Postgame: Too much[merged thread]

[Plebe]

Uconn beats Notre Dame by 18
Notre Dame beats Gonzaga soundly
Gonzaga beats Stanford somewhat soundly
Stanford beats Baylor convincingly
Baylor beats UCONN by double digits

There's been a lot of theses "loss circles", it seems. Makes it hard to have a feel for where teams should be ranked.

 

[CocoHusky]

I really can't say I consider UConn a strong title favorite. When you consider all the data points from this young season, the win over Notre Dame is the outlier. The games against St. John's, Oklahoma, Cal and now Baylor constitute a preponderance of the evidence at this point.

In terms of tournament seeding, much will hinge at this point on whether UConn loses any more games. If UConn fails to beat Louisville, then Notre Dame might turn out to be its only top-20 win. Not sure that wins over DePaul, South Carolina and UCF will make a strong enough resume to secure a #1 seed (of course, much will depend on what the other teams do).

That is one heck of an outlier then. Every other team in contention for a #1 seed with the exception of Louisville has already lost a game. This may be a simplified way of looking at it but could any other team go in to Waco and make out better than UCONN did tonight? Could any other team go into ND and do what UCONN did earlier in the season. This loss stung and exposed a weakness (size to adequately defend the post) UCONN has been masking for 3 years now. Congrats to Baylor but let's not over react: There aren't 4 better teams in WCBB that UCONN even if they were to lose to Louisville.

 

[Charliebball]

Exactly, this has been my point, they have to continually see consistent minutes, rather they are doing good are not, so they can get more game experience, and give the starters more then a few mins of rest, the starters, mainly Lou and phee will be worn out about time tourney comes around, because they more then anybody do so much, and teams will focus on them the most.

you're preaching to the choir about the inconsistent bench play.....................I've been pointing this out (way too much) for a couple of years now as many on the BY will tell you

 

[ochoopsfan]

My last comment on this game is that I think if the Game is played in Storrs, UConn would have won by double digits. UConn's defense for the most part was good enough to win the game. UConn's shooting was so far off from their normal season average, that caused the loss. Probably doesn't happen in CT.

Still the team need to play Baylor to see what they'll face in the tournament. To win the National Championship they'll most likely have to beat team(s) with size similar to Baylor. I can forecast having to beat Baylor, Miss St and/or Stanford to win the National Championship.

If you give up 52 points in the paint and the other team only scores 68, your defense was not that good.

 

[todbo]

Hmmm. Looked to me as though we played a half-court game, with too little running. Neither of Baylor's big bigs looked ready for a running game. We let them set up and then could not handle their size. Next time, run 'em until they drop.

 

[Charliebball]

one other thought that was mentioned before the game...................scheduling this game as the first one right after the holidays sure didn't do the team any favors...............they looked beyond rusty out there..............I wonder if we would have seen the same result if the game was played a few weeks ago or later in the season?

 

[UConnCat]

 

[Geesworld]

For those who think Geno has been too rough on Walker, well, tonight was the game -- Baylor put it in her hands and she didn't excel. She wasnt terrible -- I was pleased with some of the things she did -- but she wasnt clutch either.

Megan is always going to be at a disadvantage on defense playing against bigger taller post. But she has to take advantage on the offensive end.

 

[hoopfan515]

For all those who think the 5 starters can do it alone. Well here you go. The BENCH will decide and determine how far this team will go in the NCAA tournament. On any given day, one or two starters might have an off night or get into foul trouble. In years past and in most of Geno's championship teams, he had 2 solid players off the BENCH. And forget about this team trying to press. They can't do it without more bodies. I'm hoping Geno has 1 or 2 more tricks up his sleeve. I'm hoping there's still time for 1 or 2 of the bench players to give them what they need. And if we make it to the Final Four, I'm very worried we might have to face both Notre Dame and Baylor. Both teams are very physical and imposing.

 

[bballnut90]

There's been a lot of theses "loss circles", it seems. Makes it hard to have a feel for where teams should be ranked.

For sure. Makes it difficult to assess but adds a level of excitement to women's basketball we haven't had in a long time.

 

[uconnfan68]

While Coombs didn't provide any offense, she played great defense for the few minutes she was in the game.

Baylor's size and DEFENSE was the reason for the loss. Team never got into a rhythm shooting and most of the game they were rushing shots to prevent them from being blocked. I thought Baylor did a great job on defense switching and didn't leave too many shooters open. Team didn't attempt to drive into the basket to score points. That was Christyn's strength against Notre Dame, I don't recall her attempting tonight.

Recruiting shortfalls also contributed to this loss. No scoring from the Bench which has been a shortfall for the last few years. But prior year teams had better starting fives to compensate for the short bench. Don't have that luxury this year.

She tried a couple drives, was blocked, had turnovers looking for non-existent cutters. Lots of deferral to Pheesa and Lou, and Crystal. 3 on 5.

 

[Tonyc]

Tonite was a learning experience. Tonite our team was taught a good lesson and I bet everything Geno and his coaches have been screaming about came to light tonite. Now the players know what they have to do if they want to get better. Baylor played great and was clicking on all cylinders. UConn wasnt. Im not gonna write about everything that went wrong because everybody else in other threads has. All we can say is we played poorly and we have alot to work on. Tonite we found out where are weaknesses are. Tonite they were exposed. We have a great team with alot of fire power. Tonite we didnt. Give credit to Baylor they played and executed great. As poorly as we looked tonite we are not that bad. Some of our fans are picking at everything that went wrong. When you play poorly everything seems to go wrong and nothing seems to go right. When you play poorly sometimes your attitude spirals down. That happen to a few players tonite. Our poise was off. Our instincts were off. At time we looked scared, hesitant and lost. Thats what happens when you play poorly. We need everybody else to step up not named KLS or NC . We have the talent and the players. Next stop is Houston. So lets forget this game and stop dissecting it. The game is over. We lost. We learned. The only word we have to remember is NEXT and thats Houston .

 

[bballnut90]

For all those who think the 5 starters can do it alone. Well here you go. The BENCH will decide and determine how far this team will go in the NCAA tournament. On any given day, one or two starters might have an off night or get into foul trouble. In years past and in most of Geno's championship teams, he had 2 solid players off the BENCH. And forget about this team trying to press. They can't do it without more bodies. I'm hoping Geno has 1 or 2 more tricks up his sleeve. I'm hoping there's still time for 1 or 2 of the bench players to give them what they need. And if we make it to the Final Four, I'm very worried we might have to face both Notre Dame and Baylor. Both teams are very physical and imposing.

The 5 player thing worked when you had 5 All-American players on the court. This year the only reliable options offensively are KLS and Collier. MW/Williams/CD are streaky and you never know which players will show up. That doesn't work with 5 players. UCONN is also missing a player who is constantly setting screens and doing the dirty work (Nurse) and another player with great court vision (Williams).

I think Camara's physicality could be a big asset for the Huskies. She seems high energy and eager to set picks, operate from the high post and play physical defense. Perfect role player off the bench if she can avoid foul trouble/dumb mistakes. Definitely appears to have the motor for it though. ONO needs to add some muscle to fight inside. Might be a year away for these two though.

 

[donalddoowop]

Well, at least it was not the last game of the season like the previous two losses in which UConn had no chance to correct the things that went wrong. They have the rest of the season to get better. For those who said the bench did not help you are wrong. If it was only to give some starters some rest that was help. Just what could really be expected from them when this was basically the first time they were given playing time against an excellent team when the game was yet to be decided. Some of the expectations were far too high, considering the circumstances, imo.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Baylor averages 85 points a game. UConn held Baylor 17 points under their season average. Good enough defense to win.

UConn's average shooting percentage is 51% per game. Tonight they shot 29%. If UConn shoots 44% for the game, they win.

UConn's defense was good enough to win, even though Baylor scored most of their points in the low post. However, Baylor's defense was better completely disrupting UConn's offense and they deserved to win.

If you give up 52 points in the paint and the other team only scores 68, your defense was not that good.

 

[Plebe]

Also, when was the last time a UConn opponent committed only 5 turnovers in the entire game?

UConn has always been its best when it can turn teams over and run. In a half court game UConn is a lot more mortal. I noticed this happened as well in the other games where UConn has struggled this year.

 

[UConnCat]

She tried a couple drives, was blocked, had turnovers looking for non-existent cutters. Lots of deferral to Pheesa and Lou, and Crystal. 3 on 5.

On defense Brown guarded Walker and pretty much never left the paint. Baylor dared Walker to make shots. She made 3. The entire UConn team shot poorly but not making Baylor pay for parking Brown in the lane all night sure hurt. Brown was never forced to move and guard anyone on defense. She clogged up the lane and UConn was left shooting jump shots.

BTW, Baylor played 6 players.

 

[Aluminny69]

Baylor averages 85 points a game. UConn held Baylor 17 points under their season average. Good enough defense to win.

UConn's average shooting percentage is 51% per game. Tonight they shot 29%. If UConn shoots 44% for the game, they win.

UConn's defense was good enough to win, even though Baylor scored most of their points in the low post. However, Baylor's defense was better completely disrupting UConn's offense and they deserved to win.

UConn couldn't score in the paint. That's why their shooting percentage was down. Those easy layups help pad your shooting percentage. The blocked shots, not so much.

 

[Geesworld]

I think the shooting struggles were due to great defense but I believe it was also about rust.

Taking on Baylor and not having any games within a eleven day stretch and only a handful practices prior to playing a good team like Baylor is going to be tough.

 

[Geesworld]

On defense Brown guarded Walker and pretty much never left the paint. Baylor dared Walker to make shots. She made 3. The entire UConn team shot poorly but not making Baylor pay for parking Brown in the lane all night sure hurt. Brown was never forced to move and guard anyone on defense. She clogged up the lane and UConn was left shooting jump shots.

BTW, Baylor played 6 players.

Glad you pointed out that Baylor only played 6 girls. I know Geno gets knocked a lot for not going deeper in his bench.

 

[SCGamecock]

Never seen landrum ever shoot that well. Nalyssa smith was a difference maker .

You didn’t watch the South Carolina game then. She shot us right of the gym that night. We never even had a chance.

She probably only had 4 or 5 threes, but it felt like 9 or 10. I knew she was going to hit big shots tonight vs. UConn... and she did.

 

[hoopfan515]

Hmmm. Looked to me as though we played a half-court game, with too little running. Neither of Baylor's big bigs looked ready for a running game. We let them set up and then could not handle their size. Next time, run 'em until they drop.

You can't run without more horses unless you want our starters to drop.

 

[Sam.the.Man]

Well, some dissection is needed, because UConn's offense sucks! Having one of the very best outside offensive players (KLS) in WCBB run back and forth in the low post throughout the game is ridiculous. Her teammates can't get her the ball (that dates back to last year as well), and against a team like Baylor with 6'7 Brown and 6'4 Cox she wasn't going to be effective even if they could. I could go on and on, but won't.

 

[Ozimoto]

The weaknesses that have been discussed were all exposed in this game. Lack of size, stagnant half court offense, and poor shooting.

 

[housekeys]

Really? Many here on the BY thought that was the game plan for tonight so why didn’t they do it. They didn’t even put much pressure on late in the game when down 8-10 points.

Because UConn shot 29%. You can't set up the press (or should I say, it is extremely difficult) after a missed shot. So, again, it goes back to making shots. Especially open shots. Especially by highly recruited players.