UCONN/ND prediction: poetry in motion

[JFC613]

1. That is not what I said. I said to double down on Stewart when she enters the post. If UConn shots perimeter jump shots all game then there is not a doubt in my mind that UConn will get beat.
2. The defense is getting better but is not even close to the defense of the past. Even in the Gulf Coast Tournament stopping the oppoenents guards fronm penetrating has been a problem. It was covered up in large part by the inability of those lesser teams to make shots but I agree it has been getting better but I don't think it is good enough just yet.
3. Coach McGraw (WHO I ABSOLUTLY DESPISE) is a great in game X's and O's coach an honestly has won at least 3 games against UConn by coaching. Last year ND got EVERY shot they wanted against UConn they just didn't make them. Not that that would have made a difference because UConn was by far the best team in the country last year. Talent not coaching won last years NC.

Listen, do I hope UConn will win? Of course I do! I am a diehard UConn fan but I also have watched ND repeatedly and they are a very good team.

I like your analysis and honest appraisal. I too hate 'Muppet' also, but I do agree that as far as X's & O's she's a good coach. I've been concerned about our guys over the years in close games as we've seemed to buckle in too many. And, most of those have been against, you guessed it, 'Muppet' and her crew. So, we'll see if we've matured and can muster up the tenacity we had in the second half against GB? In any event it will be a great test again for us early in the season. I believe Geno will have them ready. The raucous atmosphere in Stanford has them with a good feel for what their in store for.......Go Huskies!!

 

[Geno-ista]

I think we are headed into ND in a pretty hood place mentally and physically. I'm feeling an 8 pt game-.UConn 77-ND 71. Not sure their young talent is ready yet for this game either. Home court is a huge advantage. Could be closer but I think we win.

 

[RadyLady]

1. That is not what I said. I said to double down on Stewart when she enters the post. If UConn shots perimeter jump shots all game then there is not a doubt in my mind that UConn will get beat.
2. The defense is getting better but is not even close to the defense of the past. Even in the Gulf Coast Tournament stopping the oppoenents guards fronm penetrating has been a problem. It was covered up in large part by the inability of those lesser teams to make shots but I agree it has been getting better but I don't think it is good enough just yet.
3. Coach McGraw (WHO I ABSOLUTLY DESPISE) is a great in game X's and O's coach an honestly has won at least 3 games against UConn by coaching. Last year ND got EVERY shot they wanted against UConn they just didn't make them. Not that that would have made a difference because UConn was by far the best team in the country last year. Talent not coaching won last years NC.

Listen, do I hope UConn will win? Of course I do! I am a diehard UConn fan but I also have watched ND repeatedly and they are a very good team.

(1) I read this as otherwise. And I disagree.
(2) Game time should be interesting
(3) Agree to disagree

 

[RadyLady]

I like your analysis and honest appraisal. I too hate 'Muppet' also, but I do agree that as far as X's & O's she's a good coach. I've been concerned about our guys over the years in close games as we've seemed to buckle in too many. And, most of those have been against, you guessed it, 'Muppet' and her crew. So, we'll see if we've matured and can muster up the tenacity we had in the second half against GB? In any event it will be a great test again for us early in the season. I believe Geno will have them ready. The raucous atmosphere in Stanford has them with a good feel for what their in store for..Go Huskies!!

And I would ask if it is the X and O of Geno or the execution thereof. I understand that this is a chess game of sorts, yet poor execution can nullify the best laid plays. Not prepared to give this to McGraw.

 

[HoopsFan21]

1. That is not what I said. I said to double down on Stewart when she enters the post. If UConn shots perimeter jump shots all game then there is not a doubt in my mind that UConn will get beat.
2. The defense is getting better but is not even close to the defense of the past. Even in the Gulf Coast Tournament stopping the oppoenents guards fronm penetrating has been a problem. It was covered up in large part by the inability of those lesser teams to make shots but I agree it has been getting better but I don't think it is good enough just yet.
3. Coach McGraw (WHO I ABSOLUTLY DESPISE) is a great in game X's and O's coach an honestly has won at least 3 games against UConn by coaching. Last year ND got EVERY shot they wanted against UConn they just didn't make them. Not that that would have made a difference because UConn was by far the best team in the country last year. Talent not coaching won last years NC.

Listen, do I hope UConn will win? Of course I do! I am a diehard UConn fan but I also have watched ND repeatedly and they are a very good team.

Muffet is a great in-game Xs and Os coach. I don't like her smirking attitude and she looks like she could start stomping on the side lines any moment, but I will give her credit where it is due. How quickly some forget how many times she coached her team to a victory over UConn. What was it 4 or 5 wins between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons? How many close games has UConn won in the last decade? How many OT games? If it's close, and given that it's on the road, you have to give the edge to ND.

 

[Ouremblem]

Me thinks it all depends on Stewie. Will she rise?

Muffet is a great in-game Xs and Os coach. I don't like her smirking attitude and she looks like she could start stomping on the side lines any moment, but I will give her credit where it is due. How quickly some forget how many times she coached her team to a victory over UConn. What was it 4 or 5 wins between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons? How many close games has UConn won in the last decade? How many OT games? If it's close, and given that it's on the road, you have to give the edge to ND.

My question is we're up by 3 with 10 seconds left. What will Geno do if ND has the ball? Will he foul? Or will he put Breanna at the head of the key to intimidate the ball handler and let them launch a prayer over her? My only concern is Breanna could jump straight up and still get the foul call.

 

[watanabe]

Pooh on ND. My moneys on the Huskies.

 

[Geno-ista]

Muffet is a great in-game Xs and Os coach. I don't like her smirking attitude and she looks like she could start stomping on the side lines any moment, but I will give her credit where it is due. How quickly some forget how many times she coached her team to a victory over UConn. What was it 4 or 5 wins between the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons? How many close games has UConn won in the last decade? How many OT games? If it's close, and given that it's on the road, you have to give the edge to ND.

HoopsFan- I don't accept your premis about ND beating us in close games because we crack or they are better coached . My feeling is that the years we were getting beat by ND the pre Stewie years, ND had better guards, a more veteran team, a deeper team and they were just a better team those years. I've been saying this for a long time. And when Geno was asked by Kara Lawson in Nashville after #9, how he has been able to go undefeated in championship finals, geno said, because he always went in with the better team. Maybe once he thought he won without the best team. When Stewie became Stewie late her freshman season, and we were a better team, we crushed them. ND always had the best guards.

 

[HoopsFan21]

HoopsFan- I don't accept your premis about ND beating us in close games because we crack or they are better coached . My feeling is that the years we were getting beat by ND the pre Stewie years, ND had better guards, a more veteran team, a deeper team and they were just a better team those years. I've been saying this for a long time. And when Geno was asked by Kara Lawson in Nashville after #9, how he has been able to go undefeated in championship finals, geno said, because he always went in with the better team. Maybe once he thought he won without the best team. When Stewie became Stewie late her freshman season, and we were a better team, we crushed them. ND always had the best guards.

Perhaps. But the other close losses bug me enough to realize it's more than just a question of talent when it comes down to the wire like that. Believe me, no one is more thankful than I am that it rarely does, but do you think Stanford has the better team? UConn's 0-5 in its last OT games. I don't think UConn's record is much better in games decided by <10 points. The Baylor game several years ago was the only one I can think of that was close that they pulled out. I think one of the horde tweeted out the stats after the Stanford game. My belief is the players just aren't ready for those situations, and there's not much room to direct blame except at the coaching staff for having an unprepared team. They may be great if they ever find themselves down 10 with a minute left and having to play against 8 players, but figuring out how to burn clock or effectively inbound the ball because if you don't you will lose? Not so much. Also, whenever they call time out with :20 left in the first half to draw up a play, it looks like a middle school team out there when it comes to executing it. To my amateur eyes, it seems like they just aren't comfortable with final play of the half/game "execute or lose" type situations, and it has been this way for a while no matter what combination of 5 players they've trotted out there.

 

[Geno-ista]

It is hard to explain. They better improve this year , because I think they will have a lot of these types of games this season and leading up to the championship game.

 

[itsasport]

I watched the first half of the ND-Kansas game. While the outcome was still in question, ND's entire offense was from Loyd, Allen and Mabry. None of them can be left open for 3's. The first two were only 1-1 each. It was Mabry who went 5-7. The good news is that she is the easiest to guard. They also used screens very effectively. Kansas too often went under the screen and it cost them. The guards were also the most active defensively. they repeatedly double-teamed the Kansas guards, who, being freshmen, did not seem to see it coming and did not pass to an open teammate.

ND's real weakness both offensively and defensively is in the 4 and 5 positions. Neither Reimer or Turner are strong offensive players. They took only 10 shots combined in the whole game and almost none in the first half. They also do not play big or strong defensively. I think that the heavy pressure on the Kansas guards was partly to prevent them from passing it into the front court, particularly to Gardner, who went 7-15.

ND is going to clog the inside. Stewie and Tuck should be constantly moving from the post to the 3-point line for open shots, and if they're followed out by Reimer or Turner, etc. to drive past them. This would be a great time for Tuck to have a break-out game from behind the arc. This is a game in which Kiah should be a big help. She is a better rebounder then anyone on ND and she could disrupt their guard penetration. She could even score some points.

When Kansas got the ball to to a player near the basket, ND sent a player in to help, and the Kansas guards got open shots, they just didn't make enough of them. If KML, Nurse and Mo can hit threes, ND is cooked.

UConn's A game will beat ND's A game. The difference, like in the Championship, will be the bigs, even without the lady with the green hair.

 

[sawxfan23]

ND's real weakness both offensively and defensively is in the 4 and 5 positions. Neither Reimer or Turner are strong offensive players. They took only 10 shots combined in the whole game and almost none in the first half.

You do realize that Turner is their 2nd leading scorer at 15 ppg, averages just under 2 blks and 2 steals per game and is one of the best posts in the country right? Reimer while not being as good as Turner also averages 9 pts and 7 rebs and is a very solid player in the post.

 

[DavidK]

All I see is Notre Dame knows us well and that's an atvantage for them.

We know them just as well as they know us, and just like Bria and Steph, they graduated McBride and Achonwa.

And I know I can't confirm or deny it but I believe KML was sick at Stanford and shutting her down isn't as easy as saying it.

Geno isn't to bad at shutting down/limiting a teams best player either himself. Last I checked also Loyd shot 27% in the NC game and only had 13 points, and that was with a large focus on McBride.

Uconn wins 77-61, Nurse puts on a show and steps into the national spotlight.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My biggest concern is the officiating, especially phantom calls on us. That said, we need to be mentally tough and need at least 3-4 players to have good games. Kaleena and Stewie are the keys. If they both struggle, everyone else needs their A+ games. I really want to see Kiah shut down the lane.

 

[watanabe]

All I see is Notre Dame knows us well... ...Nurse puts on a show and steps into the national spotlight.

Yeah baby! Also would add: Nurse leads the team to unrestricted scoring and stifling defense allowing ND only 34 points.

 

[BigBird]

My biggest concern is the officiating, especially phantom calls on us.

I am almost afraid to ask, but why does it seem that officiating, both phantom calls and otherwise tends to play a bigger than average role in games played at ND?

 

[Tonyc]

All this worry about ND. Hey they lost Baker and McBride, they struggled their last game. Tonites game will show me how good NDs defense is. I think ND on paper should win by a lot. When it comes to UConn were pretty good right now compared to every body else. No we are not last years team and we are not last years defensive team but what team is. ND isn't as good as they were last year either. Duke lost 5 seniors, Stanford lost Chiney. SC brought everybody back and theyre good. I know this. Geno made some adjustments with this team and we look really good executing. We have good balance from all 5 spots. Its gonna take a lot to slow us down. We know ND will try to stop KML and Stewie. Everybody else will step it up. UConn by double digits. As far as phantom calls at ND. That's just the way it is. It used to be that way at Tenn when we played down there too. I think the refs will make the difference in this game and we wont see as many phantom calls.

 

[Shenandoah]

My biggest concern is whether Kiah Stokes starts to play the kind of game that we all feel she is capable of. It must drive Geno CRAZY when she misses layup after layup. She has shown in the past that she has the kind of makeup to be a difference maker. Geno has said that she consistently hits the 12-15 ft. jumper in practice. She had to show some consistency. Saturday would be a good place to start. If she gets 10-12 points, 10 boards, and 5+ blocks, UConn wins by double digits.

 

[pvdoggy]

My biggest concern is whether Kiah Stokes .... If she gets 10-12 points, 10 boards, and 5+ blocks, UConn wins by double digits.

You don't ask for much, do you ? She won't be on the floor enough to get that kind of stat line.

 

[Shenandoah]

What Kiah does when she is on her game, at least defensively, is to discourage opponents from driving the lane with no fear. Our guards have shown that they are fully capable of being blown by for layups. Kiah stops that. If, as you say, pvdoggy, she isn't in there long enough to get a 10-10-5 stat line, look for Jewel Lloyd to go off for 25, and ND winning. JMO...

 

[pvdoggy]

What Kiah does when she is on her game, at least defensively, is to discourage opponents from driving the lane with no fear. Our guards have shown that they are fully capable of being blown by for layups. Kiah stops that. If, as you say, pvdoggy, she isn't in there long enough to get a 10-10-5 stat line, look for Jewel Lloyd to go off for 25, and ND winning. JMO...

People can overlook it when you are winning by a big margin in the last few games, but the guards (Jefferson, KML, and even Nurse) continually get driven by guards from Vandy and GB. Meghan Cuomo mentioned that may times in the broadcast about the continued problem of UConn guards unable to keep the other guards in front of them. I think Lloyd and Allen will give the UConn guards a lot of problem like what the Stanford's guards did. I still hope UConn win.

 

[JoePgh]

Guards as quick as Stanford's or Notre Dave's will often get past any defender. Even Kelly or Kalana would have trouble with them.

The problem in the Stanford game was that there was no help defense in the same area code as the opposing guard with the ball. I thought that problem appeared to be fixed in Florida (granting that the opposition wasn't of the same quality).

I don't think that the Irish can win if that part of their offense is neutralized. Ms. Mabrey is not going to beat UConn all by herself from the three-point line, and Turner is not going to score consistently on UConn's bigs.

By the way, I don't think Stanford played exceptionally well in their game against UConn; I thought UConn played poorly on defense. I don't expect to see that repeated against the Irish.

 

[pvdoggy]

By the way, I don't think Stanford played exceptionally well in their game against UConn; I thought UConn played poorly on defense. I don't expect to see that repeated against the Irish.

I agree with this... I have rewatched the Stanford game a couple times and I still find it shocking that UConn lost and it is mainly due to defense. Another thing I have not heard people mentioned, but I see it over and over in games, Jefferson gambles a lot on defense, which is what happened in the last possession in the Stanford game as well. I rather see Jefferson plays tight but normal defense. Gamble does not pay off as much as people think.

 

[itsasport]

You do realize that Turner is their 2nd leading scorer at 15 ppg, averages just under 2 blks and 2 steals per game and is one of the best posts in the country right? Reimer while not being as good as Turner also averages 9 pts and 7 rebs and is a very solid player in the post.

How many teams with any size and strength up front has she played against so far? She didn't do anything against Kansas. Let's see how she fares against Maryland in a few hours.

 

[Orangutan]

How many teams with any size and strength up front has she played against so far? She didn't do anything against Kansas. Let's see how she fares against Maryland in a few hours.

She was instrumental in the 2nd half against Michigan State, easily the best team ND has played.

Also, 7 pts, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in 21 minutes is far from nothing.

 

[ballhawk]

The new Uconn(post Stanford) is vastly improved. On a neutral or home court I believe we're the best team in the country. On their home court it's not so clear. All I feel comfortable in predicting is a close game. If Stewie is Stewie we'll win.

 

[winlots]

You are out there Win- I like it!

\
GENO: Thanks you; it has been noted by some that we seem to travel in the same orbit.

 

[winlots]

Those manhattans must have been good and strong, Win! Seriously, that was inspired!

CHI: Thank you.....inspired is certainly a wonderful compliment. Re the manhattan reference, sounds like the voice of some experience? Actually, that poem night was one of the nights I call an "A" night, for abstain.

(Not that anyone cares about such things, but a couple of you might find this interesting: my wife is active on the Scholarship Committee at her church, and some years back, they awarded one to a wonderful young Albanian girl who was a recent arrival from her homeland. We've become social pals, and when one or the other of the family is able to go back home for a visit, they bring us a small random bottle of what they proudly call "Moonshine." It's white and powerful.....and tonight was cold, damp, and dreary. End of story. ) PS: for Albanians to be permitted to come to the US, they must enter and win a lottery.....no money, just permission to come to the USA. How about that??

 

[reno tony]

Just finished watching the N.D./Maryland game and if N.D. plays the same way against UCONN they will lose. Maryland was able to drive the lane pretty easily for a lot of lay-ups and a bunch of mid range shots. They got a lot of open threes as well. The only reason they lost is they didn't shoot nearly as well as N.D. Plus N.D. got 16 more foul shots as Maryland.

I believe Tuck and Nurse will drive the lane easily, KML will get at least 10 open looks for her threes and Stewie will kill them in the paint. On the defensive end UCONN will have to play a lot better than they did against Stanford or N.D. will eat them up on driving to the basket. It will be interesting to see how Geno defends against Jewel. Does he play Kia or Moriah or possibly switch off on her. She will be a handful no matter how he defends against her. If Gabby lines up against Jewel it will be fun just to see the jumping match. Should be a great game and I go with UCONN by 7.

 

[Geno-ista]

I agree with this... I have rewatched the Stanford game a couple times and I still find it shocking that UConn lost and it is mainly due to defense. Another thing I have not heard people mentioned, but I see it over and over in games, Jefferson gambles a lot on defense, which is what happened in the last possession in the Stanford game as well. I rather see Jefferson plays tight but normal defense. Gamble does not pay off as much as people think.

She flat out blew it on that play by not staying with her defender to trap a player who was already double teamed.