Providence Postgame Thread

[LGITB]

Injury updates -

Great about Aubrey but oh man, sucks for Ice! I really enjoy watching her play and was really rooting for her to get in her groove. This means she's back for March.. mid March?

Re today, I really thought some of the shots (Azzi and Morgan, especially) were really forced which lead to avoidable turnovers. I always really enjoy watching Ash play and wonder why she doesn't get more minutes.

 

[caseyb7]

I’m just back from the game and I’ll share my biggest take-away.

Venue: Normally the PC women play at Alumni Hall on the Friars campus, it is a gym. For the Huskies game they moved it to Amica Mutual Pavilion in downtown Providence which seats 14,000. They didn’t sell out, but the UConn crowd dwarfed the typical PC women’s crowd.

Kids: UConn & its stars, particularly Paige Bueckers, do so much to foster the sport. I sat lower near the hoop and was surrounded by families with emerging women’s sports fans. The adults had UConn sweatshirts/caps and the kids had towels, clothing, and signs.

I sat just to the left of a family with 3 girls maybe 5-8 years old, each with a sign. I asked to see them, which they liked and two were UConn and the big one was Paige Bueckers. Each of the tots had painted faces with player numbers, UConn insignias, husky dog faces to compliment their UConn jerseys (pint-sized) and Mardi gras style beads. They were having the time of their lives jumping up every commercial break waving their signs to get on the AMP jumbotron. Every UConn basket, especially every Paige basket, the kiddies were dancing and high-fiving.

Granted Providence is only 90 minutes from Storrs and a lot of us to allegiances to both states, but watching Meg Culmo & Allen Bestwick it seems to be commonplace for road games.

Thirty years back when I’d go to the Hartford Civic Center to see a UConn women’s game I could pick my seat, it is gratifying to see what the UConn program, and fan-friendly players like Paige, Azzi and others have done for the sport.

Game-wise: Mismatch as expected. UConn continues to concern me with its lack of frontcourt. I love Jana’s work, but she seems sluggish and lacking agility. Plus gaining as many fouls as baskets will hurt us down the road against higher ranked teams.

 

[Centerstream]

Does anybody really think UConn would have been outscored in the fourth quarter if Geno left just three of the starters in? Win by almost 40 and still get complaints about the fourth quarter.

I think complaining about only scoring 8 points in a quarter is a valid complaint.
Not sure how many shots were attempted or what the FG% for the quarter was, but I don't think it's something to write home about. The object of running the offense, no matter the score, is to put the ball through the hoop.
And to be clear, each team scored only 8 points in the 4th.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Jana continues to show glimpses of what we expect followed by boneheaded plays. So exasperating!

 

[hookshot]

I think complaining about only scoring 8 points in a quarter is a valid complaint.
Not sure how many shots were attempted or what the FG% for the quarter was, but I don't think it's something to write home about. The object of running the offense, no matter the score, is to put the ball through the hoop.
And to be clear, each team scored only 8 points in the 4th.

With Brady out for a month or so, she'll get a chance to tip the balance in the right direction, otherwise we got a front court with nobody over 6"2"

 

[Bigboote]

Injury updates -

Man, that doesn’t sound good for Ice or UConn. That’s a pretty bad shoulder injury, and if it’s five weeks, that’s mid-March, so no tuneups for the dance.

 

[Vowelguy]

Does anybody really think UConn would have been outscored in the fourth quarter if Geno left just three of the starters in? Win by almost 40 and still get complaints about the fourth quarter.

It is not unreasonable to expect our bench to score more than 8 points against Providence, especially since our depth was supposed to be a plus this year.

Where are all the "our bench would be a top 20 team" folks?

 

[hookshot]

Jana continues to show glimpses of what we expect followed by boneheaded plays. So exasperating!

With Brady out for a month or so, she'll get a chance to tip the balance in the right direction, otherwise we got a front court with nobody over 6"2"

 

[Charliebball]

With Brady out for a month or so, she'll get a chance to tip the balance in the right direction, otherwise we got a front court with nobody over 6"2"

Jana certainly shows flashes of why Geno was so high on her.......hopefully, her overall game will continue to improve commensurate with the additional minutes she gets.......

 

[PacoSwede]

Shoot the ball, Morgan!

morgan isn't yet a good shooter, she is very active though and has great instincts, a nose for the ball and enthusiasm. she shouldn't shoot now, but she might in time, and she has leadership potential (but not this season).

 

[ABCDFE]

I liked what I saw today from Paige. She was aggressive and took it to the rim and got to foul line. That's the type of play we will need when shots aren't falling. I thought overall, the team played well. Too many missed layups and buckets near the basket.

To my surprise, Cheli looks so much worse than in the beginning of the year. Chen was solid as was Ash. I like Ash being aggressive like she was tonight, but she seems to do that against lesser opponents. I need to see Shade do well against top competition. Sarah looked visibly flat today.

Hoping we have Aubrey for SC game. I think we will lose by 15 or so to SC, if this type of level continues.

 

[uconnfan68]

It is not unreasonable to expect our bench to score more than 8 points against Providence, especially since our depth was supposed to be a plus this year.

Where are all the "our bench would be a top 20 team" folks?

There were 4 kids that didn’t even play. All front court players. We’re lucky most of our guards are tall.

 

[topogigio]

Great about Aubrey but oh man, sucks for Ice! I really enjoy watching her play and was really rooting for her to get in her groove. This means she's back for March.. mid March?

Re today, I really thought some of the shots (Azzi and Morgan, especially) were really forced which lead to avoidable turnovers. I always really enjoy watching Ash play and wonder why she doesn't get more minutes.

I enjoy keeping my eye on Shade when she is in there. Her intensity level, and constant movement is unparalleled. She pulled down some nice rebounds and is always "sticking her nose" into loose balls and scrums. I believe she is our best three-point shooter (by percentage. She is a pit bull on defense. I agree she needs more minutes, but not sure where to find them.

 

[Happydad745]

UConn played some really tough defense, but something is missing on offense...slow starts, missed bunnies, or maybe it is just me, but I am not feeling like we are running on all cylinders. Hopefully something comes together before we play S. Carolina, who lost to Texas, so they might have a chip on their shoulders.

 

[CTrefugee]

A center who turns and underhand scoops the shot will get the ball back in the face against top bigs.

 

[uconnever]

Nice to see the women shoot better. Jana looking determined and getting better. I believe our big three will do what they are supposed to do in the big games. Also Aubrey will do what she does. The key to UConn being elite is Ashlynn scoring and Jana rebounding and playing decent defense. If those two players do those things, we will beat anyone. Also I watched South Carolina and I have felt all year that we will beat them. They are a lot like Tennessee in my opinion. Tall, long and hounding defense. They are streaky shooters which is what I think is their weakness. They can win by bullying us like Tennessee but I’m guessing we learned our lesson and will have seen this style recently and will handle it well. Ashlynn has to score to open things up for Paige and Azzi and Sarah. Also no foul trouble and we win.

 

[ERWUC65]

I enjoy keeping my eye on Shade when she is in there. Her intensity level, and constant movement is unparalleled. She pulled down some nice rebounds and is always "sticking her nose" into loose balls and scrums. I believe she is our best three-point shooter (by percentage. She is a pit bull on defense. I agree she needs more minutes, but not sure where to find them.

There appear to be two Ashlynns, the one you saw today and the one whose scoring disappears in the big games. This problem, whatever causes it, is one of the major reasons to doubt our success going forward. We must have offense from her and Azzi in the tough games, taking their mindset from the BE games into the tournament.

 

[Centerstream]

With Brady out for a month or so, she'll get a chance to tip the balance in the right direction, otherwise we got a front court with nobody over 6"2"

I think you're replying to the incorrect post...

 

[Rowdy831]

They shot a higher percentage from three than from 2? If they played exactly the same way next Sunday as they did today they will be beaten and beaten badly. I they continue to think they can beat top teams with three guards I have bad news for UConn, it isn't going to happen. They absolutely need more size in the game at all times and they need to work the inside more than they do. When Jana gets the ball low she can spot the open shooter and that is Paige, Azzi or Sarah.

Texas showed what it looks like when you have two guards and a bigger less athletic lineup in the game against SC today. They missed a lot of short shots but they also rebounded a lot of them and turned them into second chance points. With UConn the guards have to shoot over 55% for them to have a chance and against good defense that is asking way too much.

 

[JoePgh]

They shot a higher percentage from three than from 2? If they played exactly the same way next Sunday as they did today they will be beaten and beaten badly. I they continue to think they can beat top teams with three guards I have bad news for UConn, it isn't going to happen. They absolutely need more size in the game at all times and they need to work the inside more than they do. When Jana gets the ball low she can spot the open shooter and that is Paige, Azzi or Sarah.

Texas showed what it looks like when you have two guards and a bigger less athletic lineup in the game against SC today. They missed a lot of short shots but they also rebounded a lot of them and turned them into second chance points. With UConn the guards have to shoot over 55% for them to have a chance and against good defense that is asking way too much.

Don't you think Geno would prefer to have a high enough level of play from Jana and/or Ice that he could play one of them with Sarah most of the time? That is how he started out the season, and that is what he continues to try. But now Ice is unavailable (possibly until the NCAA tournament) and Jana (although she rebounds well) is not providing enough offense to make that preferred option viable. That is how we end up with Sarah and four guards, and I think Geno is correct that this is the option that provides the best balance of offense and defense, probably for the rest of the season.

When Aubrey is available to play next to Sarah, it will be three guards and one small forward who rebounds well above her height, so that will make the "small lineup" option increasingly viable.

I disagree with your claim that the reason UConn shot poorly from mid-range and 3-point land against Tennessee was that TN didn't feel a need to defend the inside game, and therefore concentrated on perimeter defense. Watching the game live (I haven't yet rewatched it), it appeared to me that UConn was simply missing wide open jump shots from those ranges, rather than missing because Tennessee was defending the perimeter so aggressively. And remember that the paint points in the Tennessee game were tied at 42-42, and second-chance points were 12-11, neither of which suggests that UConn's inside game was non-threatening to TN. And that was with UConn playing the Sarah+4 lineup most of the time in that game.

Jana's trajectory of improvement over this season (while somewhat positive) is not nearly fast enough to give Geno (nor should it give fans) confidence that she can add a serious threat in the paint beyond what Sarah+4 can provide. And her frequent mistakes mean that her net contribution to the inside game will be less than what can be had from Sarah+4.

 

[Jonathan14]

I enjoy keeping my eye on Shade when she is in there. Her intensity level, and constant movement is unparalleled. She pulled down some nice rebounds and is always "sticking her nose" into loose balls and scrums. I believe she is our best three-point shooter (by percentage. She is a pit bull on defense. I agree she needs more minutes, but not sure where to find them.

I especially like when Geno deploys Ashlyn and KK together against an unsuspecting offense. My husband and I call them the Chaos Twins, with their constant deflections, tips, diving on the floor, and batting the ball away. They seem to be everywhere at once. It must be so annoying to play against them, which is why I love having them on our team.

 

[Stagnant]

5 weeks for ice is pretty bad news. The season could be over before she is available.

 

[Bigboote]

I especially like when Geno deploys Ashlyn and KK together against an unsuspecting offense. My husband and I call them the Chaos Twins, with their constant deflections, tips, diving on the floor, and batting the ball away. They seem to be everywhere at once. It must be so annoying to play against them, which is why I love having them on our team.

Watching the two of them on D today, I was thinking I’d hate to play against them.

 

[mainerhuski]

Imagine how thrilled we would have been at this point last year if we'd had 10 healthy players, including Azzi, suiting up (and Aubrey's almost there!)

 

[Centerstream]

After the TN game, Massey ratings has dropped us to #6. LSU and the Golden Domers moved ahead of us.
Their prediction for the Providence game was 77-44.
I'm curious to see if their prediction changes for the SoCar game after today's games.