unfortunate.

 

[VivaLsVgs]

Too much trying to compare a player who's been out the past couple games to a player in a tight game getting injured near the end of the third quarter. I'm surprised how much of this forum are really petty winners.

I agree 100%. Nika’s legend keeps growing the more days she has been out with many Boneyarder’s. How anyone can compare her “potential” contributions to a game she didn’t play in and DiDi Richards is beyond me. DiDi is a senior with NCAA championship experience who went down in the middle of a hotly contested game with everything on the line. It’s apples and oranges. And I thought I was a Uconn homer!

 

[asuwish]

Did any of the announcers mention that we were without our starting PG who is one of our best perimeter defenders?
Their starter missed less than a half.
The game was so poorly called that I turned off the sound for a while.

Uconn has 4 players capable of playing point guard. Paige and 2 juniors can handle the ball. Baylors backup is a freshman, who although highly rated and showed a few flashes was not ready for the moment. Not Uconn's fault they lack depth but it is a huge loss for them. Didi went through a lot and seems like a good person. If we are honest if Didi doesn't go down we don't win. Baylor has maybe the top post recruit coming next year. They have a 6'5" top post in this freshman class. They have 1 not highly ranked guard coming in next year and of course lose Moon Didi and Carrington. With all there amazing size if Kim doesn't pull a grad transfer or 2 out her hat to have experience in the back court they will struggle to be as good. Kim has found at least 1 the past few years. The question is who?

 

[Big Mick]

.
Aaagh! let's look at the numbers:

Richards:
. 2 Field goals
. 2 Rebounds
. 2 Assists
. 2 Turn overs
. 2 Personal fouls
. AND, 4 points

UCONN's 3 guards:
. 60 of 69 UCONN points

Nuff said...


AND - LeBron, just shut up.
.

 

[eebmg]

Question. What is our scheduling commitments to play Baylor over the next couple of years?

 

[Heytherego]

.
Aaagh! let's look at the numbers:

Richards:
. 2 Field goals
. 2 Rebounds
. 2 Assists
. 2 Turn overs
. 2 Personal fouls
. AND, 4 points

UCONN's 3 guards:
. 60 of 69 UCONN points

Nuff said...


AND - LeBron, just shut up.
.

I am a die hard UConn fan. But put some respect on Didi’s name. What she does doesn’t always show up in the stats. She is an extension of Mulkey out there and her defensive skills are incredible.

 

[bballnut90]

Uconn has 4 players capable of playing point guard. Paige and 2 juniors can handle the ball. Baylors backup is a freshman, who although highly rated and showed a few flashes was not ready for the moment. Not Uconn's fault they lack depth but it is a huge loss for them. Didi went through a lot and seems like a good person. If we are honest if Didi doesn't go down we don't win. Baylor has maybe the top post recruit coming next year. They have a 6'5" top post in this freshman class. They have 1 not highly ranked guard coming in next year and of course lose Moon Didi and Carrington. With all there amazing size if Kim doesn't pull a grad transfer or 2 out her hat to have experience in the back court they will struggle to be as good. Kim has found at least 1 the past few years. The question is who?

I've read on here Moon is returning but they likely lose Didi and Carrington to the draft.

They have former Big 12 FOY Chrislyn Carr transferring in, and Kamaria McDaniel who was 1st Team All-Big Ten last year from Penn State who will be eligible. Jaden Owens played in a handful of games this year but was a former top 20 recruit and UCLA transfer that will likely take on a larger role next year. Plus Andrews was a former top 10 recruit who will likely see bigger minutes next year. Plus both Olivers.

My guess is we see both Moon and Nalyssa Smith play in more ball dominant roles with Richards/Carrington gone. Kim is a great coach and always has Baylor competing at a high level. They'll be dangerous once again.

 

[hoophuskee]

Too much trying to compare a player who's been out the past couple games to a player in a tight game getting injured near the end of the third quarter. I'm surprised how much of this forum are really petty winners.

I don't agree on your take. .

We're just responding to the petty losers that feel a 40 minute game is about 1 call and not any other minute or call matters. The whining from Baylor and others about the 1 call is pretty pathetic. It's what you'd expect 4th graders to do.

 

[Linart]

I can see where a team could give up a few points after losing a key player. But 19 points? That says to me it's more than Didi being sidelined. And it was more than UConn getting fired up. Mentally they just lost it. Maybe they needed Anna to give them a talking to.

 

[Charliebball]

Compare rosters though. Kim has 13 players at her disposal. All but four are upperclassmen. Why can't one of the others step up? It's not like they lack in experience. UConn has a roster of 12. 7 are freshman with only 3 upperclassmen. 1 is a walk-on and 2 are injured. Baylor was in a way better position to deal with an injury.

you are right................it is a team game................if Baylor had no replacement for DiDi that's on the coach.........

 

[hoopsfan22]

I agree 100%. Nika’s legend keeps growing the more days she has been out with many Boneyarder’s. How anyone can compare her “potential” contributions to a game she didn’t play in and DiDi Richards is beyond me. DiDi is a senior with NCAA championship experience who went down in the middle of a hotly contested game with everything on the line. It’s apples and oranges. And I thought I was a Uconn homer!

In fairness with respect to legends, Richards in 30 minutes last night had 4 pts, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and a steal. For the season she averages 6.3 pts and 3.3 rebounds per game with an A/TO ratio of 2.5. Muhl is averaging 5.0 pts and 2.4 rebounds per game with an A/TO ratio of 1.4 while shooting 35% from 3. Nika also has more steals despite playing in 8 less games and 350 minutes than Richards.

 

[bluedevil]

Maybe when Didi is healthy we can play those 10 minutes over. Would that make everyone happy?

 

[Big Mick]

I am a die hard UConn fan. But put some respect on Didi’s name. What she does doesn’t always show up in the stats. She is an extension of Mulkey out there and her defensive skills are incredible.

With all due respect, UCONN's 3 guards scorched her for 60 points.

Baylor was effective against our bigs, getting Ododa and Edwards into foul trouble; otherwise, UCONN scores in the 80's as per usual. (Ododa 12 and Edwards 15)

When you lose, show a little class for christ sakes; it leaves a bad taste when a coach comes whining with a bunch of IFs....
Here's a few:
1) IF that foul had been called on Didi when she levelled Paige on the shot - 4 point swing there (+2 UCONN, -2 Baylor)
2) IF that tripping foul on Ododa had been called - take 2 points off Baylor score.

Every day games are influenced by fouls, injuries, good plays and etc.

.

 

[Gurleyman]

DiDi is just not a good offensive player. At all. She was 1-9 against Michigan and the one make was when she batted a rebound up in the air to keep it alive and it fell in. She actually made a 17 foot jumper yesterday which was a minor miracle. She gets some assists, some of which require good vision and execution (lob plays to Smith they run, for example) - but against a good defense, not so much because that gets shut off when you don’t have to defend her. She threw a couple really poor lob passes yesterday that didn’t result in turnovers because Baylor saved them and got the loose balls.

But they were up 9 when she got hurt, so her defense would have been more valuable at that point to try to stymie our comeback hopes.

 

[Zinethar]

Last game without Muhl UCONN racked up 30 assists.

It's not so much that Andrews is a freshman as much as it's that she wasn't expected to play at all during the game and then gets thrown into the fire. I guess part of that can be blamed on Kim for not playing and developing backup PGs more throughout the season, but the timing of it was incredibly unfortunate.

That is true but it was against Utah which was a running game where Utah used zero defense. Baylor is a good defensive team which made transition plays much harder. Mühl is an excellent passer, play maker, and defender which would have added a lot for UConn in this game and taken away a lot of responsibilities fom Paige.