UConn-DePaul postgame thread (merged) | The Boneyard

UConn-DePaul postgame thread (merged)

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It probably won’t happen but UCONN has two players deserving of first team All American honors. Edwards gets beat up every game, is a major concern for opponents and still posts solid numbers.

Q must have had a good couple of days of practice because the early run was unusual. Plus the up and down game DePaul likes to play is perfect for Q. I was glad. She is fun to watch.

I understand why Bruno wants to play like this, but with DePaul playing up tempo, it was only a matter of time before the game became a route.

Paige is good for at least one wow moment a game and she didn’t disappoint. The Euro step, crossover reverse layup was a thing of beauty.

This game followed the script of many of the team’s nice wins this year. The team’s stars did shine brighter than normal, which is saying something. It is the rare year where what we see is what we are going to get all the way through the tourney.
 
A couple thoughts on tonight’s game:
  • You always expect a fast-paced, back and forth game whenever the Huskies face the Blue Demons. UConn’s execution was a little bit sloppy tonight. I’ll chalk that up to a few extra days off for the Huskies, or perhaps it’s the Chicago deep-dish pizza which, as any Italian knows, is not really pizza.
  • Paige with a quiet 30 pts tonight. ;) That step through, reverse layup by Paige on the run, against two defenders was an absolutely remarkable shot that probably didn’t surprise a single fan of Paige Bueckers. Paige’s added strength this season is readily apparent with all the “AND ONE’s” she continues to pile up.
  • Aaliyah with yet another double-double, in the first half….:cool:
  • Evidently, there is another Kate Clarke who plays for DePaul and has GAME. I did not remember her at all from the first DePaul game, probably because she didn’t start then, scoring just 6 pts on 2/7 shooting. Good young player. Hopefully she’ll remain at DePaul, resisting the urge to head to greener pastures.
  • Some reasonably good PT from Ice & Q is encouraging. Geno needs to keep running them both out for key PT off the bench for the rest of the BE season, including the conference tournament, getting them as prepared as possible for The Big Dance.
  • I enjoy a comfortable UConn win as much as anyone. But I must say that I hate the fact that Aneesah Morrow is now playing in the SEC. Her battles with Aaliyah were “must see tv” and a great testament to the strength of the Big East. OK, I’ll get off my high horse now….
 
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AE and Paige really are the glue for this year’s team.

Overall I think this was a solid team performance tonight but as Geno mentioned in the postgame interview just now, some moments of being stagnant that had me just throwing up my hands.

I’m watching Paige being surrounded by young fans right now on TV and it’s very heartwarming. ❤️
 
56E88EA2-8D24-44BC-9214-F1FCCB27F27C.jpeg
 
We have 2 super stars and 2 budding super stars. Uconn will finish the BE undefeated and will be a team that NO-ONE should take lightly. We have the tools to go all the way and finish this season with a BANG. GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
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I hate to nitpick after Paige drops 30 with a couple of out-of-this world takes to the basket, but since the Marquette game when she shot 4-5 from 3-pt land, she is shooting just under 30% from deep. I know Geno has mentioned that she is in a bit of a shooting slump, but she's been missing some wide open bunnies, the type she drains in her sleep.

Fortunately, for Paige, her game isn't predicated on taking 3's. I love the fact that she had 13 free throw attempts. Hopefully, her outside shooting perks up just in time for a long run in the NCAA tourney.

Her running mate, Aaliyah put up what has become de facto for her, another double/double. Like Paige, she will have to continue her streak to power UConn to a long tourney run.

Hard to believe the regular season is a week away.
 
A solid team effort.

DePaul likes the up tempo but against us it is their undoing. Doug just doesn't have the players to make it work.

For only paying 7 for most of the game, UConn was efficient in its shootig and played their lock down defense.

Paige 9 - 15 for 30 points. Doesn't get much better than that. I wonder if those who want Paige to shoot more are satisfied with tonight's performance.

Aaliyha was a beast again. Another double/ double.

Ash and KK - another solid game from both.

Nika - very good game. With her 8 assists, she is now up to 619 for her career. She needs 13 to tie Renee Montgomery for 4th place over all. Pretty damn good.
 
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Geno should start giving senior starters some meaningful breaks from action. Feel like Nika's legs are not in her 3-point shots recently. None of the players will ask to be taken out, coach should do it in blowouts.
 
I hate to be the killjoy on a day that UConn scored a century and Paige made some moves not see in Chicago since MJ...

but:

Spring of 2024, UConn is a good, very decent team, but not a great team and certainly not a final-4 team.

-Shooting from distance of late has been erratic -The half court offense (at times)seemed less
effective the DePaul's
-There really is no bench
-Other than Aaliyah, there is no substantial hight...Ice
did well at times but continues to be a fouling
machine.
-The freshman starters still seem worn down.

None of this is news, we've been talking about it all season. I can't predict how far they will go, but a significant number of other teams seem more ready.
 
I enjoyed the game but again, like others, it appeared to me that we just seemed to get stagnant and DePaul made a couple mini runs. Of course we then would have our answering runs.
I really didn't want to discuss the refs, because just like most games, they seem to make phantom calls against the same player(s). Not going to go into specifics because that poor dead horse is really looking beaten.
But there's something that caught my attention while watching many WBB games this weekend and then our game. When a scrum takes place, that results in a held ball call, usually, fouling is ignored. Tonight, Amari was involved in a mini stand up scrum and appeared to me to have gained possession of the ball along with the DePaul player. The DePaul player tore the ball away (the whistle should have been blown before this) and Amari apparently was called for a foul. I couldn't understand it. Something I plan to look for when I watch the replay.
 
Not going to be a good year for Big East teams being selected to the NCAA's, which doesn't bode well for the conference (which does have a recruiting impact on UCONN)
 
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Nice win! I find it amazing that they scored 104 points, and really didn't play their A game. There were a couple of stretches where they didn't score any, or very few points. Is DePaul that bad?
 
oldude said:
A couple thoughts on tonight’s game:
  • You always expect a fast-paced, back and forth game whenever the Huskies face the Blue Demons. UConn’s execution was a little bit sloppy tonight. I’ll chalk that up to a few extra days off for the Huskies, or perhaps it’s the Chicago deep-dish pizza which, as any Italian knows, is not really pizza.
  • Paige with a quiet 30 pts tonight. ;) That step through, reverse layup by Paige on the run, against two defenders was an absolutely remarkable shot that probably didn’t surprise a single fan of Paige Bueckers. Paige’s added strength this season is readily apparent with all the “AND ONE’s” she continues to pile up.
  • Aaliyah with yet another double-double, in the first half….:cool:
  • Evidently, there is another Kate Clarke who plays for DePaul and has GAME. I did not remember her at all from the first DePaul game, probably because she didn’t start then, scoring just 6 pts on 2/7 shooting. Good young player. Hopefully she’ll remain at DePaul, resisting the urge to head to greener pastures.
  • Some reasonably good PT from Ice & Q is encouraging. Geno needs to keep running them both out for key PT off the bench for the rest of the BE season, including the conference tournament, getting them as prepared as possible for The Big Dance.
  • I enjoy a comfortable UConn win as much as anyone. But I must say that I hate the fact that Aneesah Morrow is now playing in the SEC. Her battles with Aaliyah were “must see tv” and a great testament to the strength of the Big East. OK, I’ll get off my high horse now….
Expand ...
I was stunned when I looked up and there was the number 100 next to UCONN. It didn't feel that way. For a while, it seemed that we either got a score from Paige or Edwards, or we wound up on defense. I know there were some decent "other" points spread around, but I am still waiting for the game when ASH or Q or KK hit back to back shots from deep. In other words, I am waiting for one ( or more ) of them to get " red hot" in a big game. Once that happens, we can beat most anyone. My favorite alignment today was Inez and the four freshman. See you at the Villanova game.
 
Paige and Aaliyah were awesome. Nika KK and Ash were steady and ready. Ice and Q had some good moments and no bad ones. Inês looked like she had fun out there, and Amari contributed a full palm pancake block.

I don’t know how far this group can go in the tournament. But I think they won’t disappoint. If they win 2 games I’ll be happy. If they win 3 I’ll be ecstatic. If they win 4 I’ll be over the moon. Whatever they do, it will be a team effort as usual, and that’s the thing UConn will always do.
 
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