Some thoughts on last nite and SC comin up

[shiverz45]

I think SC will throw a number of bodies at Paige and run her off the 3 point line. Her shooting percentage from there is ridiculous. She will probably get a lot of pull up 2 pointers. Hopefully she shoots the ball like she did against Tennessee.

 

[Hayven]

Geno is going to try to keep Boston out of the paint, so Liv will be roaming the high post. Can she hit that elbow jumper consistently during the game? She’s going to take them...

I expect Beal to guard Paige. Beal brings size and intensity. We all saw how Tenneesse’s big guards gave Paige some issues.

C needs to have a big game.

E looked tentative with Marquette. I hope the knee is good to go on Monday.

SC’s guards are quick, their bigs crash the boards, which are all problems for UConn...so I’m going with SC 76 - UConn 68

I’ll still be rooting for UConn though.

 

[jabstep]

I think if we start the small lineup we will have a problem but I think Geno will then make adjustments. They will have to adjust to our player movement and screens. We will mix up our defenses I think to give them different looks. They stifled us last year with man to man but we have Paige now and it will be different. I think Dawn will try Beal on her because of her size. She is 6'1' just like Burrell from Ten who gave Paige a little trouble.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I think SC will throw a number of bodies at Paige and run her off the 3 point line. Her shooting percentage from there is ridiculous. She will probably get a lot of pull up 2 pointers. Hopefully she shoots the ball like she did against Tennessee.

Paige has sit that once all season. Odds are that she doesn’t shoot that way.

 

[MooseJaw]

I agree with you. Especially defense. Marquette got far too many easy easy layups. Honestly, very worried about Boston. Everyone’s gonna get mad at me but here it is. Liv is useless against her. Demonstrative unreliability. Over and over. Love her to pieces, but nope. AE is certainly tough enough (as proven last night!). If she can stay out of fouls trouble, and can limit Boston somewhat and we are hitting shots. Maybe.

Reality, right now. SC 72 - UConn 64.

Gladly eat crow on this one. With hot sauce!

Bold prediction, for someone on the BY, and probably the smart pick. I'm glad I'm not as smart and will likely pick the Huskies, just have to ponder it a bit more.
The biggest obstacle as I see it will be SC and especially Boston getting any close call in their favor. I hope Liv shows up for this game and keeps her invisibility cloak in the closet. We can win if our bigs have a half way decent game, if they steamroll Liv it could get ugly very fast.

 

[MooseJaw]

It's always good to hear what the opposition is saying. Rather than post this in the 10 page post game thread, I decided to post it here. It is definitely worthwhile to watch the entire video, lots of good points hit. Marquette ( and Milwaukee) loosened their Covid restrictions and allowed parents to attend the game for the first time. ( Although parents were not allowed to interact with the players, kinda sad.) Trust me, you will enjoy watching the entire video.

Class act, and respectful of her players as well as ours. Wish them well.

 

[visitingcock]

Great, fun game for us fans to argue about. Fun for us to see our players get amped up.

bit, it’s really not that important. The winner is not gonna rise much sand the loser isn’t gonna drop much. Even if the loser were to drop to 4-8, 1st seed is hardly different from second seed this year because geography doesn’t matter.

will I be watching and cheering at times and agonizing at times? You bet’cha. But it not a huge deal for either program.

 

[Tonyc]

Paige has limitations???

Yes she knows not to force shots or give the ball to team mates in bad positions.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

Yes she knows not to force shots or give the ball to team mates in bad positions.

Those are not limitations.... those are positives..... strengths....

 

[msf22b]

Thoughts:

-For the 2nd game in a row, our "D"was a "Tale of two Cites."
When it most mattered (even with the O rebounding sequence in the 1st quarter) we held them to a first half total in the 20's and their most prolific scorer didn't...

-Tony's current perspective (unlike him) seems almost too modest.
The Freshman are real...the heart and soul of this team....They (can) make mistakes, foul too much, have off-nights...even lose on Monday....but the vitality, skill and gamesmanship of Paige, Nika and Aaliyah is off the charts...rather a new chart for 1st year players. They seem ready to lead the team to whatever heights it achieves.
Disparaging them (even a wee bit) because of heir youth is not closely following what is happening on the ground.

Christyn and Ono had good games against Marquette. Nothing much E did was less than good, but she doesn't look herself..

But UConn world knows, that this team sinks or swims on the backs of its youth....That will pay dividends next season, when 2 or 3 college ready super-talented types makes their appearance and Geno is confident in throwing them into the Cauldron.

 

[Bald Husky]

Geno is not going to change much going into Monday's game. A lot depends on whether Aaliyah can play. Otherwise, he may use Aubrey before Mir. What Geno and the staff are aiming for is the NC Tournament. Yes, we all want them to win Monday night. I'd rather they hold up the NC Trophy at the end of the year.

Need this win now. If we lose, we may not get a #1 seed in the tournament, if we win, we may get the overall #1 seed. This year is so messed up I don't think anyone has proven to be the best team. Not enough high profile matchups by any team, especially Uconn and Baylor. We need this!

 

[msf22b]

Need this win now. If we lose, we may not get a #1 seed in the tournament, if we win, we may get the overall #1 seed. This year is so messed up I don't think anyone has proven to be the best team. Not enough high profile matchups by any team, especially Uconn and Baylor. We need this!

Funny, I'm not hysterical about win/lose on Monday...So what if they're a 2-seed...As Geno says, for the NCAA's, you have to win six games...and that won't change.
What will change is that being a two or (god help us ) three...unlikely...
has no geographic advantage....Everything is deep in the hear of Texas.

So fixating on what seed we are is of limited value.

What is of value is fixing whatever inconsistencies remain in our youth's comprehension of UConn-style BB on both ends of the floor.

 

[j66kicker]

...will I be watching and cheering at times and agonizing at times? You bet’cha. But it not a huge deal for either program.

I think this game is a huge deal for both programs

 

[BBallF]

I think this game is a huge deal for both program

No question. It will have a huge TV audience and has direct NCAA seeding implications. This is the emerging top rivalry in the sport now. I thought that the most significant element of the game against Marquette though was that we were physical right back at them and we will need that against SC. I still am concerned about Evina. She came out several times and she just seems to be different than she was against Arkansas for example. Several unforced turnovers is unlike her which sometimes come from being tired or worn down. I also don't know if her reticence to shoot against Marquette was because her shots were not falling lately or because she is tired or hurting. This is her first season in 2 years and often times extensive knee surgery has a two year turnaround. I think she is a key to this game with her leadership and experience. I remain very impressed with her selflessness as the glue player and her maturity but this is a game for her to think score also. In the end, she may just have had some mid season fatigue and I look for her as a big time presence for us Monday night.

 

[Ricker]

Earlier posts teased me into re-watching a portion of last year's game and reviewing the box score. Pretty easy to conclude that last year's game is meaningless as to how Monday might play out. We only played 6 players and only got 17 points from the 3 players that will play Monday. In addition, South Carolina only was called for FOUR fouls in the entire game. We were 4-6 FT, they were 4-8 FT. South Carolina only had 7 turnovers in the game. There is bound to be more turnovers and fouls this time around. Moreover, Harris and Harrigan played 75 min and dominated ball movement with only 1 turnover between them. That ball security isn't playing Monday either. Lastly, they had 18000 fans creating energy that won't be in the building for this game.

What was noticeable is that both Williams and Ono have the same tendencies a year later. Williams didn't come up big in a big spot. She shot in volume and only scored 5 points on 12 shots. Ono relied on height rather than getting position. A pet peeve of mine is that she seldom seeks position on offensive rebounds when the ball is in the air, (a talent that is natural to Aubrey). She didn't play poorly, but Boston dictated the play between them. Ono was stuffed twice in the first quarter by guards because she brought the ball down, like she still does. With no other bigs to play Boston last year, I'll give her credit for playing 39 minutes before fouling out. Her importance also may have made her less aggressive on specific plays. I see Edwards as putting more pressure on Boston, and Westbrook as the open shooter who will knock them down. I hope they don't purposefully bait Griffin and Olivia into taking 3's, and, that Williams only shoots from 3 if it is an 'on' day, else take it to the hole. Not very interested in our 4 guard lineup that can't rebound against size. Give me a diet of 2 of Aubrey, Edwards and Ono at least 90% of the time. If you want to go small use Mir. Geno won't give Gabriel a thought, but I would give her a couple of minutes if foul trouble is big. I think she can hold the fort for the last 2 minutes of a half or a third quarter.

 

[hoophuskee]

I never said that. I have watched all of SC games and most of UConn games since I have the Fox app. SC gets a lot of there points off fast breaks and second shots. If you limit that you have a good chance of winning. UConn from what I see is one of the most efficient teams in the country. The only question that I have can they do what they do against SC. SC defensive is on par with Tennessee if not better. That is why it is hard for me to make a prediction. I will say SC has more pathways to victory than UConn.

I'm on the fence as to who will win. However you mention Tenn and SC in terms of defense. Do you really think it was Tenn's defense that held Paige in check from scoring?

I'm reading though from others too on this thread that thought Tenn gave Paige significant trouble that can be thought of similarly with S.C. I don't think they did. I guess you do too? I think she just missed. Her 1st away game on prime TV against a quality opponent.

And some are bringing up Beal. I think it not so relevant for Beal's defense - if UCONN is going to use screens and double screens.

I think it's what Geno often says about how teams are judged and how defenses are judged. He has said many times people mistake missed shots for good defense.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think SC will throw a number of bodies at Paige and run her off the 3 point line. Her shooting percentage from there is ridiculous. She will probably get a lot of pull up 2 pointers. Hopefully she shoots the ball like she did against Tennessee.

I am not arguing but if SC's guards get stuck on Paige off a switch from a pick, how do you propose the 5'9 Cooke and 5'8 Henderson will run the 5'11 Paige off the 3pt line?

 

[Cuango]

I think SC will throw a number of bodies at Paige and run her off the 3 point line. Her shooting percentage from there is ridiculous. She will probably get a lot of pull up 2 pointers. Hopefully she shoots the ball like she did against Tennessee.

UConn’s team % is .533 (fg) and .374 (3 pt) compared to .456 and .330 for SC. I think this game will be decided by whether SC can dominate the offensive glass. If UConn stays relatively close on that stat then I think they will win fairly easily. It’s hard for me to see SC scoring enough points to beat UConn. However, our inexperience in big games does concern me.

 

[TC22]

Gamecock here. I think Dawn will switch Beal (6’1) and Gressett (6’2) on Paige. It’s what she has done with Rhyne Howard and Dungee and did it with Carter last year. There will be full court pressure for her. The point will be to make her play hard for 40 minutes and not make it easy. We will see how that affects her. The wild card is going to be Saxton. If Geno doubles Boston, she’s gonna move out to the free throw line or beyond sometime and it will open the lane for the guards and Saxton is a rebounding machine. We have been pretty goood at adjusting our offense to what we are givien. It should be a fantastic game. There will Be a floor full of future AA and WNBA draft picks. Don’t think talent wise there are 2 schools that will have more of it than us and UConn in the near future. Just hope all our players get out of the game healthy. Good luck. Gamecocks by 9.

 

[BBallF]

Gamecock here. I think Dawn will switch Beal (6’1) and Gressett (6’2) on Paige. It’s what she has done with Rhyne Howard and Dungee and did it with Carter last year. There will be full court pressure for her. The point will be to make her play hard for 40 minutes and not make it easy. We will see how that affects her. The wild card is going to be Saxton. If Geno doubles Boston, she’s gonna move out to the free throw line or beyond sometime and it will open the lane for the guards and Saxton is a rebounding machine. We have been pretty goood at adjusting our offense to what we are givien. It should be a fantastic game. There will Be a floor full of future AA and WNBA draft picks. Don’t think talent wise there are 2 schools that will have more of it than us and UConn in the near future. Just hope all our players get out of the game healthy. Good luck. Gamecocks by 9.

Good early morning analysis except that is when typos happen. You seem to have omitted the word "lose" after the word "Gamecocks" in your last sentence.

 

[TC22]

Good early morning analysis except that is when typos happen. You seem to have omitted the word "lose" after the word "Gamecocks" in your last sentence.

Let me fix it for you....Gamecocks win by 9.

 

[BBallF]

Let me fix it for you....Gamecocks win by 9.

Uh, no. That was more than 8 hours ago. Boneyard statute of limitations has expired. Enjoy the game.

 

[cbraarj]

I also believe Geno has a plan if for Saylor. If Saylor improves she will get minutes as her three point threat is a much needed element since Anna is hurt.

Only end of bench minutes and that means 2 if she's lucky.

 

[MSGRET]

Gamecock here. I think Dawn will switch Beal (6’1) and Gressett (6’2) on Paige. It’s what she has done with Rhyne Howard and Dungee and did it with Carter last year. There will be full court pressure for her. The point will be to make her play hard for 40 minutes and not make it easy. We will see how that affects her. The wild card is going to be Saxton. If Geno doubles Boston, she’s gonna move out to the free throw line or beyond sometime and it will open the lane for the guards and Saxton is a rebounding machine. We have been pretty goood at adjusting our offense to what we are givien. It should be a fantastic game. There will Be a floor full of future AA and WNBA draft picks. Don’t think talent wise there are 2 schools that will have more of it than us and UConn in the near future. Just hope all our players get out of the game healthy. Good luck. Gamecocks by 9.

Since the Tennessee game Paige is shooting at a 76% clip from 3 point land. Teams have been shadowing her with players the whole time she has been on the court. She is all over the court using single and double screens to get open and if a team double teams her she finds the open player. Both DePaul and Marquette had a tall player try to keep up with her and they failed. Saint John's tried to bump her every time she tried to cut and she burned them for 32 points. Against Arkansas she had 27 pts. 10 of 15, going 3 for 3 on her 3's. DePaul she had only 22 pts. with 8 of 15 and 5 of 7 from 3. Saint John's 32 pts. 13 of 20, 5 of 6 from 3, and Marquette she had 30 pts. with 12 of 18 and 6 of 9 from 3. I don't see SC being able to stop her with either of the players because they will not be able to keep up with her weaving.