UCONN - Marquette post game thread (merged thread)

[LCConnFan]

Agree with most, the team looked tired, both mentally and physically. Getting Aubrey back will help as her athleticism and energy she brings, especially on D - is sorely missed. Adding Azzi on top will hopefully be like icing on the cake!

It looks like Patterson will be glued to the bench when these two come back.

NOOOOO! We're talking 'Death By Chocolate'!

 

[pvdoggy]

Geno says a lot of things... Caroline missed a few switches but otherwise played a good defensive game, particularly for a physically struggling player on the court virtually throughout.

Geno also said in his presser that Caroline has improved her defense.

 

[oldude]

Agree with most, the team looked tired, both mentally and physically. Getting Aubrey back will help as her athleticism and energy she brings, especially on D - is sorely missed. Adding Azzi on top will hopefully be like icing on the cake!

It looks like Patterson will be glued to the bench when these two come back.

No, Patterson will not be “glued to the bench” when Aubrey & Azzi return. Ayanna has an enormous upside. Geno and his staff will continue to coach her up, as they have every player who ever came to UConn. Ayanna will have opportunities to step up in the games ahead and hopefully be ready for the big games in March.

 

[JoePgh]

Everybody seems in 100% agreement that UConn looked tired today. I was at the game, in the lower level about 30 feet from one of the baskets. I did not think that fatigue had a major impact on how UConn played.

Yes, there were small signs. I attribute Aaliyah's near misses to fatigue, but (as usual) she hustled more than almost anybody, so that may account for it. I did see one play where Caroline retreated on defense holding one of her hips. That can be a sign of fatigue, but in her case it can also be a sign that someone tweaked her in a spot that is still recovering from summer surgery.

I think that the Boneyard consensus about fatigue being a major factor reflects group-think. Some people seem to think that if starters play 35+ minutes 36 hours after getting off a plane from Omaha at 3:30 AM, they must be fatigued, and the fatigue must account for every missed layup or missed defensive assignment. I think that those mistakes have been present in every game against good opposition, so it's too facile to blame them on fatigue in this case.

UConn lost the second quarter by 3 points, then won the third quarter by 3 points and the 4th quarter by 6 points. The fourth quarter was UConn's best shooting quarter (61% after 50%, 31%, and 42% in the first three quarters). A fatigued team would be expected to perform worse in the last quarter of the game. I just didn't see that today.

 

[Littlemin]

Marquette has a good, very physical team, came in with a very good game plan, executed it very well and turned the game into an absolute rock fight. Yet Uconn, tired, exhausted really, stayed very tough, especially on defense and beat Marquette by double digits at their own game.
Yes, Muhl shoot poorly; yes, she takes at least some blame for a choppy Uconn offensive performance; yes, Edwards had a very tough game offensively, but so what? Winning by 30 is easy but winning by digging deep and staying tough when things are not going great or very pretty can be much more satisfying and provide a much greater learning experience for the “real“ season.
Personally, I thought it one of the teams more impressive games because each and every one of those players had to dig very deep and play with a “refuse to lose” attitude all game long.
Maybe ”Fatigue makes cowards of us all” can be a ready made excuse for many to quit, but not for anyone in this group.

 

[oldude]

Everybody seems in 100% agreement that UConn looked tired today. I was at the game, in the lower level about 30 feet from one of the baskets. I did not think that fatigue had a major impact on how UConn played.

Yes, there were small signs. I attribute Aaliyah's near misses to fatigue, but (as usual) she hustled more than almost anybody, so that may account for it. I did see one play where Caroline retreated on defense holding one of her hips. That can be a sign of fatigue, but in her case it can also be a sign that someone tweaked her in a spot that is still recovering from summer surgery.

I think that the Boneyard consensus about fatigue being a major factor reflects group-think. Some people seem to think that if starters play 35+ minutes 36 hours after getting off a plane from Omaha at 3:30 AM, they must be fatigued, and the fatigue must account for every missed layup or missed defensive assignment. I think that those mistakes have been present in every game against good opposition, so it's too facile to blame them on fatigue in this case.

UConn lost the second quarter by 3 points, then won the third quarter by 3 points and the 4th quarter by 6 points. The fourth quarter was UConn's best shooting quarter (61% after 50%, 31%, and 42% in the first three quarters). A fatigued team would be expected to perform worse in the last quarter of the game. I just didn't see that today.

Fatigue can be physical or mental, something Geno pointed out in his postgame comments. These are extremely fit young athletes, who can all play a hard 40 minutes if they have to, and then do it again a few days later. There is no doubt that all the Huskies played hard today.

Mental fatigue is another thing altogether. It occasionally manifests itself in poor execution on offense and missed assignments on defense. That is what many of us observed today. When players are involved in a tough, physical game, playing all, or nearly all 40 minutes, it can be difficult to stay locked in.

 

[Mdoggie]

...and what did Inez do wrong other than have a bandage on her head? Amari had a couple of good defensive stances, and Ayanna is "too afraid" to make mistakes rather than just playing - wonder why. By the way Nan, Dorka missed a couple of point blank lay-ups in the first few minutes, too. Kids need to play to get confidence and contribute to the team, long term. You can only drive a car so long before it stops breaks down! We'll all take the win, however!

If you go to the UConn WBB website, you can navigate to Genos email address. Tell him how College players are to gain confidence. Give him the whole car analogy thing.

 

[HuskyNan]

Everybody seems in 100% agreement that UConn looked tired today. I was at the game, in the lower level about 30 feet from one of the baskets. I did not think that fatigue had a major impact on how UConn played.

Yes, there were small signs. I attribute Aaliyah's near misses to fatigue, but (as usual) she hustled more than almost anybody, so that may account for it. I did see one play where Caroline retreated on defense holding one of her hips. That can be a sign of fatigue, but in her case it can also be a sign that someone tweaked her in a spot that is still recovering from summer surgery.

I think that the Boneyard consensus about fatigue being a major factor reflects group-think. Some people seem to think that if starters play 35+ minutes 36 hours after getting off a plane from Omaha at 3:30 AM, they must be fatigued, and the fatigue must account for every missed layup or missed defensive assignment. I think that those mistakes have been present in every game against good opposition, so it's too facile to blame them on fatigue in this case.

UConn lost the second quarter by 3 points, then won the third quarter by 3 points and the 4th quarter by 6 points. The fourth quarter was UConn's best shooting quarter (61% after 50%, 31%, and 42% in the first three quarters). A fatigued team would be expected to perform worse in the last quarter of the game. I just didn't see that today.

 

[Kaizen]

 

[Carnac]

It didn’t make sense vs this defense

I'm not questioning Geno today. He earned his salary today winning a game against a good team with a patchwork lineup (3 starters out) and a very short bench. A tip o' the turban to Geno and his entire staff for the job they did today. He didn't have a lot to work with, and no room for error. I'm sure it wasn't his desire to play Lou and Nika 40 mins, Caroline and Aaliyah 38 mins, and Dorka 35, but THAT was the hand he was dealt. The man knows what he's doing. He's been down this road before..........lots of times.

 

[Carnac]

Knowing this, how do you disparage her play? Some of our fans DID NOT know this. She's out there playing as well as she can with whatever she can muster. We don't win today without her. Remember.............if it was easy, more players would be doing it. 19 pts, 7 reb, 2 asts. in 38 minutes.

 

[donalddoowop]

Knowing this, how do you disparage her play? Some of our fans DID NOT know this. She's out there playing as well as she can with whatever she can muster. We don't win today without her. Remember.............if it was easy, more players would be doing it. 19 pts, 7 reb, 2 asts. in 38 minutes.

Some posters say this was an ugly win. I don't believe there is one top team in the country that has not had an ugly win. Maybe I am a little biased but, I will not complain about Ducharme. I think she is a solid player and will be an outstanding one if she ever gets completely healed.

 

[Carnac]

Some posters say this was an ugly win. I don't believe there is one top team in the country that has not had an ugly win. Maybe I am a little biased but, I will not complain about Ducharme. I think she is a solid player and will be an outstanding one if she ever gets completely healed.

There's nothing wrong with an "ugly" win. I would have gladly (and proudly) accepted an ugly win last year in the championship game vs South Carolina.

 

[browns]

I give the girls credit for 'gutting" this one out. The half court offense was tough to watch and they had 17 TO's which I'm afraid this is going to be an on going problem.Lou was terrific and Caroline played her best game of the year..I love it when she gets the ball underneath and is deadly under there..she just has to cut down on the to's..5 is a lot
They really did look tired but Caroline and Dorka came up with some big baskets but the 5 points Lou made late in the 4th were huge
So now hopefully they get Azzi and Griffin back next week so the 5 starters don't have to play so many mins.

 

[wingsfan055]

CD looks like she is playing at 60-87% health-wise. She can barely get any lift on either end of the floor, and is much slower than she usually is. Yet, she showed today she is a match-up nightmare than can score at either the perimeter, inside, or midrange. If she gets close to 100%, she can put up 20-10 stats in her sleep.

 

[Centerstream]

I have a question about our turnovers.
I watch the games on my TV while watching the live stats and the Recent Plays on my phone. Today, Aaliyah tied up a Marquette player in our front court. The possession arrow was in Marquette's favor so they got the ball. In the Recent Plays, the play stated that Aaliyah committed a TO.
Is this actually a turnover when the Marquette player had control of the ball and Aaliyah tied her up? Or is the recorded play somehow reversed? No way should that be a TO just because Marquette got possession, IMO.

 

[HuskyNan]

CD looks like she is playing at 60-87% health-wise. She can barely get any lift on either end of the floor, and is much slower than she usually is. Yet, she showed today she is a match-up nightmare than can score at either the perimeter, inside, or midrange. If she gets close to 100%, she can put up 20-10 stats in her sleep.

Caroline is clearly fighting through stiffness or pain. I bet she was running on adrenaline today and will spend the evening in the whirlpool. She shows incredible mental toughness, as do her similarly gimpy teammates. I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t like this team.

 

[Topdawg]

Another day, another win. On to 2023!
We have a tendency to extrapolate from the previous game to expect another blow-out performance. Progress will not be linear when we are short of players and people have to keep changing roles. It is going to take a few weeks of everyone being back to see consistent high quality performances. I am hoping that starting the next game, we will keep improving into March and April. A very happy new year to all!

 

[Longtime fan]

Some thoughts on the Marquette game.

• UConn has been shorthanded for so many games these past few seasons that having 8 players suited up for a tough game vs Marquette almost feels like a relief of sorts.
• Marquette is a physical team that will make you work at both ends of the court. UConn appeared fatigued at times today and the offense was somewhat stagnant. As a result, this game was a grind for the Huskies.
• Over the past few games, UConn opponents are really focused on defending Lou at the arc. When Azzi returns that will change somewhat. But in the meantime, Lou continues to burn opponents off the dribble and with great off ball movement leading to backdoor cuts.
• Watching Dorka go down after banging knees with the Marquette player was yet another sinking feeling like too many UConn injuries this season and last. Seeing her come back in the game was far more pleasant.
• I really, really liked Caroline’s game today. She worked hard at both ends of the court, rebounded well and contributed a bunch of BIG baskets, after which she took her usual position on the bench, ice pack in hand against her head.
• Azzi on the bench in uniform was bittersweet. Great to know she’s close to being back. But we all really want to see her back on the court.
• Tough win today!!! Beautiful win today!!!

All true but let's be honest. Having "8 players available," at the present moment, is really having the starting five. Aubrey, Ines and, more recently, Patterson contribute nothing. I'm not saying that will always be the case, but you didn't see Nika sit down did you? We saw Patterson for 2-3 minutes early and, after doing her usual, she was never seen again. And Amari was called for two fouls in about 26 seconds, but did manage a lay in, after a nice pass from Caroline. One rebound fell in her arms as well. End of story. The starting five all played about 40 minutes, just as they did a few days earlier. So they are tired. If Azzi and Aubrey return, the world will get better. Though not for the three bench players.

 

[HopJim]

I'm not questioning Geno today. He earned his salary today winning a game against a good team with a patchwork lineup (3 starters out) and a very short bench. A tip o' the turban to Geno and his entire staff for the job they did today. He didn't have a lot to work with, and no room for error. I'm sure it wasn't his desire to play Lou and Nika 40 mins, Caroline and Aaliyah 38 mins, and Dorka 35, but THAT was the hand he was dealt. The man knows what he's doing. He's been down this road before..........lots of times.

We have a unique UConn team where all the starters can drive, shoot the midrange jump shot, and for the most part, hit 3-pointers. Today, virtually all the starters had a height advantage versus their competition. The subs have not proven any offensive spark, with the exception of DeBerry, are shorter than their Marquette counterpart, and are a step slower than the starter they would replace. Hate that Geno never substitues but understand the trade offs he is making.

 

[Notyetready]

All true but let's be honest. Having "8 players available," at the present moment, is really having the starting five. Aubrey, Ines and, more recently, Patterson contribute nothing. I'm not saying that will always be the case, but you didn't see Nika sit down did you? We saw Patterson for 2-3 minutes early and, after doing her usual, she was never seen again. And Amari was called for two fouls in about 26 seconds, but did manage a lay in, after a nice pass from Caroline. One rebound fell in her arms as well. End of story. The starting five all played about 40 minutes, just as they did a few days earlier. So they are tired. If Azzi and Aubrey return, the world will get better. Though not for the three bench players.

"One rebound fell in her (Amari's)arms..."

But... after Amari executed a perfect box-out of the Marauette player. In this, she deserves more credit that she is given. By the way, I have been watching Amari-- thank you mjl243 for the replays-- and many times I see Amari effectively boxing out the opposition while team-mates collect the rebound . She is very active when she gets on the court. And the lay-up she missed was not a lay-up, it was a hook shot that fell short and struck the front of the rim. It was never a gimmee put, she was well defended.

 

[jazz]

"One rebound fell in her (Amari's)arms..."

But... after Amari executed a perfect box-out of the Marauette player. In this, she deserves more credit that she is given. By the way, I have been watching Amari-- thank you mjl243 for the replays-- and many times I see Amari effectively boxing out the opposition while team-mates collect the rebound . She is very active when she gets on the court. And the lay-up she missed was not a lay-up, it was a hook shot that fell short and struck the front of the rim. It was never a gimmee put, she was well defended.

that would have been pretty if she made it. baby hooks are a good thing to have in a big's arsenal.

 

[jazz]

an ugly win is still a win.


NM had the game that the NM-bashers have been salivating for....almost. If you only judge her by her shooting, then yes, she was terrible. Threw up a couple bricks and missed a couple of layups. Only 6 assists…

Now for the other side of the pancake….

NM had a very good defensive game, an excellent rebounding game, drew 2 charges (or if you like, she flopped her way into two charges- either way, same result). I don’t normally listen to the commentary, but didn’t meghan say that NM was savvy in getting the first charge? This is what I thought as well. She created two additional fouls on Marquette when she fed the low post (otherwise it would have been two more assists) and missed out on 5 other assists with missed shots. She has been really good at helping the team on the glass lately as well with another 6 rebounds. Only 2 TO (3-1 Assist: TO) and no fouls in 40 minutes. Maybe she was too tired to wack the other team around a bit. Didn’t seem like a ball of energy either – it was like she was trying to just get through/survive this one. Most of the team seemed to take the same queue.

NM’s shots did look ugly, and she needs to at least go 1-3 at the three point line and hit her layups – looked like she was bumped on one – but still needs to hit them.

But, NM was not the only one… AE struggled finishing at the rim and Dorka missed some as well. Dorka still had a pretty good game, missing not withstanding – she got us some tough offensive rebounds. After the first 5 minutes or so, it seemed like AE took only 4 shots the rest of the game (or close to that anyway).

Great game from Lou and CD on the offensive end. Lou starting to get to the bucket on the 3 pt overplay by the defense. CD had 7 rebounds and has a knack for chasing down the long rebound. She reads the ball coming of the rim very well. By contrast, yanna does not..if the ball doesn’t drop right down, she seems to need a second more to determine where it is going off the rim. I think she struggles seeing the ball off the rim.

CD with 5 more turnovers…this has not gotten better since she has been here. She is prone to turnovers. CD did save a couple balls though, giving us two additional possessions. She has a very short and very quick release on her shot. Just find her and get her the ball and hopefully soon she will settle into a 40% success rate.

Now for some well-deserved rest I hope and some reinforcements from and AG to help us.

 

[HuskyNan]

an ugly win is still a win.


NM had the game that the NM-bashers have been salivating for....almost. If you only judge her by her shooting, then yes, she was terrible. Threw up a couple bricks and missed a couple of layups. Only 6 assists…

Now for the other side of the pancake….

NM had a very good defensive game, an excellent rebounding game, drew 2 charges (or if you like, she flopped her way into two charges- either way, same result). I don’t normally listen to the commentary, but didn’t meghan say that NM was savvy in getting the first charge? This is what I thought as well. She created two additional fouls on Marquette when she fed the low post (otherwise it would have been two more assists) and missed out on 5 other assists with missed shots. She has been really good at helping the team on the glass lately as well with another 6 rebounds. Only 2 TO (3-1 Assist: TO) and no fouls in 40 minutes. Maybe she was too tired to wack the other team around a bit. Didn’t seem like a ball of energy either – it was like she was trying to just get through/survive this one. Most of the team seemed to take the same queue.

NM’s shots did look ugly, and she needs to at least go 1-3 at the three point line and hit her layups – looked like she was bumped on one – but still needs to hit them.

But, NM was not the only one… AE struggled finishing at the rim and Dorka missed some as well. Dorka still had a pretty good game, missing not withstanding – she got us some tough offensive rebounds. After the first 5 minutes or so, it seemed like AE took only 4 shots the rest of the game (or close to that anyway).

Great game from Lou and CD on the offensive end. Lou starting to get to the bucket on the 3 pt overplay by the defense. CD had 7 rebounds and has a knack for chasing down the long rebound. She reads the ball coming of the rim very well. By contrast, yanna does not..if the ball doesn’t drop right down, she seems to need a second more to determine where it is going off the rim. I think she struggles seeing the ball off the rim.

CD with 5 more turnovers…this has not gotten better since she has been here. She is prone to turnovers. CD did save a couple balls though, giving us two additional possessions. She has a very short and very quick release on her shot. Just find her and get her the ball and hopefully soon she will settle into a 40% success rate.

Now for some well-deserved rest I hope and some reinforcements from Azzi Fudd and AG to help us.

Shots usually hit the front of the rim because the shooter’s legs are tired. Aaliyah had a few front-rimmers in the fourth quarter. I think the team burned itself out against Creighton on the road a few days ago.

 

[VaConnFan11]

Marquette used the strategy that is best at slowing down and even beating UConn. Make UConn run offense. This has been true for the last 5-6 seasons. Only 3 fast break points in the game. More turnovers than assists. Luckily the defense was good otherwise this could have easily been a loss. This is the strategy I would use if I were coaching any of the other Big East teams.

As far as in-game fatigue goes, I think Geno only used 2 of his timeouts. You can't take them with you. Might as well use them.

 

[freshler40]

Agree with most, the team looked tired, both mentally and physically. Getting Aubrey back will help as her athleticism and energy she brings, especially on D - is sorely missed. Adding Azzi on top will hopefully be like icing on the cake!

It looks like Patterson will be glued to the bench when these two come back.

Adding Azzie's ball handling /penetration will be a major step forward. Griffin adds defensive skills few can match. Our steals have gone down a lot recently. Nika is doing double duty and must be exhausted.

My New Year's wish is for better team health and growth for our bench. The bench needs to step up. They have been given starter minutes and serious game time experience that few have experienced in the past. Five or ten quality minutes from the bench would have helped a lot recently.

 

[freshler40]

Knowing this, how do you disparage her play? Some of our fans DID NOT know this. She's out there playing as well as she can with whatever she can muster. We don't win today without her. Remember.............if it was easy, more players would be doing it. 19 pts, 7 reb, 2 asts. in 38 minutes.

Caroline did carry the scoring load in the second half. Our bigs offense was bottled up inside but they did a good job rebounding especially in the second half. We needed one more player scoring in the mid-teens and it would have been a blow-out. Marquette had a great slow down game plan and kept the action close. They played with bench depth, we didn't. We played to their clock perhaps with a lack of bench depth.

With transfer rules and injuries our program needs to examine the numbers of players carried to address the short bench issues that we have struggled with in recent years. Most college teams have better players today and transfers have added depth to the top tier. We have adjusted some also. Enough? The game is changing and moving toward the men's game IMO.

 

[genzhusk]

Don't tell Geno that. Did you hear what he said after the game?

Yes Caroline is a slow start this year - her offense is coming back faster than her defense. However, last year she proved that with her length she is a matchup nightmare for both offense and defense against other teams guards. She blocked a lot of passes and was a great rim protector (against guards) proven last year. With her build, she will be a great defender, the next think she should work on with more prowess.

 

[genzhusk]

Don't hear you talking about her 5 T/O vs 2 assists, bet if it was Nika it would be different.

Someone is complimenting one player and you use that to put down said player to uplift another (Nika). They’re all on the same team. No need to pit one against the other. Every player had holes in their game, including BOTH caroline and nika.

 

[Littlemin]

Through my “life” in basketball the three coaches I admire(d) the most were Al McGuire, Bobby Knight, and Geno Auriemma. One constant among all three was to look at the game far beyond scoring, look at what players do other than scoring to contribute to a winning team.
On offense, look at movement without the ball, setting picks, keeping the ball moving, understanding the pass before the assist pass can be just as important in scoring the ball.
On defense, do they understand the importance of staying in front of the player they are covering thereby preventing unproductive rotations by diving for steals; do they understand and apply help concepts, do they box out.
Like most fans, the focus of many here is on scoring, in both heaping praise and applying criticism. One example of my admiration for a player was for Edwards yesterday. She had a very impressive string of 20 point games yet it obviously meant little to nothing to her, exemplified by her taking only 8 shots. By understanding that Marquette was hell bent on focusing on her, she did all the “other” things to make a major contribution to a hard fought win. Maybe beating a dead horse, but those are the games I respect just as much, maybe more, than the 25 point ones. It shows winning is the only goal, as very well it should be.