Texas, South Carolina, Louisville On The Horizon

[JavaMan]

With Notre Dame down, #2Texas, #5South Carolina, and #4Louisville, loom large. Two are away games...oh my! We play Texas on Jan. 15 in their house, South Carolina on Feb.1 in their house, and Louisville on Feb. 12 at Gampel.

They are all playing well. While Texas' unbeaten streak and #2 position is a bit suspect based on the strength of their schedule to date, they are all currently top 5 teams. What do we need to do to be best prepared to again beat three of the top 5 teams?

It is highly unlikely we, or any team, will be able to pull off three more come-form-behind-in-the-4th-quarter wins, two of them in enemy arenas that will replicate the environment of Sunday's XL Center. Please allay this caveman's anxiety.

​

 

[j66kicker]

With Notre Dame down, #2Texas, #5South Carolina, and #4Louisville, loom large. Two are away games...oh my! We play Texas on Jan. 15 in their house, South Carolina on Feb.1 in their house, and Louisville on Feb. 12 at Gampel.

It is highly unlikely we, or any team, will be able to pull off three more come-form-behind-in-the-4th-quarter wins, two of them in enemy arenas that will replicate the environment of Sunday's XL Center. Please allay this caveman's anxiety

R-E-L-A-X!! We got this. Think about each of these teams individually. ND smoked SC. Texas is big, but they were big the last 2 times we annihilated them, and this time we have Z. And Louisville?? C’mon....

 

[JavaMan]

R-E-L-A-X!! We got this. Think about each of these teams individually. ND smoked SC. Texas is big, but they were big the last 2 times we annihilated them, and this time we have Z. And Louisville?? C’mon....

Perhaps it's due to my primitive neurology.

​

 

[Sonny44]

With Notre Dame down, #2Texas, #5South Carolina, and #4Louisville, loom large. Two are away games...oh my! We play Texas on Jan. 15 in their house, South Carolina on Feb.1 in their house, and Louisville on Feb. 12 at Gampel.

They are all playing well. While Texas' unbeaten streak and #2 position is a bit suspect based on the strength of their schedule to date, they are all currently top 5 teams. What do we need to do to be best prepared to again beat three of the top 5 teams?

It is highly unlikely we, or any team, will be able to pull off three more come-form-behind-in-the-4th-quarter wins, two of them in enemy arenas that will replicate the environment of Sunday's XL Center. Please allay this caveman's anxiety.

​

We won't be the same team by then.

 

[HoopsFan21]

We won't be the same team by then.

Exactly. The first of those games is nearly six weeks away. Plenty of time for this team to get into a machine-like rhythm.

 

[bags27]

What do we need to do to be best prepared to again beat three of the top 5 teams?

I have to type this quickly, because Geno will be calling soon to ask me what he should do. I'm going to tell him:

1. Rest Lou. She obviously doesn't need the game reps, as she played great in the ND game, and she can play great again Jan 15.
2. Concentrate on getting Pheesa and Z working well together. Develop some of the same pick-and-rolls and other 2 man games that Pheesa and Gabby/Lou have, so that Pheesa feels comfortable with Z there.
3. Keep pushing Z to move more on offense
4. Give Megan and AEH as much playing time as possible
5. Begin working Batouly in
6. Make sure Gabby has the best MD for her migraines
7. Enjoy Kathy's lasagna at Christmas

 

[huskeynut]

The best advice Java is one day at a time, one game at a time.

Texas's opponents have not given us a real feel for what Texas can or can't do. We know SC has lost to ND. Wilson is their primary weapon and we know how to deal with that. Louisville, I believe, is not as good as their ranking. Slow down Durr and Louisville is in trouble.

Geno has 5 to 6 weeks to get the team going in the right direction. Some of it is there already and some is not. I have to agree with Bags on 2 points - Pheesa and Z on the court at the same time has to be fixed. Geno knows it. And #2 - a healthy Gabby. I would add one more point - Gabby has to be the distributer on the high post.

 

[Bigpetunia]

With Notre Dame down, #2Texas, #5South Carolina, and #4Louisville, loom large. Two are away games...oh my! We play Texas on Jan. 15 in their house, South Carolina on Feb.1 in their house, and Louisville on Feb. 12 at Gampel.

They are all playing well. While Texas' unbeaten streak and #2 position is a bit suspect based on the strength of their schedule to date, they are all currently top 5 teams. What do we need to do to be best prepared to again beat three of the top 5 teams?

It is highly unlikely we, or any team, will be able to pull off three more come-form-behind-in-the-4th-quarter wins, two of them in enemy arenas that will replicate the environment of Sunday's XL Center. Please allay this caveman's anxiety.

​

The question, I think, relates to which is the true nature of your anxiety. I suppose what it all boils down to is, a: are you pinning your hopes primarily on achieving an undefeated season, or, b: is your primary goal getting NC #12? True, objective a effectively takes care of objective b, but I'm kind of old-fashioned about this, in the sense that I grew up in an era wherein undefeated basketball seasons, in the men's game at least, were pretty much unheard of. Teams that won NC's never received additional awards for going undefeated in the process, nor do they today. I deeply admire Geno for scheduling these relatively grueling match-ups before conference play...it toughens up his team and better prepares them for the post-season. Mind you, I have no doubt that UConn has a more talented and better-coached team than any that you mention, but if any of those contests result in a close loss (the only kind conceivable), what's the big deal? Of the teams you mention, Texas, in my opinion, poses the far-biggest threat, and, will truly pose a formidable test. But do you really think that a nail-biter loss to them on the road in January would pose a serious threat to the Huskies in post-season play at neutral venues? I often allude on this forum to the fact that I grew up in the deep South and on SEC football, where teams played through a gauntlet of fire every week. By the time the post-season rolled around, these teams, rarely undefeated, were so battle-hardened that no prospective competitor on the horizon was likely to intimidate them in the least. I feel the same here...even to the point (as we've all heard Geno say) that a loss can prove to be quite helpful. So I'm joining the chorus of those who say, "Relax, caveman, it's all good!"
-

 

[Huskee11]

I have to type this quickly, because Geno will be calling soon to ask me what he should do. I'm going to tell him:

1. Rest Lou. She obviously doesn't need the game reps, as she played great in the ND game, and she can play great again Jan 15.
2. Concentrate on getting Pheesa and Z working well together. Develop some of the same pick-and-rolls and other 2 man games that Pheesa and Gabby/Lou have, so that Pheesa feels comfortable with Z there.
3. Keep pushing Z to move more on offense
4. Give Megan and AEH as much playing time as possible
5. Begin working Batouly in
6. Make sure Gabby has the best MD for her migraines
7. Enjoy Kathy's lasagna at Christmas

All great points. Geno alluded to 2 and 3 at his post game presser.

1 and 6 most important IMHO. Get fully healthy.

Need to clean up whatever we were not doing on defense that led to the easy baskets in the first three quarters Sunday, such as those maddening inbounds plays, and be the team that we saw in the fourth quarter.

And stay out of foul trouble!

 

[warbler1055]

All those games are great for WCBB. Great opportunity and challenge, why worry, it's early in the season. What can be better than this?

 

[Jammer]

Disagree. Lou needs game reps...not a good defensive game.

 

[EricLA]

With Notre Dame down, #2Texas, #5South Carolina, and #4Louisville, loom large. Two are away games...oh my! We play Texas on Jan. 15 in their house, South Carolina on Feb.1 in their house, and Louisville on Feb. 12 at Gampel. Please allay this caveman's anxiety.

Not sure I can completely allay your fears, but UCONN fans were correct to be "worried" after our performances leading up to the ND game. Lots of other fans pooh-poohed the "worry warts". Well, the worriers turned out to be right. So was Geno. There's no way you could look at our performances in the 2nd half of most of our games this season and not be concerned.

The 2 best things that came out of the game IMHO are that we won, and that our weaknesses were on glaring display for not only Geno to see, but the entire team. As of right now, there are no bench players except for Z and Megan who can contribute ANYTHING in a big game. IMHO the players who have the best shot at this point to be a consistent 8th player are Hunter, Coombs, and Camara. Yes I know all 3 have a LOT of work to do and it's possible Camara will never get up to speed this year (just look at the learning curve Z is going thru and she's been healthy since day 1).

Having said that, in big games, IF we are all healthy, Geno has the best 7 in the nation bar none. We crushed ND in the 4th quarter without 2 of our most important and impactful players. Most teams are ragged at this time of the year. UCONN is ahead of pretty much everyone, even tho it's sometimes not evident.

BTW, ND vs. SC was a very close game. Similar to the UCONN game. SC was up 10 in Q1, ND came storming back and actually took a 19 point lead in the 4th quarter before SC mounted a furious comeback to lose only by 7. Wilson scored 34 and no one else was really over 12 points for SC. If there is any way to slow down Wilson, UCONN will figure it out hopefully, and I'm not worried about SC. Louisville... we are just a BAD matchup for them. They like to play similarly to us on offense (run, play fast, speed up the game), but aside from Durr, we are not only better at every position, but play defense that's light years better than theirs.

Texas - not sure what to make of them yet. Their closest game was against an OK LSU team who they only beat by 9. BTW, LSU also lost to USF by 6. I think Texas could be terrific, but we won't know more about them till they play some tougher competition. A whooping of Tennessee would be a good start.

UCONN has shown they are capable of playing inspired (see 4th quarter of ND), and stinking up the joint (See 2nd and 3rd Q's vs. ND). Geno and co. will be working hard on getting the team to play for longer stretches like they did in Q4...

 

[CMC'72]

Please allay this caveman's anxiety.

I can give you seven reasons we have, and they don't, that should dissolve your problem.

 

[bizarro aj]

Don't sleep on depaul, Doug knows how to coach against his buddy geno. They will give uconn a better game then the 3 teams mentioned above imo. Uconn is still going unbeaten this season.

 

[oldude]

Not really concerned about Louisville at home. While SC may have the NPOY, they have no one that match Gray & Davis ability and as a result are not the same team as last year.

TX has been steadily improving going back to the time UConn blew them out by 60 in the Sweet 16 game in Albany in 2015. They have 2 excellent senior guards and lots of size and depth. Joyner Holmes should be back after the 1st of the year and the Longhorns should be playing this game before a packed house in Austin, TX.

I also believe the Huskies will be a much better team at that point in the season. The Huskies should win, but it could be interesting.

My only real concern is the general health of the Huskies. I’m hoping Lou’s foot/ankle problems are behind her, as well as Gabby’s migraine issues, and that no one else is injured.

Short of key players being out, the Huskies run the table this season.

 

[oldude]

Don't sleep on depaul, Doug knows how to coach against his buddy geno. They will give uconn a better game then the 3 teams mentioned above imo. Uconn is still going unbeaten this season.

Depaul is a great 3-pt shooting team. For DePaul to knock off UConn they’ll have to drop 20+ 3-pt shots, and that might not be enough. UConn is doing a much better job defending the arc this season, so I really don’t see an upset vs the Blue Demons.

 

[hussybulldog]

I can see lots of candidates for geno’s position. Do you guys know when he might retire?

 

[oldude]

I can see lots of candidates for geno’s position. Do you guys know when he might retire?

Hopefully never....

 

[msf22b]

It's quite possible that we continue to win while still exhibiting some of the issues
that Geno mentioned in his post-game analysis.

Coach also said earlier that the era of beautiful BB was over.

I regret that and hope that he finds a way to get the team playing the way we've been spoiled to enjoy (maybe not coherent English...but you get the idea).

 

[nwhoopfan]

That's an impressive slate of OOC games for after Jan. 1st. Many teams don't play OOC at all once the calendar flips to the New Year.

 

[HGN]

I have to type this quickly, because Geno will be calling soon to ask me what he should do. I'm going to tell him:

1. Rest Lou. She obviously doesn't need the game reps, as she played great in the ND game, and she can play great again Jan 15.
2. Concentrate on getting Pheesa and Z working well together. Develop some of the same pick-and-rolls and other 2 man games that Pheesa and Gabby/Lou have, so that Pheesa feels comfortable with Z there.
3. Keep pushing Z to move more on offense
4. Give Megan and AEH as much playing time as possible
5. Begin working Batouly in
6. Make sure Gabby has the best MD for her migraines
7. Enjoy Kathy's lasagna at Christmas

Bags, you know that's not a bad list of items to tell Geno. The only thing I might add is to do whatever it takes
to be healthy. With such a lean rotation we need our top 7/8 to stay as healthy as possible going into a
gauntlet as SC, Texas , and Louisville. All 3 ready to eat UConn's lunch and take the top spot.

And for what its worth , I really like the idea of 4 and 5.

GO HUSKIES!!

 

[Wbbfan1]

DePaul aveages 92 points per game with 6 players averaging double digits in scoring.

Oklahoma is their only game of note this year. They won 111 - 108.

Not a team to overlook as they do have scorers. Not sure they play enough defense to keep it a game for four quarters.

DePaul University Official Athletic Site(none) DePaul University Official Athletic Site

Don't sleep on depaul, Doug knows how to coach against his buddy geno. They will give uconn a better game then the 3 teams mentioned above imo. Uconn is still going unbeaten this season.

 

[donalddoowop]

Right now is the most important part of the season for UCONN except for NCAA Tournament time. They have four days rest before the DePaul game and then another week before their next game. That gives the injured players time to heal, the bench players more time to learn the system, and it gives the whole team some time to rest. It also gives the team more time to work out their problems. If UCONN can get Samuelson and Gabby healthy and can get just two of the bench players prime time ready, they will be very hard to beat. It does not have to be Camara. Just the first one who can come in and give the team quality, productive minutes. Productive does not have to mean scoring points.

 

[JordyG]

Perhaps it's due to my primitive neurology.

​

Or the prehensile bow tie.

 

[CMC'72]

Do you guys know when (Geno) might retire?

Have zero idea.

However...

He did commit to Azzi Fudd he would put her in a position to be legendary.

And she chose UCONN with that promise on her lips.

I'm guessing Geno will stay until Azzi Fudd leaves. If I did my calcs right, that would mean staying through 2025.

Seven more Geno seasons.

Best guess. Very strong possibility.