UCONN-Marquette Post Game Thread

[EricLA]

Well I'll be honest - was NOT expecting this. Down 10 in Q1, and then blew the doors off. I'm guessing the team worked all the Christmas fat off in the first 5 minutes or so LOL. Not only was this a tremendous game for the entire team, it was against a really good Marquette team, who IMHO, plays a tad on the overly-physical side. I was very pleased to see Marquette get into some foul trouble in the first half. I do get tired of watching refs let teams we are thumping manhandle us (as often it's their only way to slow us down). We went from down 10 to up 17 at the half.

• Paige's play was sensational on both sides of the ball. Steals, assists, scoring - she did it all (except for rebounding LOL)
• As much as it was partly the Paige show, Aaliyah put on a show on the interior. Yet another double double for her.
• NO complaints at all about the freshmen. Their shots were off a tiny bit (mostly Ash from 3), but they work so hard and really add a TON to the team. KK with her steals, Ash with her all around play, and Q comes off the bench and does what she needs to do. Still need more from Ice, altho maybe finding her sea legs in Q4? Hope this continues in the future! And not for nothing, BOTH Ash and KK scored double figures. Thru 3 quarters!
• Aubrey coming off the bench is perfect for her. Mystifying FT shooting today, but Aubrey doing Aubrey things is just what the team needs from her off the bench.
• Much maligned (at times on this board) Nika did Nika things. On double double watch with rebounds and assists. OH AND 0 TO's. Marquette plays tough physical defense. VERY impressed with her not going for the home run pass, instead going for the smart pass. 5 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds. 1 TO at the very end. I'll take that from her EVERY day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I FULLY expected Marquette to come out after half time and make a run. After hitting their first shot - a 3 - it was off to the races again for UCONN. I was shocked that we had no let up and continued to blow them out. I don't mean this as a criticism at all - I mean after shaking off the rust in the first 5 minutes or so, getting down 10, we outscored them by 42 till the end of Q3. That's incredible against an undefeated and deserving top 20 team. 16 O-boards? That's putting in the hard work.

This game was about 25 minutes of smackdown play by UCONN. Was completely over by the end of Q3. To Marquette's credit, they fought till the end and played well in Q4. But the damage was already done. Every core player scored at least 5 points. 4 were in double figures. As much as it's Paige Bueckers' world, the game was NOT the Paige Bueckers' show - meaning the entire team contributed and it was a tremendous team effort. Paige of course is the POG, but EVERYONE ELSE did things they are good at to contribute. Great to see Amari and Ines get on the board with assists and scoring. Such a solid and enjoyable win.

 

[Veteran]

Wow!

UConn just said, "Hi, folks. We're still here".

 

[jcoton56]

Things are clicking a bit. The harder we work, the luckier we get

 

[kidfrom360]

Today was just fun to watch! They were just having fun out there! Happy they’re finding their groove! Go Huskies!!

 

[darrell]

 

[Bone Dog]

 

[PJCLaw]

Well I'll be honest - was NOT expecting this. Down 10 in Q1, and then blew the doors off. I'm guessing the team worked all the Christmas fat off in the first 5 minutes or so LOL. Not only was this a tremendous game for the entire team, it was against a really good Marquette team, who IMHO, plays a tad on the overly-physical side. I was very pleased to see Marquette get into some foul trouble in the first half. I do get tired of watching refs let teams we are thumping manhandle us (as often it's their only way to slow us down). We went from down 10 to up 17 at the half.

• Paige's play was sensational on both sides of the ball. Steals, assists, scoring - she did it all (except for rebounding LOL)
• As much as it was partly the Paige show, Aaliyah put on a show on the interior. Yet another double double for her.
• NO complaints at all about the freshmen. Their shots were off a tiny bit (mostly Ash from 3), but they work so hard and really add a TON to the team. KK with her steals, Ash with her all around play, and Q comes off the bench and does what she needs to do. Still need more from Ice, altho maybe finding her sea legs in Q4? Hope this continues in the future! And not for nothing, BOTH Ash and KK scored double figures. Thru 3 quarters!
• Aubrey coming off the bench is perfect for her. Mystifying FT shooting today, but Aubrey doing Aubrey things is just what the team needs from her off the bench.
• Much maligned (at times on this board) Nika did Nika things. On double double watch with rebounds and assists. OH AND 0 TO's. Marquette plays tough physical defense. VERY impressed with her not going for the home run pass, instead going for the smart pass. 5 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds. 1 TO at the very end. I'll take that from her EVERY day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I FULLY expected Marquette to come out after half time and make a run. After hitting their first shot - a 3 - it was off to the races again for UCONN. I was shocked that we had no let up and continued to blow them out. I don't mean this as a criticism at all - I mean after shaking off the rust in the first 5 minutes or so, getting down 10, we outscored them by 42 till the end of Q3. That's incredible against an undefeated and deserving top 20 team. 16 O-boards? That's putting in the hard work.

This game was about 25 minutes of smackdown play by UCONN. Was completely over by the end of Q3. To Marquette's credit, they fought till the end and played well in Q4. But the damage was already done. Every core player scored at least 5 points. 4 were in double figures. As much as it's Paige Bueckers' world, the game was NOT the Paige Bueckers' show - meaning the entire team contributed and it was a tremendous team effort. Paige of course is the POG, but EVERYONE ELSE did things they are good at to contribute. Great to see Amari and Ines get on the board with assists and scoring. Such a solid and enjoyable win.

Spot on with your analysis. They simply did not panic when they were down 10-0. That showed they are maturing as a team.

 

[SLY63]

Great game by everyone (after the first 5 min). Would love to see us start better as getting behind against top teams makes life harder.

I would love to see the score of all of our games this year after 5 minutes. Anyone have that?

Getting somewhat concerned abbot Ice's progress. We really could use her.

 

[oldude]

A couple thoughts on today’s game:

• After yet another slow start, the Huskies ramped up their defensive effort to change the entire complexion of the game by playing in-your-face defense, crashing the boards and diving for loose balls all over the court. UConn’s defense in the 3rd qtr, in particular, was absolutely suffocating.
• Somebody really needs to advise UConn’s players that a significant percentage of their fans are elderly, including yours truly, so the extra excitement created when the Huskies start the game by digging a 10-0 hole is not particularly good for our hearts …
• I love the fact that Geno yanked Paige early in the game after an ineffective start and delivered a pointed message to her. Clearly, the message was received, and then some!!! So far this season we have all seen glimpses of the Paige Bueckers that we all witnessed in her freshman and sophomore seasons. Today Paige looked every bit like the NPOY that we all remember!!!
• Aaliyah too got an early call to the bench for a quick message, after which she played like the AA forward that she is.
• As someone who played a little basketball back in the dark ages, I can definitively say that I would have absolutely hated being guarded by KK Arnold. She plays defense like she’s her opponents second skin……..
• Today was a big win against an experienced, well-coached Marquette team. The next step for this UConn team is to demonstrate they can win against a good team on the road. They’ll have that opportunity Wednesday at Creighton.

 

[Geew1992]

First 5 mins had me not wanting to watch

 

[Bone Dog]

The huskies came out flat and went down 10-0, and Geno made them play full court press and the team woke up and gave Marquette a serious thumping. 95-64 doesn't really capture how dominant this win was.

And there was some seriously peak Paige in this one. One loose ball she grabs and spins away from contact was awe inspiring.

 

[BRS24]

 

[Bone Dog]

One disappointment: Ice has not found her confidence yet.

Qadence shot poorly from 3 (1-4), but she drained one and Geno gave her a goofy look and she had the biggest smile on her face. The game was almost worth it just for that smile.

And I agree, definitely an NPOY level performance from Paige.

And one empty gripe -- we just thumped a ranked team and will still get discounted in the next rankings (I'm guessing) while other teams stomp cupcakes and get rewarded. Who cares, in the end, but it is galling.

 

[Centerstream]

Things are clicking a bit. The harder we work, the luckier we get

We stomped a hole in the #18 ranked team! What about that was "luck"?

 

[Next 12]

O.K, so much for Marquette. NOW, bring on Creighton, we're clicking on all cylinders. Uconn is FOR REAL!!!! I posted that Uconn would not have a hard time as was suggested and they didn't. I admit the way Marquette started with a 10 - 0 start gave me pause,but, it was like you had your shot, now here's mine and it was off to the races.Uconn is jelling like a top 10 team and they are at their rightful place, NO.1 in the BE. When we take care of Creighton convincingly will the other teams take notice and be concerned? I think so. The scary thing the other teams have to acknowledge is Uconn WILL get better. Our team was flawless this game and a harbinger of what's to come. Kudos to all the players as this was definitely a team game. GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[huskeynut]

Not surprised the team came out flat. It's normal after a break/ layoff. After Geno sat Paige and talked to her, then he did the same with Aaliyah, the game completely changed.

Cranked up the defense and gave Marquette a large dose of their own physical play. You could see the effect on Marquette.

Out rebounded Marquette 47 - 32. And Marquette is touted as a very good rebounding team. Only 7 turnovers and Nika only had one.

Excellent game all around. Now, on to Creighton.

 

[msf22b]

I'm convinced...
I was concerned if they could respond to adversity.
check!
This is the team that no one will want to play in March

 

[Huskie837]

Did not expect that margin of victory. Great all round game. At last Geno had seen enough of Paige not get going in the first quarter!
Best game of the season! Go Huskies!

 

[Huskie837]

One disappointment: Ice has not found her confidence yet.

Qadence shot poorly from 3 (1-4), but she drained one and Geno gave her a goofy look and she had the biggest smile on her face. The game was almost worth it just for that smile.

And I agree, definitely an NPOY level performance from Paige.

And one empty gripe -- we just thumped a ranked team and will still get discounted in the next rankings (I'm guessing) while other teams stomp cupcakes and get rewarded. Who cares, in the end, but it is galling.

Yeah we will move up one spot…

 

[Next 12]

Things are clicking a bit. The harder we work, the luckier we get

That was not luck, that was a well earned game on all fronts. Give the team the credit they deserve for all their hard work.Uconn will be a team that other teams will now think twice about. I believe if this team played the 3 teams we lost to. it would have been wins!!GO TEAM!!! GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO JHUSKIES!!!!

 

[Stinger92860]

A few games back their pace of play became much faster and today even after a made basket by marquette they pushed the ball. IMO this has had made a huge difference.

 

[Centerstream]

My main concern is the fact that I was booted out of the Fox Sports app more times than I cared to count, but it was at least 10X in the 2nd half alone. When I got a message it was that the connection was lost. I am guessing that it was my home network but really not sure.
About the game, it was a dominant victory even though Paige turned the ball over 15 seconds into the game and Marquette took advantage and scored the first 10 points. Ugh. But then we fought back and the next thing I remember we were up double digits and never looked back.

 

[Urshurak]

Other than that 10-0 deficit, only criticism I can find is Aubrey’s free throw shooting is atrocious. That’s all I’ve got.

Great game UConn. Keep it up against Creighton.

 

[Surly1]

I cussed out Paige at the beginning of the game passing up a clear shot, subsequently causing a turnover. I was glad that Geno pulled her out and had a discussion with her. Clearly, the message was well received. Great individual performance by her as well as the rest of the team. Hopefully, this performance can travel.

Paige is an elite level scorer trapped in a point guard's pass first mentality. As the season marches on, I hope the former gets the upper hand over the later.

 

[topogigio]

Great overall game, but what impressed me was the diving, scrambling, and hustling for steals and loose balls. That has been missing the past few years, and it is just what this team needs to get the motor going!