UConn: most dangerous team in NCAA field

[AzzisBraids]

I'm an overly optimistic person at nature so I'd like to thread about some positive attributes that make this UConn team one of the most dangerous teams and a super #2 seed.

1. No other team in the field has three #1 high school players in Paige, Azzi and Sarah. These are players who had to score on teams under duress every night. healthy the base of these three is a rock solid foundation. Any one of these players can go off for 30 and if you key in on one, they others two will step up.
2. Aubrey Griffin - She is the game changer that I think has been missing from a lot of these runs and against elite teams like Notre Dame and USC, Aubrey can match the speed, physicality and well rested - this is her final chance to prove her WNBA stock. She'll be ready.
3. Ashlynn and KK - I almost forget they come off the bench because they come in and look like starters. They have a defensive and offensive integer they can put in the game depending on the match up.
4. Jana El Alfy - What she showed at South Carolina was that when she stakes are high, she will play her best. I hope that pattern keep going because at 6-5, UConn will need her.

 

[GoingPostal]

I like all four of your attributes. I'd rank them in this order. #2 first. I'm not sure about the severity of Aubrey's knee. If it's minor she'll be a huge factor coming off the bench.

#4 second. Jana's certainly got the ability to make a serious impact but it's an unknown until we see her do it.

#3 third. KK and Ash have both proven they can get the job done from both this year and last years play. There's no reason to think they won't bring the same great play this post season.

#1 fourth. All three being #1's is interesting but their ability to, each, change the course of a game has been shown throughout the season. That shouldn't change.

I'm an overly optimistic person at nature so I'd like to thread about some positive attributes that make this UConn team one of the most dangerous teams and a super #2 seed.

1. No other team in the field has three #1 high school players in Paige, Azzi and Sarah. These are players who had to score on teams under duress every night. healthy the base of these three is a rock solid foundation. Any one of these players can go off for 30 and if you key in on one, they others two will step up.
2. Aubrey Griffin - She is the game changer that I think has been missing from a lot of these runs and against elite teams like Notre Dame and USC, Aubrey can match the speed, physicality and well rested - this is her final chance to prove her WNBA stock. She'll be ready.
3. Ashlynn and KK - I almost forget they come off the bench because they come in and look like starters. They have a defensive and offensive integer they can put in the game depending on the match up.
4. Jana El Alfy - What she showed at South Carolina was that when she stakes are high, she will play her best. I hope that pattern keep going because at 6-5, UConn will need her.

 

[ConnMotors]

We have a legit team that is worthwhile to watch. But, they cannot have a game like Creighton in the Big East finals. They Scored 27, 13, 13 and 17. You need consistent scoring as well as defense at this stage of the tournament. Pressure is on Paige. But I think that the pressure is more so on Azzi and Ash. They have to make their shots at 50 to 60% clip.

 

[CL82]

 

[yhun89]

I'm an overly optimistic person at nature so I'd like to thread about some positive attributes that make this UConn team one of the most dangerous teams and a super #2 seed.

1. No other team in the field has three #1 high school players in Paige, Azzi and Sarah. These are players who had to score on teams under duress every night. healthy the base of these three is a rock solid foundation. Any one of these players can go off for 30 and if you key in on one, they others two will step up.
2. Aubrey Griffin - She is the game changer that I think has been missing from a lot of these runs and against elite teams like Notre Dame and USC, Aubrey can match the speed, physicality and well rested - this is her final chance to prove her WNBA stock. She'll be ready.
3. Ashlynn and KK - I almost forget they come off the bench because they come in and look like starters. They have a defensive and offensive integer they can put in the game depending on the match up.
4. Jana El Alfy - What she showed at South Carolina was that when she stakes are high, she will play her best. I hope that pattern keep going because at 6-5, UConn will need her.

1: Paige and Sarah have stepped up, it's Azzi who we need more of. If we play a good team, and she's shooting hot like she did vs SC, the defense will swarm her and leave Sarah or Paige more open. If all three are a weapon, we're a problem.

2: I think she's gonna be drafted nonetheless-this class after the first round is kind of weak, especially with the people taking 5th years (Harmon, Flau'jae, etc). But yes, I would agree this is her chance to really show what's she's got, albeit it's super unfair to her that she was injured so long, and she came back basically a month ago.

3: Defensive, yes. Offensively, they're not consistent. Ash has been super streaky, and we need her to step up and hit those midranges. KK has never been a shooter, but I'd prefer if she doesn't try and drive on shot blockers.

4: Jana looked good honestly in the first quarter of the Creighton game. 2 decent post ups: a spin move, and a lay in. She got into foul trouble after her "hot start" (for her standards, it was pretty good). And then she didn't do much afterwards. I can say I'm happy that she's finally coming up on defense rather than leaving shooters with 2 feet of room to work. Months ago, she used to hang back on the opposing team's best shooter and they'd just make it in.

 

[Kaizen]

I'm an overly optimistic person at nature so I'd like to thread about some positive attributes that make this UConn team one of the most dangerous teams and a super #2 seed.

1. No other team in the field has three #1 high school players in Paige, Azzi and Sarah. These are players who had to score on teams under duress every night. healthy the base of these three is a rock solid foundation. Any one of these players can go off for 30 and if you key in on one, they others two will step up.
2. Aubrey Griffin - She is the game changer that I think has been missing from a lot of these runs and against elite teams like Notre Dame and USC, Aubrey can match the speed, physicality and well rested - this is her final chance to prove her WNBA stock. She'll be ready.
3. Ashlynn and KK - I almost forget they come off the bench because they come in and look like starters. They have a defensive and offensive integer they can put in the game depending on the match up.
4. Jana El Alfy - What she showed at South Carolina was that when she stakes are high, she will play her best. I hope that pattern keep going because at 6-5, UConn will need her.

No Chen?
It seems she is always forgotten ...

 

[Bone Dog]

You can win an NC with 70 pts, as long as you hold the opponent to 69.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

You know me, not long on analytics. Just going to say : No one wants to face the possibility of being South Carolinaed by the Huskies.

 

[From Canada]

Why UConn will dominate March Madness 2025!

 

[Vancat]

1: Paige and Sarah have stepped up, it's Azzi who we need more of. If we play a good team, and she's shooting hot like she did vs SC, the defense will swarm her and leave Sarah or Paige more open. If all three are a weapon, we're a problem.

this

 

[yhun89]

D

You can win an NC with 70 pts, as long as you hold the opponent to 69.

defense wins championships

 

[Bone Dog]

1: Paige and Sarah have stepped up, it's Azzi who we need more of. If we play a good team, and she's shooting hot like she did vs SC, the defense will swarm her and leave Sarah or Paige more open. If all three are a weapon, we're a problem.

It might be worth considering the possibility that this is exactly the way recent games have been playing out. Teams are so concerned about Azzi after the SC game that they've been focusing on her, allowing more space to Paige and Sarah. Azzi may not be the problem. She may already be the solution that's been unfolding before our eyes.

 

[Tonyc]

UConn will need 5 scorers to take the pressure off the Big 3

 

[Stagnant]

If UConn shoots well from 3 point range, they can and will beat any team in the tournament. If they shoot poorly; they are vulnerable.

 

[Vancat]

I feel like if we score more points than the other team we will win.

 

[CL82]

I'm looking forward to the tournament. In my opinion our "secret weapon" is tempo. We are going to look to speed up the game. I expect us to aggressively move the ball up court and look for shots early in our possessions.

At the same time we will utilize a soft three-quarter court pressure followed by an aggressive on ball defense to make it challenging for opponents to run their half court sets. We, finally, have the depth to do that. Imagine being harassed by Paige, Azzi, and Sarah. When you see them, go to the bench instead of getting a breather you face a fresh Ashlynn, KK and Aubrey, all of whom are excellent defenders. It's a potent mix.

That said, I am 100% confident that "we are doomed."

 

[maple]

x10000000 why are so many posters determined to put the whammy on us.

 

[Boreifs]

We have a legit team that is worthwhile to watch. But, they cannot have a game like Creighton in the Big East finals. They Scored 27, 13, 13 and 17. You need consistent scoring as well as defense at this stage of the tournament. Pressure is on Paige. But I think that the pressure is more so on Azzi and Ash. They have to make their shots at 50 to 60% clip.

They don’t ever have to play three games in a row on consecutive nights in the NCAAs, or play a ranked team three times.

 

[ERWUC65]

UConn will need 5 scorers to take the pressure off the Big 3

Well, they would have to rely on Ash and Aubrey for 10 points each. That certainly is doable and we have seen it in the past, albeit in spurts, so here's looking at a resurgence by both in the tournament.

 

[Rowdy831]

We have a legit team that is worthwhile to watch. But, they cannot have a game like Creighton in the Big East finals. They Scored 27, 13, 13 and 17. You need consistent scoring as well as defense at this stage of the tournament. Pressure is on Paige. But I think that the pressure is more so on Azzi and Ash. They have to make their shots at 50 to 60% clip.

Geno didn't want that game to be more than 20 for the good of the conference. The Big East already has the reputation of UConn and they a bunch of average teams so pounding the number 2 team had no up side. They also didn't really put the real full court pressure out there too often so I am not concerned.

 

[Rowdy831]

To me you have three players that are keys to winning games and two that are role players that will be needed to beat certain teams along the way. Jana for example could probably sit out 80% of the games and nothing would change but if she doesn't play well against UCLA it could be a bad thing for UConn. I do hope that Aubrey is available though, she can make a difference in close games with her nose for the ball and hustle.

 

[Bone Dog]

To me you have three players that are keys to winning games and two that are role players that will be needed to beat certain teams along the way. Jana for example could probably sit out 80% of the games and nothing would change but if she doesn't play well against UCLA it could be a bad thing for UConn. I do hope that Aubrey is available though, she can make a difference in close games with her nose for the ball and hustle.

I don't care for this analysis. The term 'role player' seems to understate the importance of several players, especially if it suggests they are one-dimensional. Geno's system depends almost entirely on 'role players' who do more than one thing. It always has. Maybe we should coin a new term: 'roles players.' I'd offer that we have 6 [or 9] roles players -- Paige, Azzi, Sarah, Ash, KK and Kaitlyn, have one evolving set of roles. Ice, Aubrey and Jana represent a different set of roles, perhaps not quite as complex as those of the other 6. I say that last bit cautiously, because Geno's schemes have layers and it's easy to miss how many things he asks his post players to contribute to the team.

 

[jcoton56]

Well, I for one don’t think there are 63 teams lining up hoping to get the Huskies.

 

[itsasport]

UConn, due to a combination of players getting healthy and coaching, are a much better team than they were at the beginning of the season. and, it seems to me, the other top teams have not only not gotten better, they have retrogressed. They have all lost to each other and have often looked bad in doing so.

Has there been any noticeable improvement in individual basketball skills or team offense or defense of the other top teams over the course of this season?

The UConn coaching staff, on the other hand, has traditionally demonstrated that they can significantly improve individual basketball skills and also team offensive and defense.

For instance, is anyone still saying that Notre Dame has the best backcourt- perhaps some are. But ND has probably regressed the most of all the top teams.


By tournament time, UConn will have a seamless ten player rotation that will present huge problems and have answers for any team that they will play. The burden of success will not lay on any player, or even any two players.

Offensively, all that has been needed is some points from everyone and a monster quarter or half from an individual player to blow a game open. Every UConn player has been able to score in critical moments throughout the course of a game. No single player has had to carry the team for a whole game. They know others will be able to take the baton.


In the tournament, no UConn player will have to play 40 minutes in a game. There will be no UConn player playing on fumes at the end of a game, resulting in fewer balls hitting short off the rum and the ability for UConn to play intense team defense for 40 minutes.

 

[Bald Husky]

I'm sorry to have to say this, but UConn will never get a number 1 seed in any year unless they go undefeated. Big East games do not enhance our resume, in fact it goes against us. We must go unbeaten in conference as always, plus we must win every OOC game we play.
Let's face it, our conference affiliation is hurting us as regards to the P4.