TN Postgame Thread [merged]

[bkart1978]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the great turnover Paige forced that kept their momentum going during the big run, if I recall correctly. Loved her reaction after she tipped it enough to cause the TN player to tip it out.

 

[Kevin G]

Happy and excited to see Paige hit that shot. BUT, CW was the player of the game (no doubt).
AG’s spark was needed badly when UCONN seemed lost at times.
EW was solid tonight!!! 38min 15pts 4 ast 5 reb 0 fouls 0 turnovers.

 

[UConnCat]

OMG. Looking at this clip, I did not realize Anna was open in the corner and just a slight shift in Paige's mood might have made her pass and history would be different. Why? Irregardless if Anna made the shot, Geno would have run out on the court and sat her down for the rest of the year.

Paige was aware of the shot clock. If there had been more time on the clock she would have passed the ball to Anna which would have been the right play.

Perfect pass from Evina btw. Paige was able to go right in to her shooting motion.

 

[BobbyJ]

OMG. Looking at this clip, I did not realize Anna was open in the corner and just a slight shift in Paige's mood might have made her pass and history would be different. Why? Irregardless if Anna made the shot, Geno would have run out on the court and sat her down for the rest of the year.

It didn’t matter that Makurat was open. Bueckers knew that the shot clock was at one and because she sees and thinks the game like a senior it was going up.

 

[stamfordhusky]

and outside of that BIG TIME 3 Pointer by Paige at the end, Paige did not have a good game at all.

That's not at all accurate. She didn't have a good SHOOTING game. But she had 8 rebounds, 7 assists vs 2 turnovers, and 3 steals. Those are very good numbers on the road against a good team.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I hope Geno can rest Paige for Georgetown so her ankle can heal and allow the team to play with a scenario of Paige missing some minutes in a game. The team looks totally confused when Paige is not in the game and that needs to change.

 

[uconnfan68]

The VolNation argument goes something like this. If our best players showed up, we would have won by 30 (ignoring the tough games most of our players had). When the slowest player in D1 basketball is your second best player, that could be a problem.

TN looked gassed by the start of the 4th quarter. I was hoping we’d take advantage of it, and it looked like they tried to speed it up.

 

[bballnut90]

Tennessee fan perspective....that was WAY more competitive than I anticipated it being. Tennessee with a really hard fought game and they were right in it until Bueckers hit that huge three. Im shocked it was that close considering Horston was a no show and Davis didn't play well. Im not sure if Harper will get Tennessee back to a Final Four but she absolutely has the program headed in a good direction. Everyone played really hard tonight and went toe to toe with UCONN. Loved what I saw from Suarez, Burrell and Key tonight.

Not the prettiest UCONN game, but Westbrook and Williams were huge for UCONN. ONO had some nice moments defensively in the 4th but her continued inability to produce offensively against opposing bigs isn't a good sign going into the back stretch of the season. UCONN needs production from her to have a shot at winning it all, and she shouldn't be shooting three pointers. Bueckers struggled but came up huge down the stretch. She looked fairly pedestrian tonight but a lot of shots she missed that she's hit in other games. Going up against size and athleticism can affect that but I think she'll shoot better in the SC game. Made some great defensive plays and hustled hard. Griffin and Edwards were very good tonight too. UCONN has talent but the polish isn't there yet. This season has been so weird and inconsistent so who knows if itll get to the point of being a polished offense by season's end, but no team looks very polished right now so I think they're right in the title hunt but the SC game will be very telling. I think they'll crush Arkansas since Neighbors team doesn't play defense.

Despite Tennessee losing, I'm thrilled with how hard Tennessee fought and the direction Harper is taking the program. Good game and congrats on the win.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Here's a trivia question, when's the last time UConn has a monster Q4 (22-12) when trailing?

At ND, when Azura, Kia, and Megan led us to a furious rally??

 

[Woof 101]

Just a few as every other couch coach will give a much more dynamic run down of the game than myself.
Are we really a top four team and if so does Tenn not deserve better than 25?

The officials let them play or were lazy tonight, there were a bunch of fouls not called, but equal for both teams.

Had to use the mute on and off tonight as the play by play man was insufferable. Play by play like we were listening to radio and not seeing the game ourselves, love Lobo but she got caught up in trying to reply to his every comment. By direction or intuition she cut way back in the forth, he prattled on.

What a game. Why was Olivia taking outside shots instead of being down low?

Most likely by Geno's design, they were up against a taller team, avoid your defender and draw them out for a high low pass to a now open teammate. If open or defended by a guard it's an easy shot. She did not hit them tonight, if she did there would be multiple posts of what a great call it was.

Good win on the road in a most strange season in front of cardboard crowds.

 

[Jingo]

Because as someone has already pointed out, probably Geno told ONO and Aubrey to take shots early on from the outside, to draw the Tennessee Bigs out to them, freeing up the paint.

Eggzackly!

 

[Conndog]

Seeing the clip of Paige's three again, I like how Makarat went to the basket in case there was a rebound. I don't know if any other UConn players went to the basket, but Anna did- showed basketball smarts there.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno often says, it's not a question of how many; it's a question of when. Splashing a 3-pointer in the last 30 seconds when your team leads by only 2 and has lost momentum is definitely WHEN.

 

[pvdoggy]

Eggzackly!

If you listen to the post-game presser, he did not quite say that.

 

[BostonBay]

lol..cause they wanted to win

Guys, easy....Nika still recovering from a foot injury. Her speed is nowhere near her normal playing speed.

 

[jaydee602]

Seeing the clip of Paige's three again, I like how Makarat went to the basket in case there was a rebound. I don't know if any other UConn players went to the basket, but Anna did- showed basketball smarts there.

Good call! Also, Christyn was supposed to drive to the basket, but was cut off by three defenders. Westbrook said that she saw this and made herself visible for a pass. Evina had no hesitation in passing to Paige. All around, alert basketball led to the clutch basket.

 

[Jingo]

One issue we had in the first quarter was ONO tried to block every TN shot when they penetrated. That left her man open on the weak side and led to all those offensive rebounds. AE really helped offset that as she doesn't leave her man and go for the block on every drive.

Yeah but ONO's blocks in the 4th quarter were monstrous! the blocks shook TN up, eh?

 

[Jingo]

For sure was not the right game-plan. Aubrey or Olivia should never be shooting threes unless the shot clock is down to a few seconds. They have enough trouble with free throws. I think you can probably count the number of bad free throw shooters, that are good three point shooters, on one hand and have five fingers left over.

Disagree!

 

[Kurebeach5]

I was hoping she’d run to the corner and puke in a bucket, sprint back and get a steal to add to the legend...

As I am old, I’m drawing a big blank - who did that ??

 

[BostonBay]

Read a little of what's being said about Geno and UConn on vol nation and you will see that they have bile ducts where most humans have hearts.

Evina's growth really sticks in their craw. And makes me smile.

Evina waited 2 long years and a LOT of rehab for this game. Good for her!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Give the Lady Vols credit they played tough defensive ball and almost came away with a win. They almost came away with a win because the team missed 11 Free Throws. Make only five of the 11 misses and team wins by double digits. That's even with making only 7 three's on 25 attempts. I believe if they play the Lady Vols in the tournament, it will be a double digit win by UConn.

 

[psconn]

As I am old, I’m drawing a big blank - who did that ??

Lou.

 

[CL82]

Paige came of age tonight

Paige showed her age, or her relative youth, tonight. Still, she kept at it the whole game and never lost faith in herself, ultimately making that key three. She special, no doubt, but she’s young too.

 

[UConnCat]

At ND, when Azura, Kia, and Megan led us to a furious rally??

That game was at the XL Center. UConn outscored ND 26-9 in the 4th to win by 9.

 

[eebmg]

Just a few as every other couch coach will give a much more dynamic run down of the game than myself.
Are we really a top four team and if so does Tenn not deserve better than 25?

The officials let them play or were lazy tonight, there were a bunch of fouls not called, but equal for both teams.

Had to use the mute on and off tonight as the play by play man was insufferable. Play by play like we were listening to radio and not seeing the game ourselves, love Lobo but she got caught up in trying to reply to his every comment. By direction or intuition she cut way back in the forth, he prattled on.


Most likely by Geno's design, they were up against a taller team, avoid your defender and draw them out for a high low pass to a now open teammate. If open or defended by a guard it's an easy shot. She did not hit them tonight, if she did there would be multiple posts of what a great call it was.

Good win on the road in a most strange season in front of cardboard crowds.

In Geno''s Presser he explained a bit about the outside shooting saying the players misinterpreted the plan of moving, cutting, screening and then in rhythm, take outside shots, In Genos words, only remembered 1 of the 4 things we wanted them to do.