Some thoughts on Tonites game

[Zorro]

I see that the current spread is UConn by 5 and L'ville by 2.5. If I were a betting man, which I am not, I take both UConn and L.ville and give the points. What do you think?

 

[SLY63]

I think a key will be limiting turnovers against their smaller, quicker guards and not giving them easy baskets

 

[Waquoit]

"Everyone eats" but I'm hoping some eat more than others. Nothing wrong with the better shooters taking the most shots.

 

[AgStatesman]

My most recent thought on tonight's game - "AgStatesman", I thinks to myself. "There are only 3 hours til tipoff."

 

[Charliebball]

Not sure you can make any inference to the ND game for Cunnane. She clearly was the dominant big that Dodson struggled to stop and is why she had the foul trouble, not Cunnane. That will not be the case tonight as Cunnane will have 2 similar size bigs in ONO and Dorka at 6'5" and a 6'3" Aaliyah to contend with. When you add in the size mismatches on the guards as both Perez and Johnson are small, we can open the lane and post up our guards against them.

Controlling the boards will not be an easy task for UConn,,,,,,,,,,,,,in addition to Cunane, NC State's forwards Boyd, Brown Turner and Jones are barely over six feet but they are physical, tenacious defenders and box out well.........posting up inside against Johnson and Perez worked for Notre Dame and I'm sure Geno will have the team looking for those opportunities........if both team's play to their potential UConn should come out on top........

 

[Big Mick]

UCONN by 12


NC State stats vs 4 recent opponents:

 

[Carnac]

Gotta put pressure on the NC State's other four. Let ONO or when she is out, AE or Dorka play Cunane straight up. Maybe front her a little bit. Go for the high percentage shot. Use Ducharme in the 4 as a change of pace. Whoever Cunane covers defensively should go high post use AE or Ducharme in a postup. Get some midrange shots for Azzi and Paige, be disciplined on the screens; eliminate the illegal screens. Don't travel and don't miss the layups.

So goes Cunane, so goes NCS. You can bet she'll show up. They can't win if she has a subpar game.

 

[darkstar1]

I see that the current spread is UConn by 5 and L'ville by 2.5. If I were a betting man, which I am not, I take both UConn and L.ville and give the points. What do you think?

Right now, the odds I see are UConn giving 4 1/2 and Louisville giving 5 1/2. I still like it. No I love it. Don’t think either game will be within 10, but we shall see.

 

[Carnac]

Controlling the boards will not be an easy task for UConn,,,,,,,,,,,,,in addition to Cunane, NC State's forwards Boyd, Brown Turner and Jones are barely over six feet but they are physical, tenacious defenders and box out well.........posting up inside against Johnson and Perez worked for Notre Dame and I'm sure Geno will have the team looking for those opportunities........if both team's play to their potential UConn should come out on top........

We can play tenacious and physical too. So I guess it will come down to who wants it more......them or us. As I said, they are not going to give the game to us or choke in the final minutes in the game. We must gain control of the game and hold it until the final horn.

 

[ConnMotors]

NC State has a very talented team. However, I do think that player for player UConn wins hands down. Let Cunane get her points. But I know that she will have to work her ass off for them. Crutchfield and B-Turner will play most of the game if not all. UC has nine players to run in and out. Will either team get tired? I don't know. But I'll put my odds, money and anything else on Geno and our group. I don't see them taking a loss here. The Huskies win by 12. Onto to Minnesota.

 

[Carnac]

The discussion about home-court advantage has reappeared.

"I think tomorrow is a home game for them," Wolfpack superstar Elissa Cunane said Sunday. "There's no question about that."

Wes was a little more circumspect (this time) no "Geno Invitational."

He noted that they've won some big "away games."

"Connecticut fans are great. They love their women's basketball. If I'm out somewhere traveling or something, I run into them, and they love their women's basketball."

Good!!! I hope it is. I want to win tonight by any means necessary short of cheap shots or dirty play. Lions in the jungle ARE NOT concerned about the opinions of deer or elk.

 

[The deacon]

Free throw shooting absolutely decides close games. UConn is shooting about 57% free throw. That's bad. But Paige and Azzi are in the high 80%, Williams is fine. It's the other members of the team who must step up. As far as turnovers, that will kill you too. ND lost the game with 14 sec left due to a steal. I am sure that Geno is addressing those issues better than anybody. I am anxious but hopeful.

If it comes down to which is the better free-throw shooting team, the Huskies had better hope this season's form doesn't hold tonight. Warbler 13's a bit off on UConn's team number, which is actually a pedestrian 68% to date. Liv and Dorka especially are a concern when they toe the line and, in spite of her clutch shots vs. UCF, Christyn is just 68%.

NC State, on the other hand, is 75% as a team and all of its top players are in the mid-70s to mid-80s, including Cunane, who's at 83% and spends lots of time at the line.

The Huskies best not get into a free-throw shooting contest with the Wolfpack. I hope and trust they'll find other ways in their arsenal to get the job done.

 

[Carnac]

NC State has a very talented team. However, I do think that player for player UConn wins hands down. Let Cunane get her points. But I know that she will have to work her ass off for them. Crutchfield and B-Turner will play most of the game if not all. UC has nine players to run in and out. Will either team get tired? I don't know. But I'll put my odds, money and anything else on Geno and our group. I don't see them taking a loss here. The Huskies win by 12. Onto to Minnesota.

Motors, you have no idea how right I hope you are.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I agree that the Huskies just need to play a proper inside out game, the way South Carolina did against Creighton, and take full take advantage of our height advantage. If our bigs put in the kind of performance they did against Indiana, then all matchups one through five should be a nightmare for NC State.

On the other hand, if we get bogged down in pretty perimeter passing and of the style of play that makes Liv our assists leader and main facilitator, then it will be much more difficult. I call that playing outside in, and that's how we played against the much smaller Arkansas last season. Their guards are much older than ours, so we don't want to make it a completely guard-centric game.

And hopefully the officiating won't be any kind of an x-factor again tonight.

We need to hit our three’s and those short stop & pop high arc jumpers that Paige and Azzi are so good at. If the interior passing and cuts to the basket from Caroline and Christine are on the mark I expect Cunane to be in foul trouble sooner than later.

 

[BobbyJ]

Good!!! I hope it is. I want to win tonight by any means necessary short of cheap shots or dirty play. Lions in the jungle ARE NOT concerned about the opinions of deer or elk.

That's because deer and elk don't live in the jungles where lions live. They haven't even been introduced.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think the Texas coach Vic Schaeffer is one of the top coaches in women's basketball. Look what he gets out of those players and how much he supports them. He and Adia Barnes are my 2 favorite women's coaches. I loved how he supported Allen-Taylor who fouled out at the end of the game. Allen-Taylor is a Mechanical Engineering major and a senior. As a young women POC in a STEM major, playing division one basketball, imagine the journey that kid has had with him the last 4 years. He had like 10 seconds left in the game and all sorts of priorities at that time but gave her as much support as any coach I've ever seen as she walked off the floor. It was about the kids he coached rather than him winning the game.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[Longtime fan]

If the game is called like the 2nd half of the IU game it won't even be enjoyable to watch

This is likely to be a 40 minute battle. We need to be happy that we got this far, and have a chance to take the next step....given the type year this has been. There were certainly many moments tis year when many of us would be happy to hear, " we'll be in the elite eight."
I believe we can win this game, but only if we play one of our best games. I think the talent bases are pretty equal ( one has an experience edge, and one more pure youth ). But, speaking candidly, I think the final two teams will be Stanford and South Carolina. Have fun.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[BBallF]

Against ND, NC State committed 5 fouls all game, each starter committing 1. I found this quite interesting because in the State games that I have watched this season, it seemed like Cunane always committed 2 fouls in the first half, resulting in bench time and the other players also committing some. Against Kansas State, they committed 13 with Cunane having 2 and her backup having 4.
I am guessing that the refs may play a big part in how this game is played.

I had good seats at the ND game and they called nothing. It was like an AAU game with somebody deciding who it went off of. The officiating has been inconsistent at best and even inconsistent from half to half. We shall see tonight. Ono has to avoid touch fouls.

 

[jaydee602]

Joe Vascily & Dee Kantner officiated yesterday's games, so we won't be seeing them today. I hope we are done with the West Coast refs who decided to impact the last two games by calling every touch foul in the 2nd half. Let them play, refs. These are two tough, physical teams who don't cross the line.

 

[TeamFirst!]

To a degree, I think they need to double Cunane. We can play her straight up and let her get 20 but I think she can score on any of our bigs. I'd rather see them front her than play from behind. Our ability to deny that incoming pass in the paint will be extremely important. As bigger guards we should be able to anticipate the incoming well and with enough defensive intensity make that incoming pass unsuccessful at least 3-4 times a game.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Watch out for the lesser named kids on UNC. Cunane and Perez tend to get most of the press but we sometimes see others who make the difference.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I don't even think Cunane has to have a good game for them to win. Crutchfield, Boyd et al are all solid players. Whichever team shoots well probably wins. I'm hoping we rebound well and keep the turnovers low. All keys.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Only problem with this picture is that the triumphant woman is in white. NC State is seeded higher than UCONN, so I'd guess they'll be wearing white jerseys.
Bad karma!

However, no referee counting out the opponent in black, nor is the referee holding up the "victor," which may be a premature celebration....

 

[Urshurak]

Free throw shooting absolutely decides close games. UConn is shooting about 57% free throw. That's bad. But Paige and Azzi are in the high 80%, Williams is fine. It's the other members of the team who must step up. As far as turnovers, that will kill you too. ND lost the game with 14 sec left due to a steal. I am sure that Geno is addressing those issues better than anybody. I am anxious but hopeful.

ND lost due to a 17-4 run through the 4th. The steal just iced it.

If UConn had hit some of the FT’s in regulation it would have been over in the 4th. They may not be so lucky against Stanford.

 

[warbler1055]

ND lost due to a 17-4 run through the 4th. The steal just iced it.

If UConn had hit some of the FT’s in regulation it would have been over in the 4th. They may not be so lucky against Stanford.

I was really nervous and unhappy when Ododa missed those free throws. And then Edwards missed her free throws. Thank God for Fudd and Bueckers free throws. Our guards won the game tonight.

 

[HGN]

In one word: EPIC.

 

[Seahorse]

Against ND, NC State committed 5 fouls all game, each starter committing 1. I found this quite interesting because in the State games that I have watched this season, it seemed like Cunane always committed 2 fouls in the first half, resulting in bench time and the other players also committing some. Against Kansas State, they committed 13 with Cunane having 2 and her backup having 4.
I am guessing that the refs may play a big part in how this game is played.