Pressure D or lack thereof in the Texas Game

[msf22b]

Did anyone else notice that comparatively there was very little of the usual
UConn pressure on the ball in the Texas end more or less throughout the game..

Did Geno think their guards were too proficient to be bothered by this tactic.
I thought it had the effect of making our D seem less aggressive.

 

[Kibitzer]

Did anyone else notice that comparatively there was very little of the usual
UConn pressure on the ball in the Texas end more or less throughout the game..

Did Geno think their guards were too proficient to be bothered by this tactic.
I thought it had the effect of making our D seem less aggressive.

No.

No.

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[rbny1]

One factor may be that UConn kept double and triple teaming the Texas center whenever she had the ball in the low post. That appeared to be a major element of Geno's defensive strategy. However, doing so may have made it more difficult to pressure the guards. It was a worthwhile trade-off, in my view; his defensive strategy worked and we won the game comfortably.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Did anyone else notice that comparatively there was very little of the usual
UConn pressure on the ball in the Texas end more or less throughout the game..

Did Geno think their guards were too proficient to be bothered by this tactic.
I thought it had the effect of making our D seem less aggressive.

Hey Maestro - I do see your point, however, to get others on your side (especially Kib) if you added the words "full court" pressure, you would get more support IMHO. In short, the Mississippi State defensive frenzy was not duplicated in the Texas game. Geno saw something most of us did not. He da man.

 

[bags27]

This is a good analysis, but sometimes it's genius, and sometimes it's after-the-fact rationalization. Remember the famous SNL routine: why do you think Mike Ditka decided to make his Bears lose last week?

What I saw, but admittedly I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night, is a sub-par game on both sides of the ball. Players and bench were very tight.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Yes, I dunno' what Geno thinks, and what RBNY1 said.

This has been discussed in another thread. I think that there was general agreement that the UConn defense was "different" than what we usually see. At first I thought that the defense was "sub par" but after reading comments from other posters and rewatching the game I agree that it was all about the defensive strategy to contain Boyette.

 

[DGHuskyFan]

I was at the game and my take was that UCONN went into "tournament management" mode especially halfway into the 3rd quarter. In other words, a more methodical offense and defense designed to manage the lead, survive and advance. Mission accomplished!

Since Geno know's what he's doing, no need to question his tactics. It's definitely not as exciting, though, as when UCONN plays at a more frenetic and aggressive pace. I suspect we see more of the same in the final four.

 

[Ozimoto]

I don't care who the players are, when the emphasis is on stopping scoring from the low post using multiple defenders and the ball makes it to the low post follow by a kick out to the corner, it is very difficult for the defender to get out to the shooter quickly enough to affect the shot. That is what I saw happening. If the defense didn't have to sag into the paint to deal with Boyette, those shooters would have had hands in their faces and the defense would have looked a lot more aggressive.

Lou gets many of her open looks for threes from the corners because the opponents defense sags on Stewie and Tuck and they kick it out to her for the open shot before the defenders can get out to her. Texas was doing the same thing to the huskies.

 

[Sonny44]

This is a good analysis, but sometimes it's genius, and sometimes it's after-the-fact rationalization. Remember the famous SNL routine: why do you think Mike Ditka decided to make his Bears lose last week?

What I saw, but admittedly I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night, is a sub-par game on both sides of the ball. Players and bench were very tight.

I also wondered as per the OP, not questioned.
"Tight"? One way to vanquish tightness is to run your athletes, exhaust them, drive out the mind games from their psyche, at least temporarily. Put them into a state of aggressiveness. One approach to this in BB is to apply pressure on the ball, a no fears press. Throw everything you've got into the effort for say 5 - 10 minutes. If it works stay with it; if not go back to plan A, but at least the demons should be banished by then.
And don't tell me I'm crazy; I already know that.

 

[bags27]

[QUOTE="Ozimoto, post: 1648535, member: 6677"Lou gets many of her open looks for threes from the corners because the opponents defense sags on Stewie and Tuck and they kick it out to her for the open shot before the defenders can get out to her. Texas was doing the same thing to the huskies.[/QUOTE]

interesting take. I actually don't see it that way. I'm sure you're right that Lou gets some of her shots on kick outs, but throughout the year, I saw mainly swing and skip passes around the parameter. Toward the end of the regular season, as Lou got established, they were setting plays so that Morgan would give her a brush screen as they swung the ball around her direction. Just my opinion.

 

[bags27]

I was at the game and my take was that UCONN went into "tournament management" mode especially halfway into the 3rd quarter. In other words, a more methodical offense and defense designed to manage the lead, survive and advance. Mission accomplished! Since Geno know's what he's doing, no need to question his tactics. It's definitely not as exciting, though, as when UCONN plays at a more frenetic and aggressive pace. I suspect we see more of the same in the final four.

Geno coached what he saw on the court--which was a very tight team that made a lot of mistakes.

 

[msf22b]

One factor may be that UConn kept double and triple teaming the Texas center whenever she had the ball in the low post. That appeared to be a major element of Geno's defensive strategy. However, doing so may have made it more difficult to pressure the guards. It was a worthwhile trade-off, in my view; his defensive strategy worked and we won the game comfortably.

I think that may be it....
BTW: There was no implied, underlying criticism of coach...this is not the other thread
I was just curious what people's take on what was a clear decision not to emphasize pressure in the backcourt.

 

[TitleTown]

Texas was a tough team to press. Both their guards are good ball handlers and they were looking to break out and make UConn pay every time they tried to bring pressure.

 

[Roundball fan]

I think we have to give credit to Texas on this. More than a couple time the guards started to drive on the top of the key and we doubled and they did an excellent job of hitting the wing and her hitting the shot. Good basketball on their part and maybe a good game plan. I like the way they came at us. Not many teams attack the defense as well as they did last week. The difference between Texas and other team was just what they said they had to do, keep playing and not give up. 2 to history, UConn Yes.

 

[arty155]

Geno coached what he saw on the court--which was a very tight team that made a lot of mistakes.

OSU beaver art

 

[CocoHusky]

MSU had no guard depth: Texas had great guard depth. UCONN has no trusted guard depth. Not practical to have UCONN press Texas full court unless the game was not going UCONN's way.

 

[Kibitzer]

View attachment 12918
OSU beaver art

The beaver in the pic appears to be UConnstipated.

 

[JordyG]

Some of the differences between last year when UConn played Texas and this year, particularly on offense, was the inside play by Texas. Last year she went 7/8 on free throws and was 11/16 from the floor. The Texas forwards this year were allowed to play her more physical and the refs penalized Texas less for their aggressive play. Stewie also didn't shoot as well from the perimeter which allowed Texas protect against her drives. Another difference was how they played Mo. She wasn't allowed to penetrate and dominate the Texas guards who did an excellent job containing her. This year she was 4/10 form the floor, last time 11/16. Tuck had a better scoring game this time, but gents, UConn scored 105 points last time. 52 in the first half. Kudos has to be given to Karen Aston and Skip Johnson for a very effective plan containing two of the big three.

 

[UcMiami]

The biggest difference between TX last year and this is last year they quit. They ran into a brick wall and stopped trying to run their offense or defense and just folded up. They knew what was coming this year and they ran into the brick wall and kept trying to scramble over it.

 

[JordyG]

On defense I noticed they clearly helped far more on post entry's on Boyette than last year. Because of this they jumped the passing lanes less and had less steals early and late than last time. And many of those steals lead to layups in their win last year. There was little to no full court pressure which lead to an overall slower pace from UConn than we're use to. On offense the Husky's ran more plays in the half court than we're accustomed to seeing because they clearly minimized the transition game. Seeing the Husky's getting beat in transition was a consequence of the guards helping in the post. UConn did have trouble closing on the perimeter and they did get beaten off the dribble more than last year or at any other time during this years NCAA's.

 

[connboy77]

On defense I noticed they clearly helped far more on post entry's on Boyette than last year. Because of this they jumped the passing lanes less and had less steals early and late than last time. And many of those steals lead to layups in their win last year. There was little to no full court pressure which lead to an overall slower pace from UConn than we're use to. On offense the Husky's ran more plays in the half court than we're accustomed to seeing because they clearly minimized the transition game. Seeing the Husky's getting beat in transition was a consequence of the guards helping in the post. UConn did have trouble closing on the perimeter and they did get beaten off the dribble more than last year or at any other time during this years NCAA's.

Actually that was good practice for the OSU game because they are going to do the same thing. OSU knows that the only chance that they have against UCONN is to slow the game down and limit UCONN possessions. I trust in Geno and know he will have a plan to speed up the game.

 

[Jeff H]

Actually that was good practice for the OSU game because they are going to do the same thing. OSU knows that the only chance that they have against UCONN is to slow the game down and limit UCONN possessions. I trust in Geno and know he will have a plan to speed up the game.

Yep. Looking at the stats for the season, OSU committed 171 more turnovers than they caused while UConn caused 329 more than they committed. Speeding the game up looks like a pretty good idea.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Wow, we UConn fans are some kind of spoiled! Just to review: In an Elite Eight game (!) the team played a #2 seed opponent that had racked up over thirty wins coming into the contest. The game, quite literally from the opening tip to the final whistle was NEVER, at any time, even remotely in doubt. Against a pretty talented team, a roughly twenty point margin was maintained throughout the second half and slightly exceeded at the finish. No, compared to the Mississippi State game it was far less of a yawner, but, by any conventional yardstick, it was a total breeze. Yet, I've been reading on our forum that UConn, got "exposed" (what a joke!), that the defense was uncharacteristically non-aggressive, that our favorite team failed to bring its A game. We've been lulled into an inability to recognize what a once-in-a-lifetime dream world we continue to inhabit. The game is now up on the replay site. I'd strongly advise watching again for anyone harboring complaints about the team's effort.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The biggest difference between TX last year and this is last year they quit. They ran into a brick wall and stopped trying to run their offense or defense and just folded up. They knew what was coming this year and they ran into the brick wall and kept trying to scramble over it.

Agreed. They admitted that they had quit. They were not going to do it again.

 

[bags27]

View attachment 12918
OSU beaver art

I feel like I've finally attained immortality. thanks arty155, even if it's ridicule!

 

[vtcwbuff]

On defense I noticed they clearly helped far more on post entry's on Boyette than last year. Because of this they jumped the passing lanes less and had less steals early and late than last time. And many of those steals lead to layups in their win last year. There was little to no full court pressure which lead to an overall slower pace from UConn than we're use to. On offense the Husky's ran more plays in the half court than we're accustomed to seeing because they clearly minimized the transition game. Seeing the Husky's getting beat in transition was a consequence of the guards helping in the post. UConn did have trouble closing on the perimeter and they did get beaten off the dribble more than last year or at any other time during this years NCAA's.

When I watched the replay I noticed that a lot of the help came from Samuelson - she was often the 3rd defender in and that left her man unguarded. We can argue the defense from now until next November but the end result is the only thing that counts. UConn's defense was not exposed.

 

[bags27]

1. In an Elite Eight game (!) the team played a #2 seed opponent that had racked up over thirty wins coming into the contest. The game, quite literally from the opening tip to the final whistle was NEVER, at any time, even remotely in doubt
2.Yet, I've been reading on our forum that UConn, got "exposed" (what a joke!).
3. We've been lulled into an inability to recognize what a once-in-a-lifetime dream world we continue to inhabit.

1. Absolutely, getting done what's necessary, in what Geno says is the toughest game in the tournament (Elite 8). No, it was never in doubt, and TX was tough, but UConn had a number of times when they looked like they might/could/should get real separation and they couldn't quite manage that.
2. most of us agree that that thread was unfortunate: UConn was not exposed. But what I remember most are: 1. the times the team looked sluggish, including at least 2 shot clock violations (when does that ever happen?); 2. passes into the post that should never have been made and were tipped or intercepted (at one point, I actually screamed from the stands "don't pass it!", it was so obviously not going to work); 3. at least two TX uncontested fast breaks coming off UConn baskets/foul shots (when does that ever happen?).
3. I don't think folks are forgetting what an astonishing situation this has been. The cheers in the stadium Monday night really brought tears to our eyes. But the greatest compliment you can give a great team is an honest assessment. I am far from our most informed fan here, but what I saw was trench warfare: we ground them down. It may even have been the game plan. No one is/should be panicking because of it. But to me, at least, is was a tough game in which we made an uncharacteristically high number of mistakes (for us). If it were just a non-conference regular season game, it'd be a simple win and move on. But it's the gateway game to the Final Four and we have too much time on our hands.

 

[Henry]

With a short bench Geno probably did not want to tire out Moriah, not that she ever gets tired.