UConn - SC post game | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UConn - SC post game

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You are not going to beat the consensus #1 team in the country on their court, with 4 of your 7 players being freshman.
The 4 freshman did not play well and don't seem to be improving on what they need to improve on.
As a senior, Nika Muhl does not seem to step up in big games. Who was she guarding and passing to?
Paige did not play well either, the shots she passes up vs the ones she takes makes it harder to score.
No Bench whatsoever.

Carolina is just as young as UConn. Paopao was the only senior starter, and she has another year if she wants it. Better team won, UConn has nothing to be ashamed of, and they can still reach all their goals.
 
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This is the reality of our injured season. The post Griffin era especially has highlighted the drop of between player 5 and 6 on the roster. It’s no margin for error.

Paige looked aggressive and battled. But was draped defensively and looks to be getting tired. Not rocket science that her efficiency is going down as the season progresses.

Aaliyah has been one of my favorite huskies. Reliable, steady. Wish she had played the full 40 as effectively as in the second half. But she was battling the boards especially in Q1.

Liked the confidence of Shade, but can’t help but feel like her many Q1 misses shot us into the initial hole. Would Azzi have been more efficient? Nobody knows but I liked the confidence.

Kk looks athletically like she belongs in these games. Just needs to refine her offensive game to score from all 3 levels. I hope next year she learns when to drive vs when not to drive.

Nika, oh boy. I’ve bitten my tongue on this for years. She’s just not athletically gifted enough. She’s the ultimate teammate, competitor, and energizer. Just doesn’t have the skills. She’s a defensive stopper yet in big games her mark goes off. She racks up assists in the big east but can’t create in big games. Doesn’t provide offense, is turnover prone, and foul prone. The irony, she’s still so much better than anybody on the bench. We need her, but in big games she consistently disappoints. Can she figure it out?

We just don’t have enough this year. I’ll still be watching every game, and rooting as hard as always. I can only pray that next season, we finally get healthy. It’s hard to stomach these losses when it feels like the injuries lost the games before we even had a chance to play the games. I’d like to see Paige and Aaliyah return. It’s doubtful, but I want a dominant season for them. They’re too good of players to not experience that.

Back to the big east we go. We’ll see if the team can figure things out before the tournament.
 
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I hate to be that guy, I'm a fan of everyone on the team but I do think this one is on Paige. They just don't have a great shot at winning these type of games if she doesn't play well. She missed a lot of clean looks. USC doesn't beat Stanford if Juju doesn't go crazy. Notre Dame doesn't win if Hidalgo doesn't go crazy. It's hard to win against a top 5 team if ur best player doesn't play well. I don't think it's for lack of effort but she struggled today.
 
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SC playing mostly flawless basketball for most of the game. The first quarter set the tone when SC made everything and UConn didn’t. It looked like Edwards and Bueckers were playing against Sputh Carolina by themselves. The freshmen are inexperienced and doing the best that they can but it wasn enough today.

Paige looked very frustrated, as she ought to be. She needs help and didn’t seem to get it today. Too many unsuccessful drives to basket by KK, coming up empty time and time again. Geno can have the best game strategy but the players need to execute. Edwards was great, Paige looked very tired out there but she kept her fire.

The loss can be a learning experience but the injuries are huge. The team showed heart but not enough skill. SC looked better without Cordosa!

still gotta love the huskies!
 
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Don’t understand Ice. Her head just doesn’t seem to be in the game. She doesn’t run hard down the court, she is out of position for rebounds, just very disappointed in her overall play and development.
I know she is coming off an injury from last year but she doesn’t seem to be playing to her potential at all.
 

Sluconn Husky

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I hate to be that guy, I'm a fan of everyone on the team but I do think this one is on Paige. They just don't have a great shot at winning these type of games if she doesn't play well. She missed a lot of clean looks. USC doesn't beat Stanford if Juju doesn't go crazy. Notre Dame doesn't win if Hidalgo doesn't go crazy. It's hard to win against a top 5 team if ur best player doesn't play well. I don't think it's for lack of effort but she struggled today.


Paige could've scored 40 today, UConn wasn't winning.
 
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I don't get how we have 3 point guards, but they can't get Edwards the ball early in the game. Minus UCLA she's been the best player in 4 of 5 UCONN losses against RANKED teams.
I think the problem is 2 of those 3 guards don’t have good jump shots (and Nika has improved) and are not actively looking to score, so teams can still drop off a bit if they want to.
 
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We're not elite program. If we were in the ACC, pac-12, SEC or Big 12 we would be fighting for 7-10 seed.

This season is a wash. Let's get healthy and Hit the reset button for next season.
I’ll simply ask what one of my favorite movie characters, Robert McCall, asks those that have been punished by others: “What are you going to do about it?”
 

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This game went about as expected but here's the reality that some UCONN fans simply have to face at this point: Even if UCONN was 100% healthy, this team is not as talented as SC and we would have probably still lost.

SC has assembled a deep roster filled with talent, many of which would be considered top talent at UCONN. Watkins, their 2nd second best center, would easily start at UCONN. Paopao would be the second best shooter. I haven't even mentioned Cardosa and how she would dominated this game by herself if she was playing. We haven't had a center with her talent in recent memory.

To add, which injuried player would have made this game closer? I love Azzi and Aubrey but both of them often wiltered against big time opponents. Jana is a unproven freshman. Ayanna was so-so as a freshman and is still unproven. Caroline is streaky and may never play again. We can blame the strength and conditioning coach and staff but the issues with the team are much deeper.

Furthermore, this game is kind of a bellweather of where UCONN is as a program right now. Other programs across the country have incredible young talent. ND has Hannah Hildago. USC has Juju Watkins. NC State has River Baldwin. USC has Wiley. Other programs have NIL deals and cultures that match if not surpass what UCONN has to offer. When Paige and AE leave, what do we have left?

So us fans can blame the refs, the injuries and "effort" (as if other teams don't play with effort) but the reality is that this is a good roster that can beat worse teams but will get their butts kicked against elite teams.
Completely agree but we may be only one tough super athletic kid away.
 

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We just don't have the big, fast talented players that is the trend for the elite teams.
We get blown by over and over while on defense.
Paige has become an effective facilitator but we need her to be the dominator.
What we lack in size and speed on defense we cannot compensate for because Geno doesn't believe in the zone.
 
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Watched the game and it's clear who the superior team in the country is right now. SC looks better than last season and checks more boxes. I think it's a tall order for anyone to take them out of the tournament given how wide the gap is between 1 and 2.

UConn looks how they should given their roster. The team has nothing to be ashamed of as their effort was quite good. How far they go in March will depend on the draw in the tournament. I could see S16, E8, or F4 depending on the matchups.
 

HuskyNan

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South Carolina's team makeup is the future of basketball...quick athletic players at all positions. The exact team composition that gives the current version of UConn problems. It's what LSU won with last season.

I hope Geno is recruiting quick, athletic players. If not, UConn's 'Final 4' days are over. May already be.
 
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Well... that was not what any UConn fan wanted, but what many of us feared. Congrats to SC for not only overwhelming us, but in beating us in every facet of the game. It's even more disappointing when one realizes that our result was no better than middle of the pack SEC teams vs. SC lately (Vandy lost by 17, Auburn by 22). What a get Paopao was for them from the portal.

The warning signs were there. A fair amount of lively debate recently by UConn fans over "who cares how you win - even if it's not pretty". Well, all the issues we saw, even in recent wins, were magnified and exposed in this game.

SC got contributions from almost everyone. Hall had an off shooting game, but SC had 4 starters in double figures, and got 19 points from the bench (UConn got 3 points from our bench - late 3 by Q).

Paige and Ash shooting 4-17 from 3 is not a recipe for anything good. The TO's and fouls from UConn actually weren't bad. We did show signs of life in the 4th quarter, but really had the end result of making the corpse more pretty. I think all our injuries really showcased just how little depth we have. When you start 2 freshmen and your only bench players are also freshmen, it's going to be inconsistent at best.

I think the team did do the best we could. Can't fault anyone for lack of effort or anything like that. SC is just the better team and while we are solid, all our flaws were exposed. I'm disappointed, but not down on the team. Look at what they have had to try to overcome this year!
Have to agree. And if this was a "measuring stick" of UCONN's maturity and development as a team, it showed we are likely to make it through the first round of the Big dance. Beyond that, it depends on which team we draw, and if our players can perform at a higher level than they did today. No one on UCONN could make a shot. The stats for Paige and Shade combined ( on outside shots ) reminded one more of Xavier than UCONN. I actually thought KK Arnold was our best player today, and she provides no offense at all.

And let's be honest, UCONN bench depth does not exist at this point in time. ICE scored nil and Q hit a three when no one was paying attention. But both players were overwhelmed by the SC talent they faced.

Nikka Muhl is one of my favorite players, but she was giving the ball away like candy at Halloween today. And Edwards played as though Cardoso was in the game. We saw little of Edwards' explosiveness or fearlessness ( I do believe she was injured on an early fall to the court). And her outside shot looked like she was trying it out for the first time. UCONN is doomed if they cannot hit from the outside. And PaoPaou hit threes like MKL used to do for UCONN. It is demoralizing. That's why we were so great back then. And why SC is so great now.

I hate to do so, but we have to credit SC for much of the poor performance of UCONN. SC runs better, they shoot better, they defend better. And they are deep in talent, whereas ( realistically ) we have three really good players ( one of which is not a scorer). Even their freshman ( who comes off the bench ) played with star quality. Clearly, SC will be 2024 undefeated, national champions.

We can focus on the Big East.
 
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Two common things I have witnessed in our 5 losses, quick guards who can score give us problems, and when we get behind we resort to one-on-one basketball. We stopped sharing the ball and then it was a free for all. I have no doubt an experienced KK next year will be better suited to guard quick guards than Nika, but we really needed Aubrey's defense, Azzi's shooting and Jana in the paint to allow AE to come out more on the perimeter. Simply put, we are a team that can beat 98% of the teams in the country, but clearly are not capable of winning against the elite teams, not this season. I am okay with that and have resigned to just enjoying the remainder of the season and the BE tournament.
It is hard for me to enjoy the BE tournament, because, really, the competition is pretty lame. I admit, due to the injuries, UCONN is descending a bit closer to the BE " pack." I think the real threat is that we don't get out of the round of 32 at the Big Dance. It is hard to win with all the offense designed to go through two players, and where the starting five has to go 40 minutes in any close game. Remember, earlier in the season, everyone was praising the offensive balance of this team ( five players in double figures ) now we have two players scoring 20, one scoring 13 and everyone else ranging from 0-6. KK, who played our best all around game, scored 2? ICE scored 0?
 
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I hate to be that guy, I'm a fan of everyone on the team but I do think this one is on Paige. They just don't have a great shot at winning these type of games if she doesn't play well. She missed a lot of clean looks. USC doesn't beat Stanford if Juju doesn't go crazy. Notre Dame doesn't win if Hidalgo doesn't go crazy. It's hard to win against a top 5 team if ur best player doesn't play well. I don't think it's for lack of effort but she struggled today.
I couldn’t agree more, your best players need to play their best in the biggest game, if the team is to win. I hate to say it and a lot of people will disagree, but i would not vote for Paige as an All American. I’m each of our losses, she was not the best player on the court, not even sure she was the best guard on that respective day:

NC State game, rivers was better
UCLA - KK Rice had more impact
Texas - Harmon was amazing
ND - Hidalgo, no question
SC - PaoPao

While Paige will probably get the AA hardware, it will be on reputation more than results.

Agree, it’s not for lack of effort, but she looks like them team has looked for a number of years now, mentally tired as much if not more than physically tired.
 
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South Carolina's team makeup is the future of basketball...quick athletic players at all positions. The exact team composition that gives the current version of UConn problems. It's what LSU won with last season.

I hope Geno is recruiting quick, athletic players. If not, UConn's 'Final 4' days are over. May already be.
Bingo, we have a winner
 

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Both teams suited up 9 players today.


Seriously? UConn has 7 players, two of which are freshmen not ready to play in that atmosphere against that team. It's a 5-player team.
 
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Unlike many here I was surprised we got beat so bad with Cardoso out. Guess I don’t know much.

I believe UConn still has a chance for the Final Four, but we’ll need 2 players to go off and have their best game of the season in the Regionals. Geno also needs to have a talk with 40 year old Geno to develop some game plans.

Go Huskies!
 
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