UConn-UCF thread without complaints | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn-UCF thread without complaints

Survive and advance - Jim Valvano

I kinda knew that this game would be a bit physical, and that the offensive flow would be a bit out of whack, so I just enjoyed the game, and IMHO, if you look at the other 2nd round results, there were a lot of matchups that provided upsets, so no surprises with our game. As Geno has said, you can cruise thru the season undefeated, big scores, but if there's nothing to prepare you for a different type of game, there's no idea how the players & team will reach. Lots of teaching moments in game film, I'm guessing.
 
They did what they had to do in order to survive a night of really poor shooting. That’s not a complaint, sometimes good shots don’t fall. Azzi was huge from the line, especially for a freshman in the biggest game she’s ever played.
 
I was at the game and I needed a shot to be able to sleep last night, lol. Survive and advance, nothing else matters. Love this thread. Any missed shots were not on purpose for Pete's sake. They gave it everything they had, and it was enough to win. As others have said, definitely reminded me of the old Rutgers teams. Not easy to play against.
 
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I was happy with the clutch FT shooting at the end of the game, we need that. It's also great to see both a freshman and a senior calmly hit those, they both may need to do more of that in this tournament.

I also continue to be thankful for UConn's depth. Two starters fouled out, the opposing team made a run, but UConn still managed to win. Don't know if UConn teams of the past couple of years would have had the same outcome due to the shorter benches.

And while Paige is not fully up to speed, I am grateful for every moment she plays. A month ago, I'm not sure we could have envisioned her playing in a game like this against a tough physical team.

Survive and advance!
 
I enjoyed this game a lot more than the time I threw my back out and was bed ridden for six weeks. I correctly knew the artist in Nan’s original post.

All kidding aside the fans were incredible. I was not expecting a difficult matchup until the fourth NCAA Tournament game. I was hoping Paige could get additional games under her belt before then to get up to game speed. Obviously she is far short of her play compared to where she was before her injury but I believe this game accelerated her comeback and prepared her for games 3-6 far more than if we won in a blowout against an inferior team.

This game also reinforced the importance of defense and that players other than Paige are needed to step up at crucial times to win.
 
I have seen Indiana play quite often (it’s one of my alma maters) and we match up quite well with them. The biggest problem will be containing their Spanish point guard, who is very quick and totally fearless driving the lane. We may see more of Nika. The match up to watch , though, is Paige versus Grace Berger, who does most of her damage with pull ups within the arc.
 
Hedge said:
I think that's the first piece of modern art I like. Can you please let us know who did it? Thanks
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I'd be surprised if that's not Jackson Pollack, but I've been wrong once or twice before.
 
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I think people are going to miss Williams and regret they gave her so much criticism. Her stepback jumper was stuff that I doubt some Nba players could do. I was watching the game on stream and another person commented who didn't even know her name or follow closely the team saying that was a nice shot.
 
Boreifs said:
I have seen Indiana play quite often (it’s one of my alma maters) and we match up quite well with them. The biggest problem will be containing their Spanish point guard, who is very quick and totally fearless driving the lane. We may see more of Nika. The match up to watch , though, is Paige versus Grace Berger, who does most of her damage with pull ups within the arc.
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I'm totally unfamiliar with Indiana... more like this please.
 
All year, we know that nothing has been easy for this team. They had to overcome a lot of adversities and find new ways to win, together, as a team. Doing so has given them mental toughness: they showed that they were above seeking physical retaliation, and instead made the shots they needed to win the game. So many other teams (including recent past versions of UConn) would have wilted. But not this time, not this team, and not in their house. Go Huskies!!!
 
A novel thread concept. It'll be interesting to see how long it runs compared to the whiners thread. To me, the oddest (and most difficult) thing about last night's game was the pace/tempo. It's pretty unusual to see a UConn team trying to slow things down, but with UCF's aggressiveness, playing fast (and sloppy) was the game they wanted. FWIW, UCF missed 10 free throws in a five point loss. UConn definitely dodged a bullet last night, something tourney winners often have to do along the way.
 
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On second watch (thanks @MJL243), what stood out to me most was the team's tenacity and heart. The bigs fighting like lions to defend our end of the court was a highlight. The team whole working purposefully to keep moving forward though a lot of disruption (getting knocked down, unexpected ref calls, even running out of shot clock). They soldiered on. Respect!

It was a much more enjoyable watch knowing the outcome (a win and no injuries). ;)
 
psconn said:
I'm totally unfamiliar with Indiana... more like this please.
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Their two bigs, Holmes and Gulbe, are both 6’3”. Holmes has great post moves, while Gulbe faces the basket and can shoot the three. Their two, Ali Patberg (ND transfer), is in her seventh year of college basketball, courtesy of an injury, one year sit out and a Covid year. She is their biggest threat from the arc. They are only six deep, but their sub is an energizer bunny who can play both the post and the wing. They are extremely well coached and have been together as a unit for three years. If you saw South Dakota play against Baylor, that might as well have been IU. A challenge, to be sure, but we are taller, more athletic, and have more fire power.
 
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ucbart said:
Has this been talked about yet? On what planet is UCF a 7 seed? I've watched a lot of WCBB this season and especially in the last 3 weeks. That's a top 16 seed.
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One of the knocks against the American is that in woman’s basketball there are not a lot of good teams. I think that hurt UCF’s seeding. To their credit they did play a decent amount of tournament teams out of conference.

Were they under seated? I don’t know. Don’t go solely by the final score of this game. If we make our open layups, we win comfortably. I will also note that this is the highest that UCF has ever been seeded, and the highest that any coach Abe team has ever been seeded. I think a pretty good argument can be made that they were appropriately placed in slightly exceeded their seeding.
 
RedStickHusky said:
On this, I agree with coach Abe.
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I never heard her say they should've been seeded higher. Her chief complaints were having to play another Florida team in the 1st round and being sent to UConn as opposed to another place.

UCF's best wins were over South Florida and Arkansas, and they had a very bad loss to Cincinnati. They really didn't have the resume for anything higher than a 7.
 
While the UCF game has been well documented, a nit to comment on:
-This was the first time all season that I saw CD holding Geno back from the refs after a controversial call late in the game. Brought back many memories of a younger Geno.
 
While I was watching the game in between yelling at the screen I was just really thankful for Azzi and Dorka. Azzi so gave me the comfort of the KML days when her 3 ball would just get us out of trouble and Azzi did that last night. Everyone talks about Stewie aka Paige today but KML really put the nail in proverbial coffin many nights. Azzi played that role perfectly last night. I was also super thankful for a third big Dorka. Let's be honest, last year this could have been a loss with both Liv and Edwards fouled out.

Depth matters and we have it.

I also thought that other top teams at full strength have lost late this season when pushed by an energized team but we didn't join that club.

I also think UCF was under seated. Should have been about a 5 or 6 seed.
 
jchusky said:
I think people are going to miss Williams and regret they gave her so much criticism. Her stepback jumper was stuff that I doubt some Nba players could do. I was watching the game on stream and another person commented who didn't even know her name or follow closely the team saying that was a nice shot.
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Totally agree!!
 
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