UConn Stanford thoughts

[cferraro04]

Posted this in another thread but, I thought it would fit well here:

UConn------------------------------------------------------------Stamford

Olivia Nelson-Ododa - 27.3 minutes.................................................Cameron Brink - 21.8 minutes
Aliyah Edwards - 24.7 minutes.............................................................Haley Jones - 30.5 minutes
Christyn Williams - 34.2 minutes.........................................................Anna Wilson - 25.9 minutes
Paige Bueckers - 28.3 minutes............................................................. Lexi Hull - 30.1 minutes
Azzi Fudd - 28.5 minutes........................................................................Hannah Jump - 23.7 minutes

Evina Westbrook - 27.6 minutes....................................................... Lacey Hull - 24.7 minutes
Caroline Ducharme - 21.4 minutes...................................................Francesca Belibi - 13.7 minutes
Nika Muhl - 22.0 minutes.....................................................................Jana Van Gytenbeek - 8.4 minutes
Amari DeBerry - 5.3 minutes...............................................................Ashten Prechtel - 9.4 minutes
Piath Gabriel - 4.8 minutes...................................................................Kiki Inafen - 6.6 minutes

Dorka Jurasz - 19 minutes to give to someone else as needed.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa - 9.4 points; 7.5 rbs; 1.74 bls/gm vs Cameron Brink - 13.4 points; 8.1 rbs; 2.6 blls/gm - ADV Stanford
Aliyah Edwards - 7.8 points; 5.1 rebounds; .5 blks/gm vs Haley Jones - 12.9 points; 7.8 rebounds; 1 blk/gm - ADV Stanford
Christyn Williams - 14.7 points; 3.7 rebounds vs Anna Wilson - 4.8 points; 2.2 rebounds - ADV UCONN
Paige Bueckers - 14.7 points; 3.9 rebounds vs Lexie Hull - 12.7 points; 5.2 rebounds - given Paige's return to form; - ADV UCONN
Azzi Fudd - 12.7 points; 2.7 rebounds vs Hannah Jump - 9.3 points; 1.5 rebounds - ADV UCONN

Evina Westbrook - 8.9 points; 3.6 rebounds vs Lacey Hull - 4.3 points; 3.1 rebounds - ADV UCONN
Caroline Ducharme - 10..1 points; 3.1 rebounds vs Francesca Belibi - 7.9 points; 4.9 rebounds - EVEN
Nika Muhl - 4.0 points; 2.9 rebounds vs Jana Van Gytenbeek - 2.5 points; .5 rebounds - ADV UCONN
Amari DeBerry - 1.7 points; .7 rebounds vs Ashten Prechtel - 2.7 points; 2.5 rebounds - ADV Stanford
Piath Gabriel - 3.0 points; 1.9 rebounds vs Kiki Inafen - 4.3 points; 2.2 rebounds - ADV Stanford


The original poster was concerned about the match-ups...I agree with that the match-ups with the bigs are a problem without Dorka as a back-up. If our bigs can stay out of foul trouble we will be fine. Our advantage in the back court should more than make-up for what we give up in the front court. This will be a heck of a match-up game. I am not sure what advantage we would have had if we had to play South Carolina to advance to the final game. Bottom line is in order to win a championship UConn will have to beat them both. Stanford has a lot of weapons offensively but UConn is one of the best defenses in WCBB. I like our chances to advance to the final game.

 

[cferraro04]

Are you saying you think Paige should match up on Hailey? As a Stanford fan I would love that - Brink has a nice enough jumper to pull Ono out, and we would isolate Hailey down low all day out of the motion. That is the advantage of being a point forward.

Paige is an amazing player, but I think the post is talking about individual player match ups and Paige as a defender does not match up well on Hailey (just as Hailey as a defender does not match up well on Paige).

I would put Aliyah Edwards on Hailey... And, I would put Bueckers on Lexi... However, a lot of this conjecture will be moot as UConn will probably play a lot of zone.

 

[Cuango]

Put Nika on her and you won’t have to hope.

Nika is too small. Jones will torture her. I think Caroline would be better than Nika on Jones off the bench. AE will likely be the primary defender against her.

 

[schmendrick]

Just remember we have Paige and Azzi. There are alot of really good players playing this weekend but the biggest difference is Paige and Azzi have the will to win and they can make it happen.

Let's not forget we also have Christyn, and she's probably the hungriest of them all.

 

[jazz]

This is not a bad matchup for us, not great either. They go three guard and so do we. Who guards Jones? Will it be AE? Maybe CD is the best matchup for her if she can play tough defense but not sure about that. What about EW getting some more minutes if she is successful on that end of the court?

I don't love Liv playing defense at the three point line as she will need to do against brink. I worry about foul trouble and then we get really small.

But their big guards will have to move to keep up with ours on offense. They will be screened all night and running all over the place. They can't match up with CW who will take them to the hole all day. But, then they have brink waiting there unless Liv can hit an outside shot consistently. Still, I'd take my chances on that if I was stanford and leave some room for Liv while protecting the rim with brink.

So we need to hit outside shots. Outside of PB, we dont have a consistent three point shooter as of late but i do feel getting more and more comfortable. I hope she really breaks out from 3 point line this game. Will our quickness and shooting ability hurt them more than their length and shooting hurts us? We had a good midrange game last game from and PB but that will be more difficult with stanford's length...they have some serious length.

They have nobody who can stay with PB but it will be a team effort on defense by stanford. PB may find it hard to get that foul line midrange off with brink lingering around. But I think she figures it out and still goes for 25 plus.

Then protect the BB, limit possession by hitting shots and rebounding. Stay out of foul trouble. All of that is very doable but I worry most about the foul trouble for both Liv and AE - will the refs call a few cheap ones?

I havent watched a lot of stanford, but I dont get the feeling they are a very high powered offense. We can be high powered if we hit shots and liv stays on the floor to keep brink out of the lane. The Belibi kid is tough and they have jump and prechtel who are very capable players with size. By capable I mean they dont seem to make a lot of errors, play defense, rebound and they can hit a shot or three against you as well.

Uconn of course 73-68. Then bring on Louisville...yeah that's right. I calling an upset.

 

[cferraro04]

"Uconn of course 73-68. Then bring on Louisville...yeah that's right. I calling an upset."

I agree...this is a possibility...that Louisville defense is suffocating.

 

[Conndog]

Who is a good defender with adequate size and quick enough to guard Jones? I would have Paige guard her. Ordinarily, I wouldn't want Paige to use too much energy defensively (could do a zone instead) in order to have the fuel for offense. But, Paige is showing she can handle the conditioning demands. Azzi is another good defender, as is Christyn. I think Christyn could do the job well too, and Azzi would be my third choice. Caroline, if she gets minutes, is tallest of all, but Jones might be too quick for her. It would be interesting to have Caroline on her, though, because Caroline likes to post up near the basket against a smaller guard defender. She could get Jones to foul her. Maybe that is the best option to defend Jones. Draw Brink outside by having Liv at the elbow and let the guards attack the basket and kick it back out to open shooters.

Can't wait!

 

[BobbyJ]

Nika is too small. Jones will torture her. I think Caroline would be better than Nika on Jones off the bench. AE will likely be the primary defender against her.

I agree, but it wouldn't even be the size factor. Jones is smart and knows that if you come off the high screens and go right at her instead of avoiding and giving up the ball, Muhl will take it as a challenge and resort to instinct and hack and push. She wouldn't last long. Jones would do the same to Edwards. Once you get your shoulders past her, she'll grab. Ducharme just isn't quick enough on the perimeter.

 

[Crossover]

Who is a good defender with adequate size and quick enough to guard Jones? I would have Paige guard her. Ordinarily, I wouldn't want Paige to use too much energy defensively (could do a zone instead) in order to have the fuel for offense. But, Paige is showing she can handle the conditioning demands. Azzi is another good defender, as is Christyn. I think Christyn could do the job well too, and Azzi would be my third choice. Caroline, if she gets minutes, is tallest of all, but Jones might be too quick for her. It would be interesting to have Caroline on her, though, because Caroline likes to post up near the basket against a smaller guard defender. She could get Jones to foul her. Maybe that is the best option to defend Jones. Draw Brink outside by having Liv at the elbow and let the guards attack the basket and kick it back out to open shooters.

Can't wait!

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Evina as someone to spell whoever starts out guarding Jones. E has good height, good technique, good lateral quickness, and quick hands that would feast on Jones'high dribble.

 

[BobbyJ]

This is not a bad matchup for us, not great either. They go three guard and so do we. Who guards Jones? Will it be AE? Maybe CD is the best matchup for her if she can play tough defense but not sure about that. What about EW getting some more minutes if she is successful on that end of the court?

I don't love Liv playing defense at the three point line as she will need to do against brink. I worry about foul trouble and then we get really small.

But their big guards will have to move to keep up with ours on offense. They will be screened all night and running all over the place. They can't match up with CW who will take them to the hole all day. But, then they have brink waiting there unless Liv can hit an outside shot consistently. Still, I'd take my chances on that if I was stanford and leave some room for Liv while protecting the rim with brink.

So we need to hit outside shots. Outside of PB, we dont have a consistent three point shooter as of late but i do feel Azzi Fudd getting more and more comfortable. I hope she really breaks out from 3 point line this game. Will our quickness and shooting ability hurt them more than their length and shooting hurts us? We had a good midrange game last game from Azzi Fudd and PB but that will be more difficult with stanford's length...they have some serious length.

They have nobody who can stay with PB but it will be a team effort on defense by stanford. PB may find it hard to get that foul line midrange off with brink lingering around. But I think she figures it out and still goes for 25 plus.

Then protect the BB, limit possession by hitting shots and rebounding. Stay out of foul trouble. All of that is very doable but I worry most about the foul trouble for both Liv and AE - will the refs call a few cheap ones?

I havent watched a lot of stanford, but I dont get the feeling they are a very high powered offense. We can be high powered if we hit shots and liv stays on the floor to keep brink out of the lane. The Belibi kid is tough and they have jump and prechtel who are very capable players with size. By capable I mean they dont seem to make a lot of errors, play defense, rebound and they can hit a shot or three against you as well.

Uconn of course 73-68. Then bring on Louisville...yeah that's right. I calling an upset.

Same here. I wouldn't guard Ono out there even if she makes one. She's not going to make another. It would completely gum up the pull up game at the foul line.

 

[BobbyJ]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Evina as someone to spell whoever starts out guarding Jones. E has good height, good technique, good lateral quickness, and quick hands that would feast on Jones'high dribble.

I don't think UConn has a good matchup for Jones. But Westbrook is probably their best option if GA plays a lot of man to man.

 

[darkstar1]

Nika is too small. Jones will torture her. I think Caroline would be better than Nika on Jones off the bench. AE will likely be the primary defender against her.

Nika would torture Jones outside of the key. Agree there is a height imbalance if down low, so there would have to be help in that circumstance.

 

[Bill In Georgia]

This will be a very good game with UConn winning by 8. The difference will be turnovers and rebounds. The Paige and Azzi show will draw alot of attention as will the Hull and Jones show. Contain them and you win. I dont think Paige and Azzi can be stopped but they may be slowed down. With all this talk about Stanford bigs, I would like to see UConn slow Hull and Jones down. They are good rebounding guards. Hey right now UConn is peeking and on a roll. They have been tested during the tournament like no other team has been tested and they've come through. The loss of Dorka means we can not get into early foul trouble. We need our bigs to play like they did in the overtime, which was dont foul.

I know some fans are nervous and concerned about this game and rightfully so. Just remember we have Paige and Azzi. There are alot of really good players playing this weekend but the biggest difference is Paige and Azzi have the will to win and they can make it happen. With all that said it will come down to rebounds and turnovers and I believe that will be the difference in UConn winning.

CD coming off the bench will be BIG in this game....will provide the path to a close win...!!

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I don't think UConn has a good matchup for Jones. But Westbrook is probably their best option if GA plays a lot of man to man.

Caroline is longer.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Nika would torture Jones outside of the key. Agree there is a height imbalance if down low, so there would have to be help in that circumstance.

Outside the key is not where Jones plays. She rarely shoots the 3.

 

[huskymaniac119]

This will be a very good game with UConn winning by 8. The difference will be turnovers and rebounds. The Paige and Azzi show will draw alot of attention as will the Hull and Jones show. Contain them and you win. I dont think Paige and Azzi can be stopped but they may be slowed down. With all this talk about Stanford bigs, I would like to see UConn slow Hull and Jones down. They are good rebounding guards. Hey right now UConn is peeking and on a roll. They have been tested during the tournament like no other team has been tested and they've come through. The loss of Dorka means we can not get into early foul trouble. We need our bigs to play like they did in the overtime, which was dont foul.

I know some fans are nervous and concerned about this game and rightfully so. Just remember we have Paige and Azzi. There are alot of really good players playing this weekend but the biggest difference is Paige and Azzi have the will to win and they can make it happen. With all that said it will come down to rebounds and turnovers and I believe that will be the difference in UConn winning.

I’m thinking if the Paige and Azzi Show, featuring Chrystin Wms show up and show out (again) I think we bring those “bigs” out and we win this game. Three at 6’1” and Brink, Stanford isn’t much bigger than us. We have three 5’11” and Liv. We will turn them over, hopefully repeatedly I like our chances.

 

[Drumguy]

Nika is too small. Jones will torture her. I think Caroline would be better than Nika on Jones off the bench. AE will likely be the primary defender against her.

We've had the most trouble with small guards in the final four. There goes your hypothesis.

 

[huskymaniac119]

Caroline is longer.

and slower.

 

[veryolddog]

Good post, Tony. I think that the only thing left to do is watch he game.

 

[my2cents]

I think Geno will have a good plan.
CW should cover Lexie. Fudd can cover Jones to start with Caroline playing a bigger role tonight.
Paige can cover Wilson, her height advantage off setting the quickness. AE and ONO, overplaying Brink down low.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Texas pretty much rolled out the blueprint to beat Stanford. Texas just didn't have enough offense. Aggressive defense will beat Stanford. Make it frantic and ugly. Press whenever you can and whenever it isn't expected. Go at Brink.

 

[VivaLsVgs]

I guess Chiney doesn’t have to hide her bias. She’s on ESPN right now reppin her Stanford shirt!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

This will be a very good game with UConn winning by 8. The difference will be turnovers and rebounds. The Paige and Azzi show will draw alot of attention as will the Hull and Jones show. Contain them and you win. I dont think Paige and Azzi can be stopped but they may be slowed down. With all this talk about Stanford bigs, I would like to see UConn slow Hull and Jones down. They are good rebounding guards. Hey right now UConn is peeking and on a roll. They have been tested during the tournament like no other team has been tested and they've come through. The loss of Dorka means we can not get into early foul trouble. We need our bigs to play like they did in the overtime, which was dont foul.

I know some fans are nervous and concerned about this game and rightfully so. Just remember we have Paige and Azzi. There are alot of really good players playing this weekend but the biggest difference is Paige and Azzi have the will to win and they can make it happen. With all that said it will come down to rebounds and turnovers and I believe that will be the difference in UConn winning.

Whoever plays better defense will win this game. I also would not count out the refs at “letting them play” in the first half and then doing a 180 in the 2nd half, Geno and his staff needs to watch out for that.

 

[Mdoggie]

I guess Chiney doesn’t have to hide her bias. She’s on ESPN right now reppin her Stanford shirt!

As a proud Stanford grad should.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I had also wondered if we might see Debari!

Louis the 14th’s wife does not play for UConn.