UCLA Postgame Thread

[TAK]

Injury was in the Elite 8 win over NC State. The semifinal win over Stanford was a rabbit out of the hat, the final a bridge too far.

In addition to Dorka’s broken wrist, we learned after the championship loss to SC that Nelson-ododa had a pulled groin muscle and Azzi was sick (flu). What a difference this Final Four to have a healthy top 8 rotation plus Aubrey. Love having her fresh legs late in the games.

 

[Linart]

I guess the Vegas oddsmakers never saw this coming.

 

[oldude]

In addition to Dorka’s broken wrist, we learned after the championship loss to SC that Nelson-ododa had a pulled groin muscle and Azzi was sick (flu). What a difference this Final Four to have a healthy top 8 rotation plus Aubrey. Love having her fresh legs late in the games.

Don’t forget that E hurt her leg early in the game and was never the same. SC had a great team on that day, but as a UConn fan you will always wonder if the outcome might have been different if the Huskies were healthy.

 

[jaydee602]

Dee Kantner was one of the refs for the Oklahoma game

View attachment 108510

Yes, but she didn't make the cut for the Final Four for the first time in years.

 

[jaydee602]

Why do I recognize the name Gina Cross….

Hopefully this crew lets the kids decide the game if it comes downtime I the final seconds. Do you think Edward’s will text Jana a reminder to keep set during a screen?

I think Gina Cross & Maj Forsberg willbe officiating the game on Sunday. But I wonder who will be the 3rd ref!
So far, UCONN has had officiating that allowed physical play & their stifling defense. Let's hope the refs let the players decide the Championship!

 

[CL82]

An absolute clinic.

Make room on the shelf for Trophy #12.

Dude!

 

[Blakeon18]

I can't find it...can someone link the 'slap pass' video here....thanks!

 

[cohenzone]

As I said about how UConn men beat LSU and Shaq, the dominating big scores and nobody else. Perfect game. And the Geno formuls , win with D and the MOV is determined by how well we score.

 

[jaydee602]

Watching the replay of the game, I have never seen Jamelle Elliott so animated!
She jumped off the bench several times after a UCONN defensive stop.
Jamelle must have taken this game personally since the coaches' defensive game planning contributed to the overwhelming victory.

 

[Skeets]

UCLA thought this was California basketball. UConn said no. This ain't California basketball, this is UConn basketball.

I'm going to search for Sarge's "Winner's thread". If there's a winner, which I doubt, I want that person to buy me a lottery ticket.

 

[oldude]

UCLA thought this was California basketball. UConn said no. This ain't California basketball, this is UConn basketball.

I'm going to search for Sarge's "Winner's thread". If there's a winner, which I doubt, I want that person to buy me a lottery ticket.

Sarge’s prognosticator thread is like The Price is Right for this game. The winner will be the closest without going over.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Some of the dimes UConn dropped tonight were unconscious. Kaitlyn had a couple of beauties and Paige’s incredible “slap pass” to Kaitlyn on the fast break was something I had only seen done before by Larry Bird.

 

[temery]

Some thoughts on the UCLA game:

• UConn has now conquered the City of Los Angeles with back-to-back victories over USC & UCLA. Just one more mountain to climb on Sunday for the Huskies to earn an unprecedented 12th national championship.
• OK, who in hell had UConn with a 34-point MOV in Sarge's pool????
• The game within the game was the war in the low blocks defending Betts. With her parents in attendance, Jana’s defensive effort against Betts was downright heroic. Maybe Geno should make sure that Jana’s parents come to every UConn game. When Jana picked up a couple fouls, Ice took her turn on Betts and came up BIG. At times, UConn's guards dived down to harass Betts. She got her points, but she had to work extremely hard for every last one.
• Azzi didn’t wait around tonight for the 4th qtr to find her shot. She came out on fire, exploding for 19 pts in the 1st half.
• In the 2nd half, Sarah assumed the scoring load and essentially put the game out of reach.
• Paige had an uncharacteristically average shooting night, but she was flying around the court on defense like Rodan
• Some of the dimes UConn dropped tonight were unconscious. Kaitlyn had a couple of beauties and Paige’s incredible “slap pass” to Kaitlyn on the fast break was something I had only seen done before by Larry Bird.
• Once again UConn’s defense was suffocating, holding UCLA to only 51 points while forcing 19 turnovers.
• Against the much bigger Bruins, the Huskies more than held their own on the boards outrebounding Betts and her teammates 34 to 29.
• UConn now faces SC on Sunday for the national championship. Should UConn win, they would become the first team in history to beat 3 x #1 seeds in route to a championship. I guess there’s a 1st time for everything, GO HUSKIES!!!

When it comes to passing, here's the goat

 

[GoUconn7961]

Dear UConn Huskies,

Please play like this on Sunday.

Thank you,

Anita

 

[GoUconn7961]

Frankly, I'd rather be playing Texas on Sunday. S.Carolina must be salivating for another
shot at the Huskies.

But if we shoot like we did tonight the Gamecocks won't have a chance. ( I'm taking it
for granted that we will play well on defense)

Texas couldve won that game, but the foul situation raddled them.

 

[temery]

Frankly, I'd rather be playing Texas on Sunday. S.Carolina must be salivating for another
shot at the Huskies.

But if we shoot like we did tonight the Gamecocks won't have a chance. ( I'm taking it
for granted that we will play well on defense)

i'd always rather be playing the winner. Wanna be the best, beat the best, never blame the refs.

 

[Rowdy831]

When you have the most talented roster and you play great defense you have a chance to win every night. Betts did score her points but she was really a non factor on defense and the boards. The speed that UConn played at tonight makes it almost impossible for bigger players to either keep up or not get so fatigued they are resting going up and down the floor.

Watching Texas and SC play was just the opposite. It looked like two teams that were very lucky to get to the FF with the level of talent they had on the floor. Defense is their hallmark and neither team really locked down the other and I think it will take a total meltdown by UCOnn for SC to even stay in the game.

Best of all it make Creme look like the fool he is in picking 4 teams not named UConn as 1 seeds in this tournament. I think UConn took that as an insult and I fully expect them to finish the statement on Sunday in historic fashion.

 

[cohenzone]

Bill Bradley was great at the touch pass. Paige’s pass was the offensive play of the game

 

[ABCDFE]

I watched a couple highlights reels and one thing that leaps out of the screen is how difficult the inside-out game Sarah makes possible is to defend. She forced Betts and Dugalic to cover her on the perimeter, which had them in uncomfortable positions. Barker tried to guard her with no better success.

Sarah’s presence doesn’t just enable the interplay with Paige, though that’s really awesome. Her presence on the court also impacts Azzi’s play, as well as the three littles and Jana and Ice too. A big who runs the court like a guard is a joy to watch

During the recruiting, her dad said Sarah didn’t want to be stuck down in the post all the time. Well I think Geno took that to heart. Sarah plays all over the court on offense and defense.

Absolutely correct. As much as her individual dominance is well documented m, what gets most is the impossible positions it puts on the defense and how much it opens up the post for Azzi and Paige and the other guards. We are now seeing what we’ve all hoped for. Jana providing an able body to post defend and rebound against anyone, Chen as a mature steady and super rock solid defender in addition to KK and Paige so that we always hand 3 really good perimeter defenders. Chen has now showed me that she can finish around the rim and make the occasional jumper. Lastly Sarah is now playing with no hesitation and can do damage at all 3 levels and by the way great defender and rebounder. Man so happy that this team has proven me wrong again again. One more to go. JOB NOT DONE.

 

[HuskyNan]

As I said about how UConn men beat LSU and Shaq, the dominating big scores and nobody else. Perfect game. And the Geno formuls , win with D and the MOV is determined by how well we score.

I was thinking about the UConn men vs Zach Edey and Purdue last year. They let Edey get his points, played suffocating defense on everyone else, and shut down the 3 point shooters.

 

[oldude]

I was thinking about the UConn men vs Zach Edey and Purdue last year. They let Edey get his points, played suffocating defense on everyone else, and shut down the 3 point shooters.

So you think Geno lifted his game plan from Coach Hurley?

 

[Jmsdawg]

This game was a major surprise to me. I expected UCLA to win because of the size difference, I really believed that UConn would not be able to over come Betts. I expected the game to be close but a UCLA win, never in my best dream did I see a blowout. How good is UConn, well in this tournament UConn appears to be in a class by themselves. NOW, BLOWOUT SC AND LET PAIGE GO OUT A NATIONAL CHAMP!

 

[ABCDFE]

When you have the most talented roster and you play great defense you have a chance to win every night. Betts did score her points but she was really a non factor on defense and the boards. The speed that UConn played at tonight makes it almost impossible for bigger players to either keep up or not get so fatigued they are resting going up and down the floor.

Watching Texas and SC play was just the opposite. It looked like two teams that were very lucky to get to the FF with the level of talent they had on the floor. Defense is their hallmark and neither team really locked down the other and I think it will take a total meltdown by UCOnn for SC to even stay in the game.

Best of all it make Creme look like the fool he is in picking 4 teams not named UConn as 1 seeds in this tournament. I think UConn took that as an insult and I fully expect them to finish the statement on Sunday in historic fashion.

Not sure why there’s hate against Crème. Yes he didn’t give UConn a 1 seed. But I think he picked them in the final 4. Correct me if wrong??

 

[HopJim]

In addition to a great game from all aspects, I noticed a few subtleties that I had missed before. UConn seems to do better against teams with strong bigs. While Betts did well with 26 points, UCLA kept trying to get the ball to her and with Jana playing her most physical game of the year and the UConn guards often double teaming, UCLA's offense slowed down. With little time left, they sped up, producing more turn overs. Essentially, they were trading 2 pointers against UConn's 3-point game. Not sure if this was Geno's strategy but it worked.

 

[Bone Dog]

So you think Geno lifted his game plan from Coach Hurley?

I think they both lifted it from Red Auerbach. This was the way they played Jordan in his first few years in the league -- let him have his 50 and shut everyone else down. This worked until Michael elevated his game to become an incredible passer.