bballnut90
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Thoughts on the day from games I was able to catch
Duke beats Ohio State
Really gritty and impressive win by Duke. They couldn't get anything going early but dug their heels in and played hard and completely outplayed Ohio State after the first quarter. Reagan Richardson was unbelievable, so good from deep and off the dribble. They have good size and great athletes who were able to slow down Sheldon. If UCONN wins, it'll be really interesting to see if the same players can slow down Edwards/Bueckers. McMahon was great for OSU but they couldn't get much else going. Congrats to Lawson and Duke, she's building a great thing in Durham and her program is going to be scary good in a couple of years, particularly if they land Sarah Strong.
Texas vs. Alabama
This was a really fun one to watch despite the low score. Honestly Texas should've been up by 20+ the entire second half but they just blew layup after layup. The announcer stated they missed 15 layups during the game. All that said, Texas really dominated the game on both ends. They consistently got great looks on offense and played incredible tough defense. If they can consistently hit layups I think they're a legitimate title contender and Booker is definitely in contention for best freshman in the country. Her mid range is so good and she's big and strong and can get her shot on pretty much any possession. I actually think Texas is better than they were early in the year with Harmon, and the reason for that is Aaliyah Moore. She is a perfect 4 in their system in that she's aggressive offensively, rebounds well, can hit midrange and defends the heck out of you. She's a big upgrade over Muhammad who was taking her minutes earlier in the year. Texas's defense makes them able to hang with anyone (their 4 losses were by a combined 14 points), and they have the pieces offensively to win games. Have to hit layups though. Alabama wasn't able to get much going offensively but fought hard and never let the game get away from them, though they struggled to close the gap under 10. Sarah Ashlee Barker especially battled hard and is a baller. I don't think of Curry as a top tier coach but she consistently does a good job to make Alabama competitive year in and year out.
Baylor vs. Virginia Tech
I caught the second half of this one. Jada Walker was insane tonight, she balled out when Baylor needed it most. It's hard to attribute a loss to 1 or 2 players, but a couple that really stood out were Amoore blowing a wide open layup that led to a VT foul and free throws for Baylor (4 point swing) and Walker nailing a half court bomb at the end of the 3rd. In a tight game like this, either of those plays can be the difference. I thought VT battled well despite obviously missing Kitley. Strack had a great game and showed some great post moves inside, Ekh was phenomenal offensively, and Amoore struggled shooting but I thought had a solid game overall. Baylor was just quicker and Jada Walker was the difference. I think Baylor has the better shot to upset USC (assuming they win tomorrow) but a valiant effort by VT. Question now is does Brooks stay or go? And is Amoore declaring or coming back? Or will she shock the world and transfer to Iowa to replace Clark for one more run?
Stanford vs. Iowa State
Well this was easily the game of the day. Wow, what a battle between two teams and incredible performances from Kiki Iriafen and Emily Ryan. I thought Iowa State was winning the entire night until Demetre nailed her 2nd three to take the lead 83-81 in OT. Iriafen was just dominant tonight. She looked like A'ja Wilson out there on both ends. Great first step off the bounce, good face up jumper, physical defense, just everything you'd want out of your PF tonight. Absolutely owned Crooks in their matchup. She looks like a lotto pick for the 2025 draft. Stanford also got a strong offensive game from Jump and I thought Agara was really solid defensively. Clutch buckets late from Demetre/Lepolo were the difference. Brink had a rough showing and showed just awful decision making down the stretch. She picked up her 4th foul in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th quarter was still quite aggressive defensively, going for blocks and her 5th foul was a blatant hack that she complained about before saying "duck* You" toward the ref as she walked off. I'm normally a Brink fan, but between that and her barking at a teammate earlier in the game, it just wasn't a good look for her tonight. Comparatively, when Crooks fouled out she waved to the fans as a thank you and was helping Stanford players up after falling despite having maybe the worst game of her career. Iowa State's biggest problem IMO was their insistence to pound the ball into her when she was clearly unable to score on Brink or Iriafen. I'd guess at least 6-7 of her shots were blocked and they just kept going to her instead of running looks for Emily Ryan (36 points on 12-20 shooting) or Addy Brown (18 points on 7-12 shooting). That said, a heck of an effort and season for Iowa State. They're going to be a handful next year and I'd expect Crooks to continue to improve in the offseason as she continues to get into better shape and develop moves around the basket. Going up against 2 future WNBA lottery picks tonight was a rough transition after feasting against Maryland's non-existent frontline two nights ago. With Stanford advancing, their regional is shaping up to be loaded with strong physical bigs in the Sweet 16. Texas, Stanford, Tennessee and NC State all have tall and physical front court players so it'll be a battle to watch in Portland.
Duke beats Ohio State
Really gritty and impressive win by Duke. They couldn't get anything going early but dug their heels in and played hard and completely outplayed Ohio State after the first quarter. Reagan Richardson was unbelievable, so good from deep and off the dribble. They have good size and great athletes who were able to slow down Sheldon. If UCONN wins, it'll be really interesting to see if the same players can slow down Edwards/Bueckers. McMahon was great for OSU but they couldn't get much else going. Congrats to Lawson and Duke, she's building a great thing in Durham and her program is going to be scary good in a couple of years, particularly if they land Sarah Strong.
Texas vs. Alabama
This was a really fun one to watch despite the low score. Honestly Texas should've been up by 20+ the entire second half but they just blew layup after layup. The announcer stated they missed 15 layups during the game. All that said, Texas really dominated the game on both ends. They consistently got great looks on offense and played incredible tough defense. If they can consistently hit layups I think they're a legitimate title contender and Booker is definitely in contention for best freshman in the country. Her mid range is so good and she's big and strong and can get her shot on pretty much any possession. I actually think Texas is better than they were early in the year with Harmon, and the reason for that is Aaliyah Moore. She is a perfect 4 in their system in that she's aggressive offensively, rebounds well, can hit midrange and defends the heck out of you. She's a big upgrade over Muhammad who was taking her minutes earlier in the year. Texas's defense makes them able to hang with anyone (their 4 losses were by a combined 14 points), and they have the pieces offensively to win games. Have to hit layups though. Alabama wasn't able to get much going offensively but fought hard and never let the game get away from them, though they struggled to close the gap under 10. Sarah Ashlee Barker especially battled hard and is a baller. I don't think of Curry as a top tier coach but she consistently does a good job to make Alabama competitive year in and year out.
Baylor vs. Virginia Tech
I caught the second half of this one. Jada Walker was insane tonight, she balled out when Baylor needed it most. It's hard to attribute a loss to 1 or 2 players, but a couple that really stood out were Amoore blowing a wide open layup that led to a VT foul and free throws for Baylor (4 point swing) and Walker nailing a half court bomb at the end of the 3rd. In a tight game like this, either of those plays can be the difference. I thought VT battled well despite obviously missing Kitley. Strack had a great game and showed some great post moves inside, Ekh was phenomenal offensively, and Amoore struggled shooting but I thought had a solid game overall. Baylor was just quicker and Jada Walker was the difference. I think Baylor has the better shot to upset USC (assuming they win tomorrow) but a valiant effort by VT. Question now is does Brooks stay or go? And is Amoore declaring or coming back? Or will she shock the world and transfer to Iowa to replace Clark for one more run?
Stanford vs. Iowa State
Well this was easily the game of the day. Wow, what a battle between two teams and incredible performances from Kiki Iriafen and Emily Ryan. I thought Iowa State was winning the entire night until Demetre nailed her 2nd three to take the lead 83-81 in OT. Iriafen was just dominant tonight. She looked like A'ja Wilson out there on both ends. Great first step off the bounce, good face up jumper, physical defense, just everything you'd want out of your PF tonight. Absolutely owned Crooks in their matchup. She looks like a lotto pick for the 2025 draft. Stanford also got a strong offensive game from Jump and I thought Agara was really solid defensively. Clutch buckets late from Demetre/Lepolo were the difference. Brink had a rough showing and showed just awful decision making down the stretch. She picked up her 4th foul in the 3rd quarter and early in the 4th quarter was still quite aggressive defensively, going for blocks and her 5th foul was a blatant hack that she complained about before saying "duck* You" toward the ref as she walked off. I'm normally a Brink fan, but between that and her barking at a teammate earlier in the game, it just wasn't a good look for her tonight. Comparatively, when Crooks fouled out she waved to the fans as a thank you and was helping Stanford players up after falling despite having maybe the worst game of her career. Iowa State's biggest problem IMO was their insistence to pound the ball into her when she was clearly unable to score on Brink or Iriafen. I'd guess at least 6-7 of her shots were blocked and they just kept going to her instead of running looks for Emily Ryan (36 points on 12-20 shooting) or Addy Brown (18 points on 7-12 shooting). That said, a heck of an effort and season for Iowa State. They're going to be a handful next year and I'd expect Crooks to continue to improve in the offseason as she continues to get into better shape and develop moves around the basket. Going up against 2 future WNBA lottery picks tonight was a rough transition after feasting against Maryland's non-existent frontline two nights ago. With Stanford advancing, their regional is shaping up to be loaded with strong physical bigs in the Sweet 16. Texas, Stanford, Tennessee and NC State all have tall and physical front court players so it'll be a battle to watch in Portland.
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