Providence Postgame Thread

[Bills Fan]

Today might be an omen for next year. UConn, as with most teams, needs at least two ball handlers. Putting Shade and Allie on the floor at the same time makes Azzi the only one with true point guard skills. As their primary outside shooter, putting this on Fudd not ideal. Next year?

Next year we will still have KK, K9 and Kelis so don't worry, and the year after that we will still have K9 and Kelis besides our incoming international recruit.

 

[DEpup]

I know saying anything negative about our best player is like talking badly about the Pope in the Vatican, but 5 TO's in 23 minutes today and a recent game with 6 TO's??? What's going on ? Is she getting too comfortable and reading too many headlines? This is not the Sarah we saw all of last year and early this year.

I agree with you. Strong's turnovers are an issue. Most of them are just weak passes with no stick on them that get picked off. I think she needs to have more intention with the passes and the sense that any of her passes could be picked off if she isn't focused.

 

[Ironman23]

Guys, it’s almost inevitable that sometime after Christmas, after a few days off, before school is back in session, UConn will play down to their competition. Last year, on December 29, UConn hosted Providence in Hartford, beating them by 67-41 in an ugly game.

Yes, last year’s national champions beat lowly Providence by 16 at home, with everyone healthy. Chill everyone. The Huskies will be firing on all cylinders when it matters most.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 67-41 a 26 point difference?

 

[Bills Fan]

Re: turnovers, "I don't know if they were tired, but I was tired of watching" 🤣

Does Geno know that you can't/ shouldn't say anything negative about anything having to do with the team?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Maybe you don't want to see this?

 

[Bone Dog]

Maybe you don't want to see this?

You’re better off watching the replay directly on peacock. This replay is from one of two Vietnamese channels that provide a low quality feed that is clipped from full screen and choppy. I suspect the two channels are really from the same source given the identical flaws.

 

[EricLA]

Less than 24 hrs before the game you lose your starting pg, who is 2nd in the nation in A/TO and having a fantastic season. Under the circumstances, what exactly should we all expect from a UConn team that hasn’t even practiced once as a team without KK?

If TX lost Rori Harmon the day before a game, I’m guessing their execution would be pretty shoddy, to say the least.

We'll just have to agree to disagree, and Geno does as well. Q1 was the first minutes, literally, without KK and we won it 30-7, so is that really the excuse for the game? If that really was the issue, I'd have expected Q1 to be 22-18 or something. Even Geno disagrees. Postgame with Meg he said:

• Q1 was great. but the TO's were not good.
• Said Sarah should have shot the ball every time she touched it because when she didn't, she turned it over.
• He said that when we looked good (Q1), we looked really really good. And for a lot of the game we were dysfunctional. He did acknowledge that when you take out a primary ball handler, things can look "wonky"
• Said "I think we can get a lot better - things to work on".

So I'd get it if people on here were like "well it looks like we aren't a NC caliber team". But that's not what I'm saying, for sure. I just think it was a lackluster game. Something to be concerned about? Hell no. But things to work on in the new year? For sure.

And Geno didn't say it, well he did a little bit, credit to PC. I think they have a good coach and are on the right track. They play really disruptive defense, and if they add a few more quality players, they could be a staple near the top of the BE...

 

[dtbtbtb]

Anyone could see that this game was not a good game by UConn's (very high) standards...probably KK missing is part of it, some real head scratching self-inflicted turnovers is another, too many fouls, too many missed layups and free throws are another.
While a win is a win, I'm pretty sure most of us want to see UConn play a beautiful game of Basketball and not just win by a lot.

 

[JellyBean]

33 points from the bench and multiple scoring threats....

 

[Bone Dog]

I just think it was a lackluster game. Something to be concerned about? Hell no. But things to work on in the new year? For sure.

Absolutely. There were more than a few moments when I laughed out loud at one or another boneheaded play. And the most comical ones came from the great ones, Sarah and Azzi. I loved both times when Azzi dribbled the ball off her foot for turnovers.

This game will be a goldmine for Geno’s coaching.

 

[HuskyNan]

A reminder that Shabazz is a former point guard on two of UConn’s men’s national championship teams

 

[Stronga12]

I don't understand what some people expect. It was a midweek Big East game on New Years Eve and they were leading by 23 after the first quarter. It's tough to keep your motivation and senses up under these circumstances.

 

[WBBZen]

One thing is becoming quite clear - Blanca completely changes the game when she comes in. This is at least the third game (I think) where the team has gotten off to an eh start and the other team is keeping pace or at least close. Blanca comes in half way through the quarter and then it becomes a 20 point game.

I thought in this game we passed the ball too much. There were good opportunities passed away. It’s starting to feel too unselfish. K9 was great at the point today and if KK is going to be out again Saturday, it should probably be Azzi and K9 running point.

It was a good game to get information on what other lineups can look like but pretty sloppy overall and really showed how valuable KK is to the team, even if it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet all the time.

 

[Bone Dog]

One last observation: I love seeing Kayleigh motoring to the rim at top speed. You go girl!

 

[oldude]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't 67-41 a 26 point difference?

You got me there. But the point was that UConn played sloppy against an inferior opponent.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

So Geno on Sarahs turn overs, its the holidays and she's a giving kid.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Providence Coach Erin Batth. "We weren't ready" She explains it at 5:54

 

[RockyMTblue2]

My posted highlights having been not up to snuff, here's UConns

 

[Dugway]

Sloppy blow-out; kinda an oxymoron isn’t it? Yes, sloppy, lots of turnovers, fouls, etc. But a blowout nonetheless and it is hard to complain when you win by a huge margin.

That said, no way that I am going to be watching another second of it on a replay feed!

 

[oldude]

We'll just have to agree to disagree, and Geno does as well. Q1 was the first minutes, literally, without KK and we won it 30-7, so is that really the excuse for the game? If that really was the issue, I'd have expected Q1 to be 22-18 or something. Even Geno disagrees. Postgame with Meg he said:

• Q1 was great. but the TO's were not good.
• Said Sarah should have shot the ball every time she touched it because when she didn't, she turned it over.
• He said that when we looked good (Q1), we looked really really good. And for a lot of the game we were dysfunctional. He did acknowledge that when you take out a primary ball handler, things can look "wonky"
• Said "I think we can get a lot better - things to work on".

So I'd get it if people on here were like "well it looks like we aren't a NC caliber team". But that's not what I'm saying, for sure. I just think it was a lackluster game. Something to be concerned about? Hell no. But things to work on in the new year? For sure.

And Geno didn't say it, well he did a little bit, credit to PC. I think they have a good coach and are on the right track. They play really disruptive defense, and if they add a few more quality players, they could be a staple near the top of the BE...

I’m not exactly sure what it is we’re agreeing to disagree about. UConn was playing without their starting pg, which Geno acknowledged. In the 1st qtr, without KK, UConn had 6 turnovers, 2 of which were by Allie, in the 1st start of her career. Yes, they put up 30 pts as they hit their 3’s. But they played a sloppy game throughout, which I think had much more to do with KK’s absence and the inability to practice without her.

There were 2 games back in 2017-18 when Crystal, who was playing pg, was out injured. Kia Nurse, who had played pg on the Canadian national team took over. UConn was undefeated, ranked #1 and had 3 veteran AA’s in Lou, Pheesa & Gabby. They won both games, but the overall execution left a lot to be desired, and the game against UCF was not very pretty.

 

[Bone Dog]

Providence Coach Erin Batth. "We weren't ready" She explains it at 5:54

I love Erin Batth and this video shows her at her best.

 

[EricLA]

I’m not exactly sure what it is we’re agreeing to disagree about. UConn was playing without their starting pg, which Geno acknowledged. In the 1st qtr, without KK, UConn had 6 turnovers, 2 of which were by Allie, in the 1st start of her career. Yes, they put up 30 pts as they hit their 3’s. But they played a sloppy game throughout, which I think had much more to do with KK’s absence and the inability to practice without her.

There were 2 games back in 2017-18 when Crystal, who was playing pg, was out injured. Kia Nurse, who had played pg on the Canadian national team took over. UConn was undefeated, ranked #1 and had 3 veteran AA’s in Lou, Pheesa & Gabby. They won both games, but the overall execution left a lot to be desired, and the game against UCF was not very pretty.

Geno also acknowledged that there was some sloppy play, that the team often looked dysfunctional, that Sarah had issues with TO's (this is not the first game BTW), and that they had some things to work on.

My point is that not every game will be a thing of beauty, and not every post after each game is going to be glowing and cheerleading. It's ok to criticize some things about the play. Pretty sure it's not sacrilege. 😉

BTW I just want to add that KK "only" averages 25 MPG. I'm pretty sure that UConn has played some great offense and defense even with her on the bench. Q's 2, 3, and 4 were average by UConn's standards. I'm pretty sure there should be more stretches even without KK that the team looks really crisp. I'm not willing to give the entire team a complete pass for the way this game was played just because KK was out.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Okay, tonight's last. I'd say Azzi has a cold. Happy New Year one and all.

 

[VA Huskie]

Blanca should be starting now. Not tomorrow, not next week and not next year. She is too good period.

And I don't know why people get down on Fisher everytime someone mentions she needs more minutes.

From what I have seen of Fisher, she looks ready to explode onto the scene very shortly. She drives to the basket as good as anyone on the team.

But Blanca does it all.

I’m not down on her, but she is often out of control. She is a freshman though and has a lot of talent.

 

[Vowelguy]

I don't understand what some people expect.

For 40 years, Geno has consistently spoken about what he expects — for the team to play to a standard and not to the scoreboard. And he has noted (er yelled) when players have not lived to that standard.