UConn - Minnesota post game thread

[Orc]

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.

Offense stalls when Griffin, Ducharme and Muhl are in the same lineup together with Paige and Edwards. They nonscorers. Geno has some talented players but needs to play a lineup that can compete with the elite teams.

 

[maple]

"5) l don’t think I’ve ever seem a game before when we’ve had a double digit lead in the second half and took a shot with less than 25 seconds remaining instead of dribbling it out."

Pulido's shot in the championship game against Syracuse (2016)

God, that was such a great moment. I rewatch it every now and again and get just as pumped every time.

 

[Jumper33]

Happy to get the win, even if it wasn’t the prettiest.

I feel for Caroline. I still have a lot of hope that she will come on later in the year, but her concussion history worries me so much. I don’t want to sound like a pessimist too much, but even if she is healthy, it seems like sometimes she’s burdened by fears of getting bumped and can’t play as hard or as focused as she wants. And who can blame her for that?

I know Geno and the coaches have supported her the best they can. I just feel for her.

 

[BBallF]

An ugly win is--a win. The defense was exceptional again, and the offense was very sluggish.

Our rebounding was terrible early, and our turnovers were dumb and numerous. I though Liya was careless and sloppy for the first 15 minutes, but much more effective after that. Paige had a mediocre game for her, under tough conditions. We miss the impact of having Azzi on the floor. Nika scored 11 and worked her butt off on defense. Ice looks to be getting more comfortable gradually. I love KK's energy on both offense and defense. Her buzzer beater reminded me of Lou's shot against S.C. last year. It will be one of the best plays this season. I love Ash's energy.

We need to be better against UCLA. Let's see how that goes. Best wishes to Azzi and Ayanna!

Very similar to my point of view. Without Azzi, there are limited scoring options so we were forcing into Aaliyah in the post at times. A pass down below is not always a good option if the player does not have good position and does not go out with the ball and get it back after restablishing better position. We don't do that and that can lead to turnovers and bad shots which it has.

Paige can't wait for the game to come to her or to be reticent on offense during the game without Azzi. She has to shoot and often especially from the arc. She is third on the team in 3 point attempts, only 2 ahead of Nika. She should be first by a clear margin. No matter how good the defense is, you have to score to win so right now, that is the concern to me. The defense has been beautifully turned up more than a notch but UCLA has scorers so we have to score to win that game.

The question is, where are the points going to come from? Aubrey isn't shooting from the outside, Caroline has not been able to find an offensive groove, and our 3 point game is sparse at best. Clearly, we must rely on our defense but the point is that only goes so far against the elite teams. So, I worry.

 

[OldSchooler]

Echoes of "thumbs up"?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Freshmen were good again and I was really, really impressed with how Q has no fear of going into the lane on both offense and defense.
As much as I would like to see the newbies get more time on the floor, I would rather it is because the starters are playing well and they need to catch their breath.
One thing that really, really caught my attention was our last possession with the shot clock turned off and Ashlynn took a shot with 7 seconds to go. I felt that Minnesota was in end of game mode and I thought we were too. Just seemed kinda surprising.
We need a little more attitude adjusting before we play in the Caymans.
And did anyone else notice that Azzi seemed to be acting different in the last huddle? It looked like she was concerned with something happening across the court.

Centerstream- - - Ashlynn got carried away with the open shot!
Geno & CD don't like late baskets in large wins!
She'll hear about it in the locker room!

 

[OldSchooler]

Over the off-season, several commented that Nika should develop a mid-range pull-up J. She's starting to show that.

KK's buzzer-beater to close out Q3 was UConn's first made 3 of the game! That whole shot sequence showed skill and smarts. She's way ahead of MoJeff and Dangerfield at this point in her career.

 

[npignatjr]

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.

Best player #10 was guarded primarily by UCONN #10.

 

[npignatjr]

Over the off-season, several commented that Nika should develop a mid-range pull-up J. She's starting to show that.

KK's buzzer-beater to close out Q3 was UConn's first made 3 of the game! That whole shot sequence showed skill and smarts. She's way ahead of MoJeff and Dangerfield at this point in her career.

Actually Nika made one earlier

 

[Forego]

Geno once said, our 3PT defense is running at the wide open shooter with our arms in the air and yelling miss. I guess that defense finally worked in the first half. If Minnesota connected on more of those threes it would have been much closer.

 

[Cuango]

Three years ago, our typical pattern was to go into halftime with a double digit lead. In many cases especially in February and March the game was practically settled by the end of the first quarter. This season it looks more and more like the third quarter is the one in which we blow the game open. I wonder why the change. Is it a conditioning thing? Given D1 parity do we have to run opponents ragged before putting the game out of reach?

Those days are long gone! The level of play (and coaching) has risen to the point where not only are the teams better but more and more of those teams, even so called “average” teams often have at least one player who can sporadically play well enough to where, coupled with a hot night by the rest of the team, they can push even good teams to the last minutes of the game, thus leading to more and more upsets in the women’s game.

That’s why we’re seeing more of these games like Colorado beating LSU, NC State beating us, K State beating Iowa, Duke almost upsetting Stanford etc. These are just the beginning! We’re going to see many more this season. There might be one team that’s good enough to avoid these kinds of games but it ain’t us! Not yet anyway, and the jury’s still out on them!

The question now, is twofold, can we maintain the current level of defense for the rest of the year and can we get substantially better on offense? If those two things happen and we can stay healthy ( and hopefully get Yanna and Azzi back) then I still like our chances.

We have a lot of talent, some of which is likely to substantially improve over the course of the season, we have a great coaching staff, and most of all, we have the potential difference maker in Paige! Her value in a close game against the kinds of teams we are likely to face late in the tournament cannot be overstated! She is the one thing we have that very few (none imo except possibly Iowa) other teams have! Buckle up!

 

[Centerstream]

Centerstream- - - Ashlynn got carried away with the open shot!
Geno & CD don't like late baskets in large wins!
She'll hear about it in the locker room!

I agree with you 100%.

 

[Bone Dog]

We have a lot of talent, some of which is likely to substantially improve over the course of the season, we have a great coaching staff, and most of all, we have the potential difference maker in Paige! Her value in a close game against the kinds of teams we are likely to face late in the tournament cannot be overstated! She is the one thing we have that very few (none imo except possibly Iowa) other teams have!

Yes, as Geno has famously said, “We have ___________ [Diana, Maya, and now Paige] and you don’t.”

It is as it ever was.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Freshmen were good again and I was really, really impressed with how Q has no fear of going into the lane on both offense and defense.
As much as I would like to see the newbies get more time on the floor, I would rather it is because the starters are playing well and they need to catch their breath.
One thing that really, really caught my attention was our last possession with the shot clock turned off and Ashlynn took a shot with 7 seconds to go. I felt that Minnesota was in end of game mode and I thought we were too. Just seemed kinda surprising.
We need a little more attitude adjusting before we play in the Caymans.
And did anyone else notice that Azzi seemed to be acting different in the last huddle? It looked like she was concerned with something happening across the court.

It was her amazement that Amari and Ines had entered the game

 

[ucbart]

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.

It's because we have 2 players(Aubrey and Caroline) that start and can't score in a half court offense. Add to them, some of Nika's offensive deficiencies and you see an offense that sputters.

When full healthy, this team should start Nika, Paige, Azzi, Ice and Aaliyah.

 

[HuskyNan]

It's because we have 2 players(Aubrey and Caroline) that start and can't score in a half court offense. Add to them, some of Nika's offensive deficiencies and you see an offense that sputters.

When full healthy, this team should start Nika, Paige, Azzi, Ice and Aaliyah.

Again, Nika had 11 points on 5-9 shooting. Aaliyah had 16 points (8-15), Paige had 12 (4-12) and Nika was third high, and the most efficient, scorer. People have been complaining about Nika’s scoring for so long, it’s become automatic, I think

 

[Blakeon18]

Odd thought: Was KK's three pointer the shortest trey ever?
She had lots of momentum and when she took off she was
kinda flying well inside the treyline. Add a few more inches[at least] when she stretched out
her shooting arm...then a couple of more inches as she released with her right hand.
At that release point how many feet were her fingers from the rim? Well under the
distance from the actual line...maybe her trey shot was from 17-18 feet?

Just loved the reaction from her teammates and the UConn fans behind the bench.
Also love the way Ice is doing Ice-Things now...just 4 games into the season.

 

[HopJim]

This game was VERY physical. They allowed a lot on both ends.

Very physical inside but like a low youth game outside. KK got three fouls for barely touching her player. Women's basketball continues to have inconsistent officating.

 

[HopJim]

It's because we have 2 players(Aubrey and Caroline) that start and can't score in a half court offense. Add to them, some of Nika's offensive deficiencies and you see an offense that sputters.

When full healthy, this team should start Nika, Paige, Azzi, Ice and Aaliyah.

Two years ago, Caroline was one of the better one on one players, particularly off the drive, in the league. Agree that she is struggled today but hopeful she will get her legs under her and get close to her former self.

 

[Zarathustra]

Her kids played hard and seemed to know what they wanted to be doing.

The sideline TV views of Dawn (H.C. of Minnesota) were impressive in their intensity. This
lady does not compromise!

 

[Zarathustra]

It was her amazement that Amari and Ines had entered the game

The comment about Ashlynn Shade's last shot..... Personally I'm OK with it, even though it
would have been (perhaps) better to not shoot. I felt like she needs the experience
of "shooting" in a game situation. Being a freshman, she probably has had it drilled into
her head..... " if you have an open shot.... TAKE IT!" If that is the case, then, as a freshman
she did the right thing.!! (IMHO).

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Very physical inside but like a low youth game outside. KK got three fouls for barely touching her player. Women's basketball continues to have inconsistent officating.

I agree that spurt was an outlier. Until that point they consistently let them beat the heck out of each other. And I don't necessarily equate consistent with good. AE took ZERO foul shots. I counted at least four instances where she was shoved in the back going for a rebound. Game felt more like a scrimmage to me.

 

[Zarathustra]

Odd thought: Was KK's three pointer the shortest trey ever?
She had lots of momentum and when she took off she was
kinda flying well inside the treyline. Add a few more inches[at least] when she stretched out
her shooting arm...then a couple of more inches as she released with her right hand.
At that release point how many feet were her fingers from the rim? Well under the
distance from the actual line...maybe her trey shot was from 17-18 feet?

Just loved the reaction from her teammates and the UConn fans behind the bench.
Also love the way Ice is doing Ice-Things now...just 4 games into the season.

I WAS VERY BIG ON " ICE" BRADY STARTING TO GET INTO HER " FLOW". In the
future I believe that we will see more " ICE cold shooting!" Some players play/shoot HOT, ICE will
play "icy cool, cold!"

 

[LwrcasefaN]

The comment about Ashlynn Shade's last shot..... Personally I'm OK with it, even though it
would have been (perhaps) better to not shoot. I felt like she needs the experience
of "shooting" in a game situation. Being a freshman, she probably has had it drilled into
her head..... " if you have an open shot.... TAKE IT!" If that is the case, then, as a freshman
she did the right thing.!! (IMHO).

I agree. If you don't want a shot, then don't run offense.

 

[Gordo]

It's because we have 2 players(Aubrey and Caroline) that start and can't score in a half court offense. Add to them, some of Nika's offensive deficiencies and you see an offense that sputters.

When full healthy, this team should start Nika, Paige, Azzi, Ice and Aaliyah.

Hard to start Azzi when she's injured and in street clothes.