UConn - Creighton post game thread - Big East Champions!

[jaydee602]

Thanks for the comment about three games in three days... it helps to
explain all those UCONN turnovers, etc. I agree about that foul on
ICE... it went bad for MOLLY M. when MOLLY RAN INTO "THAT BLOCK (screen)
OF ICE! " It was a funny game with fouls called and not called.

Yeah, it sure was a funny game. UCONN outscored Creighton by only FOUR points after the 1st period.
It looked like the refs were calling make- up fouls with erratic whistles. Both teams had the same amount of fouls, but UCONN shot ten more free throws.

 

[jaydee602]

Has the 2025 BET All Tournament Team been announced?

YES!
Kelsey Ransom, Georgetown
Molly Mogensen, Creighton
Lauren Jensen, Creighton
Sarah Strong, UConn
Azzi Fudd, UConn

The tournament MVP was Paige!

 

[Basingstoke]

Since that foul is a topic now, I have to agree it wasn't a foul on Ice. The replay made this really clear, and the refs got this one right. But what really stands out is how Molly was flattened by it. It's not like Ice gave her a hip check. It's that Mollly ran full force into a very solid person. I think this shows two things: 1) Ice is really strong, and 2) Molly was totally focused on defending and must have run into Ice at top speed. I am equally impressed by both of them.

Molly has been a mainstay at Creighton for 4 [?] seasons now and they will miss her when she moves on. In fact, Creighton is losing 7 seniors, I think. I hope Flan can find talented players to take their places, since the BE would be diminished by not having a strong Creighton team. And he is a great coach.

I think there was probably a 3rd element to Mogensen getting creamed on Ice's screen, and that is that she was probably not warned by a teammate prior to crashing into Ice.
By the way, Mogensen has always been a fierce competitor, and I was relieved that she was uninjured on the play.

 

[YKCornelius]

Joe is the worst, Maj is the best, so I guess it evens out.

Bone Dog, I completely agree with your assessment of Maj. Maj also works WNBA games and does a great job there also.
Maj's MO is to let teams play, but also is ready to blow the whistle when a player is doing something to gain an unfair advantage (for example, a defender keeping a hand on the ball handler's hip in order to stay in front of them). I also love that she is NOT demonstrative (like Joe Vaszily, Dee Kantner and a couple of others) when making a charging, blocking or traveling call. I hope she works the same Region that UConn is in once the tournament starts.

 

[DefenseBB]

My point is that I was pointing out how experienced Creighton's two leading (season) scorers are, which was the point of the post I was replying to (Creighton's experience).

As opposed to other teams like ND who have experienced scorers?

 

[Centerstream]

As opposed to other teams like ND who have experienced scorers?

The post I replied to was discussing Creighton's experience, you know, one of the two teams being discussed in this thread. WTH do the Golden Domers have to do with this thread????
I gotta look for a specific button now...

 

[Cornell Lt]

Why do I get the feeling KK is playing like she just had an extra cup of coffee too many?

I don't know, but for god sakes please make that cup of coffee decaf next time

 

[Vowelguy]

I don't know, but for god sakes please make that cup of coffee decaf next time

I like KKs energy. Her speed can’t be taught; she brings something different, which is exactly what you want when someone enters the game.

 

[Pharos]

The blabbing and scripted anecdotes while play is going on and events are transpiring drives me absolutely batty.

mute button

 

[ThisJustIn]

Bone Dog, I completely agree with your assessment of Maj. Maj also works WNBA games and does a great job there also.
Maj's MO is to let teams play, but also is ready to blow the whistle when a player is doing something to gain an unfair advantage (for example, a defender keeping a hand on the ball handler's hip in order to stay in front of them). I also love that she is NOT demonstrative (like Joe Vaszily, Dee Kantner and a couple of others) when making a charging, blocking or traveling call. I hope she works the same Region that UConn is in once the tournament starts.

Dee was, I believe, reffing the SEC championship game.

Re: refs - there are what coaches/coordinators consider elite officials. They're brought in for top games whenever possible.

Those top refs know what they have to do to keep sharp. Speaking with Lisa Mattingly, she mentioned 1) Get a flight out the night after a game, if possible. 2) Get to the hotel and nap. 3) Review game tape & check in with your crew. 4) Repeat across the year.

 

[DEFCONN1]

Since we’re on officiating, are the refs required to review their games. If not, then they should be required by the NCAA to do so.

 

[Vowelguy]

Since we’re on officiating, are the refs required to review their games. If not, then they should be required by the NCAA to do so.

Doubtful. It is not high-paying job and they are going from game-to-game. There are supervisors who I think review the games and/or flag any issues. or questions to them.

 

[VaConnFan11]

Doubtful. It is not high-paying job and they are going from game-to-game. There are supervisors who I think review the games and/or flag any issues. or questions to them.

According to the web, they do pretty good.

NCAA women's college basketball referees typically earn between $800 and $3,000 per game. The exact amount depends on the conference and level of competition.

 

[CL82]

I preferred the Orange flavor and hearing his name does the same thing to me.

Hated the orange but love the grape.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Doubtful. It is not high-paying job and they are going from game-to-game. There are supervisors who I think review the games and/or flag any issues. or questions to them.

Since we’re on officiating, are the refs required to review their games. If not, then they should be required by the NCAA to do so.

Remember: The refs are independent contractors. They abide by the expectations of the individual conference supervisors. They don't come under the auspices of the NCAA until the NCAA tourney.

And yes, they each get a copy of the game (back in the day it was a dvd.) Usually the Conference observer will review it with them and the lead ref (i think) submits a game report.

I do this every few years, but here are some articles on officiating. They're dated, now, but do give some background for those who are interested:

Making the Calls: The World of Referees​

Coaches and Officials: Reaching Across the Divide – July 2006​

Earning Their Stripes: Officials In Training – October 2007​

OFFICIATING UNDER REVIEW: Coaches, Conferences and the NCAA Working to Collaborate​

 

[ThisJustIn]

According to the web, they do pretty good.

NCAA women's college basketball referees typically earn between $800 and $3,000 per game. The exact amount depends on the conference and level of competition.

After how many years working their way up the ladder?

They also pay for their own insurance, physical training and rule/game review, etc.

And consider how much travel they do - not a gig for the faint of heart. Tough on the body and family.

 

[Kat]

Funny how some folks here see so many problems with the team's play in this game (and every game.) What I see is a fine team running the table in the BE and headed into the Big Dance with 4 of the 6 players who played in the final four last year. Paige, KK, Ash, and Ice are still here, and each is playing better than before. Adding Sarah, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Jana, and Aubrey says to me that this team is better, and good enough to take it all. Can't wait.

 

[ABCDFE]

This team has the best change to win a National Championship since 2016 .

I don't know that 2017 and 2018 pretty good if not for a call here or there.

 

[BobbyJ]

Doubtful. It is not high-paying job and they are going from game-to-game. There are supervisors who I think review the games and/or flag any issues. or questions to them.

Top officials who work conference games and get selected for big regular season games along with conference and NCAA tournaments can make anywhere from $100K to even $200K a year. Not bad for 6 months work.

 

[VaConnFan11]

Funny how some folks here see so many problems with the team's play in this game (and every game.) What I see is a fine team running the table in the BE and headed into the Big Dance with 4 of the 6 players who played in the final four last year. Paige, KK, Ash, and Ice are still here, and each is playing better than before. Adding Sarah, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Jana, and Aubrey says to me that this team is better, and good enough to take it all. Can't wait.

I think what has some people "worried" is the "win the 1st quarter then play even the rest of the game" like last night or "win the 1st half then play the rest of the game even" M.O. This has happened on more than one occasion. I think most people would feel a lot better if UConn was adding to the lead in the 3rd quarter against the better teams aka "Putting them way".

I do think fatigue played a big part for the play of both teams last night making the second half almost unwatchable.

 

[Longtime fan]

First, Congrats to the team for winning yet another BET championship! UConn beat them by 11 earlier at Creighton, then by 19 at home. 20 points tonight. We got up to a 16 point lead after Q1, and were up 22 before giving some of it back with sloppy PG play in Q2. KK and Cait combined for 9 TO's in the first half alone.

But the defense was fierce as has been the case all tournament long. And with the 3 point shooting on point, we were able to end the first half up 16. It IS hard to play a team 3X in the season as you really get to know each other well.

2nd half was frustrating IMHO to watch. The half court offense was just not good or crisp. The amount of missed layups was shocking to me at times.

• Paige does a bit of everything, doesn't she, and all of it is spectacular. There is no one I'd rather see with the ball in her hands in crunch time. She was everywhere with 100% intensity every second she was on the floor. Easily my POG.
• Sarah also does a bit of everything, and all of it is spectacular as well! 4 steals alone in the first half, and one of the announcers said she might be the most complete freshman ever!
• Azzi was elite in the shooting in the first half. Not so much in the 2nd half.
• KK - tremendous defensive effort. Not a fan of her shooting a 3 early in the shot clock, but she's an elite athlete and defender.

Aside from those 3, the lack of offense from Ash especially was surprising. Ice with another off game. 11 assists on 24 made baskets. 17 TO's... Certainly not a thing of beauty.

Huge shout out to Creighton. The lady announcer said several times that putting Creighton on the 8 seed in the NCAA's is just wrong. There are teams in other conferences with double digit losses who are higher seeds. She said the eye test does not put them there. I agree, but I'm not the committee. Creighton is a very tough team. I'd hate to see them go down to a 1 seed in the 2nd game of the tourney...

But... Big East Champions! Really strong defensive performance all game. I think, aside from the stellar play from Paige and Sarah, this tournament will be remembered as an elite defensive performance by UConn. If they keep that up, I like our chances in the NCAA's!!

Yes. The point guard play was way off. Kaitlyn got stripped twice and threw poor passes to the opponent. KK often just moves too fast for the team and herself. She must become a good three point shooter ( as Niki Muhl did ). That is, if she wants to be a complete point guard. AZZI was 0-4 from three in the second half. But she is a fine defender and I love it when she drives to the hoop. I think everyone was tired. Three games in three days against well known opponents. Has to be tiring and a bit boring I imagine. Plus, the BE trophy, while nice, is not a big deal to UCONN. We are going to rest up and then find the magic that was on the court against South Carolina. Now the season begins.

 

[HuskyNan]

Has the 2025 BET All Tournament Team been announced?

 

[The deacon]

View attachment 107686

Morgan Maly rather than an earlier post of Molly Mogensen makes some sense... Azzi being on the team with scant few assists or rebounds throughout, and barely averaging just 12 points per game? Not so much.

Oh, well, it was a given, with her oversized rep. Here's hoping she lives up to her press clippings in the NCAA tournament and earns all-tournament there!

 

[Rowdy831]

The Big East is so weak that UConn can play a ho-hum game and still be dominant against the second best team. I will be really interested to see what they look like when they are completely focused and play like they think their best will be needed for the win. I really like 4 of the 5 starters and I think the 5th one could be one of three with no changes to the outcomes of the game.

I would like to see a healthy Aubrey and a consistent Ice in the tournament but that might be too much to hope for.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Top officials who work conference games and get selected for big regular season games along with conference and NCAA tournaments can make anywhere from $100K to even $200K a year. Not bad for 6 months work.

The key here is "top officials."
There's handful of those.
Let's say they get $2000 a game. They're traveling to and reffing 100 games.
And they they have to put up with abuse from fans and coaches, many who don't know the rules.
You want more refs, more "quality refs," you have to invest. They can't get paid a pittance in anticipation of (maybe) a nice payday after 10 years of working hs, div 3, 2 and lower levels of d1.