UConn - Notre Dame post game

[uconnfan68]

Me too! Whose idea was it to hold an interview for 5 minutes of game time while totally ignoring play by play??
The only replays were from several posessions earlier. They never replayed several vital plays.
Stephanie White is very knowledgable. But she talks endlessly during the action and doesn't give Gus Johnson a chance to call the game.
Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the broadcast!!

I thought White couldn’t get a word in. Almost muted it to keep from hearing Johnson talk about Clark.

 

[BigKahuna]

Uconn was completely outplayed by a better prepared team and coach tonight.
Two key turning points were when Geno subbed Brady for Muhl with a 12 point lead which led to a 21 point turnaround at the half. Ice is not a high level D1 player at this point (maybe never). Samuels was a way better option or even Bettencourt.
The other turning point was when Nika turned a 3 on 1 breakaway layup into a multi useless passes travesty into a travel when UConn was on a run. Game over at that point as all momentum was lost.
Lowlight for me was the lack of effort late when the team appeared to just give up.

 

[EasyEd]

I'm sure ND had a lot to do with it, but only 1 player really showed up... Edwards. Dumb freshman type fouls on Nika, Shade was cold from the outside, KK couldn't buy a layup or short jumper, Paige's shot was off, and our reserves, looked like reserves. We assisted on less than half of our shots, so people weren't looking for the open player and tried too much to win it on their own. And the defense was unable to contain Hildago and Westbeld. The 3 on 1 fast break that we flubbed, kind of epitomized the evening.

 

[The deacon]

So many things to take from this game. It is hard to know where to start. To begin with I have heard so many times that 5'6" is too small for basketball...well, I don't want to hear that anymore...let's not talk about the size of the player...you have to talk about the size of their heart. That kid has a huge heart and she plays the game with all of it. 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists...UConn had no answer for her. Nika couldn't guard her, KK couldn't guard her, and Paige couldn't guard her...kudos to Hildago...she certainly does not play like a freshman. And, we may very well have watched the performance that clinches her Freshman of the Year award.

Westbeld and Citron did their job...Westbeld stepped up and made big shots...Hildago and Citron found her over and over again. Marshall coming off the bench for 10 points was a bonus for the Irish. The irony of this game is those four players are the only ones who scored in this game. Westbeld, Hildago, and Citron accounted for 72 of the Irish's 82 points...ugggg!

Now to UConn...something was off for this game...the vaulted defense that we have watched over the last 9 games was nowhere to be found...I have to admit it left me scratching my head. I guess it just goes to show what a dominant point guard means to a team.

Paige was double and tripled teamed but, so what that means other players are open... Paige should understand that going forward in for the rest of the season...this game will be part of the scouting of our opponents. Teams will follow the blueprint to render Bueckers ineffective and force the rest of the team to win the game. We are going to need to run some screens to free up Paige. ND was great at setting screens and giving Hildago the ability to turn the corner and go in for an uncontested lay-up. Some weak side help would be good, taking charges or something. Giving the kid a free shot to the basket is unacceptable.

Shade and KK played well and did pretty much what I expected, scoring double-digits, and getting rebounds and steals. KK was 2-2 from three...while Shade's three-point shot was off going 0-6.

Special kudos to Aaliyah Edwards...her double-double against ND was impressive. She can't be expected to do it all on her own...she needs help. Ice tried but unfortunately, she still wasn't ready for the prime time. Brady only got one rebound, she has to do better.

I can't say how much Nika's consistent foul trouble is a liability to UConn's team effort. I do not prescribe to the notion that when Nika fouls out she shows how valuable she is to the Team. On the contrary, when she fouls out she shows what a liability to the team she is. We need her on the floor. We do not have anyone on the bench to replace her. Bettencourt is the best we got off the bench. She is a senior leader on the team...she doesn't help the team getting silly fouls and fouling out. Let's be real folks our opponents are not fouling out. KK and Shade aren't fouling out. They start the game and they finish the game. Nika needs to be mindful of her value when she is on the court...and she must understand her fouling out or being on the bench in foul trouble is a liability.

Sadly, UConn did some good things in this game...they had 13 steals and ND only had 4; UConn only had 13 turnovers while they forced 16 on ND. However, they got out-hustled on the boards 37 to 27. They allowed ND to outscore them in the paint 46 to 26. And, UConn did not shoot the 3 ball well at all. And the saddest of all was losing that way at home in front of all our alumni who were at the game. All in all, I like most of the boneyarders here am disappointed in this game...this was an opportunity to make a statement, gain some momentum, and make the argument that we deserve to move up in the polls. Oh well, it is back to the drawing board. Let's hope Geno can use this game to get more out of this team and the players will use this game as a reminder of what happens if you don't want to win more than your opponent wants to win.

Well said, Charlie (I'm learning that's your name.. if not, my apologies). Well done with your lengthy, yet on-point synopsis.

The only thing I'd add or modify is that I feel Sonia Citron was much better than just doing her job. I thought her defense on Paige (with plenty of help from teammates), and the combination of her key points and rebounds were pivotal in opening the Irish's lead in the second half. For a player sporting a leg brace, she was very impressive.

 

[jaydee602]

Well, at least Aaliyah got the memo. She showed up like she has for the past few years...critics and all.

One of the biggest improvements with Alliyah is that she does not miss her layups. She was so frustrating in past seasons when she clanked open layups after receiving sharp passes.
Now, as soon as she gets the ball with position near the rim, it's an automatic two points.

 

[Blacketh’D]

One of the biggest improvements with Alliyah is that she does not miss her layups. She was so frustrating in past seasons when she clanked open layups after receiving sharp passes.
Now, as soon as she gets the ball with position near the rim, it's an automatic two points.

Minus the beginning of the year when every pass slipped out of her hands in the post. She has shown much more patience though since the season has gone on.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Not always by any stretch; it tends to run in streaks. Two years ago we dominated them by 20 and then Paige had her flukish injury in the final minute. Since then yes, they've beaten us twice in a row, such kryptonite.

I don't see it as mysterious. This team is just vulnerable. Perhaps it was easy to forget that since we hadn't lost in two months. No depth and lack of size mean simply don't have much margin for error when a good opponent has a good game, and we simply cannot afford the failures and disappearances such as what we saw tonight.

Edwards played valiantly but one player is not enough. Other than that the best thing I can say about this game is at least no one got severely injured as happened in the last two Notre Dame games.

Since Tina graduated in 2010, UConn has lost in the Final Four 5 times. 4 of those losses were to the Domers. I'm also certain there's no other team that won 7 of 8 in a row against Geno like the Irish did between 2011 and 2013. For some reason the road just rises to meet them when there's a Husky on the other side of the court.

 

[Rings R Us]

Can someone out there please explain to me why Geno hates playing zone defense?

We needed it tonight. Need to make these adjustments when we are getting torched in man to man.

 

[Conndog]

This point is especially glaring when facing against an opponent who has a super talented player who does dominate from the start. Hildago never stopped trying to look to shoot and score. Never.

Hildago never stopped looking to shoot and score because no one stopped her period.

 

[maple]

I have a hard time dealing with the fact that when most every team plays UConn, it is the game of their season up to that point. Add to it a team that has been one of our "rivals" and seems to have won as many as they have lost. It sure seemed that ND wanted this game maybe a little more than we did.

[…] It's going to really, really hard getting to sleep this evening.

That’s basically my feelings in a nut shell …

 

[Zonepress]

Congrats to nd played a great game Hildago controlled the game
Few thoughts
I was curious to see how team play for the first time against a quality opponent without Aubrey Griffin: obviously, there was no margin for error and one of your starters is a non-factor due to fouls
And your best player doesn’t have a strong game
You get beat
Put simply the bench is not ready to play the game like this

Don’t believe that coaches get outcoached
It’s the players game
But will point out three things that’s a movie show less than stellar coaching
-Taking Paige Bueckers out for the last two minutes of the first half with both ice and cadence on the floor turned a three point deficit into nine
-Never adjusting to Hidalgo how many times are you going to let her best you one on one or pick and roll without sending another defender at her
Or maybe get some help from off the ball
-Down eight points with 3 1/2 minutes to go and instead of pressing all over the floor and gambling you just let Notre Dame come down the floor running clock in the pick and roll?

Playing against the big east teams (that while well coached ) is a real detriment they simply don’t have the talent or athleticism to test uconn
It’s just too easy for uconn
I think that lack of competition really hurt them today


Team has been really fun to watch this year
And I look forward to the rest of the season
But perhaps everyone should enjoy the season, not focus on what the outcome is going to be

 

[Plebe]

Since Tina graduated in 2010, UConn has lost in the Final Four 5 times. 4 of those losses were to the Domers. I'm also certain there's no other team that won 7 of 8 in a row against Geno like the Irish did between 2011 and 2013. For some reason the road just rises to meet them when there's a Husky on the other side of the court.

Your numbers are a bit off (missing at least one FF loss), but during that same period we also went a 5-year stretch when we didn't lose to them, including multiple regular season games, a national semifinal and two national championship games. As I said, streaks.

But why are we picking this over. We got dominated in this game much the same as in the NC State and UCLA and Texas games. Sometimes the reason is you're just not good enough.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Hard to win when you allow 55% shooting, get out-rebounded by 10, and your start player goes 5-17.

 

[boontonbomber]

Aaliyah scored her 23 points in the first 27 minutes. Why didn't she score in the last 13 minutes? Well, she didn't take a shot in the last 13 minutes. Nah, the coaches would have realized she wasn't getting the ball. No, really, she did not shoot in the last 13 minutes. Hmmm...,
Need more coaches on that bench. We'll, there are a bunch there already. That's true. Hmmm....

 

[Zonepress]

This was a bad loss. Not so much that they lost, but the way that they lost at home in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Where did the UConn suffocating defense go? It was porous. I know Hannah Hidalgo is fast & shifty, but how many times did she drive to the basket unencumbered?

It seemed that UConn reversed to the early part of the season where there was a lack of flow on offense. The ball movement was lacking and there was a lack of screens, and pick and rolls.

I love Paige, but playing passive, deferring to freshman has to end. Say what you will about Caitlin Clark, but some games, even when her shot is off, she keeps firing and shoots herself into a rhythm. That pass to KK underneath on a 3 on 1 was a prime example.

Give credit to ND. After laying up at home against Syracuse, they came out focused and determined. Although Hidalgo was the star of the game, Maddy Westbeld killed UConn with timely threes and Sonia Citron did a commendable job covering Paige. She never allowed Paige to get into a rhythm.

Completely agree re paige

 

[uconnfan68]

Since Tina graduated in 2010, UConn has lost in the Final Four 5 times. 4 of those losses were to the Domers. I'm also certain there's no other team that won 7 of 8 in a row against Geno like the Irish did between 2011 and 2013. For some reason the road just rises to meet them when there's a Husky on the other side of the court.

UConn 38, ND 15; UConn 12, Stanford 7.

 

[Huskie837]

We’re a #3 seed, maybe. Lulled to sleep by success in the Big East…
Terrible game…

 

[Zonepress]

This isn't a criticism or second guess! Just a question for the forum:
Do you think Geno benching Paige for part of the 2nd quarter motivated her or contributed to her offshooting night?
Or did it have zero effect on Paige?

I don’t know what effect it had on her, but let the lead go from two points to nine in the last two minutes of the game with her out

 

[maple]

This isn't a criticism or second guess! Just a question for the forum:
Do you think Geno benching Paige for part of the 2nd quarter motivated her or contributed to her offshooting night?
Or did it have zero effect on Paige?

Paige has said she likes to be coached hard. So one would assume it should be motivating her.

I think tonight however the effect was net zero.

 

[uconnfan68]

Trying to give her a break.

 

[jaydee602]

Paige got hurt in the first half. Geno said it affected her the rest of the game.
Except the announcers were too enamored with Diana Taurasi and the legend of Caitlin Clark to even notice it.

 

[Drfla]

There's absolutely no correlation with Nika fouling out and UConn losing. We were soundly defeated and Nika's performance tonight was marginal. Wow, you talk about disassociated logic...

Nika’s importance is because there is no bench. From watching the game I think UConn was a plus while Muhl was in the game but more than a -20 when she was replaced by Brady.

 

[Fishy]

I’ve seen this exact game more then a few times from this team.

Strong start, then the wheels start to come off until all four of them are gone in the 4th. They were resigned to their fate in the fourth quarter - what little fight they had in them was entirely gone when they failed to gain the lead at the end of the third.

The unforced errors put them down in the second and kept them from getting a gap in the third. Our fast break was a blooper reel….13 steals vs four for Notre Dame translated to only +6 for UConn in fast break points. Really need more there to offset the beating they were giving us in the paint.

All that aside….the no-call on the tackle by Notre Dame and awarding them possession to bank in a three at the half was about the worst call I’ve seen in a long time.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Did Hidalgo drive left on any pick and roll tonight? And I don't recall a single hedge. Granted I kept closing my eyes.

 

[todbo]

It's amazing to me, that as a senior, she still makes that many mental errors. That was the worst game she's ever played.

She only played about half of the game. With her on the bench, ND went on game-ending runs. Defense leads to offense, but you gotta have defense...

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Nika’s importance is because there is no bench. From watching the game I think UConn was a plus while Muhl was in the game but more than a -20 when she was replaced by Brady.

Nika's play is on Nika. She took herself out of the game.

 

[Zonepress]

I think the phrase "bad game" fits much better. It happens. And ND played very well coming off a loss.

Imho this is who we are since the loss
Of Aubrey
We’ve been beating BE teams that have no business being within 30 to 40 points of us and this is the first time we play the team with
Talent And we got beat badly at home.
Unfortunately, they play 10 more of these miss matches and have a nightmare matchup against South Carolina on the road as we simply don’t have a bench
Still a fun team to watch and look foward to rest of the season but expectations are not high

 

[Jbigfan]

We make the most head scratching decisions, I stg. We were absolutely killing them inside with AE and then we just .... didn't keep doing it. WHAT is the thought process.

i’ll always remember late 90’s, final 4 in St. Louis v ND, half time, up by 16. Kelly Schumacher having monster gm inside & they stopped going into her 2nd half. We lost. Still scratching my head

 

[Zonepress]

I don't think that fits either. It wasn't that they just played poorly, it was that they couldn't play well against this team. The length bothered them, the speed of Hidalgo killed them, the defense that the freshmen don't play well enough created opportunities on switches for Westbeld all game long. A game like this shows all of our weaknesses, including Ice's lack of development and speed, our thin bench, our size disadvantage, and our lack of a defensive stopper. We needed Aubrey, more size and power underneath, Caroline and Azzi's scoring and the list goes on. You are what you are though so we will see but you can't have one of your starters have a game like Nika did and win. Not going to happen.

Great post pretty much covers everything

I actually thought we could overcome the injuries until Aubrey got hurt
With her I thought we still
had a chance to do
Some great things

 

[Zonepress]

Azzi disappeared against quality competition and wouldn’t have made a difference.

Not fair she played like 5 games compltely
Healthy in two years at start of last seaon
And avg close to 30 against top comp
Texas no stste