Seton Hall Postgame Thread

[Zarathustra]

Congrats to Jana El Alfy on taking less than 10 games to figure out which way to bang the game opening jump ball. Well done. And a shoutout to another freshman, Morgan Cheli, she just gets it. I knew her BB IQ and fundamental skills were better than most incoming freshmen but at the rate she's adjusting to the physicality and pace of play, by tournament time she is going to be a serious factor in the short rotation. Nothing bothers her and she plays her butt off.

I noted to myself how many times that I saw Morgan Cheli on the
court floor after diving after loose balls. A "HUSKIE" looking for
a "Bone". IMPRESSIVE! Go Girl, GO!!!

 

[BRS24]

Paige Bueckers hits 2,000 points; Aubrey Griffin makes long-awaited return

The Huskies also put in their best performance of the season thanks in part to an offensive tweak.

www.uconnwbbweekly.com

Amid all the fanfare, UConn put together its best performance of the season against Seton Hall. The Huskies dominated from the jump and never let up en route to a 60-point win — their largest margin of victory since 2020-21.​

​

The Huskies also made some a key tweak on the offensive end.​

“The last couple days of practice, we slashed our offensive playbook a lot. I think there were way too many things to choose from,” Auriemma said. “We gave them a bar menu instead of the whole dinner menu. We just scaled it down to four or five things that we wanted to do and just stuck with those the entire game. I think that the confidence and the flow comes from that.”​

As a result, UConn put up its second-highest point total of the season — despite scoring just 12 points in the fourth quarter with its reserves running the show.​

“I think less is more sometimes,” Bueckers said.​

 

[Gus Mahler]

I love Shade’s game. She doesn’t get enough credit for her solid play and ability to play the role that is needed each game.

Her passing lately has been beyond impressive.

 

[freshler40]

I don't think she should be trying to finish or even thinking about finishing. Get the ball up court to Azzi, Paige or Sarah and now Aubrey and sometimes Morgan all of whom know how to get ahead of the defensive rebound. Problem is neither Chen nor Arnold are true point guards and KK is still trying to do what she did in high school and Chen is trying to do what she did last year. I'm not being critical, just realistic. Nika would average 12 assists a game with this team.

Some might argue that the more players that are a threat, the less pressure there is on the few that shoot. Thus, everyone gets better shots.

 

[Rowdy831]

when will other Big East teams be competitive? 2nd place Creighton lost to UCLA by 29.

They never will be. UConn will end up moving to a power 4 but even there you only have a handful of great teams out of 14-16 teams. Money will only maket gap between the good and the bad teams widen and unfortunately that is where the sports world is headed.

 

[Rowdy831]

Azzi and Sarah a playing fantastic basketball right now. The are both not hesitating at all on offense and both doing and excellent job on defense. To me Sarah is the Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the Big East and that lead seems to be growing as the season moves into the second half.

Paige on the other hand to me has another gear that she can still move up to when she needs to. Yesterday she flexed a little bit of her game but I think she will have to do a lot more in the tournament and I am confident she will. Yesterday the big three scored 59 playing half the game, that is pretty amazing.

 

[Dogdude]

They never will be. UConn will end up moving to a power 4 but even there you only have a handful of great teams out of 14-16 teams. Money will only maket gap between the good and the bad teams widen and unfortunately that is where the sports world is headed.

Kind of off-topic, but with the court rulings and the NCAA's (and also the court's) mandate to honor the splitting of money evenly between men and women, it will be hard for many of these smaller schools to maintain any sort of athletic department beyond a handful of sports.

 

[HuskyNan]

Please - let’s stick to post game comments

 

[BBallF]

Some might argue that the more players that are a threat, the less pressure there is on the few that shoot. Thus, everyone gets better shots.

Disagree. No one gets a better shot when the point guard is dribbling instead of passing. If you think that KK or Chen keeping the ball by dribbling and trying to force instead of passing up ahead on a break somehow creates better shots for anyone else on the team I strongly dispute that. If the break gets pushed by passing, with the offensive talent on this team, you neutralize the post issue that we have and create open shots. As I pointed out above, a slight advantage by the offensive player after receiving the ball leads often to a drive or great shot by our Triple Threat and Ash also.

 

[Ozimoto]

I subscribe to the view that nothing is ever as bad or as good as it seems at the time. Having said that, though, this was a great effort by the entire team in the "piranha on a roast" mode. So important for Q to see a shot go in!

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[JoePgh]

I subscribe to the view that nothing is ever as bad or as good as it seems at the time. Having said that, though, this was a great effort by the entire team in the "piranha on a roast" mode. So important for Q to see a shot go in!

The final score of the game to which you refer (Sweet 16 in 2016 against Vic Schaefer's Mississippi State team) was 98-38 as I recall, remarkably similar to yesterday's final score.

Of course, Mississippi State was a much better team than Seton Hall.

 

[Longtime fan]

Not a lot of analysis here. The Huskies shot lights out and were relentless defensively. Seton Hall was way out of their element early.

I didn’t think Sarah played badly against St. John’s. Today, though, she reminded us again what an All-American looks like. I was surprised and I should not have been that she got the assignment to guard Masonius.

He would never do it but Geno could sub hockey style. How many Big East games could Arnold, Shade, Cheli, Brady and Aubrey win as a starting five?

I thought Allie and Q took advantage of their playing time.

I don't think we should undervalue Alli. She is learning the defense and beginning to play it well. She is a fine passer and has a high BB IQ. Her shooting is at the top level. Once she stops being humble and shy, she can blossom into a star.

 

[WiseWillie]

Not a lot of analysis here. The Huskies shot lights out and were relentless defensively. Seton Hall was way out of their element early.

I didn’t think Sarah played badly against St. John’s. Today, though, she reminded us again what an All-American looks like. I was surprised and I should not have been that she got the assignment to guard Masonius.

He would never do it but Geno could sub hockey style. How many Big East games could Arnold, Shade, Cheli, Brady and Aubrey win as a starting five?

I thought Allie and Q took advantage of their playing time

We gotta..er...umm... yeah, that. Maybe...whatever...

What’s your solution to the problem, then?

IWell, how about the "Catholic 7" who split off from the original BE to form their own basketball-only conference step up by investing in their future by increasing the funding of the womens' basketball programs and players including their women's basketball facilities and at a minimum to match the investment from all sources in the mens' basketball programs.

 

[Cornell Lt]

One thing I noticed was all the bruising on Ms Cheli body. I know a couple of them (bruises) were from cupping, but damn the girl must love contact

 

[HuskyNan]

One thing I noticed was all the bruising on Ms Cheli body. I know a couple of them (bruises) were from cupping, but damn the girl must love contact

I didn’t see Morgan’s bruises but I did see a bunch of them on Sarah’s upper arms. She’s constantly being grabbed but they can’t stop her

Photos from the UConn Blog

 

[BBallF]

I don't think we should undervalue Alli. She is learning the defense and beginning to play it well. She is a fine passer and has a high BB IQ. Her shooting is at the top level. Once she stops being humble and shy, she can blossom into a star.

I agree. It's about the defense for her playing time as you note. Allie has a very fluid, effortless shot and she has several moves and shots in her repertoire. If she wants to get on the floor she has to get down on the floor like Morgan. She can be a very big weapon in the right circumstance.

 

[packwrap]

I agree. It's about the defense for her playing time as you note. Allie has a very fluid, effortless shot and she has several moves and shots in her repertoire. If she wants to get on the floor she has to get down on the floor like Morgan. She can be a very big weapon in the right circumstance.

I don't think anyone underestimates Alllie. She may very well end up being a future All-American with that shooting stroke.

Morgan just has advantage this year as a 'glue player' being able to defend 1-5.

When next year's team is a core of KK, Ash, Morgan and Alllie mixing in stars like Sarah and ?., Allie will really shine, as she is also a complete basketball player.

I've said before if end of my bench is Allie and Q, I feel pretty good about the team.

 

[Bone Dog]

I rewatched a highlight video of the game and that buzzer beating three at the end of the 3rd quarter by Allie is really remarkable. It may be the best catch and shoot I’ve ever seen. She moves into position and shoots as she falls away from the hoop. It isn’t rushed. It’s a settled move. This is definitely the kid who impressed her HS coach by shooting (and logging) 1,000 shots a day each summer.

 

[Bald Husky]

This isn't that important, but I was taken aback a little when Meghan Culmo commented that Sarah is the best player on the team. I acknowledge that the last few games she has played better, but to say that she is the best player, especially after observing 4 years of Paige doing unbelievable things, making unbelievable plays, during all those times, and making that statement about a freshman who has only 20 games under her belt. Having seen all that she does, I believe that is a huge insult to Paige, and for her to say that on a broadcast just is totally inappropriate to one of the best players to put on a UConn jersey. Not a big fan of hers, but this is a really poor comment to make, even for her. UConn goes as Paige goes, and there is no question about that.

 

[Dogdude]

Her passing lately has been beyond impressive.

Plus she made that three-pointer from somewhere behind the backboard close to the student section.

 

[Bone Dog]

This isn't that important, but I was taken aback a little when Meghan Culmo commented that Sarah is the best player on the team. I acknowledge that the last few games she has played better, but to say that she is the best player, especially after observing 4 years of Paige doing unbelievable things, making unbelievable plays, during all those times, and making that statement about a freshman who has only 20 games under her belt. Having seen all that she does, I believe that is a huge insult to Paige, and for her to say that on a broadcast just is totally inappropriate to one of the best players to put on a UConn jersey. Not a big fan of hers, but this is a really poor comment to make, even for her. UConn goes as Paige goes, and there is no question about that.

In Meg’s defense, she said Sarah was “arguably the best player.” Maybe it’s just me but I hear that as saying that Sarah is playing up to Paige’s standard. It wouldn’t be arguable if she weren’t playing like Paige. If I’m right about what she meant, it’s not insulting at all. Two years ago, when Paige missed the season, we all thought Azzi was doing something similar. She was arguably the best player on the team, not just in the starting lineup. Even Geno said similar things, like “Azzi has to be the best player in the country, and she’s up to it.” He seemed to mean Azzi has to do what Paige would do, and he thought she was up to the task. And in the first several games she did exactly this. This was also not an insult to Paige. The bottom line is Paige is still setting the standard, as she always has.

 

[DEpup]

One thing I noticed was all the bruising on Ms Cheli body. I know a couple of them (bruises) were from cupping, but damn the girl must love contact

She has Katie Lou skin tone like me where bruises look nasty.

 

[Bald Husky]

Good try, lol, but when most people hear the word arguably the best, if the players name is mentioned than the statement is taken as a reference that she is the best and maybe challenged by another player. (Paige). No matter what she meant, it still came off as her saying Sarah is the best. Next year she will be, but for now she has to wait in the wings until Paige leaves.