UCONN-Butler post-game thread

[Bone Dog]

I loved Dorka's line 12 pts on 5/9, 6 rebounds 5 assists, 2 steals

And the team had 13 steals!

 

[Topdawg]

A good win. Q1 and Q3 were much better than Q2 and Q4. We were not as tight in defending the 3. Maybe coach decided to let those be and let their top scorer have those shots. That said, the defense was pretty good for the most part.

On offense, our outside shooting was not good. Hopefully, we will do better in the next game. That said, we had a high scoring percentage on 58 shots. Good to see turnovers down to 13. Hope we keep getting better.

Nice to see 5 (nearly 6) players in double digits. All players got a chance to contribute And they did.

Onto the next one….

 

[dtbtbtb]

it was clear that Buttler got players who are not even remotely as athletic or skilled as the UConn kids. So, the lopsided game was to be expected. That said, it was good to see a game without screaming at the TV
Aaliyah is something special! Are there really 10 players in the country, playing better than her right now...Can you say All American...She sure plays like one!
Loved watching Aubry this game...what an amazing athlete...wow
The one kid for Buttler (McLimore) is a gamer...

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[my2cents]

I guess it was a good win. However, its hard to get excited when we have a different team, and bench every night. The constant number of injuries, and lack of a bench is depressing. (Even the coach's health has been bad)
It seems that as soon as a player gets back, another goes down.
Will it ever end???

 

[Centerstream]

A good game to watch, most of the time. The starter were great and Coach Dailey did not hesitate to cycle the other available guys onto the court. My only complaint is why their best 3pt shooter scored so many of her points from 3. No one seemed to be able to stop her as we got deeper into the game. But I am nitpicking, right???
Gonna enjoy watching @MJL243 's replay tomorrow.
On to Cincy.

 

[and one]

Not a game that will be remembered for long but a nice easy win that gave the bench some PT and the starters reasonable minutes. Mission accomplished. AE continues to play at All-American level.

Speaking of the subs...Ayanna still figuring things out. She seems to be a beat or two slow in deciding what to do when she gets the ball, greatly complicating her options. I'm going to assume she'll improve in time. What Deberry will evolve into isn't clear. We haven't had a chance to see much of her and when we have she struggles. Ines I like. He shot seems solid when she takes it, she looks confident on the court and physically has a solid build. I think this kid will be a solid contributor before it is all over.

Can't not give CD a call out for win #16 while handling the head coaching duties. According to Wiki her first four wins were were the last regular season game in 1989 and then 3 in a row to win the Big East championship. Her next chance came in 1997 when she won 3 in a row to win the BE championship. Her next chance for a win was 2019 - 22 seasons later.

 

[Topdawg]

A shout out to coach Austin Parkinson. He kept his team working hard against a difficult opponent. I expect Butler teams to get stronger in the coming years as all of the Big East grows in stature.

 

[Boreifs]

A good win. Q1 and Q3 were much better than Q2 and Q4. We were not as tight in defending the 3. Maybe coach decided to let those be and let their top scorer have those shots. That said, the defense was pretty good for the most part.

On offense, our outside shooting was not good. Hopefully, we will do better in the next game. That said, we had a high scoring percentage on 58 shots. Good to see turnovers down to 13. Hope we keep getting better.

Nice to see 5 (nearly 6) players in double digits. All players got a chance to contribute And they did.

Onto the next one….

You do realize that those defensive lapses came when subs who hardly play were on the court, right?

 

[Next 12]

I was concerned that the team would be rattled by Geno and Caroline being out(again), but they came through like troopers ...No, Special Forces.

The team is fully aware that with Geno out Chris is fully capable of filling in. The team knows it has no time feeling sorry for itself and to get on to the business of winning the game. Uconn is well versed in handling all situations. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[oldude]

I had one major disappointment tonight. When Ines stole the ball and hit Ayanna in stride on a breakaway, I was hoping to see Ayanna throw it down, rather than make a routine layup…..

 

[JordyG]

Just a few observations.

Early on within the first few possessions I noted that if UConn makes its bunnies that the game would be a blow out. How did I note this? First, because of the size discrepancy and second because of UConn's activity and pace in the offensive end, which was miles beyond what it was against Marquette. UConn easily beat this team with only one real threat from the perimeter.

Why does Ayanna continue to have trouble in the lane? I feel like a broken record, because it's so obvious to see. Once in the lane she only has two moves: the put back and the fake. She fakes because of the length she's been facing and the number of times she either had the ball stuffed or called a held ball. Her only success in the mid range has come from the short jumper on the right side. That's it y'all. Now yeah, she has incredible athleticism, she's clearly been closely watching AE and Dorka and she'll learn, but learning a proper drop step takes time. Again, Liv had a right leg drop step when she came to UConn, but learning to drop that left leg was hard for her. She didn't even attempt to go over her left shoulder until her late sophomore year, and even in her senior year she was inefficient going left. Don't expect a decent double move from Ayanna until next year at the earliest.

UConn really missed AG's speed in transition and secondary transition while she was gone. A lot. Her pressure on the perimeter and her recovery speed also allows other players to overplay the passing lanes, and for the first time this year UConn had as many steals as TO's. UConn had been out rebounding opponents but were having trouble getting a transition game off of them. That is why I've been complaining about UConn's inability this year to get TO's. This game showed what steals do for a team that has fast wings and forwards with good speed. It allows more opportunities for primary and secondary transition and easy baskets. Now I do have a complaint, and it's one I've had since the Iowa game. AG has a problem getting caught up inside and failing to cover the perimeter, leaving players for open 3's. She did that 3 times tonight and each time the player scored. That needs to be cleaned up.

The best thing today for Lou was not her points, but her TO's. She only had one. Since Azzi left the court her TO rate increased significantly as her ball handling responsibilities on the perimeter increased. When Azzi returns that rate will decrease as Azzi takes over more ball handling duties on the perimeter. It will also force defenders off their tight coverage of Nika at the arc and on inbounds. Nika has responded somewhat to this tight coverage by driving more and even the occasional pull up, but Azzi will help free that up further.

As I also said however after Azzi was injured, from the Butler game on she will be day to day.

Okay, on to the next.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I had one major disappointment tonight. When Ines stole the ball and hit Ayanna in stride on a breakaway, I was hoping to see Ayanna throw it down, rather than make a routine layup…..

It was a perfect opportunity to add some spice to a bland game.

 

[HuskyNan]

Just a few observations.

Early on within the first few possessions I noted that if UConn makes its bunnies that the game would be a blow out.

Silly me, I thought a win by 33 points would be considered a blowout.

Ayanna shot 2-2 and the team was 31-44 on 2 point field goals, or 70%. sounds good to me.

 

[JordyG]

I forgot some laurels. AE had no PF's tonight. None. Anyone remember when, for two years, she was a walking foul?

 

[JordyG]

Silly me, I thought a win by 33 points would be considered a blowout.

Ayanna was 2-2 on shots and the team was 31-44 on 2 point shots, or 70%. sounds good to me.

I think that's what I said. I said, if they made their bunnies it would be a blow out, which I said in the chat, and UConn made a lot of layups and few jumpers. I also said UConn beat this team easily with only one real threat from the arc. I don't think I could have been clearer.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The team is fully aware that with Geno out Chris is fully capable of filling in. The team knows it has no time feeling sorry for itself and to get on to the business of winning the game. Uconn is well versed in handling all situations. GO HUSKIES!!!

You chose an interpretation of the concern being CD as coach. Not my meaning at all, but your interpretation let you get all preachy.

 

[Jim]

I admit it — I did not have Ines as the first player off the bench on my bingo card. But her defense has really improved. And if that gives a starter a breather or two, it couldn’t come at a better time.

 

[Bigboote]

Very nice win. I'm most pleased that Ines got in in the first quarter and that she, Ayanna, and Amari all played and played pretty well. Especially happy for Ayanna playing well in front of her home crowd.

 

[uconnfan68]

Terrific play!

 

[Topdawg]

You do realize that those defensive lapses came when subs who hardly play were on the court, right?

Thank you for your note. Yes, I do realize that. However, what I overlooked is that we are currently short handed. Used to be that subs earned playing time by being tenacious on D. On a positive note, despite having the subs, we turned over the ball less than in previous games.

 

[CL82]

Once again, great bench management by CD! I thought Inez looked very comfortable out there. A solid overall effort by the team. Nice win.

Ines has been a pleasant surprise. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a freshman and does freshman things, but overall she’s been very impressive for an 18 year old kid who never played in front of a bigger crowd than 200 people.

 

[Cornell Lt]

A pedestrian beat down of an inferior opponent. The ladies continue to do what is necessary to win and move forward. Look forward to the Xavier game on Thursday.

 

[Boreifs]

Thank you for your note. Yes, I do realize that. However, what I overlooked is that we are currently short handed. Used to be that subs earned playing time by being tenacious on D. On a positive note, despite having the subs, we turned over the ball less than in previous games.

I would also be surprised if any of those three subs saw the court after the first round of the NCAA tournament. UConn has often had great success with seven-player rotations when the games were “must win”. Let’s hope the injuries stop and fouls never become an issue.

 

[darrell]