UCONN - SJU post-game thread [merged]

[DefenseBB]

They moved the game to UBS arena to accommodate an expected larger crowd and only 2,910 show up. What a waste and doesn't make St. John's fans look good.

So I vehemently disagree with this assessment.
#1. SJU averages 343 fans for their home games this year
#2. This was the first Women’s Basketball game at the UBS Arena
#3. This arena is only 9.5 miles east of Campus so much easier for the school to make it there.
#4. I met the SJU AD and he is trying to help build thé excitement and product with this promotion effort and building a new relationship with UBS Arena
#5 Tonight’s crowd was almost 3 times the previous largest crowd SJU has played before.
#6. More SJU Boosters came tonight than have ever attended games before so frankly Kudos to SJU in this effort.
Not all programs can do what UConn can but a few are trying and making incremental steps. Laid them for it.

 

[DefenseBB]

Up close and personal with Azzi

 

[DefenseBB]

 

[DefenseBB]

One of Dorka

 

[EasyEd]

My biggest impression was that for the most part the defense was great against a good opponent. Aubrey really seemed to stifle the St. John's player and that seemed to be the tipping point for St. Johns. The third quarter was the Johnnie's comeback effort and the best they could do was tie UConn. My guess on the game's score didn't take into account how well the defense has jelled. I will give them more credit in my next prognostication. All stats looked good except for fouls. But sometimes I think the game gets too fast for the refs. Even in the replay it didn't look like Edwards should have gotten her third foul, so I guess it was a bad decision, but a heck of a play.

 

[DEpup]

Dorka also doesn't turn it over much and doesn't foul much, which is a little unusual for a big, and allows her the play major minutes.

I have to say that the time off seemed to do Dorka the most good. She was looking really run down in the last couple games. She seemed full of energy tonight.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I wonder how many of those 2910 attendees were rooting for UConn. Not a difficult
road trip for UConn fans.

 

[Boreifs]

The way Dorka and Alijah are playing right now, with two guards like Azzi and Lou, the nation’s assist leader and an incredible team defense (hello Audrey), this team is going to be very hard to beat in the tournament. If Caroline is also healthy, add two impact players on the bench. They have a legitimate shot IF no one gets injured.

 

[Boreifs]

I wonder how many of those 2910 attendees were rooting for UConn. Not a difficult
road trip for UConn fans.

UConn’s game at Creighton was sold out (I was there). At their game against Seton Hall tonight, it was less than half full. That for a team that made the Elite Eight last year. Really disgusting.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

The games against the LVs in Knoxville and later against the Gamecocks will
tell us more about our chances than routine beatdowns of Big East opponents.

 

[AzzisBraids]

I will admit it, St Johns game plan was brilliant. Get Lou off the floor early. She's a big threat. As soon as Azzi checked in, pretty sure the coach sat down.

Fudd still looks like the best player in the country, shooting, passing, defending: She's that girl
National Assist Leader Nika is looking for her shot, beware
Lopez-Senechal is shooting lights out, may be the best guard in the upcoming draft
Dorka's court vision is underrated and her versatility is insane
Aubrey is Aubreying
Aaliyah is returning to form
And Ayanna and Caroline didn't even play...
Geno realizing he can take a few days off because CD is around

last year Paige Bueckers came back in the St Johns game to UConn at home after a knee injury against Notre Dame. This year Azzi Fudd returns from injury in the Notre Dame game to a rout on the road in St Johns. UConn has had a tough few years but I still feel bad for St Johns

 

[hoophuskee]

Really love how Geno manages a game. The team has had issues with Turnovers so he keeps his core in to work on basic fundamentals. And it pays off. He doesn’t over-coach by over forcing substitutions; instead plays his core; which drills in more chemistry within the group. This has always been his strength how he manages minutes resulting in wins and maintaining super recruiting.

Azzi Fudd’s presence, the presence of a superstar is what makes UCONN a contender. An absolute joy to watch her and the team flow in such an efficient manner. The core’s chemistry is going to be the reason why UCONN gets to FF and wins a title or not. Not the 10th player on the bench.

Eagerly awaiting Caroline’s return and pray for good health the rest of the way. Also, hopeful that as season progresses Nika will show no fear in shooting the ball and knocking down outside shots in a consistent manner. Hit your free throws!

How the game has changed: In 2nd half- Edwards gets a rebound to lead a break with Azzi to her left and one defender back. She doesn't pass the ball to the guard which back in the Dark Ages a long, long, long time ago when I played--> a big gives up the ball to the guard on a fastbreak. Instead she takes the ball near all the way to the basket while Azzi instead of following towards the basket or stops at FT line then fades much wider left to 20 feet from the basket.

You then have your post player not looking to score inside, instead, from the paint, she throws the ball across the lane out to the 3-pt line. Then Azzi catches the ball and she passes to "The Trailer." Back in my day "The Trailer" was "the Center (ie Dave Cowens) taking a 15 footer. Instead "The Trailer" is a guard (Lou) who jacks up a 3; and ofc nails it. How the game has changed.

 

[veryolddog]

I liked the game. I liked it when I saw Amari make two passes to an available UConn player that scored an easy layup. She has got good passing skills. There were so many things to like watching this game including the return of Azzi. Dorka, really doing a professional job. We will really miss what she can do next year including the 20 points from Lou.Too bad Paige could not be on the floor with them and the probabilities for a championship would increase. That's life.

 

[Boreifs]

Few Thoughts:
*Nice team win on a top BE opponent on their home court (even if it was not their real home court).
*St. Johns clearly was not looking at the 3 as a weapon and i found myself thinking that they have no chance of beating UConn with no 3 and limited bigs.
*Good to see Geno back. While CD maybe balances minutes better, Geno is the maestro. He recognized that the one player from SJ was keeping them in the game, changed to have Aubrey guarding her and that stopped that player from doing much after.
*Azzi: Looked really good! her Basketball iq is so ridiculously high and she's able to take any shot she needs to take. They should make videos of her to teach kids how to play and shoot.
*Dorka: wow. she was imposing her will on SJ in this game. Nice passes, defense and able to score from few different areas of the floor.
*Lou: now that's a shooter. Confident and highly efficient. Between Her and Azzi, we have 2 of the very best shooters in WBB.
*AE: i thought the 3rd foul called on her was a very bad call by the officials. SO strong and confident. the WBB scene needs to get used to it: AE is an AA!
*Aubrey: great on defense but very un-decisive on offense. She had countless opportunities for an open 3 shot and passed it. The one time she did shoot it, it had no chance as she was so unsure about it.
*Nika: loved her going strong to the basket! some of her turnovers are mind blowing but UConn this season depends on her to run the team as she does it so so well!
*Amari: some nice things on offense and defense. Can't miss an open lay up like she did and needs to move her feet better on defense. Must as well watch for the way she screens as she is called for fouls because she is moving out instead of standing.
*Ines: hoped she'll be in earlier and didn't hurt the team when she was out there. She passed on a 3 point shot that the team wanted her to take in the end of the game.
*This team when including CD and AP is no doubt when healthy, one of the top 3 teams in the country! if they do make it to the final 4 (which again, if healthy they should), can beat on any given night Stanford and yes, SC!

I remain befuddled as to why after a 40-point win against a Top 25 opponent, it becomes necessary to criticize the offensive game of the player who totally shut down the opponent’s best player.

 

[npignatjr]

Aubrey smothered Jayla Everett after she went off for 8 points in the first quarter. In Q2 Everett had 2 and zero thereafter.

Team defense

 

[fomalhaut]

One stat that jumped out at me was that Connecticut shot 27-39 from 2-point range, over 69% (they're .575 for the season). Muhl and Lopez-Senechal were 8-8 combined, and the rest of the team was pretty good too.

Muhl didn't have her best passing game, but driving to the basket when it's open (she did it against Xavier too) can only help her overall game.

 

[huskeynut]

I really don't think it suits him.

I hope he and his razor get reacquainted.

I will say that when I have been really sick and out of energy, there is no way I shave. Just not worth the effort. So I get the scruffy look.

 

[BBallF]

I will be stunned and amazed if she’s not All Big East.

The same for Aaliyah and Lou. Throw Nika in there as well and there is still time for Azzi.

 

[Littlemin]

Just like to second the praise for Griffin; obviously SJ strategy was to run Everett off multiple picks and it worked until Auriemma made the switch to Griffin and that ended that; tremendous one on one defensive versatility with Muhl and Griffin. Great adjustment by Auriemma, Griffin did her thing on Everett and Muhl kept Reid from being a factor.

 

[BBallF]

Key stat for me is 10 team turnovers. That means 7-10 more possessions with shots than has been the usual bill of fare for us. With our shooting percentage last night, 62%, and with 25% of our shots being 3s, that means approximately 8 more shots, with 5 more baskets, with 2 of those being 3s, or 12 more points not being given away. Changes everything. Just need Caroline and Ay now to add more depth and even more scoring punch from the wing slot.

 

[Viet Vet]

St. John’s was 14-1 entering the game? BE women (sans UConn) is the antidote to insomnia.

It’s very difficult to gauge how could we are/could become against league opponents.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think the job Aubrey did on #4 (Everett) was very much a key to the trajectory of the game. Completely took Everett out of her comfort zone and shut her down after the 1st quarter.

Everett was so frustrated she started yakking to the refs about contact. Welcome to the Big East, Jayla!

 

[Millenial23]

Someone commented on the lower amount turnovers - I'm pretty sure Azzi, both as a ball handler and just being on the court to shoot the ball, helps with that A LOT. She rarely loses control, and if someone passes the ball to her, she scores. Also, just being able to have 3 ball handlers on the court helps a lot - her, Lou, Nika. Ball movement in general is much better with 3 (experienced) guards than with 2 (or with inexperienced guards).

And I agree! Aubrey did have a quiet night, but that was because she shut down Everett completely! Great D!

 

[Bone Dog]

I sort of agree, @Viet Vet , but only sort of. The problem for most BE teams is the lack of true bigs. As a tandem, Dorka and Aaliyah are an impossible matchup for the rest of the conference. The same was true of Liv. SJU has some really good guards in Everett, Bailey and Drake. This is also true of Marquette and Villanova, Creighton too. Seton Hall has a great pg and one big in Sydney Cooks, who can be a force in the post but they lack a second big. The same is true of DePaul. Morrow is a great post player but there’s no one else. This means, like Creighton, they have to scramble for all the loose balls to win against us.

There are still challenges for us in the conference. It would be a significant upset for any of them to beat us when healthy in any season so far. But some teams have played us tough, forced us to develop some part of our game that had gone slack. In this respect, the conference schedule feels a bit like practice sometimes, or like much of the SEC.

Is there a path forward for the conference? If more BE teams regularly make the NCAA tournament and get the sort of exposure Creighton and even Villanova got last year, I think recruiting will begin to improve and more talented bigs will start to show up in the conference. This is also one of the reasons sloppy tournament projections and early season rankings, while trivial in terms of a single season, cost us in the long run. They undermine recruiting for the rest of the BE.

 

[SLY63]

I sort of agree, @Viet Vet , but only sort of. The problem for most BE teams is the lack of true bigs. As a tandem, Dorka and Aaliyah are an impossible matchup for the rest of the conference. The same was true of Liv. SJU has some really good guards in Everett, Bailey and Drake. This is also true of Marquette and Villanova, Creighton too. Seton Hall has a great pg and one big in Sydney Cooks, who can be a force in the post but they lack a second big. The same is true of DePaul. Morrow is a great post player but there’s no one else. This means, like Creighton, they have to scramble for all the loose balls to win against us.

I said earlier, AE and Dorka might be the best 4-5 combo in the country