Recognize we are playing defenseless

[LoboDays]

Hard to argue with your IFs and “there is a chance” scenarios. I just have the past to go by. Against the better teams, ONO and AE don’t score. ONO had 6 points against SC and TN. IMO, they won’t score against the better bigs unless ONO hits from Caitlin Clark territory. Defense, blocked shots, rebounds are what we need from them.

 

[Tonyc]

With the outside attack we will have IF Paige Caroline and Azzi are healthy along with Christyn and Evina we will open the middle up for our bigs to score as well as opening up the middle to dribble drive. We can score in alot of different ways and when healthy I believe Paige Azzi and Caroline as a group will shoot over 50% which will make defenses have to come out and guard them one on one. BTW they are all good foul shooters too. This will allow our bigs more room to score underneath and present a high low with Liv up top distributing the ball. We are gonna be fun to watch . On the defensive end we have 3 bigs and thats alot of fouls to have to give up. This is why I believe we can score over 90 pts a game because we can not only score from almost anywhere but we can score off defense too. Bottom line to do this is get healthy and up to speed.

 

[Conndog]

Hard to argue with your IFs and “there is a chance” scenarios. I just have the past to go by. Against the better teams, ONO and AE don’t score. ONO had 6 points against SC and TN. IMO, they won’t score against the better bigs unless ONO hits from Caitlin Clark territory. Defense, blocked shots, rebounds are what we need from them.

Exactly, but they might get significant points too.

 

[LoboDays]

Left out Louisville. ONO had 5 points.

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

UConn can be a tough out!! There are no undefeated teams this year. Everyone can be beat. An UNRANKED Missouri team (currently 16-9) beat South Carolina by 1 point in overtime 70-69 in late December. If you lose by 1 point, you lose! You go home. Everyone can have a bad day. On gameday, you just have to be better than your opponent.

Both teams CANNOT have a good day. You must make sure THEY are the ones that have a bad day, not you. You've got to have the "will to win", and you must want to win that game MORE than they do. Each player must be willing to (as Geno says) "bring something." Whatever it is you can bring. Bring it!! Be physically and mentally ready to play. Be it for 2-3 minutes or 35-40 minutes. As Geno says: "be great when I need you to be."

Playing good defense is hard: keeping your hands up, staying in a defensive position, keeping your man in front of you and by all means blocking out when the shot is taken. Not giving up any easy baskets. UConn held DePaul to 30 points below their average. Why can’t we do that to the South Carolinas, the Stanfords and the Louisvilles?

The thing that will determine how far UConn goes in the tournament is how many of the core players will show up and show up BIG TIME? Any team that wins the NC will have to defeat at least two top 7 teams. If UConn plays their A+ game, and EVERYBODY shows up, UConn can beat anyone.

I can't imagine that if..........Paige has a 20 pt, 8 assist game, Azzi has a 25 pt, 5 reb, 5 ast game, ONO has a 15 pt, 10 reb, 2 blk game, Evina has a 12 pt, 5 ast game, Dorka has a double double and Aaliyah has a 12 pt, 6 reb game and Nika does her best imitation of a world class floor general while being a real pain the a** on defense, and we keep our turnovers to less than 10, that they won't win.

How about CW - if she even has a half a dozen , that’s 100 points total. We win!

 

[HopJim]

Agree on the need for defense, but while a balanced offensive performance is ideal, not necessary. It will be all about match ups. As an example, against South Carolina, Boston and all their bigs (if healthy), will likely neutralize ONO, Dorka, etc. and hopefully vice versa. I can see Azzi, Paige, and Caroline each getting 15-25 points. In a game that likely will be in a high 60's to low 70's score, this will be more than enough to win.

 

[hoophuskee]

Agree on the need for defense, but while a balanced offensive performance is ideal, not necessary. It will be all about match ups. As an example, against South Carolina, Boston and all their bigs (if healthy), will likely neutralize ONO, Dorka, etc. and hopefully vice versa. I can see Azzi, Paige, and Caroline each getting 15-25 points. In a game that likely will be in a high 60's to low 70's score, this will be more than enough to win.

Not sure about SC "neutralizing" Dorka if the UCONN guards are effective. The SC bigs maybe have to help more on the guards. Dorka can hit from the perimeter and put the ball on the floor from 15 feet/the perimeter.