UConn-Creighton postgame

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[MSGRET]

Are Nika and Paige PO'd at each other. They seemed to be arguing at the beginning of the presser.

 

[HuskyNan]

Nika with the no-no

 

[RoadMaster]

Nika with the no-no

"O, sranje"

 

[Huskee11]

It was a good crowd, nice to see a lot of young people at the game.

Also the last game at XL this year, UConn goes 7-0 there with some impressive wins, especially Louisville, Marquette and now Creighton.

Creighton is a veteran team that is 21-2 against teams other than UConn. They have been together for a long time and they know how to play together. They are well coached. So even though we crushed them earlier this year, we should not have expected them to just roll over. They did not.

It was clear from the outset that they were going to collapse on Aaliyah and to hedge on Paige, and live with what the other three got. The players covering Paige, looked like Brake and Maly for the most part, were a little taller than her and that caused her some problems in the first half. Although they are not a big team they did have a size advantage at some positions.

I thought UConn was going to break away in the second period but then they got sloppy. UConn`s defense and rebounding was solid throughout. Jensen is a pretty good player - she has some length and at times was able to shoot over her defender in the lane. Ronsiek was a non-factor.

This is a good time for UConn to get a mini-break, no practices until Thursday and a lesser opponent in DePaul on Sunday.

I think UConn is doing a lot of good things right now with the major area for improvement being outside shooting.

 

[boontonbomber]

Nika was fouled prior to her backhanding the defender. Why do you think she was falling, it was because she was fouled.

Flagrant on Nika then?

 

[MSGRET]

Flagrant on Nika then?

You must really hate Nika, the backhand is part of the falling down, it is not intentional.

 

[my2cents]

Geno's pressers are all you need to listen to about any particular game or player.
After hearing him, there really is no need to listen to anybody on the BY, including me.

 

[Huskie837]

I’m starting to get bullish on Ice. I think she’s going to have a big moment before the season is over. Looking forward to what she does next year.

 

[The deacon]

First of all it's Nika and second 2 of her 4 t/o's the player stopped and she was passing the ball to the area that she thought that the player was going to.

And yet, MSGRET, if Nika would look before throwing the pass, there'd have been no TO in those cases.

 

[The deacon]

Jensen is a pretty good player - she has some length and at times was able to shoot over her defender in the lane. Ronsiek was a non-factor.

Good post, Huskee11, but I'd give Lauren Jensen a much better assessment than 'a pretty good player.' As for Ronsiek, Creighton really needed her to come up big to stay in the game, and she didn't... however, to be fair, much like Aaliyah for the Huskies, Emma was getting hacked and grabbed pretty much throughout.

 

[JellyBean]

Like everyone has said, that first half was tough. Shots weren't falling, Aaliyah was getting double, and triple teamed in the post, and offensive flow was iffy. But that 2nd half, the squad cranked things up. Well done. Great win.

 

[FormerCTrez]

And I think she played the entire game!

I liked Geno’s statement that Ashlyn is similar to Azzi, in that ”practice speed is always done at game speed”. I love this kiddo because she’s fearless, skilled, and talented, and wants to do well. I have no doubt that she’ll be a ”bruiser” by the time she’s a senior.

 

[JoePgh]

I liked Geno’s statement that Ashlyn is similar to Azzi, in that ”practice speed is always done at game speed”. I love this kiddo because she’s fearless, skilled, and talented, and wants to do well. I have no doubt that she’ll be a ”bruiser” by the time she’s a senior.

You mean like Nika?

 

[fomalhaut]

If you are going to ask KK, then you need to ask the senior, Muhl to be more of a threat as well.

11 points (with 3-7 from three) is a lot better than 2 points for 1-9. I'll take 11 points and 7 assists from Muhl any day.

 

[cferraro04]

Like I have been saying...anyone who watches Shade play cannot help but like her as a player. Consistent, persistent, smart, and talented. You know what you are going to get from her every game. Her work ethic reminds me of Mel Thomas. She won't be the best player on the floor but you can't keep her on the bench. I hope everyone noticed the nine rebounds she pulled down today....most on our team. She is beginning to round out to a complete stat-stuffing player. I can't wait to see her meshing with a full complement of players, which will populate next year's roster.

 

[OldSchooler]

A hard-fought game, but when you look at the comparative team stats, UConn dominated in every single category. Makes sense in a 20-point win. But those comparative team stats at halftime, when the game was still tied, also had UConn leading in virtually every category, with the one exception of blocked shots, where Creighton led by one. Conclusion: a dominating performance throughout, against the best the BE can throw at us.

Once again, no change in UConn's #15 AP ranking this morning, but Indiana's loss to unranked Illinois should guarantee us an upward move of at least one slot by next week, for what it's worth.

Dare I predict, we could be 31-5 heading into the Sweet 16?

 

[cferraro04]

A hard-fought game, but when you look at the comparative team stats, UConn dominated in every single category. Makes sense in a 20-point win. But those comparative team stats at halftime, when the game was still tied, also had UConn leading in virtually every category, with the one exception of blocked shots, where Creighton led by one. Conclusion: a dominating performance throughout, against the best the BE can throw at us.

Once again, no change in UConn's #15 AP ranking this morning, but Indiana's loss to unranked Illinois should guarantee us an upward move of at least one slot by next week, for what it's worth.

Dare I predict, we could be 31-5 heading into the Sweet 16?

It was odd...at one point I felt like Creighton was getting all the rebounds...so I looked up the box score on espn.com and wa la UConn was leading in rebounds by ten...sometimes, "all is not what it seems".

 

[Old Geezer]

Brady and Samuel’s are playing like freshmen, which technically they both are (Ice playing for her first year). Neither one is impressive. Brady is still tentative and Samuel’s makes as many fouls as baskets. They’re not bad, they’re just over their heads right now. Arnold and Shade are playing great. way better than could have been expected. Thank god for them. As uncomfortable as these games have been to watch, I think this team is playing as well as could be expected. They could catch fire I. The tournament and they could fall flat. Who knows?

 

[#12in21]

And yet, MSGRET, if Nika would look before throwing the pass, there'd have been no TO in those cases.

Too bad Nika doesn't offset her turnovers with some great assists - oh, wait she leads the team those and is second to Paige in a/to percentage this season. Sorry couldn't resist matching snarky with snarky.

 

[cferraro04]

A hard-fought game, but when you look at the comparative team stats, UConn dominated in every single category. Makes sense in a 20-point win. But those comparative team stats at halftime, when the game was still tied, also had UConn leading in virtually every category, with the one exception of blocked shots, where Creighton led by one. Conclusion: a dominating performance throughout, against the best the BE can throw at us.

Once again, no change in UConn's #15 AP ranking this morning, but Indiana's loss to unranked Illinois should guarantee us an upward move of at least one slot by next week, for what it's worth.

Dare I predict, we could be 31-5 heading into the Sweet 16?

If UConn wins out for the regular season and wins the Big East Tournament, of which, I see no reason to think otherwise then I believe that UConn will be a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Now if we get help from some of the other top teams who knows maybe we can sneak in as a number one...not likely, but, again stranger things have happened.

 

[cferraro04]

Brady and Samuel’s are playing like freshmen, which technically they both are (Ice playing for her first year). Neither one is impressive. Brady is still tentative and Samuel’s makes as many fouls as baskets. They’re not bad, they’re just over their heads right now. Arnold and Shade are playing great. way better than could have been expected. Thank god for them. As uncomfortable as these games have been to watch, I think this team is playing as well as could be expected. They could catch fire I. The tournament and they could fall flat. Who knows?

The notion that freshmen are expected to play at the level of a seasoned college player is just unreasonable. I think Shade and KK have over-achieved expectations and OMG has that been a blessing? Let's just think where would we be without Shade and KK playing the way they are? We would be competing with Xavier for the bottom space in the BE ratings.

 

[Ironman23]

They could have t'd up Nika for cursing...not that it wasn't justified.

At the time, I said I hope she's cursing in Croatian.

 

[Longtime fan]

Close game in the first half....Paige and Aaliyah delivered as usual. I would like to see Samuels go in for KK more often, KK is really fast and good on Defense, but her outside shot is not as refined as Samuels, especially 3 pointers..... Congrats on Big East Championship..Shade did really well with 9 rebs and 15 pts.

It was an interesting and close game for longer than I expected. Creighton had a poor shooting day, as they missed scads of relatively open threes, which they usually convert. UCONN defense deserves some credit, of course, but Creighton was shooting bricks all day from the arc.

It is clear that Geno plans to play no more than six players in any game that remains close, and where foul trouble does not dictate otherwise. Accordingly, it seems impossible for Q to get the court time she needs to really improve. She can do some good things ( and she does ), but she has not yet been called upon to do so when the, " chips are down." Maybe she will get a lot more time on the court once we wrap up the Big East and move into the early rounds of that tournament.

This will put a lot of strain on Paige, Williams, Shade, Muhl and KK. The team can count, more and more, on a productive game from Shade ( 15 today, and she missed some shots she can make ), but Paige and Edwards will always be the main scoring focus. However, we need more productivity from KK. Her drives are too often not being finished with buckets and, today, her outside shooting was off. She can do better ( we have seen it ) and she must do better. Her hustle, defense and passing remain first rate. If she can become a dependable 12 point scorer, it will make a world of difference. And Nika Muhl can always get red hot with her shooting.

Brady gets fouls called on her which I never see. And I am not referring to "bang on body" plays. I am referring to quiet moments where nothing seems to be happening. All of a sudden, the whistle blows and a foul is called on Brady, way away from the ball. I guess it is a freshman adjustment thing.

One point from a short bench ( which was today's total), by the way, is not going to be enough when we move to the Big Dance.

So we still await the game where "everything clicks." And hopefully we are moving in that direction. We have seen moments of that. And it will be wonderful if it occurs against a quality team in the Big dance.

A very nice win today in a hard fought game against a pretty decent team.