UCONN-Butler post-game thread

[Huskee11]

Getting some scoring from Nika tonight is good from a team perspective, especially with both Caroline and Azzi out.

Also good for her frame of mind to see the ball go through the hoop after a frustrating game for her offensively (but brilliant defensively) against Marquette.

 

[Carnac]

Good game for UConn.

Yanna, Ines and Amari got significant playing time. This is good. It gave the starters some serious rest during the game. It also means the offense will not be as effective and I'm fine with that. And the turnovers were down!!

What a suffocating defense the team showed. Butler was really frustrated a lot during the game.

On to Xavier.

CD had to use the reserves today. With 3 games scheduled for this week, she/Geno must not tax the starters by playing them 35+ minutes. Looking at the box score, I noticed that all of our starters scored in double figures, and all shot over 50% from the field. That’s a rare stat for any team.

 

[Carnac]

What happens with CD catching that errant pass if she has a foot/feet on the sideline? Does UConn still get the turnover, or does Butler retain possession?

 

[Happydad745]

Aaliyah is definitely playing All American basketball...Lou is being hounded with Azzi out, and a lot of her shots that miss are close.
I think Nika/Aubrey/Aaliyah are really exciting to watch. Amari is improving, Patterson is getting needed playing time and Dorka is really playing her best ball, even if she isn't scoring or getting rebounds she is great on defense. Were still turning the ball over too much.

FYI: Edwards-17.2 Ppg 9.8 Reb 2.8 assists 1.2 Blks Boston- 11.4 ppg 8.9 rebs 1.4 assists 1.6 blks...Who's the All American?

 

[Carnac]

A nice road win, nothing spectacular, but they got the job done. The big question mark is becoming will this team get healthy. They just can't catch a break.

Thankfully our interior players stepped up scoring the ball tonight. Aaliyah is the best Aaliyah in college basketball this season, hands down. Loved her hustle and athletic plays in the open court. And happy to see Aubrey back in the lineup impacting on both ends.

I thought Dailey did a fantastic job with the rotation, to keep our short roster fresh for the game on Thursday.

I’ve noticed that CD is not as reluctant to put Amari and Ines into a game. The girls respond to CD’s coaching and prodding. CD and Geno’s style are a bit different but the results are the same.

 

[Skeets]

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.

CD is the winningest coach in America (5 decade minimum).

 

[ShmiCO]

Yanna, Ines and Amari got significant playing time. This is good. It gave the starters some serious rest during the game. It also means the offense will not be as effective and I'm fine with that. And the turnovers were down!!

This is my takeaway from the game too. Lower turnovers despite significant minutes (44!) from the bench. The bench and starters get a bit more experience playing together, and that an excellent use of a blow-out game.

 

[freshler40]

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.

Love Ines game! She is quick and breaks out of the pack with rebounds, doesn't wait in the backcourt. She will lead many fast breaks and finishes by her. She also runs the team at a higher level of quickness.

 

[huskeynut]

CD had to use the reserves today. With 3 games scheduled for this week, she/Geno must not tax the starters by playing them 35+ minutes. Looking at the box score, I noticed that all of our starters scored in double figures, and all shot over 50% from the field. That’s a rare stat for any team.

Using the bench was a fore gone conclusion. And using the bench should be a fore gone conclusion for Xavier.

 

[Surly1]

This team is faced with a different obstacle every game, without the opportunity to establish any sense of momentum. It speaks to their collective mental toughness. The lapses that occur throughout the game attribute to the players knowing they have the game well in hand. Of course, if this occurs against more talented teams, they'll pay the price for taking the foot off the gas.

LLS shot 5 for 11, and it was an off shooting night. Fortunately, it wasn't required. Aubrey was the benefactor of two nice assists from her. As the season has progressed, her defense has improved, and she seldom forces a bad shot, although she's able to create more opportunities to shoot if needed.

AE continues her stellar play and it feels like plug and play in the "3" spot between Aubrey and Caroline.

One thing that stood out for me is Nika's full-court speed is much faster compared to last year. On two occasions, she left the opposing players in the dust racing to the other other end of the court.

Let's hope there are no additional surprises for Thursday. Negative, that is, but I'd welcome a positive one. (Wink, wink Azzi)

 

[GoUconn7961]

I thought our switching on defense was great with only one or two glaring lapses.
What more can you say about Edwards. IMO she should be in the mix for 1st. team AA, and NPOY.
Good minutes from the bench. Nice to see Ayanna score. But please stop w/the pump fakes and just go to the rim.
Amari would really be something if she too would stop trying to put the ball on the floor. That's when she turns it over or dribbles off her feet.
It was great that the starters got much needed rest.
I wasn't so concerned w/the 2nd and 4th quarters like some of you. Hard to play a complete game with so many injured players.
I am worried about Geno. Stress and loss can take a toll on your health.
Looking forward to a win at Xavier.

 

[Vancat]

Aaliyah is just a beast.

 

[HopJim]

CD had to use the reserves today. With 3 games scheduled for this week, she/Geno must not tax the starters by playing them 35+ minutes. Looking at the box score, I noticed that all of our starters scored in double figures, and all shot over 50% from the field. That’s a rare stat for any team.

I'm not sure if this game will help or hurt the subs chances to get more playing time from Geno. While CD is obviously more motivated to use Inez and Patterson than Geno, when they both went in in the 2nd quarter, UConn's lead was quickly cut from 15 to 5. The opposing view is that the starters showed great energy in the third quarter.

 

[HopJim]

Count me among those that are concerned with Geno’s health.

The kids’ reaction when CD caught the errant pass was yet another example of what they think of the Hall of Fame coach. Loved how CD looked down immediately to see if she was out of bounds.

Things came so easily early that they looked a little bored defensively in the second quarter.

Teams giving cheap shots to UConn are a growing annoyance. Let me get this straight, a kid blatantly pushes Aaliyah in the neck and it is incidental. Got it.

Speaking of Aaliyah, 3 breakaway steals for layups? Just adding to that All-American resume.

Size and athletic wise, Butler could be the least talented roster UConn has faced so far.

I thought CD did a nice job of rotating the 8 in the second half. They never got out of what they want to do even when the score is lopsided.

The team needed a stress-free game like this. On to Xavier.

Since you referenced the breakaways from Aaliyah (Dorka had 1-2 as well), one of my highlights was pausing play several times in the third quarter and watching the expression of Butler's 5'7" guards as they tried to figure out how to stop both bigs as they took the ball full court. Sheer terror! In all of these breakaways the Butler guard just got out of their way.

 

[HopJim]

Has anyone been watching Paige's jumps in celebration of great plays throughout the recent games? Not sure to be happy or fearful. On one hand, she is getting great height and seems flexible and loose. On the other, I bet her knee surgeon has been cringing. In several games, Jamelle yelled at her but recently seems to have given up.

 

[Ozimoto]

A couple of additional comments. If you are going to have a game where you shoot the three at 21% rather than 38% to 40%, this is the game to do it. I suspect they will shoot a higher percentage from three against Xavier.

Thirteen turnovers is a more reasonable number. Hopefully this is trend continues.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Has anyone been watching Paige's jumps in celebration of great plays throughout the recent games? Not sure to be happy or fearful. On one hand, she is getting great height and seems flexible and loose. On the other, I bet her knee surgeon has been cringing. In several games, Jamelle yelled at her but recently seems to have given up.

Her surgery was 5 months ago. So maybe it's OK to jump around a little by now?

 

[Bone Dog]

Her surgery was 5 months ago. So maybe it's OK to jump around a little by now?

I sure hope so.

I’m also glad to see that morale is still high on that bench of the wounded.

 

[Centerstream]

This was the first Fox Sports app viewing for me where something was wrong with the stream multiple times. I was kicked off, I believe in the first quarter but was able to quickly return to the game without issue. Then for the rest of the game there would be no sound and this always happened during a timeout/commercial. Again I would exit the stream and return to the live action without incident.

 

[Bone Dog]

This was the first Fox Sports app viewing for me where something was wrong with the stream multiple times. I was kicked off, I believe in the first quarter but was able to quickly return to the game without issue. Then for the rest of the game there would be no sound and this always happened during a timeout/commercial. Again I would exit the stream and return to the live action without incident.

I’ve had this same experience in a couple games. The Butler game was the first one that streamed without issue. There is also a time delay of about a minute in the Fox Sports app. It can be a little disorienting if you follow the chat and a stats site at the same time. You’ll know what’s going to happen a little before you see it. I suppose this is how gods encounter the world.

 

[Wolfie464]

Her surgery was 5 months ago. So maybe it's OK to jump around a little by now?

When I had my ACL surgery several years ago I can start to jump a little after 4 months after surgery, but it's different for every person depending on their progress and their condition before surgery. Paige is an athlete in excellent condition definitely way better than me so I think in 5 months after surgery she should have the greenlight from her doctor to do that

 

[Carnac]

CD is the winningest coach in America (5 decade minimum).

She’s certainly got the best winning percentage.

 

[Beemer]

Is anyone unhappy with Nika's line of 13/4/6/1/1?

If they are they need a smack upside the head. So glad to see her taking her shots (and having them go in!) as well as her usual tenacious defense & play making, it makes her that much better a player

 

[Beemer]

FYI: Edwards-17.2 Ppg 9.8 Reb 2.8 assists 1.2 Blks Boston- 11.4 ppg 8.9 rebs 1.4 assists 1.6 blks...Who's the All American?

AE is the better player but Boston will get it on reputation & being a previous AA. That's just how it is.

 

[HuskyNan]

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.

Butler took 28 three point attempts, making 9 (32.1%).

Q1, 2 made (McLimore, Frederick one each)
Q2, 3 made (McLimore, Frederick, Wingler one each)
Q3, 0 made
Q4, 4 made (McLimore 3, Dowell)

The lineup changed frequently in Q4 as CD rested the starters as much as possible