UCONN-Marquette Post Game Thread

[Gurleyman]

Backhand from Paige？Maybe I missed it. Do you mean the pass overhead to Ice under basket?

Baseline drive to the reverse in the fourth quarter, she does sort of a backhand finger roll that’s incredibly difficult to get the spin right. 8:19 of the highlights:

 

[Gurleyman]

Baseline drive to the reverse in the fourth quarter, she does sort of a backhand finger roll that’s incredibly difficult to get the spin right. 8:19 of the highlights:

The slo mo replay was also clipped by @Bone Dog in the Paige vs. The top 25 thread.

Post in thread 'Paige vs Top 25 teams'
Paige vs Top 25 teams

 

[Longtime fan]

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.

Great summary. It looks as if, when possible, Geno is pairing KK and Ash with the core three ( Paige, Nikka and Edwards ) and then Aubrey and Q. Aubrey is, of course far more valuable and is used in several swing situations. Ice is a key " unknown " at this point. And Q has a wonderfully high ceiling, I think. So there is plenty more growth to be had ( and , as you noted, Ash was off from distance today.). KK is amazing for a freshman and stronger than typical. Ash has been a favorite of mine since she led Noblesville to state championship.

 

[Bone Dog]

Was just watching @MJL243's replay of the game -- as one does -- and it occurred to me that if the team keeps up this intensity all season, the most important audience for it may be Jana and Ayanna. They could spend the season watching the way they want to play when they return. If anything could motivate someone trying to rehab and recuperate, it's games like this!

And after watching all those Mitty videos @Zarathustra posted in another thread, it's clear this is the way Morgan Cheli likes to play, too. Even if Nika turns pro next season, her style of play will still be represented on the floor in KK Ashlynn Jana Ayanna and Morgan! It's time to let recruits see what UConn basketball is all about.

 

[Puppy Love]

Not so " incredible " Charlie!

Not so “credible“, either.

 

[BRS24]

Well said, Oldude, on top of excellent game summaries by EricLA and others.

There are few basketball players I've ever seen who are as 'can't take my eyes off her' brilliant as Paige is when she's healthy. I wish two things now 1) that as many of you BYers who haven't seen her play in person get to do so, whenever and wherever, and 2) for basketball's sake, Paige stays healthy for years to come. It truly is a joy to watch her play the game.

As a freshman, Paige exuded brash confidence, because why not, she didn't know better, and neither did her opponents on some occasions. Now? We're seeing a more mature confidence from her, and it's impressive to watch.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As I noted above, it seemed as if the team had been hanging out with George Gervin over the break. Three finger rolls in one game!

 

[hoophuskee]

This game is yet another example of why I respect (and nearly always) agree with Auriemma along with why I believe Practices are important. I had no doubt Paige should play the SF at times this year but to put her at the PF spot with UCONN running 4 guards out there? Does anyone remember Kevin Ollie the year he won the title? Going into the FF game Florida had their pg who didn't play vs UCONN earlier in the year. When Olliei was asked about their pg being available in this game he said to summarize "if they want to add a guard then we'll add 2. If they want to add we'll add 3. We have the best group of guards in America."


The heck with thinking about "South Carolina or UCLA" etc. You play the teams that are next on your schedule. The next game is the most important game not the game 1-2 months from now. And that's how teams improve. I love how Auriemma doesn't fear playing unconventional. I love how he appreciates Offense and he loves to run. The 3 guards of Nika, KK, and Ashlynn play so well off of each other while they contrast each other. It's a lot of fun to watch.

And I believe below link shows why players such as Ice don't get as many minutes as someone like Q (Phillycoach on another thread and comments from Gordo) sort of highlight the issue with Ice. And imo it's why even Q gets more minutes. It has to do with "aggressiveness vs reward a player minutes because of positional need." Below at 5:02 left in the game Ice gets pushed under the basket. She immediately got pulled. -

She had fresher legs. She knows this team needs rebounding. Yet we have heard past criticism from past years of Geno from some that he should use his bench to wear down the opponents. Does this look like Ice is going to wear down anyone? Rather why not have Q in there? Q plays with her heart. That's not to say Ice doesn't. But I got to believe that Practices show what we also see on the court. Adn if so, then what's more fun than watching this team paly with fun and playing those that are playing like of wild pack of dogs? In the meantime, patently wait for Ice or Amari to progress.

 

[MSGRET]

Really glad Ice handled Paige's nifty pass.

Rocky, I actually believe that the pass was originally going to Nika. If you watch it closely Ice is kind of hidden by Marquette players and Nika is right there getting ready to receive the pass when Ice steps in while Nika halts and pulls back her arms so that she doesn't impede Ice. None the less it was a great bounce pass by Paige.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Really glad Ice handled Paige's nifty pass.

Speaking of handles that would make a nice post. Who has the best in WCBB? She made this look easy.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Rocky, I actually believe that the pass was originally going to Nika. If you watch it closely Ice is kind of hidden by Marquette players and Nika is right there getting ready to receive the pass when Ice steps in while Nika halts and pulls back her arms so that she doesn't impede Ice. None the less it was a great bounce pass by Paige.

I wondered about that. Nika had her hands out.

 

[Ozimoto]

A fun game to watch. Things are coming together nicely.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[Bone Dog]

My final thought about this game: if Geno hadn't taken his foot off the gas in the 4th quarter, they'd have scored 100+. And as I reflect on the Butler game that opened the conference season, if the team had played defense like they did against Marquette, I doubt Butler would even have scored 50.

The season is a work in progress, and a new level has been reached.

 

[BrianUC]

Silly me, I thought you were in Bass Harbor ( that is Bass Harbor light in your avatar, right?).

It's the Makapuu Lighthouse, 3 miles from my house as the drone flies. It's quite rocky with cactus but no palm trees up there, so hard to ID.