bballnut90
LV Adherent. Topic Crafter
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2011
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I didn't watch every game...but was able to watch a good number of them:
South Carolina vs. North Carolina--I really don't think South Carolina is anywhere close to being on par with Notre Dame, let alone UCONN. They really struggled defending penetration and their offense was stagnant. Tina Roy was hot, and Mitchell is a crafty scorer. Coates is a huge presence inside which gave South Carolina a big advantage in the post. North Carolina didn't execute well down the stretch but they have a good core of players coming back. They should be improved next season. I think South Carolina will have a tough time against Florida State, I'll be pulling for Semrau to make her first Final Four. Wilson was a non factor and has a ways to go before she is an elite level player, but I thought she
Florida State vs. Arizona State...didn't catch this game, but from what I've seen of FSU, they have a plethora of offensive options and Romero is one of the better point guards in the nation. I think her ability to create for others and spread out the offense will make Florida State hard to beat.
Notre Dame vs. Stanford- Notre Dame has cemented itself once again as the 2nd best team in women's basketball, and will most likely finish as #2 in the polls for the fifth straight season. Loyd can be incredibly tough to guard when she gets good lift on her shot. When she doesn't, it's flat and usually hits the front rim. She takes (and can hit) a lot of difficult shots, but will need other teammates to step up in order for Notre Dame to fire on all cylinders. Reimer's midrange looks great, she doesn't do well scoring in the post unless it is a layup, but this dimension makes Notre Dame more difficult to stop. Allen was unbelievably good in the first half, she needs to continue to look for her own shot to take pressure off Loyd. Lastly, Brianna Turner might be the most unpolished 66% FG shooter. She rebounds well, defends well and might be the best athlete in the country, but she has no back to the basket game and no midrange. She only shoots layups, and is efficient with her shots, but she has so much room to improve. She has good touch, when she develops some offensive moves she could easily average 20+ each night and be a POY candidate. Stanford ended up being a better squad than I anticipated they'd be. They have a nice crop of players but no stand out or anyone capable of carrying the team. With no major recruits coming in next year, I don't see them being a Final Four threat next year. Thompson is dynamic as a guard, Greenfield had a great finish to the season, McCall and Johnson should be good posts and Karlie Samuelson will be back. As an aside--I'm not sure what happened to Samuelson this year, she looked great against UCONN but didn't have a great season. She had a 2:1 A/TO ratio last year and shot 91% from the line, then this year shot under 50% from the line and a negative A/TO ratio. Truly bizarre.
Connecticut vs. Texas-today's performance by the Huskies might be the best I've ever seen a Connecticut team play. They made Texas look awful. Stewart started out slow and went on to have one of the best games of her career. Jefferson had one of the better games in her career. Tuck looked good in the post and hit a couple of three pointers. UCONN's half court offense is just so much better than any other team's in the nation. UCONN never needs anyone to go one on one to bail out the offense, they seemingly get an open layup or open midrange/three point shot on every single play. Defensively, UCONN has two of the nation's longest players in Stokes/Stewart who prevent any interior baskets. Even against a very talented 6-7 McGee-Stafford, they had their way inside. In my opinion, the only way you can compete with UCONN is with outstanding guard play and knocking down midrange and perimeter shots. I think the only team that has an outside chance of competing with UCONN is Notre Dame, who has players who can score from the outside and midrange, but that's about it. UCONN is scary good.
Texas should be better next year. Lots of talent coming back and McGee-Stafford should be one of the nation's top posts next year. She just needs to add some muscle and she could be a monster inside. 6-7, long, good touch inside...you can't teach that.
Dayton vs. Louisville. I didn't catch this game, but congrats to Dayton on a heck of a season. They don't have a prayer against UCONN, but making the Elite 8 and beating up the Kentucky schools is very impressive.
Tennessee vs. Gonzagas. I shared my thoughts in a different thread, but for as bad as Tennessee was all night, they played with incredible grit and toughness down the stretch. Their execution the last several minutes was outstanding, and they were able to get to the stripe and hit shots. Burdick has been playing great, and I liked what I saw from Nared today. Maryland is a different beast from Gonzaga, but the Zags played really well and it was a road game for Tennessee, so even if Tennessee was the heavy favorite, still a great win for the program. In order for Tennessee to compete with Maryland, they'll need better shooting from guards and more production from Graves. They cannot expect to beat Maryland scoring 6 points in the first 14 minutes of a half. They will lose if that happens.
Elite 8 Match Ups--outside of UCONN's matchup, the other three are all intriguing. I think Florida State plays better team basketball than South Carolina, but South Carolina has size and big scoring threats. Notre Dame should handle Baylor, but Kim is a good coach and has a good track record against Muffett. Maryland vs. Tennessee should be a fun one, too, in a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 even though both teams look drastically different. I think the Final Four will yield UCONN vs. Maryland and Notre Dame vs. Florida State.
South Carolina vs. North Carolina--I really don't think South Carolina is anywhere close to being on par with Notre Dame, let alone UCONN. They really struggled defending penetration and their offense was stagnant. Tina Roy was hot, and Mitchell is a crafty scorer. Coates is a huge presence inside which gave South Carolina a big advantage in the post. North Carolina didn't execute well down the stretch but they have a good core of players coming back. They should be improved next season. I think South Carolina will have a tough time against Florida State, I'll be pulling for Semrau to make her first Final Four. Wilson was a non factor and has a ways to go before she is an elite level player, but I thought she
Florida State vs. Arizona State...didn't catch this game, but from what I've seen of FSU, they have a plethora of offensive options and Romero is one of the better point guards in the nation. I think her ability to create for others and spread out the offense will make Florida State hard to beat.
Notre Dame vs. Stanford- Notre Dame has cemented itself once again as the 2nd best team in women's basketball, and will most likely finish as #2 in the polls for the fifth straight season. Loyd can be incredibly tough to guard when she gets good lift on her shot. When she doesn't, it's flat and usually hits the front rim. She takes (and can hit) a lot of difficult shots, but will need other teammates to step up in order for Notre Dame to fire on all cylinders. Reimer's midrange looks great, she doesn't do well scoring in the post unless it is a layup, but this dimension makes Notre Dame more difficult to stop. Allen was unbelievably good in the first half, she needs to continue to look for her own shot to take pressure off Loyd. Lastly, Brianna Turner might be the most unpolished 66% FG shooter. She rebounds well, defends well and might be the best athlete in the country, but she has no back to the basket game and no midrange. She only shoots layups, and is efficient with her shots, but she has so much room to improve. She has good touch, when she develops some offensive moves she could easily average 20+ each night and be a POY candidate. Stanford ended up being a better squad than I anticipated they'd be. They have a nice crop of players but no stand out or anyone capable of carrying the team. With no major recruits coming in next year, I don't see them being a Final Four threat next year. Thompson is dynamic as a guard, Greenfield had a great finish to the season, McCall and Johnson should be good posts and Karlie Samuelson will be back. As an aside--I'm not sure what happened to Samuelson this year, she looked great against UCONN but didn't have a great season. She had a 2:1 A/TO ratio last year and shot 91% from the line, then this year shot under 50% from the line and a negative A/TO ratio. Truly bizarre.
Connecticut vs. Texas-today's performance by the Huskies might be the best I've ever seen a Connecticut team play. They made Texas look awful. Stewart started out slow and went on to have one of the best games of her career. Jefferson had one of the better games in her career. Tuck looked good in the post and hit a couple of three pointers. UCONN's half court offense is just so much better than any other team's in the nation. UCONN never needs anyone to go one on one to bail out the offense, they seemingly get an open layup or open midrange/three point shot on every single play. Defensively, UCONN has two of the nation's longest players in Stokes/Stewart who prevent any interior baskets. Even against a very talented 6-7 McGee-Stafford, they had their way inside. In my opinion, the only way you can compete with UCONN is with outstanding guard play and knocking down midrange and perimeter shots. I think the only team that has an outside chance of competing with UCONN is Notre Dame, who has players who can score from the outside and midrange, but that's about it. UCONN is scary good.
Texas should be better next year. Lots of talent coming back and McGee-Stafford should be one of the nation's top posts next year. She just needs to add some muscle and she could be a monster inside. 6-7, long, good touch inside...you can't teach that.
Dayton vs. Louisville. I didn't catch this game, but congrats to Dayton on a heck of a season. They don't have a prayer against UCONN, but making the Elite 8 and beating up the Kentucky schools is very impressive.
Tennessee vs. Gonzagas. I shared my thoughts in a different thread, but for as bad as Tennessee was all night, they played with incredible grit and toughness down the stretch. Their execution the last several minutes was outstanding, and they were able to get to the stripe and hit shots. Burdick has been playing great, and I liked what I saw from Nared today. Maryland is a different beast from Gonzaga, but the Zags played really well and it was a road game for Tennessee, so even if Tennessee was the heavy favorite, still a great win for the program. In order for Tennessee to compete with Maryland, they'll need better shooting from guards and more production from Graves. They cannot expect to beat Maryland scoring 6 points in the first 14 minutes of a half. They will lose if that happens.
Elite 8 Match Ups--outside of UCONN's matchup, the other three are all intriguing. I think Florida State plays better team basketball than South Carolina, but South Carolina has size and big scoring threats. Notre Dame should handle Baylor, but Kim is a good coach and has a good track record against Muffett. Maryland vs. Tennessee should be a fun one, too, in a rematch of last year's Sweet 16 even though both teams look drastically different. I think the Final Four will yield UCONN vs. Maryland and Notre Dame vs. Florida State.