Providence Postgame Thread

[jabstep]

The only diference between this years team and the team that when to the final four is Paige. We added an all ten center and the number one recruit out of HS and we should be better. The seniors should be really motivated to play weel for their draft status . The only conclusion i can see is thatI guess Paige is really that good.

 

[donalddoowop]

I think UConn should name Saint Patrick as their spiritual leader. H ran the snakes out of Ireland and maybe he could do it for the Huskies. They sure have been snake bit all year!

There is no way UConn should be snake bitten this season. My goodness, they have a snake Ducharmer!

 

[Tonyc]

If you have all the pieces to a puzzle you can finish it. If you dont have all the pieces to the puzzle you start looking for them. We dont and havent had all the pieces to the puzzle. When we have all the pieces back we can finish the puzzle.

 

[Childhood]

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Get use to periods of ugly offense. Just too many combinations on the floor to maintain a smooth flow. I never got the feeling they weren't going to win. Sometimes it's ugly, but it counts. Saw more cutting, but the angle to the basket wasn't always great...which is probably part of the reason they didn't receive a pass. It's no different than posting so low that once you receive the ball and turn around...you're under the basket. Azzi needs a side escape dribble around the 3 point line. Defense is all over her.

 

[jchusky]

Muhl played only 17 minutes, not a shock. 1pt and 1 assist not enough offense to be a starter.

 

[cferraro04]

I don't know where to start with this one. There were good things, there were not so good things and there were things that were just out of our control.

The Good:

1. The good starts with Christyn Williams, she was essential to our success this evening...a reliable scorer. Tonight she went 19 pts. / 7 rbs. / 4 assists. 2 for 3 from three.

2. Aliyah Edwards - Gave us a glimpse of what she was able to give us last year. She did it during a game when she was needed (Dorka out). She played 32 minutes tonight, brought some energy, still indecisive at times but at the end of the day 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. If we can get that out of her night after night I wouldn't be disappointed.

3. Evina Westbrook - solid game 13 points, 3 steals.

4. Ducharme - Didn't have a great game but even so managed to contribute 12 points and 4 rebounds.

5. Ododa - Same thing...not a great game but contributed to the win (10 points / 6 rebounds).

6. We won.

The Bad:

1. 16 turnovers...we have to take care of the basketball.

2. 16 fouls...gone are those past Husky teams that rarely fouled. Teams that played tough defense without fouling.

3. We allowed Janai Crooms to have a career night...27 points.

4. Nika Muhl's decision making.



The Ugly:

1. Olivia Nelson-Ododa putting the ball on the floor with three white jerseys surrounding her and her wondering why she lost the basketball.

2. Allowing Providence to beat us to just about every lose ball.

3. Only forcing 12 turnovers for Providence.

4. Allowing Providence to milk the clock and then allowing them to get 12 offensive rebounds to our 5 which only prolonged the misery. the net result was we allowed Providence to set the pace for the game...we were not capable of imposing our will on the game.

5. Allowing Providence to get 20 points off turnovers while we were only able to get 10 points of turnovers.


All in all I walk away from this game with mixed feelings...glad it is over and looking forward to the next game. Here's to hoping we get Dorka back. As we enter into February...hope abounds that we will soon see our floor general point guard back on the floor.

 

[Littlemin]

The only diference between this years team and the team that when to the final four is Paige. We added an all ten center and the number one recruit out of HS and we should be better. The seniors should be really motivated to play weel for their draft status . The only conclusion i can see is thatI guess Paige is really that good.

So the only difference is losing the player of the year but we gained the number 1 recruit in the country who hasn’t played in 2 months and an All Big 10 center that didn’t play tonight and they should be better?

 

[jdote33]

We had 4 players in double figures and Christyn is playing much better with alot of energy. Edwards and Evina looked much improved. We shot 54% from the floor 33% from 3 and 72% at the line. Pretty good numbers The problem is we had another different lineup tonite once again. Dorka was out. Liv and Azzi sat quite a bit which didnt help either. We can not develop chemistry continuity and confidence with key players out and not playing together. We are not playing with energy although we did against DePaul. We were also playing a faster paced game at Depaul. We need to get healthy and have a lineup that plays together for at least 10 games preferably 15 games to gain the cohesion and chemistry they need to execute and play as a team. Caroline at 6'2 and the way she plays is tuff to guard. Shes tall with alot of confidence and just a tuff matchup.

Creighton is next and I have no idea what to expect. We need to keep winning and getting better.

This actually was my main takeaway from this game. All the seniors stepped up and AE played a great game as well. As much as the underclassmen are budding stars that will probably need to carry the team in the postseason, it's cool to know that when they don't have it, seniors will play like seniors.

couldn't quite make shots today. But in some ways it reminded me of her games with team usa this past summer. She made a lot of smart plays and got rebounds. It just wasn't her night shooting.

CD: she definitely played like a freshman but she's been so huge all season. We should expect some bad games. Plus, I think this was sort've a pressure game for her. I'm sure she had a bunch of family and friends there and wanted to show out in front of them.

In the game chat I mentioned over the next 10 days they have Ten, Crei, and Vil, which should be winnable games. It was in the context of noting how much they miss Paige. I do kind of think, it will be a true test of how good this team is without Paige (atleast if Dorka gets back). Cuz throughout the season ppl have said they would not be ranked, not a top 20 team, completely lost. I think we will see if thats true.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Glad someone noticed. I wondered a few times if the team knew she was on the floor with them. A few times...they ran the offense away from her.

 

[LoboDays]

The 7 players on the court tonight play and practice with each other every day. None of them were forced to play a position they are not used to playing. “Consistency” is a lame excuse for poor play by some players tonight.

It’s the second game in a row where the best player wasn’t on our team. One dominate the player on a lesser team needs to be held in check.

I hope AE took the first step tonight in many steps that lead her back to a valuable part of Tourney success.

 

[TCC Kid]

Agree with your appraisal of our players but Muhl decent or fair, she had 1 point 1 assist 2 turnovers. I don’t know what Geno sees in her, other than she is tough.

Geno sees a tough kid. He also looks around and says---who else? He uses all his other available guards and she is the least problem. Evinia who at times is good at times isn't. Nika is fast, tough, at times good at times isn't. His bench isn't as good. So where does he go if he doesn't use Evina or Nika? No where to go. You dance with the ladies you brought to the dance or you don' dance at all.

 

[CL82]

So the game time and arena was changed, UConn couldn’t practice yesterday due to the snowstorm, Dorka is out with an injury, the bus breaks down and the Huskies struggle to score for much of the game. Perhaps Geno should change his name to Abraham.

Or Jonah.

 

[TCC Kid]

There is no way UConn should be snake bitten this season. My goodness, they have a snake Ducharmer!

That would normally be true but she is just a freshman. An awful load to lay on a frosh whose name isn't Paige. More often then not, rare for this team, Caroline is very good at scoring. Once or twice she wasn't as good. That is typical of Freshmen. Even pro's have bad days and Caroline hasn't had a bad day yet, just some not so good.

 

[TCC Kid]

I don't know where to start with this one. There were good things, there were not so good things and there were things that were just out of our control.

The Good:

1. The good starts with Christyn Williams, she was essential to our success this evening...a reliable scorer. Tonight she went 19 pts. / 7 rbs. / 4 assists. 2 for 3 from three.

2. Aliyah Edwards - Gave us a glimpse of what she was able to give us last year. She did it during a game when she was needed (Dorka out). She played 32 minutes tonight, brought some energy, still indecisive at times but at the end of the day 9 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. If we can get that out of her night after night I wouldn't be disappointed.

3. Evina Westbrook - solid game 13 points, 3 steals.

4. Ducharme - Didn't have a great game but even so managed to contribute 12 points and 4 rebounds.

5. Ododa - Same thing...not a great game but contributed to the win (10 points / 6 rebounds).

6. We won.

The Bad:

1. 16 turnovers...we have to take care of the basketball.

2. 16 fouls...gone are those past Husky teams that rarely fouled. Teams that played tough defense without fouling.

3. We allowed Janai Crooms to have a career night...27 points.

4. Nika Muhl's decision making.



The Ugly:

1. Olivia Nelson-Ododa putting the ball on the floor with three white jerseys surrounding her and her wondering why she lost the basketball.

2. Allowing Providence to beat us to just about every lose ball.

3. Only forcing 12 turnovers for Providence.

4. Allowing Providence to milk the clock and then allowing them to get 12 offensive rebounds to our 5 which only prolonged the misery. the net result was we allowed Providence to set the pace for the game...we were not capable of imposing our will on the game.

5. Allowing Providence to get 20 points off turnovers while we were only able to get 10 points of turnovers.


All in all I walk away from this game with mixed feelings...glad it is over and looking forward to the next game. Here's to hoping we get Dorka back. As we enter into February...hope abounds that we will soon see our floor general point guard back on the floor.

The tougher kids wore the Prov uniform. Prov was well prepared for Uconn. Double team our weak point guards and tripled team the post. Evina a 5th year senior didn't play up to the trapping/ tough defense as the newest Frosh. CW was the brightest star Caroline shines as a freshman. I wasn't disappointed in Fudd, shes still new to this game.

 

[Oracle9]

I started to write something....but to heck with it. I guess it’s a W. That’s it. I’m exhausted following this season and I’m not even playing sheesh!

 

[hoopsfan22]

 

[hoopsfan22]

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Or Jonah.

Or Joseph until he is second in Command in Egypt...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Few thoughts:

* UConn continues to lose the 50/50 balls and that is about effort and wanting the ball more than the opponent and maybe the UConn players don't want it enough

Have we gotten any loose balls since Moriah graduated?

 

[cohenzone]

So they didn’t play great. Possibly the messed up travel plus no Dorka was a factor if not an excuse. I thought they seemed fatigued. However, seeing someone being taken out because they are having a tough game and, by the way, being put back in, is not being in the dog house. Caroline was not lacking in effort. That would put her in the dog house. What I found most troubling was Liv several times bringing the ball down to her waist and getting it slapped away several times. A bad habit I thought she was getting past.

Most programs would love to be struggling the way ours is. This group has had to make frequent rotation adjustments, not the least of which is playing without the best organizing point guard in the college game. It also affects both sides of the ball. If Paige comes back and is fully in sync we get a lot better on O. She is also pretty good at disrupting passing lanes. I think what stops this team even if fully healthy from winning out is no real defensive and rebounding strength in the middle. Blocking an occasional shot isn’t good enough against the top teams, certainly not most of those at the top this year.

 

[BostonBay]

Imo, the only chance we have of a puncher's chance of a FF/Title is (besides, of course, Paige coming back) for AE returning to form. She probably played one of her best games of the season tonight. She played 32 minutes and was active all game long. Her physical presence is a must for the Tourney. So, I was overall happy with today's game. Everyone else "are what they are". ONO's not getting better, EW is not getting better. Azzi hopefully has some upside with her shooting with more playing time. But, to expect this team to beat good teams with this lineup is false hope.

We really havent had a good half court offense all season, and the main reason is we've had no PG leadership since Paige went down. Sorry, Nika is not a good starting PG that can manage an offense. Her shooting is also a liability. She's a good 6th player providing a spark on both ends. EW is not a natural PG - you can see it on her face.

As a result, this team is going to look very spotty at best on offense since it has to depend on 3-point/perimeter shooting, especially when the opposition mixes up their defenses. You also have TONS of turnovers. Geno wants to play this very finesse offense with tons of player movements, cuts, picks, etc. But, he doesnt have the players (talent & experience) to pull it off.

The best case scenario is to get Paige back and hope there is enough time to gel. And, for AE to keep getting better in the post. And, pray there are all healthy in March.

p.s. Dorka has a good "motor" and you could notice her absence today. She usually finds the ball. Tonight - lots of standing around.

 

[eggfit]

I think AE should drive to the basket more. She gets the ball and immediately looks around to pass it to someone. When ONO gets the ball underneath, she should just jump and shoot. She's 6'5"!! EW should bring the ball downcourt faster. I like Nika's speed with the ball and she is very feisty on defense. That should be enough for her to do, if everyone else is stepping up. I think CW is playing the best all-around game on the team right now. CD tends to rush some long shots. But she does at least have the instinct to drive toward the basket, and has good hands. I think seems to dribble well and has a great outside shot, but our tall rebounders have to start crashing those boards, the way Aubrey used to, so that it's not just one shot and out. They should better anticipate where the missed shots will bounce, and then be there! I know this all sounds critical, and actually I'm so happy that they are winning games. I wasn't sure that would happen with everybody out all year. They are really trying. Good luck to all!

 

[Nolefan]

My thoughts are that every team that plays us now and see’s UConn’s injuries adds fuel to make them believe they have a chance to finally beat UConn and they play their A game .. where as in the past they went into the game knowing they were gonna get blown out .. it makes a difference knowing you have a chance for those that ever played sports .. this team has had zero continuity this season .. look at Golden state best record in the west and get Klay back you would think wow they are even better and they go into a slump ? Why? They practice together right ? Nothing beats real game time for a cohesion of a team that’s just my 2 cents ..

 

[Urshurak]

I started to write something....but to heck with it. I guess it’s a W. That’s it. I’m exhausted following this season and I’m not even playing sheesh!

THIS perfectly sums it up.