UCONN - Iowa post game

[bballnut90]

Wow that was a great game for women's basketball. Back and forth and some brilliant scoring on both sides. Just a very pretty game and fun to watch. UCONN ultimately dominated the glass and had more playmakers which was the difference IMO.

Game MVP has to be Edwards for UCONN. She's turned into the player most thought she'd become after her freshman season. A really tough matchup for anyone with her midrange and nose for the basketball. She plays hard and is much more in control this year. I think Juhasz/Bueckers being out has allowed her to get more touches and thrive in a stepping up role. She was brilliant defensively too. Off hand I'm not sure if she was directly guarding Czinano or not, but Monika was basically a non factor all night so props to her or whoever bodied her up.

Fudd was streaky once again but once she found her rhythm, there isn't a better shooter in the country. Not many players can flip and switch and go from 0-7 to 7-14. To be honest I still think she was underutilized today. She was red hot and then disappeared for a while. There aren't a lot of players where you can visibly see them in a flow like you see with Azzi, and when she's at that level I'd go to her every single time. If I'm UCONN, I keep giving her the ball and even clearing out or running plays specifically for her until she starts missing.

Ducharme was also great off the bench. She looked more like herself from last season. If Ducharme can find her freshman form, Fudd/Edwards/Muhl/LLS/Griffin play at the level they have this year, UCONN is squarely in the title hunt. I think today showed that UCONN is far more than just the Fudd show

Iowa played a solid game despite being outsized and lacking the physicality/athleticism that UCONN has. Clark was in prime form in the first and then disappeared midway through the second half until it was too late. Muhl was great on her defensively but Clark missed some looks she normally makes too. Some brilliant passing and ball movement from Iowa. I think Iowa's biggest knock is that if you hound Clark and she's missing shots (like she was in the 2nd half), and if you clog up the inside so Czinano can't beat you, their only viable option is hitting 3s. Marshall was lights out from deep but struggled attacking off the bounce. Same with Warnock. On the flip side for UCONN, they have a slew of players capable of getting their own shot if you give them the ball. Game of the year so far on the women's side. SC/Stanford was solid but this was just really fun to watch.

 

[Rb335]

Such an impressive win. Azzi is like a cheat code at times. For years ppl talked about her pull up jumper and the 3rd quarter was a clinic on that, once again demonstrating she's not just a catch and shoot player. After starting 1-8 and having Caitlin Clark kinda go crazy in the first half, on abc, it was such a mentally tough performance from her.
AE was pretty insane as well. To outplay Czanano like that and just score the different ways she did was really impressive. Her and Aubrey really kept UConn in the game in the first half.
I think Caroline started 0-3 and probably got an earful when she first subbed out but never looked back. But my favorite play of the game was in the 4th, after she had hit a big three, she had the ball again semi open, but kicked the ball to Lou who was open in the corner. Before Lou shot it u can say Caroline's hands go up. Just such a dope team vibe.
Unpopular opinion, but I think Iowa is a legit threat. They probably will lose 5-8 games and may end up in a 3 or 4 seed but they are a good team with a lot of threats. I really like Warnock, though she was a little bit off shooting. And Czanano just got outplayed by our bigs which I have really never seen.

Iowa is one of those top 10 teams with a high ceiling, but lower floor. They have the ability to hit the 3 from 4 positions, which makes them dangerous when they get hot. But vulnerable when cold. Further, Clark has the ability to catch fire and go for 45, but on other nights, score 20 on 25 fga.

Their defense looked the best I’ve seen tonight, so if they keep improving, I’d agree they can become even more legit.

But to date, they are the Uconn opponent I was most impressed by. Mainly because they can score with anybody.

 

[hoophuskee]

Delighted with Ducharme playing big. Just really excited how this team looks. Can't wait for Dorka to come back.

And Edwards - is playing "wow" basketball. I am so looking forward to her (and at a lower level - Patterson)-- going against Morrow.

But the core 7 did terrific today.

 

[uconnfan68]

Everyone did a good job of highlighting the incredible play on both sides. But I need to shout out to the refs. Sure there were a couple of iffy calls, there always are. But for the large part, the refs called few fouls and let the women just play. The fact that nobody seems to be calling them out must mean they did an excellent job. We are all quick to complain when they do poorly, I felt they deserve some praise for this game.

I think we watched different games.

 

[Bone Dog]

Apparently Nika was not feeling well today

This would explain a lot. She was as tenacious as ever on D, and she took the ball to the rim in the second minute of the game -- the new Nika!!! -- but she seemed to be a little less in charge on the floor, and the team seemed a bit adrift at moments. I think this shows, yet again, how much the team depends on her.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Most impressive 11 point run to tie, showed toughness, but they never should have been down that much. Jumped to an early lead and tried to coast.

You have to give Iowa credit. They played well in the 2nd quarter and completely stifled UConn with that junk defense (triangle & 2). There was no lack of effort or coasting on UConn's part.

 

[HopJim]

Caroline does SO many things on the court - underrated post defense, tie-ups, three-pointers, midrange shots, she’s an excellent finisher and I love love love her post-ups on smaller guards. So good to see her back.

5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in addition to Caroline's 15 points. Great performance for any starter, exceptional for a sub.

 

[Carnac]

Anyone notice Geno to Lisa Bluder at the end? “That was a great game. Damn, you guys are hard to play.”

That's right!!! It was reported today that Dorka will miss the next two games (Providence Dec 2 (Gampel) & @ Notre Dame Dec 4).
She won't be needed for those tow games. If you're on UConn's schedule, now IS NOT a good time to play them, they're on a roll.

 

[Centerstream]

Everyone did a good job of highlighting the incredible play on both sides. But I need to shout out to the refs. Sure there were a couple of iffy calls, there always are. But for the large part, the refs called few fouls and let the women just play. The fact that nobody seems to be calling them out must mean they did an excellent job. We are all quick to complain when they do poorly, I felt they deserve some praise for this game.

I concur but with a slight difference of opinion... the refs were kinda invisible but I just don't like the disparity in the trips to the FT line. I just think that when one team is fouled a lot while taking a shot, odds are the same thing is happening on the other end.

 

[Bone Dog]

I've watched the game twice now, and one thing that really stands out to me is that Iowa was gassed in the last 5 mins or so. They mainly play 5, with a little help from O'Grady and Stuelke. But that's a lot of floor time for the starters, and it may take them a while to get fully into that sort of game shape. Even Clark looked tired toward the end, missing layups, and that charge Aaliyah got on her -- it all suggested tired feet. But if they get can improve their conditioning by February, and if Stuelke grows into a larger rotation role, they will be formidable.

As @Carnac was saying earlier, this is a veteran team with a ton of chemistry, but that means this may be their last shot for a couple seasons. I hope they can keep it together to give Caitlin her shot at a FF game.

 

[LarryLegend]

(possibly dumb) question: am i right that Nika and Aaliyah both have an extra year of eligibility

 

[Carnac]

5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in addition to Caroline's 15 points. Great performance for any starter, exceptional for a sub.

It must be noted that Caroline was slated to be one of the 5 starters before she began to have problems with her neck, forcing Lou to take her place. Lou has done such a wonderful job, Caroline's absence hasn't been that obvious. Of course she's been missed, but not to the point that it caused the outcome of our games to be in jeopardy.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Pardon if this is posted up above already. Azzi analyses Azzi's game:

 

[HopJim]

True, and part of the adjustment to facing that defense was more Caroline and less Aubrey. Aaliyah and Aubrey were much quicker and mobile than their bigs, but when Iowa turned to zone we needed the perimeter shooters more and countered with that.

One of the all time great adjustments I have seen Geno make, subing Caroline and leaving her in. While UConn certainly needed the points, who would have thought CD would make so many other plays - steals, rebounds, etc. Did Geno ever comment on what motivated him to make this change?

 

[Bone Dog]

It must be noted that Caroline was slated to start before she began to have problems with her neck, forcing Lou to take her place in the starting lineup. Lou has done such a wonderful job, Caroline's absence hasn't been that obvious. Of course she's been missed, but not to the point that it caused the outcome of our games to be in jeopardy.

Lou has filled in nicely for Caroline in the first few games, especially as a shooter. But this game really showed the things Caroline does that we were missing. One moment in the 2nd half when she stepped through a box-out by two Hawkeyes and just took the rebound away from them, that was classic Caroline. I don't think Lou has that in her arsenal.

 

[uconnever]

Lazy passes, poor awareness on defense. We have to clean these things up before it costs us a game. They are mental lapses that I know were better than, we just lose focus too often. And Nika was right, she needs to be better and is hard on herself because she is a perfectionist and is damn near perfect when she plays the way she knows she can. I like that about her. 13 assists is incredible but she’s thinking about the 6 turnovers and our offense looking out of sorts at times. Those are easily fixable and she knows it. Without those small errors she’s a god and I think she will only get better, imagine that. Lou’s shot is good but she takes too long to shoot and tight defense on her and she has a huge problem. Scares me, this makes Caroline really important because I’m afraid Lou will have some games where she is a non factor. Love her and she’s a hell of a shooter but just my thought that that will be a problem against certain teams in the future. The refereeing was terrible, our girls couldn’t go near Clark without being called for a foul. Lots of fights and an incredibly gutsy win. All of the bad things I saw and to still fight back and get the win was really really impressive. I can help but think that we will only get better because the things I saw besides Lou’s low release can be fixed. I guess for Lou she just has to figure out how to get herself the space she needs to get her shot off be a she can shoot it, it just takes a year for her to release it.

 

[CL82]

PHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was a barn burner of a game. Back and forth, back and forth.

You said it! Take a look at the quarterly point differential:

Q1: UConn +6
Q2: Iowa +12
Q3: UConn +10
Q4: UConn +3

What a great game

 

[Viet Vet]

I've been down on Edwards for quite a long time. She has belied my criticism.

Mea Culpa. Way to go, girl!!!

 

[Bald Husky]

Good to see the game on ABC/ESPN. With all the comments and tweets from a lot of players and ESPN media people (even Charlie Creme), its plain to see this network reaches many more people than FOX. We had a tough game today, but UConn showed how good they are with the comeback they made in the fourth quarter. And one more note, besides promoting Azzi, I believe Pam Ward has made Nika a national folk hero. We knew it, now the entire country knows it. Do you think @Teamfirst is convinced yet? LOL

 

[CL82]

Please don't gild the violets, my friend.

Or in Nika’s case, don’t gild the violence.

 

[Carnac]

It is not an excuse and I understand why, but starting the game at 10 is not got good for anybod

Caitlin Clark isn’t the ball hog freshmen anymore. Wow.

Aubrey and Aaliyah kept them in the game in the first half with productive offense. Edwards from the high post and Aubrey’s drives were a treat.

I was not worried when Azzi started cold. When she gets hot, you can not guard her.

Another double figure assist day for Nika while holding her own against Clark in the second half. Geno high hopes for her but this good?

Ducharme and Patterson are slowly becoming solid contributors off the bench. CD reminded us in the second half that she is fearless.

Sometimes you have to just tip your hat when an opponent shoots that well from three.

Impossible to pick a bad ass because all seven played well.

This team continues to a blast to watch.

When games are televised nationally on network TV like this one was, most of the time the networks ($$$) decide what time the game is to be played (they pay for that privilege) that works best into their schedule of programs to be televised that day.

 

[Carnac]

Couldn't get more exciting with the game going back and forth in the second half.....Nika and Aaliyah are so important to this team. Azzi kept fighting and finally come on strong later in the game. CD was doing great, hope to see more of her in the future. Great team effort.

Agreed. If you didn't get excited watching this game, better check your pulse to see if you're still alive.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Agreed. If you didn't get excited watching this game, better check your pulse to see if you're still alive.

I could have done without Martin's 3 point barrage. I'd have been fine if she just put up her average points per game and it would not have diminished my enjoyment of this game one bit.

 

[Bone Dog]

I could have done without Martin's 3 point barrage. I'd have been fine if she just put up her average points per game and it would not have diminished my enjoyment of this game one bit.

Martin played way above her head. If Iowa needs her to do that every game just to be competitive against top teams, they will not have a long run in the tournament.

 

[Carnac]

This was such a great game. Well-coached teams that almost mirrored each other in tenacity, fitness, and skills. I know that there are people who want every game to be a 20 (or more) point win, but this was a lot of fun to watch.

This is a game you don't mind watching a second time........and I will.