UConn - Minnesota post game thread

[EricLA]

As nice as the Maryland game felt, this one not so much. UCONN outscored Minny by 15 in the third quarter. The rest of the game (Q's 1,2, &4) by 3 total. There were some nice things done by individual players, but the offense never really seemed to find its' groove save for some stretches in the 3rd quarter...

Defense on the other hand - that was strong! Also some good experience for the newbies! On to the next game... Credit to Minny for holding us to 62 points total (altho I think our sloppy offense helped with that). Will be very curious what the horde asks Geno about this game and what he has to say about it - he's usually more complimentary after games than many fans so I look forward to his comments!

 

[victor64]

-UConn broke open a close game because Minnesota could not handle the Huskies depth.
-Sometimes a loss serves as a wake up call. The second straight game where UConn was terrific defensively.
-If Dawn Plitzuweit can recruit, she will turn Minnesota around. They are solid defensively.
-UConn consistently takes away the other team’s top scorer. Today it was Mara Braun. Came in averaging 21, finished with 12 on 4-21 shooting.
-I admit, I thought Nika would be the odd guard out but after watching her play off Paige and showing tons of confidence with her shot, Nika has to be on the floor. She was terrific today.
-CD showed some progress today but still a long way from she was when she was healthy. Geno is showing patience and bringing her along slowly. LIke many, I worry about her health.
-I am not worried about the shooting percentage, missed layups or turnovers. If they stay healthy and he stays with playing 9 or 10, this team will be great by season’s end.
-If Ice continues to progress as expected, their best five has to be with her and Liyah on the floor at the same time.

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Well, it was a tough game to watch. But I continue to be amazed at the intensity and ability of the freshman class. KK, especially, seemed to knock them out of the doldrums

 

[Kaizen]

Very impressed by the freshmen ...

 

[jcoton56]

Minn. a little better than advertised. Huskies do enough to put a ‘W’ in the win column. Pack the bathing suits and have a great Turkey day!

 

[SARG 2011]

Team had to grind it out today. A win is a win. On a positive note the Freshmen are fearless

 

[HuskyNan]

-UConn broke open a close game because Minnesota could not handle the Huskies depth.
-Sometimes a loss serves as a wake up call. The second straight game where UConn was terrific defensively.
-If Dawn Plitzuweit can recruit, she will turn Minnesota around. They are solid defensively.

I don’t agree about Minnesota’s defense. UConn was sloppy and missed a bunch of layups - I think they were trying to put on a show for Paige’s homecoming. Still, the game isn’t without merit; they need to learn how to win when the shots don’t fall.

Not the prettiest game I’ve ever seen

 

[SLY63]

• Another good performance by the freshman.
• We really need more than 4 points from CD and AG (against an overpowered team)

This performance won't cut it against UCLA

 

[maple]

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but we got a win and played mostly good defense again. We really need to work on consistent offense, especially making all those open looks early on in the game. And for the love of everything, please do better with offensive rebounds!!!

Paige was great. Not as great as against Maryland but let’s chalk it up to jitters. The freshmen played good and hard and they absolutely NEED to be getting more minutes.

AG, Nika, and AE need to do better offensively. CD I will cut some slack given her medical history and all the head injuries. We can’t miss good looks and easy buckets. These should be nearly automatic. I will say though that despite their offensive struggles, they stepped it up somewhat in the 2nd half and also played good D.

 

[FridaFriend]

Do you think Paige was trying too hard?

 

[Ralph]

I think Geno has to keep Ice for his bench, relief for Edwards, until Paterson comes back. OR a certain 6 foot 5 earns some playing time. Or El Affy pulls a miracle like Aaron Rogers is trying to do.

 

[Bone Dog]

Lots of oddities in this game, and the stats don’t really tell the whole story for someone like Qadence. She only scored 4 but one on a putback involved fighting for a rebound against the MN bigs. That’s what I like to see. You go girl!

 

[darrell]

Offense could’ve been a lot better, but was a solid defensive effort.

4-21 (2-11) shooting for Minnesota’s best player (shoutout to Aubrey), 6-34 shooting from 3 for Minnesota as a team.

 

[luminosity]

A slow grind of a win. The 1st half offense was....not good. The 2nd half offense looked a bit better but needs to be even better against UCLA. The defense was absolutely outstanding throughout.

I know CD has been a great contributer to the team throughout her career and has the talent to take over games. However, If she doesn't play better, she needs to be taken out of the starting lineup. She is being outplayed by every freshman right now. She doesn't even take many shots anymore. Her defense isn't good enough to make up for lack of production like Nika and Aubrey; she is in there to be the third scorer. I'm rooting for her but, at some point, she has to produce this season.

The offense seems to start flowing better and with a sense of urgency once the freshman come in. In particular, I notice that both Q and Shade are great at moving without the ball and trying to get open shots. Far too often, UCONN's offense gets stuck in place so having that movement more consistently is a necessity.

Hope Azzi gets healthy soon. We need her threat of scoring to help open up opposing defenses.

 

[Hist-teacher]

Sometimes you just have to win ugly... we did and it was.

 

[darrell]

I think Geno has to keep Ice for his bench, relief for Edwards, until Paterson comes back. OR a certain 6 foot 5 earns some playing time. Or El Affy pulls a miracle like Aaron Rogers is trying to do.

Don’t mean to stray off topic, but I just read that Rodgers is trying to return. Jana returning could do this team a lot of favors.

 

[victor64]

I don’t agree about Minnesota’s defense. UConn was sloppy and missed a bunch of layups - I think they were trying to put on a show for Paige’s homecoming. Still, the game isn’t without merit; they need to learn how to win when the shots don’t fall.

Not the prettiest game I’ve ever seen

Minnesota has two, maybe three players so their coach has little to work with. They did a nice job on Liyah in the first half.

 

[FridaFriend]

I think Geno has to keep Ice for his bench, relief for Edwards, until Paterson comes back. OR a certain 6 foot 5 earns some playing time. Or El Affy pulls a miracle like Aaron Rogers is trying to do.

Keep Ice on ice?

 

[Happydad745]

It could be a real long season.....our defense is tough, but our offense, at times, completely disappears. Fudd coming back might help some, but I'm thinking without our freshmen we would be in lots of trouble.

 

[Rdkid]

That was an odd game. Is it me, or are they very passive on the offensive end?

 

[Next 12]

A lot of missed opportunities on both sides. Sloppy game or tight defensive game on both sides. Pick your choice. The win was well earned because of the sloppiness. Our Newbies are going to be really, really good come February as they settle in and it will be easier from then on. GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[uconnfan68]

I think Geno has to keep Ice for his bench, relief for Edwards, until Paterson comes back. OR a certain 6 foot 5 earns some playing time. Or El Affy pulls a miracle like Aaron Rogers is trying to do.

Geno looks like he’s using Ice, AG, and AE to cover 2 positions. As long as he keeps them all fresh, that could work.

 

[Urshurak]

First half was hard to watch. 3rd period was better. 4th was meh.

Most have said it already. Offensive consistency is lacking badly. This coming weekend could be rough. Kansas and UCLA are both much better than MN.

 

[SARG 2011]

Geno still figuring out which combo's work best together. Ice looks more comfortable as she continues to get back to basketball. Team will be better against UCLA...they have to be

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I'm okay with this game. It was physical from the start and the refs were consistent and let them play. I love working in the freshman in these early games for more than the usual 2-3 minutes...if that. Defensive identity has been established. My feeling is that all these different lineups is in search of the best offense, in the best situation and opponent. The offense struggled, but realistically it happens, but you can still win.