UConn - Villanova Post Game

[HuskyNan]

I didn't see the game, but the box score shows Ice with 4 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. I like those numbers.

I thought she played well. She came in off the bench and did one of those tiptoe the sideline steals like she did before. Yeah, she makes a few mistakes but, as pointed out, so did everyone. There were at least two rebounds the Huskies lost because two UConn players were fighting for the ball and the ball went out of bounds. One of those nights, but they figured it out

 

[Zarathustra]

Ice's defense looked good to me. Better than Aaliyah's in the first half at least and one of the best defensive games from her. She missed a couple of things for sure but so did everyone else.

There is a slow, but steady, maturation of ICE's game: Blocks, Assists, Screens. She
has to learn about what shots need to be suppressed (beyond the arc!), but for
the 14 minutes that she played... it was a contribution, not a deficit. (IMO)

 

[HuskyNan]

Did the crowd yell "DEATH!" when they played 'Ride of the Rohirrim'?

it was the first move. They’ll do The Two Towers in August and we are definitely going

 

[Zarathustra]

When you watch her carefully live, you will see that she does not defend the offensive player on the switch, especially on the pick and roll, well at all. She doesn't get out to stop the dribbler or move her out. When the player comes off the pick she either has a short pull up or an open drive lane. Most of Hidalgo's points came that way.

Some good things, some bad... ICE is still a freshman player. She will have to
develop a quicker reaction time (anticipation, etc.) I loved her block on LUCY
OLSEN, and another one of DULCE ??.

 

[Zarathustra]

That may be true, probably is, but you would think getting Ines some minutes would be more of a priority with the potential of foul trouble looming over this team every time they step on the court!

I anticipate every one of our " bench " player will benefit from extra playing time
during the remainer of the BIG EAST schedule. Foul trouble is a big issue for
this team, now and in the NCAA tournament. I do like INES.

 

[meyers7]

A lot of years during the school vacation time, the team will kind of go through a malaise. Just not look very good. Have a few tough games. It would seem this year, the team made it through the school vacation ok, but the malaise is hitting now. Hopefully they shake it off soon.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[veryolddog]

I am glad that they won. What I saw was UConn played the same for all 4 quarters and that Villanova broke down and completely deteriorated in the 3rd and 4th quarters. The way UConn plays disturbs me. The Team does not play with the same precision and snap as they did in past teams. This team does not overwelm as they did in the past. I was happy to see Amari and watch her make an easy 2 point uncontested shot. It is what it is.

 

[#12in21]

I thought Nika was at 569, which would be 7th. If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct my numbers.

Mo's record is 659. How far away is Nika?

You are correct, Nika is at 569 career assists and is presently in 7th place on the all time list. Ahead of her are Sue Bird (585), Crystal Dangerfield (599), Renee Montgomery (632), Jennifer Rizzotti (637), Diane Taurasi (648) and at number 1, Moriah Jefferson (659).

Of those above Nika - all were All-Americans and all but one Crystal, left UConn with atleast one national championship. A rarefied group indeed to be a part of!

 

[Ozimoto]

So, we have reached roughly the mid point of the season. To mix sports metaphors a bit, it looks to me like they may have hit the "runners wall." I think that the team will pick up a "second wind" moving into the latter third of the season and play will improve.

As for Ashlyn, it looks to me like other teams have realized that she is an offensive threat and are paying much more attention to her. She will have to work smarter and the team will have to run more screens for her to get open and make her available. She also needs more room to get her shot over taller guards.

 

[Huskee11]

It was nice to see Nika come up with an outstanding performance. She did a lot of impressive things but what she didn`t do - get into foul trouble against a tough matchup - was most significant.

Opponents have learned not to crossover to their left hand in front of her - she has an uncanny ability to poke it away (without fouling) and head for an easy layup. Olsen, who is very skilled, tried it and it did not turn out well for her.

This was a game where a lot of stuff in the box score surprised me:

I thought we were very sloppy at times but we only committed 13 turnovers.
The officials seemed to be calling it tight but there were only 28 total fouls called, 14 and 14.
I didn`t think we were doing a good job on the boards but we outrebounded Villanove 34-28.
Aaliyah seemed to be getting bottled up but scored 22 on 9 for 13 shooting.
Nika was passing the ball well but I didn`t think she was anywhere near 10 assists.
Thought Olsen was playing well but she ended up 6 for 17.

Particularly surprised that we shot 61%. Only 5 of 16 from three so 29 for 40 from inside the arc, or 72.5%. Now that`s pleasantly surprising.

This was another game where Aubrey would have made a huge difference. I think she could have changed the energy in the second quarter.

This could have been a trap game - on the road in a difficult environment against a disciplined team, UConn coming off a loss, and at a time of year when at all levels, college and professional, upsets abound. It is the last difficult road game on their conference schedule. They should handle the rest of their conference schedule without difficulty.

 

[Bald Husky]

I just don't get it. When one of our guards goes to the bench, Ice comes in. She is not a guard, neither is Q.
I know Geno is trying the new line-ups with AE and Ice in together, but what if we lose two guards. Injury, fouls, something can happen, and with our history, we need as many bodies as possible ready to go in and contribute. Ines can score, she has shown that. Geno just sticks to his top 7 as always, but we all know there will be a time when we need our eighth or ninth player to spend time on the floor, maybe in a critical part of a big game. Ines can contribute, we know that, and I just don't understand why he won't increase our playable bench by giving her the minutes to get better. God knows she deserves it, and looking at our recent past says we must be ready for the worst and something we should be prepared for.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

When you watch her carefully live, you will see that she does not defend the offensive player on the switch, especially on the pick and roll, well at all. She doesn't get out to stop the dribbler or move her out. When the player comes off the pick she either has a short pull up or an open drive lane. Most of Hidalgo's points came that way.

I see that but everyone I struggling with the pick and roll defense right now. Aaliyah made a bunch of mistakes with it as well.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I just don't get it. When one of our guards goes to the bench, Ice comes in. She is not a guard, neither is Q.
I know Geno is trying the new line-ups with AE and Ice in together, but what if we lose two guards. Injury, fouls, something can happen, and with our history, we need as many bodies as possible ready to go in and contribute. Ines can score, she has shown that. Geno just sticks to his top 7 as always, but we all know there will be a time when we need our eighth or ninth player to spend time on the floor, maybe in a critical part of a big game. Ines can contribute, we know that, and I just don't understand why he won't increase our playable bench by giving her the minutes to get better. God knows she deserves it, and looking at our recent past says we must be ready for the worst and something we should be prepared for.

We have 4 guards in the starting line up. You don’t need 4 guards at all times, running 3 guards and two bigs is fine. Unclear what is confusing about that.

 

[HopJim]

Actually, I thought that shot was reminiscent of Maya’s one handed finger rolls!

While Q is naturally a great athlete and fast, as she gets more experience with the high Division 1 type of play, she will likely get more comfortable and become even quicker. As she gets stronger, Q likely will become a better rebounder and defender. In short, she is a typical freshman with upside for the future. While it would have been nice to have an All-American waiting on the bench, she has exceeded my expectations.

 

[boscolino]

Everyone knows how pick'n roll works. How effective it will be depends on which players apply it.

 

[Rowdy831]

• The defensive intensity in the second half was the difference.
• Still somewhat concerning about how easy it was for the Nova guards to get into the lane
• AE played great
• It is key to keep Nika on the floor (see ND loss)
• Paige played well
• Teams appear to be giving Shade less space to shoot, but she never forces it
• Solid game by KK
• IMO Q still shoots a little too quick
• Ice seems to be regressing -- shooting 3's, questionable passed, lackluster D

If you bring your post out to pick and AE follows her then the guard gets picked, AE is standing there defending her player and at that point it all depends on how well your defense fills in behind them. The fill in at that point are guarding players squaring up from the 3 point line so you have a race to the basket. It is definitely something they need to fix before they play some better teams

 

[Rowdy831]

This team still has 2 All Americans and a 2 time defending DPOY on the floor so they are still very good. Their problem is they are very small with the current starting 5 and they are getting almost nothing from the bench that they can count on every night. Last night was a good game for them, it wasn't their best but they still won by 20 in a tough environment.

Geno has decided the seven that he will live and die with from here out and it will come down to match ups and when they don't match up I don't think they will have much of a chance. I can't believe that Amari could be less efficient than what they have now and she is the only player that changes the make up the team. If the goal is to win a NC then Amari would have to prove she can't do it in games because they need her size, if the goal is to win the Big East they are on track just as they are.

 

[and one]

What I saw from my couch:

We had a good stretch in January when the team on both offense and defense seemed to gel and look like some of our better teams from the past. Both the ND game and last night's game didn't have the fluidity and sense of purpose shown earlier. We came away with a win against a pretty good team on the road, which is great. On the other hand, on the whole we didn't look like a clearly better team than V. As is we are good enough to win out in the BE. Beating SC will be a stretch. Assuming we can cruise into the final eight in the NCAAs would be a mistake. I think we can make the final eight but it is a long way from being a given.

Where would we be without AE? She is the heart and soul of this team - more than Paige or Nika.

Ice is making a lot of progress. She looks more comfortable on the court with every game. She makes mistakes and gets caught out of position on defense at times but also is getting better at scoring inside and controlling rebounds. She does seem to want to be a 3 point shooter, against the better judgment of the rest of the world. Ice will be a passible sub for the rest of this year. She has a real shot at being force on the court next year.

The talk of Uconn being unable to keep quick guards from getting easy shots will continue until we can stop it from happening on a regular basis. Both Nika and Ash play tenacious defense but neither can keep the quick guards from driving by them. KK does have quicker feet but even she gets beat too often. I'm going to agree with Geno that better communication is needed. How often have we seen KK beat her defender, get into the paint but end up having to pass out to someone else rather than getting all the way to the basket because another defender slides over to block her way? Lots. You can't teach quick feet but you can teach help defense.

 

[my2cents]

My husband and I saw the OrlandoPhilharmonic play the music for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring while the movie played. It was awesome. So, I have LOTR on my mind.

Galadriel

"Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold… but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the...

lotr.fandom.com

When I first joined the BY, I didn't even know what an avatar was. I said to my wife, Husky Nan really looks like Halle Berry.

 

[Boreifs]

It was nice to see Nika come up with an outstanding performance. She did a lot of impressive things but what she didn`t do - get into foul trouble against a tough matchup - was most significant.

Opponents have learned not to crossover to their left hand in front of her - she has an uncanny ability to poke it away (without fouling) and head for an easy layup. Olsen, who is very skilled, tried it and it did not turn out well for her.

This was a game where a lot of stuff in the box score surprised me:

I thought we were very sloppy at times but we only committed 13 turnovers.
The officials seemed to be calling it tight but there were only 28 total fouls called, 14 and 14.
I didn`t think we were doing a good job on the boards but we outrebounded Villanove 34-28.
Aaliyah seemed to be getting bottled up but scored 22 on 9 for 13 shooting.
Nika was passing the ball well but I didn`t think she was anywhere near 10 assists.
Thought Olsen was playing well but she ended up 6 for 17.

Particularly surprised that we shot 61%. Only 5 of 16 from three so 29 for 40 from inside the arc, or 72.5%. Now that`s pleasantly surprising.

This was another game where Aubrey would have made a huge difference. I think she could have changed the energy in the second quarter.

This could have been a trap game - on the road in a difficult environment against a disciplined team, UConn coming off a loss, and at a time of year when at all levels, college and professional, upsets abound. It is the last difficult road game on their conference schedule. They should handle the rest of their conference schedule without difficulty.

Creighton is always dangerous; don’t underestimate them

 

[HuskyNan]

After watching the highlight video in post #33 - it appears the next thorn in UConn’s side will be Maddie Webber. Villanova needs to be prohibited from recruiting any more Maddie’s

 

[Longtime fan]

I was really hoping that after the poor performance, especially by Nika, vs. ND, that the team would come out really strong to start the game. Instead, they squeaked out a 1 point lead at half time. Was surprised we didn't take better advantage of Olsen picking up 2 fouls in Q1. I was really impressed with Nova's defense - they seemed to be great at stopping our penetration and drives, and we had to keep kicking the ball back out to reset.

BUT Q3 was much nicer! Both teams battled in Q4 -and UConn pulled away. Outscored them 44-24. Better rebounding, better everything. Really solid 2nd half.

In spite of lackluster 3 point shooting (31%), we still shot 61% for the game. And some really terrific defense overall on Lucy Olson - the BE leading scorer. Held her to 15 total points.

• Aaliyah came to play. Battled in the post. Some point black misses in the first half, but still managed a decent shooting % and was tough. 22 and 7.
• Nika - She really is essential to be on the floor most of the time for this team. 12 points, 10 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, 2 TO's and only 1 foul - i'll take that from her every game. I know she felt she let her team down against ND, and she did. Double double!! Geno said he was "proud of her" after the game!
• I'm so glad Paige took so many shots (18). Her 3 point shooting was off, like for the rest of the team, but 21 points, 5 assists, 5 boards? Nice. She started kind of slow but picked it up as the game went on.
• KK showed much more scoring tonight than she has recently. And plays tenacious defense. VERY efficient shooting 5-6.
• Ash - didn't take many shots and "only" scored 4 points, but her effort is top notch.
• Some solid minutes for Ice and Q. Ice with 4 assists and 3 blocks and Q with 5 points, but more importantly, shot 2-3 not jacking shots up.

Bottom line a great recovery. Adequate first half, but really nice 2nd half. Please build off this ladies!!

The " deal" with ASH right now ( still a freshman and all ) is that; if she misses her first shot, she stops shooting. Unless forced to do so.
I think UCONN has three great starters and "everybody else." If the core three are healthy, and on their game, the others just need to protect the ball and get it to the core three. The others ( the freshmen ) can score 4 -12 points ( each ) and that is plenty. Clearly, ASH and KK are the leaders of that group. However, if any of the core three are on the bench, the team begins to falter. Three or more freshmen on the court will not cut it against a good team. It is fine against most of the Big East. South Carolina will demand perfection from everyone. Too much to ask at this point.

 

[BBallF]

I see that but everyone I struggling with the pick and roll defense right now. Aaliyah made a bunch of mistakes with it as well

It was very noticeable to me last night. I often watch our defense even away from the ball when I'm there. It is a team issue but Nika did a good if not great job with it last night and Paige is great at it also. I think a big issue for Ice is quickness and timing. I think last year off hurt her a lot. Hopefully, the defense improves but you saw the weakness against ND. If Olsen had 30 last night it's a different game.

 

[Centerstream]

What I saw from my couch:

Both the ND game and last night's game didn't have the fluidity and sense of purpose shown earlier.

The talk of Uconn being unable to keep quick guards from getting easy shots will continue until we can stop it from happening on a regular basis. Both Nika and Ash play tenacious defense but neither can keep the quick guards from driving by them.

During halftime I posted in the chat room that I thought we were not fluid on both ends of the court. It was much better for parts of the second half.

It looked to me that Nova's game plan for Ashlynn was to screen her so that the person she was guarding could get to the basket or attempt a midrange jumper. Hopefully this is something that the team can work on before Sunday. I'm wondering if what happened to her on defense was partly responsible for last night's "off" night on offense.

 

[Jaml]

Another BE game where when you heard a whistle, you had to wonder who it was going to be on...for both teams. And another BE game where bodies fell to the court and then silence by the refs, way too often, again for both teams.
And in the 4th when Ice passed the ball inside to Paige but the ball ended up in a different zip code. I am still dazed by that play.
We won by 21, and we earned every point to get there.
But, I'm a happy camper tonight.

Yes, the officiating was rather suspect at times. That first foul on Aaliyah, where she took a hard forearm...that was crazy. I've never seen someone draw a foul on a player by committing a flagrant foul on that player. Aaliyah gets beat up and hardly ever complains.

 

[Huskee11]

Creighton is always dangerous; don’t underestimate them

They are not always dangerous, we beat them at their place 94-50 in early January.

I know that they put a big scare into UConn at Gampel last February, I was there, but I think that was their shot. UConn was playing on fumes at that point.

We are vulnerable to bigger teams and teams with super quick guards, but that doesn’t describe Creighton. They are a good veteran team and are well-coached but I think they have hit their ceiling.

UConn should win all of their remaining conference games by at least 20 points.

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes, the officiating was rather suspect at times. That first foul on Aaliyah, where she took a hard forearm...that was crazy. I've never seen someone draw a foul on a player by committing a flagrant foul on that player. Aaliyah gets beat up and hardly ever complains.

Yes, well, that basket where KK shoved Lucy out of her way wasn’t called. It was clearly an offensive foul. The reffing was spotty but didn’t favor either team

 

[LGITB]

it was the first move. They’ll do The Two Towers in August and we are definitely going

Good time to start perfecting your batte cry

 

[UcMiami]

You are correct, Nika is at 569 career assists and is presently in 7th place on the all time list. Ahead of her are Sue Bird (585), Crystal Dangerfield (599), Renee Montgomery (632), Jennifer Rizzotti (637), Diane Taurasi (648) and at number 1, Moriah Jefferson (659).

Of those above Nika - all were All-Americans and all but one Crystal, left UConn with atleast one national championship. A rarefied group indeed to be a part of!

So ... Nika has 9 remaining reg season games, and likely 3 BE tourney games, and we can count on at least 2 NCAA tourney games I think = 14 total. She averages 6.2 assists per game which would be 87 more assists which would be just short of Moriah. If Uconn advances to the E8 or she improves her average just a smidge she would break the record. It will be close one way or the other.