Rebecca Puts UConn In Her Final 4 | The Boneyard

Rebecca Puts UConn In Her Final 4

Topsail said:
Is it possible to make the final 4, yes but we need to play great defense, shoot the ball well and stay out of foul trouble TBD
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Hahaha, you forgot one more thing, we also need the refs calls in our favor.
 
It comes down to defense and UConns defense has been nothing short of spectacular. They suffocated teams and opponents had a huge problem getting inside against UConn. Now looking at their last two wins in the BET and how dominate they were without Aaliyah Edwards tells me all I need to hear. UConn will be a very tuff out. Those teams who rely on the 3 will live and die by the 3. Paige is the one players who can get her shot when UConn needs a basket and at a very high percentage. That is a huge difference and something other teams do not have. Add in Aaliyah and now ICE and UConn has a darn good offense. UConns defense will get them to the FF.
 
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My thought on UConn is it all comes down to who they have in their bracket. If they matchup on size for the most part I think they are as good as anyone in the country. If they run up against a team that has length and quality guard play they will have problems. The addition of Ice to the mix though gives them another look that might help.
 
Rebecca is speaking about heart, Paige's heart -- She can give her teammates the heart to go that far, and maybe further. But as a practical matter, they'd also need a few breaks to go their way, and that hasn't been the flavor of this season so far. In 2013, when #5 Louisville upset Griner's Baylor and then lost to UConn in the NC game, it was a special season for them. This team feels a little like that one.

All that said, I won't be disappointed no matter what they accomplish. They have all my love and respect right now.
 
The team is playing great defense but I agree it's what bracket they are in..as it stands now in CC bracketology the #2 seed who Uconn would meet in the S16 is UCLA ..the other #2 seeds are Ohio State,Texas,and LSU..certainly not an easy game with any of them
If they play UCLA the height with 6'7" Betts and the 6"4" Dugalic could be troublesome along with 2 great guards in Rice and Osborne
Rice had 24 points and 11 boards with Paige guarding her when they played back in November
 
A Final Four appearence would be an amazing accomplishment under the circumstances that this team has gone through. Given the whole arc of the season, even an Elite 8 appearence would be worthy of celebration, even in Connecticut.
 
With Ice now having belief in herself, it’s exactly what we needed to give ourselves a chance. If her and Edward’s can play together against the bigger teams successfully and we hit our shots at a decent rate, we can beat anyone. As I watched against South Carolina, I thought that we got a lot of open looks but missed them. Make more of those next time and glue ourselves to Pao Pao hope I spelled it right, we can beat them. Paige is going to have to carry us and I believe she is right now, the best player in the game bar none.
 
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Rowdy831 said:
My thought on UConn is it all comes down to who they have in their bracket. If they matchup on size for the most part I think they are as good as anyone in the country. If they run up against a team that has length and quality guard play they will have problems. The addition of Ice to the mix though gives them another look that might help.
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If the brackets are as projected today, UConn May be in the most competitive one, but it sets up a possible elite 8 meeting with Iowa, if both teams make it that far. I like that matchup!
 
darkstar1 said:
If the brackets are as projected today, UConn May be in the most competitive one, but it sets up a possible elite 8 meeting with Iowa, if both teams make it that far. I like that matchup!
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Me, too. CC goes off for 60... the rest of the Iowa team is limited to another 10, and UConn scores 80. Or UConn shuts CC down, the rest of the team scores more than 10. Still seems good.
 
I learned along time ago you make your breaks. Overcoming adversity which UConn has done. The way we executed our game this weekend was crazy good and we did it without Aaliyah and didnt know what to expect from ICE. We found out the unexpected was the expected and the jolt we needed which brought confidence to the team and enabled them to relax and play their game. Their game was defense which allowed them to not focus on anything else but defense. Paige and Nika took care of making the offense run. Did you see the stats? Turnovers were down. Fouls were down. Alot of that has to do with not trying to do something just letting it happen and letting it happen comes from just executing what you were taught in practice and not trying to execute just executing without thinking about how to execute. When you think about what you have to do or your suppose to do you screw up. Dont think just do it and do it and do it and do it and do it until the whistle blows. Then just keep doing it again until the final buzzer.
 
They will go as far as their defense is able to take them. Matchups are going to be important and they need an unexpected upset or two to get past the Elite 8 in my opinion. there are a lot of good teams out there, but all of them have flaws that can be exploited. Some of those teams also have the strengths to exploit UConn's flaws. Who they get in the draw will matter a lot in this tournament.

Given what this team has been dealt with this season I certainly won't be disappointed if they go out in the Sweet 16, but I also won't be shocked if they go farther than that. I big key will be how the youngsters respond to the pressure of playing in games of such importance. They need to play well so that opponents will have to account for points from others not named Paige or Aliyah.
 
Pharos said:
Me, too. CC goes off for 60... the rest of the Iowa team is limited to another 10, and UConn scores 80. Or UConn shuts CC down, the rest of the team scores more than 10. Still seems good.
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Clark was held to a 4 point second half in a late season game. Who did that, was it OSU? At any rate, I would guess that Clark is unguardable by a single player but also her passing off to unguarded players would negate the double team on Clark. But, somebody throttled her, there must be some inkling of how to attack the problem of her shooting from just about anywhere on the floor. Ideas?
 
Prospects for a Final Four look much better than a few days ago, presuming Edwards comes back fully healthy. We now have a solid second post to help Edwards against bigger teams, and a defense more stifling than it's been all season.
 
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darkstar1 said:
If the brackets are as projected today, UConn May be in the most competitive one, but it sets up a possible elite 8 meeting with Iowa, if both teams make it that far. I like that matchup!
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I'm with you on this one. I don't care about the rest as much as I'd like to see this matchup. The team that played yesterday + Aaliyah would roast them.
 
uconnever said:
With Ice now having belief in herself, it’s exactly what we needed to give ourselves a chance. If her and Edward’s can play together against the bigger teams successfully and we hit our shots at a decent rate, we can beat anyone. As I watched against South Carolina, I thought that we got a lot of open looks but missed them. Make more of those next time and glue ourselves to Pao Pao hope I spelled it right, we can beat them. Paige is going to have to carry us and I believe she is right now, the best player in the game bar none.
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Well if that's true then she can do what Clark did last year and carry the team to the FF
 
This ain't science. This is hopes and prayers. Would love to see it and I sure they will give 200%... but, we just don't have the manpower this year. Here's hoping ❤️ Trump's manpower!!!
 
She better put UConn in her Final Four.
 
I feel the key for this team winning the Title is Geno. The guy has to start spitting fire again. Paige can only charge ahead so much with this crew. Geno has to light fire under all of their azzes.
 
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Mandoo said:
Clark was held to a 4 point second half in a late season game. Who did that, was it OSU? At any rate, I would guess that Clark is unguardable by a single player but also her passing off to unguarded players would negate the double team on Clark. But, somebody throttled her, there must be some inkling of how to attack the problem of her shooting from just about anywhere on the floor. Ideas?
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That scenario is unlikely
Clark has plenty of help from their young center Hannah Stuelke, super-senior guard Gabbie Marshall,
Kate Martin, Molly Davis et al.

The question would be can our defense disrupt their offense sufficiently without fouling...assuming we score handily on a team that is average in D at best.
Then we win.

Mostly uncommented on is the schemes that UConn used to stop the Big East talent of our opponents. It worked to a charm

The problem is: how do you stop a team with more than 2 such creatures (typical of the Big East)...and that's the makeup of the best teams...I have confidence in Geno's creativity, but the problem may ultimately be unsolvable.

And it's premature to speak of such down the line matchups...You have to get there first and down the line disruptions occur regularly.

What's interesting to me is that Iowa, SC, LSU, the Cal U's all have X's on their back, while UConn, (possibly for the first time in memory...Rebecca shut up) for at least a round or two, can hide under the radar...if we take care of early business, which I think we will.

After that, folks will remember us and the damage we generally produce and it becomes a crap shoot, with us holding a good but certainly not overwhelming hand...

This is certainly a different team from the one seen even a few weeks ago.
Should be a fascinating tourney.

Can we win or final-4?

Perhaps.
 
1. As long as UConn has Paige Bueckers, they have a better than good chance.
2. One cannot place too much hope and emphasis based on UConn's play in the BET. The Big East is sadly weak. Long gone are the days of a 9 bid league.
3. Of the teams to whom UConn lost during the season, I do not feel that they match up better now; even with injuries to key opponents.
4. UConn has to dictate pace; marathons as opposed to sprints.
5. UConn will be no worse than a #3 seed; a very good spot from which to mount a charge. They will, likely face a tougher opponent in the Sweet 16 than they will in the Elite 8, so the third round is key. If Paige does not have to defend a bigger, physically imposing player in that round, she will be an offensive force ready to take over the game in the fourth quarter.
6. As mentioned by previous posters, defense will be key. An underdog with confidence is dangerous in March. The most effective confidence destroyer is defense.

A lot of very good teams in WCBB. It is in a very nice place. TV ratings are at unprecedented levels. Coaches like Nick Saban and Jeff Walz are bemoaning NIL. I am convinced that NIL has been especially good for the women's game.
 
Said it before. I put Tennessee and UCONN in similar situations. Both could be early exits or both could make Elite Eight but beyond that is a stretch goal but an A game from each could take them to FF. I think if you ask So Carolina, beyond that debacle in the SEC Championship, Tennessee was their toughest game.
 
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