UConn-South Carolina postgame thread

[jaydee602]

Only one official missed the handoff - the official administering the inbound pass. The other two have other areas of responsibility to watch. If all three are watching the inbound pass, no one is paying attention to what is happening on the baseline, in the paint or at the 3pt line.

That being said, the inbounding official clearly missed it, and I guarantee he'll regret it when viewing the film. He and I worked high school games together back in the day. I had, and still have, great respect for his body of work. He's a class act, a stand-up guy, and will be haunted by it.

He was the only ref who called decent game. He tried to let the players decide the game.
But Spurlock- Welch did her best Dee Kantner impersonation by injecting herself in every play. Katie Lukanich was inconsistent & confused. (LOL...she was also the victim of Geno's bottle toss after ignoring another foul on SC)

 

[Hist-teacher]

Only one official missed the handoff - the official administering the inbound pass. The other two have other areas of responsibility to watch. If all three are watching the inbound pass, no one is paying attention to what is happening on the baseline, in the paint or at the 3pt line.

That being said, the inbounding official clearly missed it, and I guarantee he'll regret it when viewing the film. He and I worked high school games together back in the day. I had, and still have, great respect for his body of work. He's a class act, a stand-up guy, and will be haunted by it.

Yup..Jeff Smith. Usually a very good official but he missed that big one.

 

[BB Dawg]

Great game for sure. Thought the refs did not know how to ref down low. Don't think they refereed against quality bigs on both sides before. Also, thought Aubrey Griffin was the defensive player of the game containing Zia Cooke's 3 point shooting.

 

[Cuango]

Yep...these Huskies are the real deal... They just played the number one team in the country to a 4 point loss. Is there anyone in the country who has seen the replay that doesn't agree that the ball was handed off on the late game out of bounds play. It should have been a dead ball and a turnover...no 2 points for So. Car. I won't even get into the unnecessary technical that Geno took. With Azzi and Caroline...this would be a "W" for UConn.

This team just proved that they deserve a number one seed. Aubrey and Aaliyah have a very fast first step but, Aubrey adds to the first quick step...accelerating speed and athleticism...she is a one of a kind player. Aaliyah proved that she is an All American in this game...if she isn't added to the All American team I would be shocked...she may even be a 1st team AA. Lopez-Senechal...should go first round in the WNBA draft and she should be considered for 2nd or 3rd team AA. Muhl...while her assists were down she contributed offensively as well as defensively. Dorka played solid...she was great on defense getting 2 blocked shots and grabbing 7 rebounds.

I think this was a case of the team getting worn down...not being able to take a blow and having to play 30 plus minutes at an incredibly intense level. As far as South Carolina is concerned: Dawn...played 9 players; Cardoso had a break-out game; Boston woke up in the second half; Raven Johnson probably became Dawn's starting point guard; 25 offensive rebounds and 26 points from the foul line...by So. Car. really hurt.

Here is an interesting set of stats from this game UConn shot 51.9 from the field, 33.3 from three point and 76 from the line...beating So Car. in all three of these metrics (38.8 from the field, 20 from three point and 72.2 from the FT line) yet UConn still lost. I guess going 26 for 36 from the line to UConn's 19 for 25 didn't hurt So. Carolina at all.

All in all, even if I add 5 points to So. Carolina's 4 point win for winning on the Huskies court, I remain comforted in the knowledge that both Azzi and Ducharme are capable of scoring 9 points. If we have both of them on the court in March, we probably win this game by 9. I am very proud of our team...they played a great game but in the end...They were just too long and too deep.

I’m pretty sure we would have lost by 15 without the technical.

 

[Geew1992]

 

[jaydee602]

Game ended as I expected yesterday, but you gotta notice that again the difference is foul shots, just like last year's NCAA tournament, SC get more foul shots then anyone they play, and against the better teams, its the difference in the score!

True! But we were fouling at the end of the game on every SC possession. It added to the disparity.

 

[freshler40]

It's gonna be hard for us to beat their bigs inside, should we meet SC again. Dawn's found a winning formula using Boston and Cordosa inside. Geno's got his work cut out to find a way to beat that all four quarters.

Drive on their bigs and get them in foul trouble if our bench is back with some depth!

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Some WNBA scouts might want to add Senechal to their boards. She's a steal and no one can talk me off this ledge!

 

[Conndog]

It's gonna be hard for us to beat their bigs inside, should we meet SC again. Dawn's found a winning formula using Boston and Cordosa inside. Geno's got his work cut out to find a way to beat that all four quarters.

I think UConn can do a better job rebounding and boxing out. If your opponent doesn't have the ball, stay between them and the basket- Lol, like that is so easy against SC! Don't stand where you are and hope the rebound comes to you. More weakside players should come into defensive area to help grab those long rebounds or ones that seem to bounce around. The double teaming of the SC bigs was very effective for the most part.

On offense, spreading the shooters out opened up things inside. SC is quick and tall- however, they overplay sometimes and can be exploited on drives, which UConn did well. Once we get Azzi back and Caroline, that should open up things even more & take some pressure off of Lou.

 

[my2cents]

You are never going to beat the number one team in the country with just 5 productive players.
The 5 second call to start the 4th qtr was weird as Dorka had no one to throw too, as everyone was just standing watching.
Rebound and grab loose balls we win.
Deberry would have been a better 6th player vs, Patterson. Why? Because Patterson did not make one positive play.
We quickly go away from things that work. Aubrey was regularly beating her man off the dribble, as was Muhl. But we continue to give it to Dorka on top, who holds it till time runs out.
Senechal blocked a shot and the 30 second time clock re-set for SC. Why?
Senechal gets held on every possession.

 

[Littlemin]

I noticed that Aaliyah was running back up the court as soon as the ball went up. Geno must have told her to do so. I’m sure he didn’t want the team getting bogged down in a half court game

On defense? You think he told her not to defensively rebound the ball when offensive rebounding is THE SC offensive strength?

 

[huskeynut]

I'm ignoring some of the Negative Nellie's. Not worth the effort to reply.

The Iron 6 played hard the entire game. They battled the entire game and did not fold. I don't know what more anyone could ask for. This team is not done. Extremely proud of our young women. They represented UConn well today, as they do every game.

As to the Geno technical, I found it well timed and needed. Lou was getting mugged the entire game. Boston was bulling her was in the lane, lowering her shoulder and moving the defender out of the space. All with no calls by the officials. At some point you have to stand up for your players. If you have never coached, you don't understand.

Now on to winning the BE regular season and Tourney. And to getting back a healthy Azzi and Caroline.

 

[willie99]

We got Paige, Azzi, Caroline, and Isuneh on the bench and lost to South Carolina by 4. By 4. That's pretty dam good. I hope we can learn from this game. They guarded Lou really well today. Aalyah just put herself top 3 for AP player of the year. Overall, a lot to learn from this game and it really showed the Huskies grit and heart.. If Uconn goes to the championship game vs South Carolina this year, Uconn will win by 15 points.

They were allowed to grab and refrain Lou and our cutters all day long. Sitting top of the key in row C, I couldn't believe that let SC get away with it all game long. They literally refused to call it.

I'm thinking that's why Geno went ballistic

Having said that, they obviously owned the boards, and that's why they won.

 

[TheGOAT23]

I think that most have summed it up. Great effort by the Huskies going with six for most of the game. SC is tough with Boston & Cardozo. Even when UCONN packed the paint, SC still got the ball to them on several occasions . Can’t complain about the ladies not competing. They just didn’t have enough in the tank and the bigs were in foul trouble. However, you can’t tell me that Lou wasn’t getting held most of the game as she has been the last several games. The one time that she ripped the ball through Cooke and drew the foul. I was happy with that because this is what you teach players who are being crowded. The sad part is that she only did it once. On another note, I watched Cardozo once as goes from side to side in the lane. I’m quite sure that you’re supposed to clear both feet out of the paint to not be called for a three seconds violation.

 

[Littlemin]

Game ended as I expected yesterday, but you gotta notice that again the difference is foul shots, just like last year's NCAA tournament, SC get more foul shots then anyone they play, and against the better teams, its the difference in the score!

Frankly, they got 11 more foul shots primarily due to Uconn fouling intentionally, at least 5 and maybe 6 times.

 

[Fore!]

I'm ignoring some of the Negative Nellie's. Not worth the effort to reply.

The Iron 6 played hard the entire game. They battled the entire game and did not fold. I don't know what more anyone could ask for. This team is not done. Extremely proud of our young women. They represented UConn well today, as they do every game.

As to the Geno technical, I found it well timed and needed. Lou was getting mugged the entire game. Boston was bulling her was in the lane, lowering her shoulder and moving the defender out of the space. All with no calls by the officials. At some point you have to stand up for your players. If you have never coached, you don't understand.

Now on to winning the BE regular season and Tourney. And to getting back a healthy Azzi and Caroline.

Can’t take that technical at that point in the game. He cost them a chance to pull it out.

 

[Rdkid]

Agree. The only argument is who is the second best player.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

They were allowed to grab and refrain Lou and our cutters all day long. Sitting top of the key in row C, I couldn't believe that let SC get away with it all game long. They literally refused to call it.

I'm thinking that's why Geno went ballistic

Having said that, they obviously owned the boards, and that's why they won.

Yea...Lou got a beatdown as usual and that is why he got the tech. He should have gone ballistic in the first half.

 

[faithfulfan]

True! But we were fouling at the end of the game on every SC possession. It added to the disparity.

Look at the game before then, SC is a physical team that rarely gets fouls called on them, want more evidence, they had 22 more foul shots against UCONN in last years final! And they had more foul shots in every other game leading up to that final!

 

[cgshuskie]

Are we allowed to criticize the coaching strategy on this thread? Well today was bad...

 

[Rdkid]

Look at the game before then, SC is a physical team that rarely gets fouls called on them, want more evidence, they had 22 more foul shots against UCONN in last years final! And they had more foul shots in every other game leading up to that final!

When you are ripping down o board after o board, you get to the line.

 

[faithfulfan]

Yea...Lou got a beatdown as usual and that is why he got the tech. He should have gone ballistic in the first half.

The word is out, with Azzi and Caroline both out, all you do is tie up physically Lou, and you gotta a chance to beat UCONN if you play the bigs even!
SC has the bigs inside to play UCONN even , so beating up Lou was a given!

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few thoughts:
*A heroic game by the UConn players...no quit in any of those kids!
*The refs sucked! Yes, SC is justified in being the number 1 team in the country but that should not mean they get all those crazy calls. The handoff was a joke and their practically ignoring Lou being held for anything she tried to do was ridiculous.
*Why is Boston allowed by the refs to displace the players guarding her without an offensive foul called on her. And she traveled on some of those offensive rebounds she got and again no call.
*Geno should have taken a technical for the refs ignoring the holding of Lou but he should have done it earlier and not at the point he did.
*SC is an impossible matchup especially when they go 6'7, 6'5 and 6'4 at the front court.
*AE: cemented her AA credentials today! There are no 10 players playing better than her in WBB!
*Lou: fought through being held, grabbed, pushed and was moving and moving and moving. The amount of energy this warrior is using everygame is incredible. should be a first round draft pick as in the WNBA she'll have more room to operate. She could truly benefit from a return of Azzi.
*AG: what an athlete! the one player who athletically SC had very little answer for. A great game by her as well of defense. She took Cook out and without all the grabbing, etc...should be at minimum Big E. defensive player of the year.
*Nika: very few assists but this was a game where UConn was not allowed to play it's regular flowing offense and had to play more one on one. A great gritty game by her and had some really nice takes to the basket.
*Dorka: Some iffy decisions on offense and had issues controlling Boston on defense. But showed a huge heart this game with no backing down.
*AP: was fighting and that was what was need from her in this game. Unfortunately, till Azzi and/or CD are back to paly we can't expect any points from the bench.
*The best thing about this game is that the UConn players can believe that they can actually win against SC if we meet again (especially if we get Azzi and/or CD back)!

 

[Wonder 12]

1000%. They put a halo on her for this game and have done it repeatedly in her career. She never commits a charge, she never commits a push/over the back, she never uses her painted bent arm that she rests on the defe4nsive player in a fouling way, she is just a perfect player. I am so sick of the referees being intimidated by her or Staley that it is beyond stomaching.

I wish I could give this ten likes it is beyond accurate

 

[JDForever]

I continue to be amazed by Aubrey Griffin's abilities....Lou and Aaliyah were great. SC put Boston on Dorka to keep her from being a scoring threat, which worked. Nika did everything she could to keep us in the game...a really hard fought one. Ayanna is showing great maturity for a freshman. All in all, without Geno's Technical, this game could have gone either way.

Having said that, they obviously owned the boards, and that's why they won

Is the three second call still in the rule book?