UConn stats... What happened in that 3rd quarter against Ole Miss..??

[DavidinNaples]

Much has been made of the 3rd quarter performance by UConn in the Ole Miss game. Exactly what happened that saw the Huskies' 21 point lead reduced to 3 points? What lessons can be learned to prevent future melt downs? Did UConn almost lose the game?

Only the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter were a disaster. The second part of the 3rd period was actually vintage Huskies basketball. So what happened in those fateful first 5 minutes?
1. Ole Miss shot lights out - Ole Miss made 8 of 10 field goal attempts in the first 4:21 of the quarter, including 3 three point shots. That's 80% shooting versus 24% the whole rest of the game.
2. UConn got the turnover bug - While Ole Miss was shooting lights out, the Huskies had 6 turnovers in the opening 4:40 of the period. And 3 fouls.
3. Offensive rebounds - Ole Miss grabbed the offensive rebound on two missed shots in those first five minutes and scored. Ole Miss had 13 total offensive rebounds for the game and outshot UConn 68 to 53.
4. UConn only took 3 shots - The Huskies actually made 2 of 3 shots to open the period. Then they turned it over 5 times and had 0 shots until the first 5 minutes was over.

How did UConn react with the score 41-38? After the 20 point first half of the 3rd period, UConn held Ole Miss to 8 points while scoring 11 points. How?
1. UConn shot the ball instead of turning it over - The Huskies took 8 shots and made 5 for their 11 points. That is 62.5% accuracy, including Azzi scoring 7 straight points.
2. Rebounding- UConn had 4 boards in the remaining 5 minutes, including 3 by Jana El Alfy. Ole Miss had 1 offensive board, but did not score.
3. Ole Miss went cold - The Rebels shot 3 for 8 in those last 5 minutes. They also missed all 3 three pointers.

Probably more detail than most UConn fans want, but proof that the coaches made great substitutions (Jana, KK, Azzi) and the Huskies reacted well to adversity. A three point margin was increased to 6 by the end of the 3rd period. The 4th period was 21-14 UConn and Ole Miss went home with the loss. It should be noted, Ole Miss never led in the game, were outscored in the paint 48-18 and UConn's bench, led by Azzi, outscored Ole Miss 28-7. Great win...!!

Go Huskies..!!

 

[DEFCONN1]

Absolutely spot on. Great post !

 

[EricLA]

I believe the oddsmakers put UCONN as a favorite by 13.5 points. Just about what happened. And while my comments below are just my opinion, it should be noted that UCONN had the lead up to 17-3 with the original starters in, so even tho Kait, Ash and Ice had almost no scoring (6 total points between the 3 of them), if the goal was to get out fast and build a big lead, mission accomplished!

IMHO Azzi should start sooner rather than later. I love Ash and while I think she brings a toughness and physicality that is a little better than any of our other guards, I think Azzi's scoring prowess is more valuable than Ash's toughness. Also, Azzi is shooting 18% on 3's this season (that will change soon). Yet she scored 18 against Ole miss with making only 1 three - showing she can score in many different ways. Also her defense, as many have noted, is really quite good.

I don't see Geno swapping Azzi for Kaitlyn. I think he likes her as the 1 and Paige and Azzi/Ash off the ball. I think KC will continue to get better as she gets more comfort and chemistry with her teammates in finding them with the ball for assists. Believe it or not, Paige and Sarah are 1-2 in A/G while Kait is 3rd.

Side note - Sarah has been everything we could have hoped for and more. She's tremendous in every aspect. Scoring, assists, rebounding, blocking, defending, just wow.

I think it's much less likely that Jana supplants Ice as a starter. I think Jana has more upside, but Ice is a more well rounded player at this time, especially seeing the floor and dishing assists.

Anyway the reason i made those comments based on David's OP was that while Q3 was horrible, it was the same 5 starters who busted the lead to 17-3 in Q1. Just a bad quarter (at least the first 5-6 minutes) all the way around.

 

[Bone Dog]

This is a good approach to thinking about the quarter, @DavidinNaples, especially dividing it into two halves. I have a few adjustments, though.

In the first part of quarter 3,

• Ole Miss didn't just shoot better, they out-hustled UConn to get better shot opportunities.
• UConn didn't just get the turnover bug. We were out-hustled.

In the second part of quarter 3,

1. We rebounded better because everyone worked harder for rebounds, especially Jana who entered the game in the last 2 minutes of the quarter and is a fighter the others can rally around.
2. Ole Miss didn't simply go cold. UConn out-hustled them and shut down their offense.

Key to the comeback in the second part of the quarter was Azzi scoring 7 straight points. Spirits were low and she totally stepped up. And this confirms your notion that Geno & Co made a few great substitutions. Azzi came in after 3 minutes and began to assert herself, and forced Ole Miss to back off their defensive focus on Paige. I joked elsewhere that Azzi's little scoring run inspired Paige's competitive instincts to out-do her friend, because she went on a bit of a run herself at the end of the quarter and extending into the 4th. And inserting Jana was both needed, since Ice got her 4th foul, but also inspired because she is so feisty. Put her in the low post and give the Ole Miss a taste of her ferocity and they begin to lose heart.

Ole Miss out-hustled UConn in the first part of the quarter because they're a good team and they know how to bounce back from a 1st half in which they were dominated. This is what good teams do. They believe in each other and work their hearts out. UConn bounced back for the same reason, and Azzi was the spark initially, and then it was Jana. Azzi reminded her teammates that they know how to win close games, and Jana hammered the point home.

 

[Centerstream]

The only reason that I see Azzi not starting is because I am guessing that she will have a time restriction for the next couple of games.
However, she may enter the game before the first media timeout if the team isn't scoring or playing up to par.

 

[ThisJustIn]

It was Bob Joyce's fault....

 

[ctkaiser]

Much has been made of the 3rd quarter performance by UConn in the Ole Miss game. Exactly what happened that saw the Huskies' 21 point lead reduced to 3 points? What lessons can be learned to prevent future melt downs? Did UConn almost lose the game?

Only the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter were a disaster. The second part of the 3rd period was actually vintage Huskies basketball. So what happened in those fateful first 5 minutes?
1. Ole Miss shot lights out - Ole Miss made 8 of 10 field goal attempts in the first 4:21 of the quarter, including 3 three point shots. That's 80% shooting versus 24% the whole rest of the game.
2. UConn got the turnover bug - While Ole Miss was shooting lights out, the Huskies had 6 turnovers in the opening 4:40 of the period. And 3 fouls.
3. Offensive rebounds - Ole Miss grabbed an offensive rebound on two missed shots in those first five minutes and scored. Ole Miss had 13 total offensive rebounds for the game and outshot UConn 68 to 53.
4. UConn only took 3 shots - The Huskies actually made 2 of 3 shots to open the period. Then they turned it over 5 times and had 0 shots until the first 5 minutes was over.

How did UConn react with the score 41-38? After the 20 point first half of the 3rd period, UConn held Ole Miss to 8 points while scoring 11 points. How?
1. UConn shot the ball instead of turning it over - The Huskies took 8 shots and made 5 for their 11 points. That is 62.5% accuracy, including Azzi scoring 7 straight points.
2. Rebounding- UConn had 4 boards in the remaining 5 minutes, including 3 by Jana El Alfy. Ole Miss had 1 offensive board, but did not score.
3. Ole Miss went cold - The Rebels shot 3 for 8 in those last 5 minutes. They also missed all 3 three pointers.

Probably more detail than most UConn fans want, but proof that the coaches made great substitutions (Jana, KK, Azzi) and the Huskies reacted well to adversity. A three point margin was increased to 6 by the end of the 3rd period. The 4th period was 21-14 UConn and Ole Miss went home with the loss. It should be noted, Ole Miss never led in the game, were outscored in the paint 48-18 and UConn's bench, led by Azzi, outscored Ole Miss 28-7. Great win...!!

Go Huskies..!!

I wanted and needed all the details. Thanks.

 

[msf22b]

Wonderful Post David
Most informative.