Some thoughts on Depaul Game (merged)

[oldude]

DePaul got ridiculously hot for a quarter and a half. We were not defending the 3 well enough for half that time but we were much better on the defensive end in the last 6 minutes. We did just enough bur CW continues to be the biggest enigma. One of the deadliest mid range games and should be able to create that shot at will but just does not do it enough.

I actually thought UConn did a reasonable job of contesting shots from the arc. DePaul made a bunch of 3's in the 3rd qtr into the first part of the 4th qtr with UConn defenders getting a hand in their face.

 

[Dokey]

Play of the game came in first quarter when Anna sent a barely side, peripheral look perfect pass to Crystal for a three.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

So, for all the very smart people (you know who you are) who belittled posters for being concerned about defending Depaul's 3 pt shooting... what were you thinking when the game got down to 4 pts late in the second half? Will you apologize for your hubris? Yes, we won, but it was not pretty. It was a legitimate concern.

 

[BostonBay]

CW should be attacking the rim more & getting easier shots.

 

[jaydee602]

This isn't a complaint, but can anyone explain why Geno is benching Aubrey Griffin? Since her coming- out game, her minutes have been severely limited. And when she does play, she brings energy & effort.

 

[CocoHusky]

Anyone else worried about Christyn? She is playing like she in quicksand. 6 TO tonight and she got beat to several lose balls.

 

[Boreifs]

Well at least we beat DePaul by 10 ...great first half, ugly second half

It is much more accurate to say DePaul had an ugly first half and a great second half. It’s not always UConn determining the result, particularly this year.

 

[Rsna]

tonyc, funny you should mention that UConn’s roster is comprised of several players ranked 1-6 in their respective classes. I was thinking the same thing. There are only a very few “elite” top 10 programs that are able to recruit and retain these “cream of the crop” blue chippers every year.

i.e., UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford, South Carolina, Maryland, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oregon, Oregon State, Baylor, UCLA, Texas A&M, etc. DePaul does not attract top 10 ranked players.

The players DePaul has are good, and can play, but they are not blue chip (#1-5 in their class) players. If you go to ESPN’s hoopgirlz class rankings and look at the last 4 years, look at the schools the top 10 ranked players went to.

Fans overlook that dynamic at times. I agree with your take that the cream will rise to the top during this game, and UConn will prevail. By how much, I don’t know. Believe it or not, I ran out of envelopes.

Oregon State has their highest ranked player this year...30
Sorry no top ten players for the Beavers

 

[Huskygamble19]

I don't know how you could defend against the 3 when 4 players were knocking them down with ease. DePaul is a team to be reckoned with. with their passing there will always be a 3 point shooter in position.

 

[BostonBay]

This isn't a complaint, but can anyone explain why Geno is benching Aubrey Griffin? Since her coming- out game, her minutes have been severely limited. And when she does play, she brings energy & effort.

I thought she was hurt at first. She needs to be getting minutes. Geno cant keep playing 5 or 6 the whole game. This team will wear out.

 

[CocoHusky]

So, for all the very smart people (you know who you are) who belittled posters for being concerned about defending Depaul's 3 pt shooting... what were you thinking when the game got down to 4 pts late in the second half? Will you apologize for your hubris? Yes, we won, but it was not pretty. It was a legitimate concern.

It was a legit concern and the team did something about it for most of the game. Did you think they wouldn't?

 

[HopJim]

I have commented on ONO not making her layups in past but she did a good job getting the ball in traffic tonight and powering it up. Liked that she shot more layups than the 5 foot fall away jumper.

 

[ochoopsfan]

I am not sure if any of the Uconn turnovers were forced turnovers. I think all, or nearly all, TO's were unforced.

 

[oldude]

So, for all the very smart people (you know who you are) who belittled posters for being concerned about defending Depaul's 3 pt shooting... what were you thinking when the game got down to 4 pts late in the second half? Will you apologize for your hubris? Yes, we won, but it was not pretty. It was a legitimate concern.

Most of us are already married, so we really don't require some silly post from the left coast to say, "I told you so."

 

[Sluconn Husky]

If CW makes her layups UConn scores 90. Assuming that, and if UConn cut down on the silly turnovers they probably score 100+. The Huskies only got 64 FG attempts in a game against DePaul. With 16 offensive rebounds. That's nearly impossible.

 

[Boreifs]

Anyone else worried about Christyn? she is playing like she inn quick sand. 6 TO tonight and she got beat to several lose balls.

Second that. The way she is playing right now, she is getting way too many minutes. Makurat and Griffin at present bring more to the table. Let’s hope that changes.

 

[msf22b]

This isn't a complaint, but can anyone explain why Geno is benching Aubrey Griffin? Since her coming- out game, her minutes have been severely limited. And when she does play, she brings energy & effort.

Must be temp doghouse....she'll be back

 

[eebmg]

Anyone else worried about Christyn? she is playing like she inn quick sand. 6 TO tonight and she got beat to several lose balls.

Well she had 11 rebounds (4O) but I think a bit of those came after her own misses. I think she gets frustrated quickly than gets caught taking too many risks.

 

[oldude]

Anyone else worried about Christyn? she is playing like she inn quick sand. 6 TO tonight and she got beat to several lose balls.

She did force some things tonight. I think Christyn is still trying to figure out her role with this team.

 

[CocoHusky]

This game reminded me of @maryland 3 years ago. Big lead into the third quarter just couldn't sustain it.

 

[SJF]

DePaul came to win tonight! They are pretty good. Way to fight ladies. Go UCONN!

 

[chrissaran]

The turnovers were ridiculous. Christyn needs to play much better. Kyla didn't do much of anything tonight, which is why I was surprised Geno kept putting her back in. It was an off night for her.

 

[EricSD]

First half A-

2nd half D-

Would have given them an F for the 2nd half, but they actually squeaked out the win. And the last 3 minutes weren't awful. Still, very little to take away from that 2nd half that was any good. Just when you think maybe we've turned the corner, we throw out a stinker like that. We had 21 turnovers to 6 for them. Gave up nine 3-pointers in the 2nd half.

ONO was perfect from the field (9-9) yet we didn't create for her. Christyn was flat out awful for very long stretches - I don't care that she had a double double. Crystal made so many head scratching decisions that a senior PG should not be struggling with. How do we miss so many layups?? Hitting the bottom of the rim??

I though Anna played well, except for that boneheaded out of bounds play, and LIv was perfect on offense. Meg was excellent for the most part. Not sure why he kept putting Kyla back in - not a good matchup or game for her.

Sure we won, but I hope the players talk about how it felt like an unsatisfying win (whatever words they used earlier in the season) because the 2nd half was a hot mess.

 

[msf22b]

I liked that they bent in the 2nd half, but didn't break
Good and scrappy at the end...made plays.

 

[Triad]

Some thoughts on the DePaul game:

• Immediately took notice that DePaul did not come out pressing UConn, after the past few years when the Huskies quickly broke the Blue Demons press for easy baskets. Even when DePaul pressed some in the 2nd qtr, it was very soft pressure.
• As Crystal was raining down 3’s from the cheap seats, I remembered her first game as a freshman when she took a long 3 pointer and Geno got all over her for shooting from that far out. No more complaints from Geno. Crystal’s shooting range is flat-out ridiculous!
• I thought UConn could have gone to Liv in the low post just about every time down the court. She was a huge mismatch for whichever Blue Demon was attempting to guard her.
• Crystal’s shooting from downtown lead to the oddest matchup of the night as Doug Bruno decided to have 6’2” Chante Stonewall, his best defender, take a shot at containing Crystal.
• Credit to DePaul in the 2nd half. Down 26 at intermission they just keep coming at you. They’re like Jason in Friday the 13th. They shoot 2/13 from the arc in the 1st half, but in the 2nd half, with UConn doing a pretty darn good job of contesting their shots, DePaul just started making everything.
• Much closer than I thought it would be, but the Huskies are 9-0.

Depauls Quick hands made Uconn ball handler look like they never played. The same foul Uconn early and often worked took Uconn mentally out of the game. I agree with those that believe a WIN is a WIN. No points of pretty or 40 points more. Give Doug Credit and his kids for shooting straight when they had to.

 

[CocoHusky]

She did force some things tonight. I think Christyn is still trying to figure out her role with this team.

What's there to figure out.

 

[hoopsfan22]

What this team needs is more Molly!

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

Well reading the board some fans are a little nervous playing Depaul because they shoot so many treys and theyre ranked. No me. This is an opportunity of UConn to shine. Griff could have a great day playing one on one and rebounding. ONO there is no answer for. Instead of looking at how many treys Depaul makes I like to think that over 60% of their treys are missed which will allow UConn more touches and more fast break points.

Will Geno go to a 6-7 player rotation? I think once we get the lead everybody will play and excel. I saw Depaul play once this season. They throw up alot of treys and imo they rush some of those. Against UConn they will have problems rebounding and they will have problems getting the ball inside. ONO could have a field day inside.

Will UConn be a little rusty with the long break? I think so but after a few minutes they should be fine. We must maintain composure and poise. We cant get caught up into a run a gun out of control game which can happen against Depaul. Geno will have them ready. UConn teams are very good at adapting to game time situations. Geno is a master at making adjustments on the run during a game. I like UConn winning this game by 20+. We should see in this game and for the next couple of weeks UConn becoming the team many of us think they will aspire to.

Your insight seems a little bit off now... and a bit condescending to those who had concerns... what do you say now, when Depaul cut it to 4 pts late?

 

[Centerstream]

This game reminded me of @maryland 3 years ago. Big lead into the third quarter just couldn't sustain it.

It reminded me of the NC game against Syracuse when Cuse made a run in the 3rd quarter, knocking down 3s along the way. But The Big 3 got everything under control and took back the game.

 

[eebmg]

On the positive side, I think we showed a lot of poise at the end in a real hostile environment. Handled their pressure and got good shots. Liv was very poised. One of her best games imho.