Post game thread (merged thread)

[HGN]

I watched much of this game shaking my head. This did not look like a dominant team who brought back all 5 starters from last season and is on a mission this season. Where was the intensity? The team defense? The communication? I know I'm not a "yay-rah-rah" kind of guy like @Tonyc, but I'm usually pretty positive about the team. This game was troubling in a lot of ways.

• 15 offensive rebounds for Arkansas? Against our size?
• Their guards seemed to have an easy time getting to the basket. Ours, not so much
• 2 big runs by Arkansas - 1 in Q1 and 1 in Q3
• Gave up 80 points to a team who lost 3 starters after last season and has far less experience than our 5 returning starters

Paige was incredible. Christyn and Evina were good. The rest of the team stunk for the most part. It seems troubling that yet again, against a team we should beat handily, Paige had to take over and be heroic. She was unreal. All that without making a 3 point shot. She was really aggressive, and we needed every bit of it.

Who were the fools at ESPN who did not list her as a favorite to repeat as NPOY?

BTW shout out to Evina. 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals. All on only 7 shots.

Not only did our post players struggle with fouls, they struggled on defense. 64% FT shooting. Good lawd. What happened to Nika? She looks nothing like the player from last season. Azzi's shooting prowess? Not so good. Caroline literally had 0 stats in the box score except for 1 foul and 1 turnover.

Having said that, a win is a win. I will really look forward to see how Arkansas does this season. Very well coached and lots of talent. Hard to guard as we saw. But I think Geno saw a LOT that needs to be worked on, especially on defense... There are a lot of teams with talented guards who like to drive to the basket. We need to figure that out.

I'm chalking this up to 1st game jitters in front of the home crowd for the sophomores and the freshmen.

 

[Rixxx]

I noticed late in the game that Geno had 5 guards on the floor. Offense kind of stagnated. Bigs can't be so foul prone.

 

[oldude]

I noticed late in the game that Geno had 5 guards on the floor. Offense kind of stagnated. Bigs can't be so foul prone.

I mentioned that also. The 5 guard lineup didn't last very long as he ran Aaliyah in after a couple of minutes.

 

[Dawson]

Great first game! Team worked through a lot of issues and Paige stepped up to the plate as the reigning NPOY!

 

[jcoton56]

Its probably too soon to panic. Would not want to be Minnesota. Our streak of not losing in back to back games is still intact.

 

[Vowelguy]

Only 10 bench points? So much for depth.

You do realize this was the 1st game, right?

 

[SARG 2011]

It was wonderful to get to a game after last year's restrictions. The team has lots to work on but I was thoroughly entertained. Paige in person is a sight to behold...everything looks so effortless. She gets it, Evina and C too. Not going to say anything negative about the team. Next in person game for me is next month in NJ. We won and no injuries...woo hoo I'm happy

 

[Littlemin]

I have a very different take on the game; kudos to Arkansas, a good team that never quit, never put their heads down. Major props to Bueckers, not so much for what she did, but how and when she did it. One shot in the 1st quarter and then started hunting shots when it was obvious that is what the team needed. I still think her major value is off the ball, not on it, but she did in this game exactly what great players do.
One observation about Fudd, she had major trouble keeping anyone in front of her on defense. Only one game, and her first, but she showed very little lateral quickness. Auriemma played her for most of the 2nd quarter but yanked her quickly in the 4th and eventually put her back in for a spell replacing Edwards, not a guard. She did not shoot well but that to me is nothing, her form is picture perfect, if a wee touch low on release, and there is no reason to even be concerned there IMO.
As for the rest of the team, no real surprises. Westbrook played an excellent, very complete, under control game. Williams and Ono are what they are and they both basically played the way they have played. Edwards was uneven, but seemed to do little rebounding. Dorka was quiet and Muhl provided stability on both ends of the floor for most of the 4th. But this was Bueckers show, no two ways about it.

 

[MD#12Fan]

It's only game 1 folks.

This board has gone from "UConn should be offended that it isn't ranked #1" to "this team has a long way to go to make the F4."

And it's against an unorthodox opponent. Not many teams are as perimeter oriented as AR, and they play very different from most other teams.

How different are they? They catch the ball on the perimeter and then they proceed to drive by the Huskie defender. They either take it all the way to the rim (how many layups did they miss), pull up for a short shot (Ramirez), or kick to an open player beyond the arc. And they crash the glass. X's and O's genius!
The best teams in the country can do this against us! Hope this game tape gets lost!
Even a scrawny 3rd string DIII guard like me knows how to cut somebody off driving to the hole. You get AHEAD of them and force them to take a contested shot. Hand up. Use your body to put pressure on the shooter. If they spin on you, because you have committed to cutting them off, there SHOULD be help in the middle. There is no help baseline.
One way we get better at defending "dribble drive- kick" is for UConn to use it themselves. Then they practice against it constantly. Like trying to press a pressing team.

 

[Kaizen]

Need to improve next game,
-Defense
-Free throw
-Avoid fouls, travelling

 

[LoboDays]

Paige is Paige but Evina impressed me the most. Steady in all parts of the game. She earned her starting 5 position.

Traveling calls, Foul shots, allowing all those offensive rebounds. Shouldn’t happen 1st game or any game.

I think CW will always be the player with hi-lites and lo-lites.

Dorka is a step slower than I thought.

Like to see more of Caroline

Azzi has a beautiful shot. She’ll get her points

With that height advantage, bigs had a very poor game.

 

[Twolf]

Some thoughts on the Arkansas game:

• UConn usually comes out of the gate ready to roll to start the season. Today against a good Arkansas team, it wasn’t always pretty. Mostly good to go with some bad. In the end UConn put up 95 points, coming away with a 15 point victory,
• Paige and Christyn's ability to attack the basket was critical in today’s game
• UConn used a 9-player rotation in prime time against the Razorbacks today, but still missed Aubrey’s defensive energy. Aubrey would have been the best UConn option against Goforth. Hope she gets healthy soon.
• Evina has improved her shooting every season from her years at TN through her second year at UConn. Her shooting will be a critical factor for the Huskies this year.
• There was a lot of discussion about a 3 or 4-guard lineup for UConn before the season. I don't think anyone anticipated a 5-guard lineup.
• After draining a 3 today, Aaliyah is shooting 100% from the arc for her career.
• For those who felt Paige’s PT might decline this season or that some other player might be named NPOY, at least for the first game she was on the court for all 40 minutes while scoring a career high 34 points.

One of the reasons some of the players looked a bit out of sorts is that there is so much competition for minutes that any player coming off the bench is going to be pressing, trying to impress both the staff and teammates. To a certain point one would think that will continue somewhat, until a rotation is somewhat set.
*Ball screen defense was atrocious, with UConn switching 1 thru 3, and 4&5 soft hedging. Arkansas was able to drive the ball to the goal almost at will. Arkansas is a very tough team to defend if you play 2 bigs, which is why you saw Nika so much later in the game.
The thing that alarmed me the most was the Arkansas guards ability to get head and shoulders past our perimeter defenders even when there wasn’t a screen involved.
*. This team is going to be a great on the offensive end of the floor when the kinks get ironed out
*Paige is as good as any sophomore guard that I’ve had the pleasure of watching because she has an answer for any particular way you choose to defend her, and has the complete arsenal of shots and moves to make you pay for your particular choice of strategy. Pick your poison with her
* Paige has the best and quickest pull up jumper there is in in the women’s college game, and the closest I could compare hers to that I’ve seen in person would be Jackie Stiles. Both are so hard to defend because you also had to fear the 3 & the drive.

JMO
*

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not particularly concerned with a 15-pt victory in UConn's first game against a good basketball team. Yes, we are a little too "Paige-centric," and the defense, foul shooting and rebounding all need to get better. But Geno got two things he wanted today: a win, and a game he can teach off of. I expect UConn to be much better next game out.

despite what some may have thought, that Arkansas team is a difficult team to play..........add to that some really poor foul calls and this game was not pretty to watch......I expect to see better defense going forward along with a far more balanced offense...........I'm watching Stanford trailing a Texas team that I don't view as better than Arkansas so these early season games aren't always going to be works of art.....

 

[Heytherego]

 

[Urshurak]

A few things.

Defense stunk. Straight up. Next, not ready defensively. Not worried about her shot. I think she now saw first hand that College is a much different game than high school.

4 or 5 travel calls in first quarter alone. That needs to stop.

Refs were calling some pretty BS fouls. Hate to see that against any team. Lousy foul calls on some of them. Really poor.

Free throws. OMG the free throws. Just baffling how this team is so bad at it year after year.

We lose to SC next week. Sorry. No question about it, unless SC helps them win by just being ice cold. UConn not ready defense wise. In grand scheme, this isn’t a big deal and I like our chances in next game against them.

Hopefully, a lot can be attributed to first game jitters……..hopefully.

 

[Blacketh’D]

I enjoyed watching them play. Veryyy disappointing but I'm interested to see what happens. I don't really fault any player for not playing at their best but what was so disappointing was that it looks like the start of last year. Maybe that's what it will be but I really don't think a season of "they'll figure it out" should cut it this year. They are mostly young talent but high potential players nonetheless. There was no flashes of "wow the chemistry was just off" or "this player could do some damage once they put it together". It felt like a here we go again moment. I'm not going to overreact because first impressions are first impressions for a reason, but it was hard to see the unlocked potential with this win. Paige was Paige again.

 

[oldude]

We lose to SC next week. Sorry. No question about it, unless SC helps them win by just being ice cold. UConn not ready defense wise. In grand scheme, this isn’t a big deal and Inlike our chances in next game against them.

A little recent history to ponder. Last year UConn gave up 90 pts to Arkansas in a losing effort. A little over a week later, UConn beat #1 SC in OT. This year, UConn gave up 80 pts to Arkansas in a winning effort. In a little over a week, UConn probably ends up playing SC in the Bahamas.

A word to the wise. Never underestimate Geno's ability to coach a team up to meet a challenge.

 

[Blacketh’D]

A little recent history to ponder. Last year UConn gave up 90 pts to Arkansas in a losing effort. A little over a week later, UConn beat #1 SC in OT. This year, UConn gave up 80 pts to Arkansas in a winning effort. In a little over a week, UConn probably ends up playing SC in the Bahamas.

A word to the wise. Never underestimate Geno's ability to coach a team up to meet a challenge.

I mean i understand the sentiment but I'm not sure why that is something to ponder over. The future is always uncertain.

 

[Padutch5]

1. The new three point line made it a lot easier for players to get to the basket.
2. Both teams got exposed with their inability to guard the dribble.
3. I am exaggerating of course but teams may deploy "hack a CW strategy" to force her to the line.
4. Dorka, if she hadn't already figured out, realizes that Geno and Kevin McGuff are like night and day. Dorka could get away with mental lapses with McGuff.
5. Neighbors does a really good job of getting the most out of his players.
6. For today at least, the best freshmen were on Arkansas.
7. Paige was brilliant of course. Did she have to play 40? I don't think so.
8. With that form, today's three won't be AE's last.
9. I bet three point attempts drop nationwide this year.
10. With all the lineup discussions, I am sure nobody thought Geno would play one in which none of the main bigs would be on the floor.
11. If the three bigs are all in foul trouble or not playing well, when does Piath get her chance, even for a minute or two?

I agree with all but number 5. If Neighbors would coach instead of complaining and working the refs on every play, his team might be even better. Unfortunately our seats are directly across the floor from the visitors bench So he was hard to ignore. No matter how obvious the call he worked the refs on each play and at every time out. He must have good assistant coaches.

 

[Glenn]

Like last year, defense by the guards was atrocious. That put pressure on our bigs which led to their fouls, along with some suspect calls.
After the first quarter our defensive rebounding improved, but still gave up too many offensive rebounds

 

[oldude]

I cant remember a UConn team playing worse defense.

How soon we forget. UConn did give up 90 last year to the Razorbacks.

 

[oldude]

I mean i understand the sentiment but I'm not sure why that is something to ponder over. The future is always uncertain.

I agree that the future is uncertain. I was responding to a post that declared "We lose to SC next week. No question about it." Surely you agree with me that outcome is clearly not preordained.

 

[Heytherego]

Just a side note, not super relevant to this thread but Texas and Stanford are tied going into the third quarter. Good game to watch and a good reminder the “best” teams are still going to be tested this season.

 

[pvdoggy]

Still cannot believe that Uconn has 3 players playing 36, 38, and 40 min respectively and AK only has one player over 30 min (Goforth at 31 min).

 

[oldude]

Just a side note, not super relevant to this thread but Texas and Stanford are tied going into the third quarter. Good game to watch and a good reminder the “best” teams are still going to be tested this season.

I think it is absolutely relevant to this thread....