UCONN-Texas post game thread

[pvdoggy]

During the game, the announcers talked a lot about how good Moore is, and it seems like she was causing a lot of problems for Uconn bigs. Same with Taylor Jones. Then you go look at the box score and my guess is you would take Dorka+Aaliyah combined results over Moore+Jones, at worst a wash, and somehow people talk like the Uconn bigs were handled by Texas bigs.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few thoughts:

• UT is a team no one will want to see in March (with Rori)...
• Some of those UConn turnovers...ouch...while the TN turnovers were forced by UConn's aggressiveness, the UConn turnovers were more due to carelessness. This should be cleaned and will be cleaned with more games with tough opponents as the schedule got.

*Azzi is a superstar! in the first half she didn't really shoot from distance but in the second half...wow...
*The whole team fought and fought. Real warriors' mentality. Everyone ready and willing to throw themself on the floor to get a ball.
*Interior defense was not that good. Hopefully it improves.
*There was apart in the game where UConn was going only 1 on 1 and forgot to play as a team and i was screaming at the TV: play like UConn please
*It was a real good test early in the season for both teams. And both will be much better in few months.
*Nika is something else. I can just imagine how much people hate playing against her And those passes...she is our PG!
*Was amazing to see Aubrey out there. She was missed last season. The energy, the speed, the athleticism, the aggressiveness and now the confidence!
*Lou is a player! the only concern with her is her ability on defense to stay with top talent.
*This win should give the team a lot of confidence for the NC St. game.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Have not seen the game yet, but wanna say

 

[Conndog]

Super victory. Sorry to be critical but I can't unsee what I saw. Yes it was a great win but there were two glaring weaknesses I saw. First is Lou. She is not a good defensive player at all and that is why her minutes were so limited. She got beat on simple strong hand drives. She gave up what she got on offense and my vote is for Aubrey to go in the game for her early. She is a delight to watch.

The other weakness is Liyah. I thought she had turned the corner and that the costly floor mistakes were a thing of the past. They weren't. There was a reversion to last year in many respects. You won't necessarily see it in the box score but it was things like a back in offensive foul to give the ball back when we were poised to break it open, not grabbing the ball, going for a rebound with Dorka and not knowing she was there and losing the ball and also judgment plays. She seemed tight and nervous to me and I hope this game will restore her to the heady player we saw the first game. It was also the first game this year against size and power underneath and that may have affected her at times by making her tentative. All she has to do is play within herself.

They shut down Azzi in the beginning but she started to drive, get some breakaways, and then started bringing the ball up and got open. She figured it out or Geno figured it out for her. Her release is Curryesque and her performance was stellar.

Nika had a workmanlike game. Gritty with some big steals and assists. 9 assists and three steals is impactful.

As for the refs, if you are going to call taiky tacky freedom of movement calls, please also call ticky tacky fouls on the shot and layups. They blew the whistle on every possession it seemed like. I was at the Seton Hall men's game on Saturday and it was the same thing. I guess they are stressing that in referee camp this year. The problem is that come March you see beat downs and a different game being called. I will also make a prediction. You will never see a tacky tacky freedom of movement foul called on the returning POY. Just saying.

I'm not ready to give us the trophy yet. We need a defensive stopper at the guard level and more movement on offense and a healthy with good timing Caroline. Should be there in two more games at the most. All in all, a W and that's all we really needed.

DisAgree about Aaliyah. I thought she had a great game. Give Texas some credit, their bigs are, well, big, and skilled, Aaliyah did well against them given disadvantage in height. Maybe on defense she couldn’t control them do well, but Texas is a good team with quality bigs.

 

[uconnfan68]

Many of the fouls were cheap on both sides. Even if you have fouls, you can't just let your player score because you are afraid of picking up a foul unless the coach tells you that. Maybe at Fairfield her presence was indispensable, not here. There is a way to play defense without fouling. Having said all that, the refs were awful and fixated on freedom of movement. If it was her conscious decision to avoid a foul or fouls, I assure you she will not make it again.

Maybe that’s why she sat then. I don’t think she looked any worse than AE or DJ did early. Lots of things to correct for almost everyone… except . She was pretty good.

 

[Tonyc]

Can you imagine what UConn would've done to Texas if Caroline was healthy and Azzi still scored all those points. Can you imagine if Paige and ICE were healthy and played??????? It wouldve been a million pt blowout. LOL Can you imagine????? It is what it is. It may not be perfect all the time and thats because these kids for the most part are just like you.......and me. They have good games and they have not so good games but they play hard and give their best JUST LIKE YOU...and ME. Texas has not played well all season and they did tonite. At one point I think we were up 17 and they were ranked #3 and we were ranked #5/6 and we were ranked there and were without Caroline...and if you really want to get into it without Paige and ICE and we will be without Paige and ICE this season. Can you imagine having Paige and ICE next season with this group and with El Alvy KK Q and Ashelynn??? We may not loose a game for 2 seasons.

Texas played better then they have all season and lost without Harmon and we won without Caroline. We just won a huge game and we've got negative comments. Dam it find the good in this team which has been hammered by injuries for over a year. We are a really good team. If your daughter was on this team and people were as negative as some of you, you wouldnt be happy and if you were, your spouse and daughter would let you know. Think about it. Be happy we won no matter how many things didnt work out the way you think they shouldve. Remember this is a team and not everybody is going to have a good nite but be thankful there are team mates who can pick them up Amen

 

[Zinethar]

UConn lead by 12-17 points most of the 4th quarter. I think the only reason (except tired maybe) it was closer at the end is they started to celebrate the win in their heads before the final whistle. Great game by all for sure. They earned that win over a very good team. I bet Geno will run his 4 guard offense against good smaller teams to great effect. I remember Geno saying last year that he has Azzi bring up the ball when she is not getting involved as much as he likes. Nika still the point and she is the SG. This team sure is fun to watch!

 

[stamfordhusky]

Lou had a tough night on defense. That resulted in 3 fouls that put her on the bench. However, she was our third highest scorer and without her 12 points we don't win. She was our jump start for the first 5 minutes. She is one very important cog on our team.

You must have missed that charge LOU took early on. Wonderful defensive play. I don't think labeling her as "Not a good defensive player" is a valid tag in her 2nd game on the team against a top 5 taem in a game where the refs were blowing the whistle every 20 seconds. Let's see how it develops.

I saw a lot of Lou’s games last year. She was a below average defender in all of them. Now that she has stepped up a couple of levels, don’t expect that to change. She will contribute with her three point shooting, but at the other end she will not be a contributor, at least when they are playing man, since she can’t keep anyone in front of her.

 

[Tonyc]

We have a couple of really good point guards and thats gonna be the difference in alot of games.

 

[Cuango]

Very physical game..I don't think Lou was used to that but the girl can flat out score..Dorka played tough underneath and had 9 boards..Nika was terrific..had some fantastic passes..and then there is Azzi..don't know why Vic kept Jones out she was tough..nice basket by CD at the half but otherwise didn't do much..maybe she has to get in shape
Texas is a good team but not the# 3 team in the nation without Harmon playing

I think Jones was gassed. She was huffing and puffing in the first half! She was a load though! If she gets in top shape she’ll be a force to be reckoned with! That Morris has some major attitude! She’s a big pickup for Vic.

 

[cgshuskie]

A great game.

Azzi demonstrated that she is a player. She gets strong when she demonstrates that she can go to the hole whenever she wants. Her ability to drive leads to open mid range jump shots and 3's. A good game however.

Aubrey is much needed. Demonstrated that she can be amazing; a slasher, a short jump shooter and tough, tough, tough on D.

Nika played great. Showed that she can be good to great at the point. Her hustle and grit remind of Jen Rizzotti. Go Nika.

Aalijah also good. Just needs time to find her footing. She must remember that the battle against highly ranked bigs starts at the beginning. Texas bigs out toughed her at the very beginning but she woke up and started to use her skill and experience in the 2nd Q. Just needs to slow down and adopt the destroyer mentality from the very beginning.

Dorka was tough. Just needs to play stronger. Like I've said in other posts, she needs to learn to take rebounds back up with all her strength. Needs to get bigger if she wants to go to the W.

Lou was great. A little slow on D, but now that she's experienced the speed of top flight games, she will make the adjustment. This was a good teacher game for her. She'll only get better.

CD only played a few minutes but will be a beast coming up. Ayanna just needs the experience of games like this. A good teaching experience for her. She has the strength to dominate at this level. Just needs to see a few games,

Uconn played well tonight. This was a good test. Geno called it a stress test and he was right. I think this team will make the necessary adjustments for NC State.

Ayanna will learn.

 

[southie]

For those asking about Taylor Jones not playing much in the fourth quarter until late, I don't know for sure.

I can tell you that she had shoulder surgery earlier this year while still at Oregon State. And, she was nursing a leg injury that kept her out of practice in October, and she was not cleared to play in the exhibition against DePaul, nor the scrimmage against Wayland Baptist. She played 23 minutes in the season opener this past Friday. She stated in the post-game presser that she was finally feeling 100%.

But, all that lost practice time for sure affects one's conditioning and endurance. Tonight she played 29 minutes (Q1: 7; Q2: 10; Q3: 7; Q4: 4 (the last 4 minutes only) despite taking a couple of falls to the floor. I can only guess she was exhausted and just needed some rest as the fourth quarter was underway. Perhaps she's being cautiously limited in total minutes per game.

 

[uconnever]

Beg to differ. Between the two of them they had 17 Boards and 17 points against a top 5 team. I don't see anything soft or weak about them.

I’ve said it before, I love Dorka and she does a lot of good things but she is average on defense and terrible at finishing down low under pressure, Similar to ONO.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Vic obviously thinks he has a deep team and he’s going to use his assets especially at the beginning of the year. There wasn’t much of a drop off with their 2nd unit except at PG without Harmon.

 

[my2cents]

Forget the negatives, all in all it was a fuddtastic game!

 

[HopJim]

Will not review the details, but this is the UConn I had hoped to see. UConn may not have the inside talent to unmuscle the SC's, but the speed, shooting and defense is unique and can carry the Huskies all the way.

 

[Huskee11]

The pregame ceremony retiring Swin`s number was worth seeing. Actually, inexplicibly the lights were off when Swin walked in with her family and Geno started speaking, which was weird. They finally turned them on while he was speaking, to the applause of the crowd, and Geno commented "What, you didn`t think we were here?" or something to that effect.

Swin was with there with her husband and two children, was her usual classy self, and made some heartfelt remarks about UConn. She noted her surprise when Geno started her as a Freshman and really seemed to credit Geno`s admonitions for her to strive for excellence for much of the considerable success she has had. I thought it was great for the current UConn players to be there to meet a UConn legend and to connect again with the wonderful history of the program. Ashja Jones was there, Ashley Battle, and I think Steph Dolsen was there as well.

Then there was a game to be played. Hard to add much to what has already been said. I would add that it was a very good crowd, students especially filling the lower and upper section.

Also - the fact that Azzi scored 32 and was amazing but I was equally impressed with her ball handling skills.
even though you probably thought Nika was a good passer, guess what - she`s a better passer than you think.
the "mechanical where do I go next" Aubrey has been replaced by the "fluid I got this" Aubrey.
getting it inbounds against tough pressure in the first half was an adventure, but we seemed to figure it out in the second.
every time I was getting comfortable, Texas starting coming back. We always answered and the answer was usually Azzi.

 

[Skeets]

First, I agree with all the good things said in this thread. Let me start by saying I think Dorka and AE did a good job on the boards. One little bit of criticism is that every time Texas thew the ball into the low post in a 1 and 1 situation they seemed to score easily, especially in the first half. Didn't matter if it was Dorka or AE defending. Geno needs to address and fix this. Maybe a little weakside help at the risk of leaving someone open? I dunno know...

That Morris kid was really good.

 

[jaydee602]

I worked so missed the game. I read some posts here and thought UConn had lost. Phew.

Second game of the season, players in new roles and there's a lot to work on. Oh, and a win. Expecting more seems a bit unrealistic.

If you think these posts were negative here, you should have been in the chat room during the game.
I'm watching UCONN score & pull away by 17, but I'm reading endless complaints about: Lou not playing, poor foul shooting, Geno's coaching incompetence, nobody scoring except Azzi, etc.
Can you imagine if UCONN lost? YIKES!

 

[CL82]

Full box score Women's Basketball vs Texas on 11/14/2022 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn only

View attachment 80690

 

[Cuango]

Azzi really showed me something tonight! As did Nika! I’ve been a little askance at all these claims that Azzi is as good as Paige. Well, although I’m not quite ready to go that far, she showed me tonight that it’s not completely out of the question! I knew of course she is an otherworldly shooter but tonight she showed two other attributes that I really hadn’t seen. I felt that her strength and speed were really evident tonight!
Nika was a revelation for me in this game. She has completely won me over with her performance tonight. I felt like she turned the whole game in the first half when Texas was on a run and it felt like the momentum was turning for them and she basically threw herself on one of the Texas players, grabbed the ball, and sent it the other way! She wore out the girls she guarded and made them a lot more tentative bringing the ball up the court. I was completely shocked when I read she only had three steals as I was thinking mor like 6or 7! She also is almost Paigelike with her long passes up court!
Aubrey is back and she is better than she was before! She may well rival Lou as the most important addition to this team from last year. She was a force tonight and will only get better as the season wears on!
Caroline, while she only played 4 minutes, nevertheless managed to show in one play at the end of the half why she is revered here on the Boneyard! With time running out, despite having only played 2 minutes this entire season, she drove the lane and scored her only two points at the buzzer! Typical!
Lou basically kept us in the game early with timely shooting but was hampered with fouls. She too will get better, both defensively and in performing her best in big games here at UConn. I’m sure she felt a lot of pressure tonight.
I thought AE and Dorka put in a solid performance as well. Dorka seemed to be bothered by Jones’s size and strength but still managed 9 boards, had several (4?) steals and battled hard throughout the game. Aaliyah played hard, had one amazing off board and putback but what I am most encouraged about her is her greatly improved free throw stroke.
Yanna simply needs some time to adjust to the college game but I’m pretty convinced she’s going to be a monster by the time March rolls around.
All in all, a great game , a win, and lots of stuff for the Maestro to use in getting ready for NC State!

 

[Majorthreat]

Dorka played terribly. It looks like in the big games she doesn't really show up. Yes, she had 9 rebounds but she looked awkward out there. Taylor Jones was giving her the business. Her lateral quickness leaves something to be desired as the forwards were going baseline on her all night long. When she was the relief person for the inbounds passes she looked really nervous and fumbled a lot of the passes.

 

[Cuango]

If you think these posts were negative here, you should have been in the chat room during the game.
I'm watching UCONN score & pull away by 17, but I'm reading endless complaints about: Lou not playing, poor foul shooting, Geno's coaching incompetence, nobody scoring except Azzi, etc.
Can you imagine if UCONN lost? YIKES!

You’re right! That chat room is pretty rough!

 

[jaydee602]

For those asking about Taylor Jones not playing much in the fourth quarter until late, I don't know for sure.

I can tell you that she had shoulder surgery earlier this year while still at Oregon State. And, she was nursing a leg injury that kept her out of practice in October, and she was not cleared to play in the exhibition against DePaul, nor the scrimmage against Wayland Baptist. She played 23 minutes in the season opener this past Friday. She stated in the post-game presser that she was finally feeling 100%.

But, all that lost practice time for sure affects one's conditioning and endurance. Tonight she played 29 minutes (Q1: 7; Q2: 10; Q3: 7; Q4: 4 (the last 4 minutes only) despite taking a couple of falls to the floor. I can only guess she was exhausted and just needed some rest as the fourth quarter was underway. Perhaps she's being cautiously limited in total minutes per game.

I won't question Vic's strategy. He always has a plan and he looks at the big picture.
I don't think either coach would have been heartbroken if they lost. Both teams will look completely different in a few months. I personally won't be upset if we aren't in Texas' bracket in the tournament.

 

[housekeys]

IMO, our best line up is Dorka, Azzi, Caroline (when healthy), Aubrey, and Lou. The nice thing is you get NO drop-off if you sub Edwards or Nika. In many match ups, Edwards and Nika will give a boost to the best 5. There is no denying the energy and grit they both bring to the team. But overall, the best line up that matches up well with the top teams, in terms of size, length, speed, shooting ability, off the ball movement, passing and rebounding is: Dorka, Azzi, Caroline, Aubrey, and Lou. Oh and BTW, by the end of the season add A. Patterson to the mix with no drop-off.

One thing for sure: You can't go wrong with any combination as long as you have Azzi in the mix. She is a special player.

 

[dcheng021]

I can’t believe we don’t have another game until Sunday. =\

 

[jaydee602]

Dorka played terribly. It looks like in the big games she doesn't really show up. Yes, she had 9 rebounds but she looked awkward out there. Taylor Jones was giving her the business. Her lateral quickness leaves something to be desired as the forwards were going baseline on her all night long. When she was the relief person for the inbounds passes she looked really nervous and fumbled a lot of the passes.

Dorka had 6 points & 9 rebounds including 3 offensive boards. She also had 4 assists & 4 steals including a vital save down the stretch when she dove to keep the ball inbounds. Not sure how much more we can expect from her.

 

[hookshot]

UCONN fans should get used to players not getting enough playing time on a given night. This team is loaded & the bench players will contribute in a big way. When Geno likes a combination on the floor, he won't make substitutions for the sake of equalizing playing time.

I don't know it says it was a sellout at 100%.

View attachment 80695

 

[hookshot]

Was at the game - there were many, many empty seats but the majority of them were in the lower tier, and may have been season ticket holder no-shows

 

[JoePgh]

I don't remember seeing so many blocks, even from behind, where no foul was called. Regardless if a foul was made or not, most officials will blow the whistle.

It's was a great game and I also believe that the final score doesn't represent how well our Huskies played and fought for all 200 minutes.

But what I really want to know is "where was Amari?" (100% sarcasm)

Maybe it wasn't visible on TV, but on the second half, Lou took a 3-point shot which wedged between the rim and the backboard. Amari was the "designated leaper" who jumped high to dislodge that ball.

That's where she was in this game!