UConn/GTWN preview of Baylor?

[itsasport]

I think that GTWN was a good warm up for playing Baylor. I team with a big center, and forwards and a great guard.

Against Baylor Stefanie should post high to draw Griner out. The way Stewie played in the 2nd half, she will be a mismatch for anyone else on Baylor. UConn missed many threes; but; when they went in they did so in bunches, which put the game away.

UConn now has a point guard. Jefferson gets the ball down court FAST, and immediately challenges the defense. Mo will make O's life miserable. One several occasions she was several feet away from a GTWN guard with the ball, and in an instant, she was on her like a fly on . (that's in honor of east texastrash)

 

[VAUConnFan]

If it is a preview of Baylor, I would be very, very concerned. A team cannot turn the ball over as often against a team of Baylor's caliber.

If it is a prelude/warmup to how UConn intends to play Baylor to minimize Baylor's strengths, then UConn has a lot of tweaking to do over the next few weeks.

You may prove to be spot on with your assessment. I am not sure UConn has played a game this season to which they can point that would give them confidence going into the Baylor game. Yes, they beat Stanford who beat Baylor. But then they lost to Notre Dame who lost to Baylor. Baylor's strength, obviously, is their defensive dominance. They have, arguably, three of the best defenders in WCBB.

If Stef at the high post makes it easier for Ms Stewart to score inside and often, and UConn ends up winning, then all the talk of an ineffective Hi-Lo will be silenced. The strategy makes sense if Ms Dolson's two previous performances against Baylor as a low post player are accounted. UConn may just be better off against Baylor if not looking to Dolson to score, but getting her to contribute offensively from the high post.

In years past, it was never necessary for UConn to develop a particular offensive strategy for a particular team; Just do what they do well and let the opponent try and stop them. Baylor, obviously, is pretty much all that stands between UConn and another national championship this year. Something tells me that if Coach Auriemma is, in fact, developing a Hi-Lo strategy for Baylor, that Baylor will probably thwart it by going to a box and one on Mosqueda-Lewis and dare everyone else to beat them from the perimeter. Doty in the game gives UConn a three point threat but no threat at all of penetrating. Jefferson and Banks give UConn a threat to penetrate, but an unproven threat from the perimeter. I, for one, look forward to Doggydaddy's pregame analysis of this game. He will figure out a way for UConn to beat Baylor that I just cannot see right now. Basketball, being a game of matchups, Baylor has an answer for all of them.

 

[tomcat]

I just don't think there's may comparison. Whoever-it-was who is GTown's center is not Griner or anything like her. Sugar Rodgers is a wonderful offensive force but she has nothing like the toughness of Odyssey Sims, who at Baylor is the straw that stirs the drink. And I think VAUconn fan is pretty much correct with the assessment that Baylor will eat UConn's lunch if it plays as sloppily as it did at GTown. While it was very heartening to see MoJeff play the way she did -- and she was a wonder on that night -- she is nothing like Odyssey Sims, who is one of the toughest guards to play the game in years. It'd be wonderful if our little freshman could have a banner night against Sims, but I am not sure how much time she'll get to prove herself with so much on the line. Let's see if she can even have a couple of good games in a row before we throw her to these particular wolves.

I also agree with VAUconn's assessment of the three-points-versus-penetrating strategy. UConn reverts to the three at every turn. The team supposedly has slashers in Banks and Jefferson, but we have not seem much slashing in recent games, and the concept of reviving this particular skill when Griner's intimidating presence is a factor just seems to me to be less than likely.

 

[trisailin]

UConn reverts to the three at every turn.

Huh?

 

[trisailin]

From Jim Fuller

It should be pointed out that UConn has outscored Notre Dame and Georgetown 64-46 in the paint in these games so it is not simply a case of the Huskies living behind the 3-point line.

 

[VAUConnFan]

From Jim Fuller

While true, it is also true that both Notre Dame's and Georgetown's respective strengths are not in the paint. Notre Dame turned out to be slightly better inside than many of us expected, and Georgetown had absolutely no inside presence offensively.