Tennessee Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Tennessee game:

• That was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen since the OBE days playing Rutgers in that bandbox in New Brunswick. But any win over the LV’s is a beautiful thing,
• TN is the kind of team that UConn would have blown out of the gym last year. In the first half, TN had 13 baskets and 15 turnovers, and the Huskies were still down 3. But this appears to be who the Huskies are right now.
• Yet another grind-it-out game for the Huskies. Certainly, the LV’s length had something to do with it, but there is no getting around it, UConn just has to shoot the ball better when they get open looks. Crystal, Megan & Anna all hit some key shots, but none of them had particularly good shooting games. Christyn can’t seem to buy a mid-range jumper, which is baffling, because we know she’s capable of making those shots.
• Thank goodness for Aubrey’s energy, defense and hustle. When Liv went out, I thought the game could get away from us, but Aubrey was unbelievable, earning the second half start, where she just kept making one play after another. Spoiler Alert!!! Aubrey was B.A.
• Clearly, Liv had something to prove in the second half. She played tough and she played motivated like she was ready for an alley fight. Message received?
• Now LV & UConn fans have a full year to get pumped up for next season’s rematch in Knoxville. Both teams should be considerably better next year.

 

[Kaizen]

Aubrey and Anna combine 18 pts, 15 rebs, 7 asts, 8 stls ....wowww

Today is freshmen day, and I see good future is coming ...

 

[JordyG]

Geno kind of hoarse tonight. AG was clearly the game badass, but Ania won my heart playing UConn basketball.

 

[HuskyNan]

How many UConn shots went half way down and popped out? Geez

 

[oldude]

I almost missed this, but UConn, with a lot of help from the LV's, held TN to only 14 pts in the entire second half. Amazing!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Big 3 were 13-49 from the floor (and Dangerfield started 4-4). The Fr. definitely came up big tonight.

 

[pvdoggy]

I don't know why people are continued to be surprised by CW shooting. CW is really not that great of a shooter. Her mechanic is not that good, she tends to push the ball more than using her wrist, and when the timing is on she can have a good shooting day, but not in general. She needs to go take a lesson from Azzi Fudd.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Amen!

 

[Urshurak]

I didn’t think it was a particularly ugly game, just the 31% shooting hurt. UConn should have won it by 25-30 easy.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Another game where you sigh a lot but know it will eventually get better. Aubrey was the energizer bunny for sure. Can’t wait for her to start taking the open 10 footer. Good second half for Liv

 

[diggerfoot]

The thing that jumps out at me is how our tougher opponents have a higher assist to basket ratio than we do, the reverse being a point of pride in the past. Yet we have had some games this year in which that ratio was high. To my eye as the opponent gets tougher we go into a heroic mode rather than a team mode, with the upperclassmen feeling they have to carry the team's success on their shoulders alone.

I do not exactly mean this as criticism. In what I anticipated to be a "down year" I am actually pretty satisfy with the results so far. The defense has surpassed my expectations. However, I do think there are certain players coming in next year that are the sure tonic for returning us to the assist/offensive team machine we have been in the past.

 

[Carnac]

Some thoughts on the Tennessee game:

• That was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen since the OBE days playing Rutgers in that bandbox in New Brunswick. But any win over the LV’s is a beautiful thing,
• TN is the kind of team that UConn would have blown out of the gym last year. In the first half, TN had 13 baskets and 15 turnovers, and the Huskies were still down 3. But this appears to be who the Huskies are right now.
• Yet another grind-it-out game for the Huskies. Certainly, the LV’s length had something to do with it, but there is no getting around it, UConn just has to shoot the ball better when they get open looks. Crystal, Megan & Anna all hit some key shots, but none of them had particularly good shooting games. Christyn can’t seem to buy a mid-range jumper, which is baffling, because we know she’s capable of making those shots.
• Thank goodness for Aubrey’s energy, defense and hustle. When Liv went out, I thought the game could get away from us, but Aubrey was unbelievable, earning the second half start, where she just kept making one play after another. Spoiler Alert!!! Aubrey was B.A.
• Clearly, Liv had something to prove in the second half. She played tough and she played motivated like she was ready for an alley fight. Message received?
• Now LV & UConn fans have a full year to get pumped up for next season’s rematch in Knoxville. Both teams should be considerably better next year.

Aubrey was absolutely the game’s badass!!! When Griffin left the game early in the fourth quarter, ceding the floor to UConn’s closing lineup, much of the home crowd stood to toast her performance. Anytime you get a "standing" ovation, you're a badass!!

UConn freshman Aubrey Griffin the ‘difference in the game’ according to Geno Auriemma in win over Tennessee

Aubrey Griffin, of course, can’t remember the heyday of the UConn-Tennessee rivalry. The Huskies freshman wasn’t born when Rebecca Lobo played at UConn and wore diapers for much of Dian…

www.courant.com

 

[bantamlaker]

What I liked most was the toughness and the intensity they played with for almost the entire game. Nice to see players diving on the floor for loose balls. And Aubrey was pretty good too!

 

[Fairfield Fan]

What'd I tell ya about AG! Kid's got talent!!

 

[Dokey]

I almost mossed this, but UConn, with a lot of help from the LV's, held TN to only 14 pts in the entire second half. Amazing!

Yes, Aubrey and Anna played defense like few freshmen. How do we keep both on the floor?

 

[Centerstream]

I don't know why people are continued to be surprised by CW shooting. CW is really not that great of a shooter. Her mechanic is not that good, she tends to push the ball more than using her wrist, and when the timing is on she can have a good shooting day, but not in general. She needs to go take a lesson from Azzi Fudd.

Wow

 

[augustaTC]

And Ania was a rock!

 

[iri10]

When our most important players are having an off day, you need less heralded players to step up. And that's what happened today. You gotta love it.

The goal, as always, is to make this UConn team as competitive as it can be in the postseason. This was not the finish of the process, but getting the youngsters to step up is just another step along the way.

If you can get the big three players AND the youngsters all playing well at once against ranked teams, I like our chances. That would be one of the final steps for this team, if we are fortunate enough to see it.

 

[Urshurak]

14 points by LV is the lowest in a half EVER!

 

[BostonBay]

UConn shot 31% from the field and won by 15. Ugly game is an understatement. A couple of positives was a lot more energy/heart in the 2nd half and AG/Anna playing well. Tenn is not a top tier team. UConn will have to play much better to have any shot at a FF. A National Title is a pipe dream at this point.

 

[UConn2SF]

Someone needs to get dan ricci tickets for every game remaining.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Ugly game artistically, but damn the effort brought by Anna & Aubrey was outstanding.

Long range...ain't gonna win with your Jr's & Sr's shooting 9-35

 

[oldude]

I don't know why people are continued to be surprised by CW shooting. CW is really not that great of a shooter. Her mechanic is not that good, she tends to push the ball more than using her wrist, and when the timing is on she can have a good shooting day, but not in general. She needs to go take a lesson from Azzi Fudd.

Last year, Christyn was second only to Pheesa, shooting right around 50% from the floor,, 37% from 3 and 74% from the FT line. All her numbers are down this season. Her shot does look a little flat to me, so I'm not discounting a problem with mechanics, but she is a much better shooter than we've seen.

 

[cohenzone]

Nobody was really hot shooting jumpers, lots of open misses, but really good D and especially excellent second half D. Aubrey just changes the game and Ann is just fine. Hopefully Cristyn’s shot returns.

 

[HopJim]

Some thoughts on the Tennessee game:

• That was one of the ugliest games I’ve seen since the OBE days playing Rutgers in that bandbox in New Brunswick. But any win over the LV’s is a beautiful thing,
• TN is the kind of team that UConn would have blown out of the gym last year. In the first half, TN had 13 baskets and 15 turnovers, and the Huskies were still down 3. But this appears to be who the Huskies are right now.
• Yet another grind-it-out game for the Huskies. Certainly, the LV’s length had something to do with it, but there is no getting around it, UConn just has to shoot the ball better when they get open looks. Crystal, Megan & Anna all hit some key shots, but none of them had particularly good shooting games. Christyn can’t seem to buy a mid-range jumper, which is baffling, because we know she’s capable of making those shots.
• Thank goodness for Aubrey’s energy, defense and hustle. When Liv went out, I thought the game could get away from us, but Aubrey was unbelievable, earning the second half start, where she just kept making one play after another. Spoiler Alert!!! Aubrey was B.A.
• Clearly, Liv had something to prove in the second half. She played tough and she played motivated like she was ready for an alley fight. Message received?
• Now LV & UConn fans have a full year to get pumped up for next season’s rematch in Knoxville. Both teams should be considerably better next year.

Agree and disagree with Old Dude. One of the most enjoyable games I have seen in several years. Great adjustments by Geno, frosh performance, etc. Lets enjoy and not over analyze.