UConn - Notre Dame post game

[Flyegirl]

In the post game press conference Geno said that when Paige got knocked down and landed on her face, she never came back after that. He said it was the second time in 10 days she has been hit hard in the face.

 

[npignatjr]

Nika fouled out with a lot of time to go and the game was effectively over. If anyone doubts Nika's importance to the team, this team ought to show otherwise.

Niele Ivey knows, that's why Hidalgo was guarding her.
UConn found out ND has a better freshman that anyone on UConn

 

[maple]

Did Geno explain in the post game why they made zero defensive adjustments to try and keep Hidalgo from killing us with easy drives?

 

[Drfla]

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.

What reserves? Brady was it and to be kind I’ll say she played poorly

 

[Inthepaint]

The second quarter was UGLY.

The 4th quarter wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty either

 

[Flyegirl]

Did Geno explain in the post game why they made zero defensive adjustments to try and keep Hidalgo from killing us with easy drives?

He said there was no communication on defense.

 

[npignatjr]

How do you let a 5’6” kid drive the lane over and over?

To her right, out coached. There was talk of Ivey being in the hot seat for underachieving, she did a better job tonight than Geno.

 

[msf22b]

Well what was she doing that was positive?

In the news conference, a reporter noted the huge +/-
differential when she was in vs on the bench...in parts of two quarters...I don't recall the exact numbers but check out the conference

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I've said it before, and I will say it louder after this game. I miss Azzi Fudd! Azzi is the biggest loss for this team. Defenses can key on Paige and force the ball out of her hand. This was the case the entire game. Paige had to work hard for every shot. But with a player like Azzi, the opponent has to account for her at all times which frees up the inside and creates easier opportunities for others.

Hildalgo was spectacular, and I expected her to be. (To me she's the best frosh in the country. With all due respect to Watkins and Williams) UCONN had no answer for her and no one who could guard her. On top of that, we missed a lot of bunnies in the paint and got caught with the wrong defender on the ball too often and paid for it.

I'm not upset with this loss. I don't like it. But it's not a shock to me that we lost. We have four freshmen (Ice redshirt) who play significant minutes. But none of them have played in these types of environments and on this level. Some games they will play well and others not so well. But in the end, the experience they are gaining will pay dividends. Bring on the next opponent, and Go Huskies!

hipressure-- --I agree with everything you wrote but I'd add the injured 5 on the bench would be averaging about 70 points a game! Not just Azzi being out made a difference, all 5 would make us just about unbeatable against all comers!

 

[willie99]

We have no bench, we can't lose a starter, and Nika took the game off

She's also a great defender. Could have used her a little more

Paige didn't have a great game, ND had something to do with that, but we need great Paige to beat the best teams

 

[maple]

He said there was no communication on defense.

Seems like something that should be covered in practice. Not a great look for the coaches or players that something like this can’t be fixed at some point in the game when it’s killing you.

 

[Woof 101]

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

I found the talking heads to be unbearable. I can accept the loss understanding our bench is walking wounded.
my criticize is toward the male announcer. At game end he made a statement of Hildalgo being of Puerto Rican decent.
In today's world why is that a meaningful point. Should it be pointed out that a particular player is black, white, or of any skin color? That and during the game nothing is pertaining to what is happening on the floor.
The game is what it was....The broadcast was simply pizzz poor all around.

 

[UCTitleTown]

The 4th quarter wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty either

Yeah, I almost said 4th too, but the 2nd set the tone.

 

[sun]

ND was ripe for a win which IMO sent multiple messages.

• Beating UConn should enhance ND's national ranking & they shouldn't be under-estimated.
• UConn lost scoring efficiency playing a bigger team because the bench wasn't used to sub for the inefficent players.
• It's clear that Geno didn't want to play Amari as a rim protector & perhaps now the Blues Brothers have sent him a message to try some new combinations to enforce better efficency. Could Amari play any worse than Ice?
• 4 players played 37 minutes or more each. Maybe UConn could have used some frsher legs & given some a breather to collect themselves & to be coached.
• The loss should be turned into a constructive learning expereince for both the team & the staff.
• Notre Dame was not intimidated by the induction ceremony They lost to Scar in France on national TV & had 2 historic losses to Syracuse which helped to set them up for this major win.
• Plus Hildago made quite an impression to the national audience about her committemnt to BB excellence for the next 4 years. She's attrecting a lot of fans through her talent & dedication.

I found the talking heads to be unbearable. I can accept the loss understanding our bench is walking wounded.
my criticize is toward the male announcer. At game end he made a statement of Hildalgo being of Puerto Rican decent.
In today's world why is that a meaningful point. Should it be pointed out that a particular player is black, white, or of any skin color? That and during the game nothing is pertaining to what is happening on the floor.
The game is what it was....The broadcast was simply pizzz poor all around.

The same announcer mentioned that Nika was from Croatia & how Shade is from Indiana, Paige is from Minnesota & that KK was from Germantown, Wisconsin.
In the past it's been mentioned that Lou Lopes Senechal was French & Mexican.
Puerto Rico is a country & even though it's a US territory it's much like a state.
Most know that Boston is from the US Virgin Islands, another US territory.
It's common to describe the cultural background of the players.

 

[npignatjr]

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.

I can't say how much Nika's consistent foul trouble is a liability to UConn's team effort. For her career including this year she averages 2.1 fouls a game.

 

[ballhawk]

There is a lot of criticism of Nika but when she was in UConn was even or ahead. When she was out with fouls Ice came in and the team collapsed. The offense stagnated. Notre Dame let Ice shoot and she can't shoot. She also doesn't seem to have any moves under the basket. With Nika in we had 5 more steals than Notre Dame in the first half. With our starting five we could have won the game. Nika can't make stupid fouls because Ice is not ready for prime time.

 

[donalddoowop]

All I can say is that ND had a great game plan and they executed it. Hidalgo is a phenomenal young talent. I’m not going to assign blame to any Husky players. ND deserves all the credit. They simply outplayed UConn tonight.

It reminded of the game against ND in the NCAA semis when Jackie Young scored over 30 points and drove by the UConn defense time after time.

 

[NEforceUConn]

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!!

Totally agree with you. They almost never showed the last semi-controversial play, except for Nika’s 4th foul (which was imaginary to me).

Also Gus Johnson has to stop trying to be Stephen A. The game was exciting, he didn’t need to over hype things. SNY rules.

 

[AzzisBraids]

If we had 1-2 consistent 3 point shooters then that alone would draw players away from Paige. I don't personally think Azzi was consistent enough that she made teams have to guard her. I'm talking about someone like LLS, KLS, KML. Someone you absolutely have to commit to defending. Azzi can be that good, but she also can go very, very cold.

I will respectfully disagree and agree here. Azzi was not consistent enough, I agree. But that doesn't matter. She can get hot or cold, but no team is going to take that chance. She's a superstar-level talent and her presence alone would be enough.

1-2 consistent 3 point shooters doesn't do much in this game. Muhl and Shade have been consistent this year and were there. The difference is when Paige touched the ball everyone payed attention, they wanted to reduce her to a playmaker and they did. They needed another superstar guard to attract attention and, though injured, on the current roster Fudd fits the bill. We can't resurrect LLS, KLS or KML.

 

[Blond D.]

Small quick guards are UCONN's Kryptonite.
Make Hildago go left, That would have slowed her down a bit. Not totally but some.
We just had a bad night of shooting. Not much was going in.
And I believe several of those fouls of Nikas were pretty iffy.

 

[AzzisBraids]

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

She disappeared because she was attracting the best or second best defenders

 

[AzzisBraids]

Niele Ivey is a smart, classy coach. Did you see how attentive her players were when she was barking instructions?
I hate losing, but tonight ND was the better team!

This was the difference, Ivey said jump and they didn't say "how high," they just jumped. Hildago made sure they knew what Nielle wanted every single time in the 3rd and 4th.

 

[sun]

This was the difference, Ivey said jump and they didn't say "how high," they just jumped. Hildago made sure they knew what Nielle wanted every single time in the 3rd and 4th.

She seemed to be transmitting instructions in a professional way by using hand signals & finger signs.
When the cameras focused on Geno, he seems to be either yelling or getting emotional.
I understand that coaches have different motivational styles & techniques, but it not very good optics for the natuonal audience & potential recruits to see Geno yelling & demonstrating to the players by faliing his arms around.
His delivery of instructions looks a little more haphazard.

 

[Cuango]

I don't know what to say.

But I knew that a different ND team should show up today compared to Thursday and look what happened. Sigh.

Missed bunnies and some absolutely devasting mental errors that just killed us every time we started to get momentum. You just can't have that, especially from the upperclassmen. There was one time when Paige tried to get cutesy with an extra pass when the easy bucket was right there ... why? Just why? Please just shoot the ball. Please just make the easy layups.

I love Nika but fouling out early into the 4th quarter is just plain terrible.

I don't understand how Syracuse was able beat ND twice and yet UConn just looked absolutely lost at time. The fact that they killed us on rebounding and points in the paint is just so hugely frustrating. How does that even happen?

Felt so positive about how much progression the team made this year and now I just feel like it's gonna be another out at the S16 again. Yes we're back to killing everyone in the BE but we haven't really been able to win the big games this year and it's worrying.

I know it's a young team and all that, but Hidalgo is also a freshmen. She put up 34 points! She practically single-handedly beat us, when we weren't beating ourselves with dumb fouls and/or TOs. And ND has also suffered from injuries as well, so it's not just us.

Not good. I don't know what they need to do but the SCar game is going to be a nightmare if they don't figure some stuff out before then.

I am trying really hard not to be a doomer but it's another bad big game. We are not where we need to be.

Our team is very good when all cylinders are firing but when one or two of your starting five, read: team gets shut down or even worse, fouls out, you are in big trouble! If one of them is named Paige and you are playing a big, physical team like ND, you are basically toast! Even Paige can have a bad night or get game planned out of the game! Couple that with a career night by one of the best freshmen in the country and this result is not really that surprising. Paige was harassed and doubled every time she touched the ball. I am shocked at how easy it seemed for ND but really it just shows what a razor thin margin of error we have against teams that we don’t match up well against.

Obviously its easy to be overly critical after that performance but there are so many areas that need to be addressed.
ND couldn't stop the pick and roll with Paige and AE in q3 and we completely went away from it.
KK needs to sometime find the open shooter when penetrating, lots of times its Shade, but she rarely passes, she shoots all the time.
The hardest and lease productive shot is the "Middy", pullups from the foul line. Paige takes way too many of those. she would be better if she took the threes that they give her.
Ice is left alone for a reason on offense. Also, I think I could drive by her.
Nika probably had her worse game at UCONN.

Paige is the best I’ve ever seen at what you call the “Middy”! As far as I’m concerned she can’t take too many of those! (I agree with most of the rest)

 

[sun]

Paige's new found role as a combo guard & power forward played right into the strength of ND.
They like to pack all around the lane & swarm the shooters like Paige.
She didn't have much room to operate at all.
She needed to be more opportunistic & not just try to force her will on them when it's like entering the devil's den.
UConn needed to get some more of the perimeter shots to fall & made only 28.57% of their 3's (4-14) compared to ND's 41.18% (7-17).
UConn's over-efficient shooting in the BE was bound to statistically even out against a bigger & tougher opponent.