Tennessee Postgame thread

[Rixxx]

and the Coach did a pretty good job too....

I really liked Geno's substitutions today.

 

[eebmg]

Not bad being even in rebounding 38 - 38 vs. the best rebounding team in the nation.

[11 UCONN team & 9 UT team rebounds on free throws]

Hard to rebound Azzi's 3pt shot.

 

[amb3096]

That's about all I can say...

I'd hate to think what the outcome would have been had Ducharme played. I should be thankful.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Sorry to be so late to the Party
My wife prepared a Sichuan, seafood hot-pot (still celebrating her New Year's)
and it was served right after the game

- I've noticed some less than complimentary notices for the seniors, Christyn and Olivia
In the past, when they started as poorly as they did this afternoon, they would have moped their way
through the game...not today:
Both were important cogs in the 2nd hall...Olivia with her D and Christyn finally made some shots and played reasonably solid D (as did them all). That was a positive development.

- Remember, this was overrated Tennessee, who doesn't run much of an offense...Geno out-coached his counterpart into the ground...Their one on one was neutralized and their offensive rebounding was negligible...what's left? zilch.- So it was a huge win...but there are better teams out there.

-As I noted earlier, when you have legitimate shooters (making shots), the whole game changes. Azzi in the 2nd half was pretty insane, but that's what we recruited; no real surprise...The surprise was Aaliyah's mid-range, even a three!. Aliyah's reprise of her best (maybe better) was the icing on the cake. And everyone else contributed as well

-The passing had some bite and was meaningful; they actually ran plays, getting Azzi open; and her variation pass to a cutting Olivia was a thing of beauty They must have been really scared this week, "his masters voice" was finally listened to.

- Fun game to watch...who wants them in the NCAA's as a 2, 3,or 4...hither or yon...does it matter?

I love a good hot-pot!

 

[BRS24]

Makes me wonder why people get so worked up over guesses on seeding by a talking head 2 months before the tourney

Creme has a tough job. He has to revise his brackets in midstream to match the Committee rankings. Charlie had UCONN in Bridgeport until the selection committee sent them out West in the first reveal. Actually, I like Creme's last brackets before the reveal.

When I post the bracketology #1-4 seedings, it's more of a fun visual to see where it started and all the changes. I've got a few other depictions that show interesting flows by both region and seed. I don't take it verbatim as it doesn't matter until the actual bracket is released.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

This group continues to fight and scrap their way into being a winning team. They started out the season just standing around with their hands in their pockets watching Paige do it all. When she went down, they had no idea what to do. Evina and CW seemed dazed. But as time has passed, one by one, these players are fighting to win. It all started with Ducharmes. Now we have Fudd.

Now we know that we have a serious team with talented and dependable scrappers in Fudd, Ducharmes, Williams, Juhasz, and most recently Edwards. Westbrook picks up the slack as best she can, and fights hard, as does Muhl. Each has evolved over the course of the season. Whether we get Paige back is yet to be seen. But this group is becoming an actual team that fights together, and isn't waiting for Paige to do it for them. Amazing evolution!!!

 

[Blakeon18]

Also loved Amari's 'that's unfair' after Azzi's 7th trey.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Azzi's ZERO turnovers and 4 assists in 38 minutes. Shooting well over 50% including 9 3 point attempts. For God's sake put the ball in her hands.

What coaches and analysts like most about Azzi is her efficiency. It's a lot better to score 25 on 16 shots than scoring 25 on 22 shots. Her efficiency today was exceptional.

 

[Topdawg]

Houston

typed Horston.. autocorrect strikes again!

 

[HopJim]

Two points not mentioned:
-For anyone who watches replays, focus on Edwards under the basket. Some big Vol bodies were being moved out. Nice game - played to her strengths.
-ONO drove to the basket several times against a taller/bigger player. Not the smoothest moves, but for those of us that have waited 4 years for her to make this move in big game, I was thrilled. For the most part, she also did not slap down on her many blocks either.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Makes me wonder why people get so worked up over guesses on seeding by a talking head 2 months before the tourney

Hard to find truer words than those you just posted!

 

[Rixxx]

No doubt, this was the most important victory of the season. It was a great game to watch.
We must keep in mind. that Tennessee was missing a starter, and they have been going downhill the past few games.

I believe they were missing a backup post who is the team leader.

 

[BRS24]

This group continues to fight and scrap their way into being a winning team. They started out the season just standing around with their hands in their pockets watching Paige do it all. When she went down, they had no idea what to do. Evina and CW seemed dazed. But as time has passed, one by one, these players are fighting to win. It all started with Ducharmes. Now we have Fudd.

Now we know that we have a serious team with talented and dependable scrappers in Fudd, Ducharmes, Williams, Juhasz, and most recently Edwards. Westbrook picks up the slack as best she can, and fights hard, as does Muhl. Each has evolved over the course of the season. Whether we get Paige back is yet to be seen. But this group is becoming an actual team that fights together, and isn't waiting for Paige to do it for them. Amazing evolution!!!

 

[amb3096]

You mean the Horston/Burrell tug of war. That's been on display since Burrell returned.

Burrell has one thing in mind when moving with the basketball, and it ain't good.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Azzi in the second half: 6 of 6 from the field (including 4 of 4 from 3)!

 

[Patty Bailey]

So I assume we will never play in any other uniforms but the retro ones.

I'm good with that, those are great unis!

 

[amb3096]

Not to downplay her loss but I thought Green was a backup for Key, and even the Vols fans are questioning how can a loss of Green could have had that much impact on Ten.

It doesn't excuse these last two games. She was an important part of their rotation, but losing her does not explain this current slide. They have just lost all sense of cohesiveness.

 

[amb3096]

As long as Key keeps playing with low energy, Vols will continue to slip. I have seen her playing a dominate role in the past - good player but not sure what is causing her current speed bump.

Yup, that's it. Key has disappeared on defense the last 4 games.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Lot of adversity this year and it was just great seeing these ladies happy. I don't know who all the extra personnel are at the end of the bench, but they were into this game! Caroline went through a whole mood change from warm ups to the final buzzer. Good job, Ladies!

 

[Jmsdawg]

This game was big surprise for me, I thought Tenn was too physical for UConn. I wanted UConn to stay close and win it late, I thought that was the only chance, obviously, I was wrong. Great win by Huskies just hope it is just a start of thing to come.

 

[Sifaka]

That's about all I can say...

I'd hate to think what the outcome would have been had Ducharme played. I should be thankful.

Be thankful that next year Aubrey Griffen, Paige Bueckers, and Caroline Ducharme will join Azzi, Aaliyah, and maybe Dorka for the rematch?

 

[JoePgh]

Be thankful that next year Aubrey Griffen, Paige Bueckers, and Caroline Ducharme will join Azzi, Aaliyah, and maybe Dorka for the rematch?

Not to mention California Ice and the two-handed 6-3 dunker Ayanna Patterson. She must have Gabby-like hops to do that.

 

[pghhuskydoc]

With all the adversity this team has faced this year, and then to lose Caroline Ducharme–I am so proud of the way every woman on this team stepped up today. Fuss’s shot is SO pure! And, oh yeah, welcome back AE!!

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Fudd. Darn autocorrect!

 

[jaydee602]

I enjoyed the Fox Sports coverage of the game. Kim Adams was well informed about both teams & she provided smart analysis without bombarding us with irrelevant stats or meaningless stories. Kim & Kevin Kugler stayed focused on the game despite the lopsided score.