UConn vs CAL post game

[Gus Mahler]

As I've said before, no matter what he says to the media, Auriemma is never going to risk losing a game to develop subs. Never has, never will.

I'm with you.

Herm Edwards: "You play to win the game."

John Wooden: "Once the game began, I wanted to win as much as anybody."

Steve Spurrier (paraphrasing): If the idea isn't to win the game, what's the point of keeping score?

Nebraska vs. Miami, 1984 Orange Bowl. Nebraska comes from behind and scores a late touchdown. A successful PAT would tie the game at 31. Armchair pundits pointed out after the fact that since Nebraska was undefeated and ranked Number 1, and since Miami had one loss, going for the tie would have resulted in Nebraska being deemed the national championship (no overtime in those days). Instead, he went for two, the try failed, Nebraska lost the game, and Miami was hailed as the national champion. The play

 

[Longtime fan]

UConn 100% from the line today - 8/8. UConn did a great job holding Anigwe to 10 points. With all of the hype this game received leading up to game day, you might have thought Cal had a legitimate shot at winning this game. Cal's 10 wins were all against non-ranked opponents.

They're a good team. I concur with another poster that hopes this series with Cal continues for a long time. It will bring UConn to Cali every other year. There are a lot of UConn Women's BB team fans out here. More than you'd think.

I think he played the starting five all game for a reason. One reason is that they now have a lot of time off. Another is that he does try to win the games. Always. And it was evident that only the starting five could get it done. Olivia made two mistakes in her two minutes, and contributed exactly nothing positive. We have to get used to the fact that in close games, against quality teams, we will have five players to win it. And one, ONO, to provide a two minute breather for someone. I don't think we can expect more. I agree, however, it is a bit of a shame for all those kids to travel this far with no shot. But that's just the way it is. No different anywhere else, either.

 

[diggerfoot]

I liked Gardler but wasn't her top fan. She eventually drained 3, eventually was using her body to move people under the basket. Decent ball handler and knew who to pass to.
None of those attributes were outstanding, yet she gave Geno good sub minutes.
\My feelings about Irwin are about the same. Gardler wasn't the ONLY option for Geno then, Irwin has become the ONLY option. Subs for a Geno Team are expected to get into the game make a play or defensive stop, i.e. make a difference. What difference has Irwin made in any game of substance? She's a nice kid and works hard in practice and Geno likes her--all that said: is her game anywhere near equal to the 5 starters whom she may replace in a dastardly pinch?? The choice today should Walker, Napheesa or KLS foul out or deep foul trouble is ONO (foul prone, not much of a defensive threat) or Irwin (not much for lateral movement, slow in running the floor, can if really pushed hit a 3, not a great defender, is a great teammate (says KLS)). What do you do if you are Geno? If Touly is healthy if she can run for 20 minutes if , if if she'd be my choice no one else of size sits this bench.

?? Not sure if you've missed my point or just adding something. You are right, there were other options besides Gardler. She was only 8th or 9th on the depth chart depending on injury, yet she still got more minutes than Irwin who is 6th or 7th on the depth chart. This illustrates that Auriemma uses the bench differently now, he was more likely to give a Gardler/Irwin caliber player more minutes back then even when he had better bench options to choose from, and with an AA studded starting line-up (3 of them one year). I tried to make clear I was not faulting Auriemma for it, whatever his reasons. Merely stating what is, not offering an explanation of why or what should be.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Perspective from the Cal forum game thread
CAL vs UCONN thread | Bear Insider

My favorite posts are from someone named Hoop Dreams
"I like UConn's warmup drills "

"
Refs favoring UConn
Very slow to cal fouls on UConn "

"
Bears look confused with UConn's defense
Now I know why UConn "D" is so good "

"33 is killing us
We needed to take it at her to get her third foul
UConn zone shutting down KA
Cal shooters keeping us in game.... we finally have good 3 pt shooters
Considering we have 3 PGs on floor we sometimes look confused"

"33 is a pro " (my favorite post)

"
UConn and 33 as good as advertised
Bears played them tough and even got UConn coach a T"

"
UNConn starting five played all the minutes except 2
and they were trapping full court and playing aggressive defense
amazing"

 

[BroadwayVa]

?? Not sure if you've missed my point or just adding something. You are right, there were other options besides Gardler. She was only 8th or 9th on the depth chart depending on injury, yet she still got more minutes than Irwin who is 6th or 7th on the depth chart. This illustrates that Auriemma uses the bench differently now, he was more likely to give a Gardler/Irwin caliber player more minutes back then even when he had better bench options to choose from, and with an AA studded starting line-up (3 of them one year). I tried to make clear I was not faulting Auriemma for it, whatever his reasons. Merely stating what is, not offering an explanation of why or what should be.

It is not uncommon for me to miss a point, but I did add. I rarely defend Geno but with only 5 who can actually play at this level, I like to point that out.
No offense offered or intended. I try to accept all points of view after all this is an opinion site. If it were only for experts it would be reduced to one or two.
You are correct Geno's approach to his team and the game is different this year and last. As a builder (and he is working to build a team) you sometimes select granite and when it arrives you find it an imitation. I.e he is stuck working with that which he has. Why then didn't her recruit more or better. I have asked that question over and over. I believe in the past 14 years or so he took players who sat too much didn't develop didn't add much or anything to the team. Gardler was the daughter of his childhood coach, it was payback time in the positive mode. Did he expect the same results from Irwin, I did.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Article from regular Cal writer Viet Nguyen
No. 14 Cal falls to No. 1 UConn, 76-66, in front of record crowd

From the article about Lou
“She’s changed,” said Auriemma. “Her reputation was she makes shots. She’s a basketball player now. She’s handling the ball, she’s playing defense, she’s rebounding it. That kid has become a hell of a basketball player.”

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Perspective from the Cal forum game thread
CAL vs UCONN thread | Bear Insider

My favorite posts are from someone named Hoop Dreams
"I like UConn's warmup drills "

"
Refs favoring UConn
Very slow to cal fouls on UConn "

"
Bears look confused with UConn's defense
Now I know why UConn "D" is so good "

"33 is killing us
We needed to take it at her to get her third foul
UConn zone shutting down KA
Cal shooters keeping us in game.... we finally have good 3 pt shooters
Considering we have 3 PGs on floor we sometimes look confused"

"33 is a pro " (my favorite post)

"
UConn and 33 as good as advertised
Bears played them tough and even got UConn coach a T"

"
UNConn starting five played all the minutes except 2
and they were trapping full court and playing aggressive defense
amazing"

Great to see this info from an "enemy" chat board. Nice how they talk about our Team...especially #33 (who dat?? )
the tone on the Chat sure seemed civil and a place worth visiting to track a game if you can't watch yourself (in person or on TV (i.e. PAC-12 Network))

 

[BroadwayVa]

Perspective from the Cal forum game thread
CAL vs UCONN thread | Bear Insider

My favorite posts are from someone named Hoop Dreams
"I like UConn's warmup drills "

"
Refs favoring UConn
Very slow to cal fouls on UConn "

"
Bears look confused with UConn's defense
Now I know why UConn "D" is so good "

"33 is killing us
We needed to take it at her to get her third foul
UConn zone shutting down KA
Cal shooters keeping us in game.... we finally have good 3 pt shooters
Considering we have 3 PGs on floor we sometimes look confused"

"33 is a pro " (my favorite post)

"
UConn and 33 as good as advertised
Bears played them tough and even got UConn coach a T"

"
UNConn starting five played all the minutes except 2
and they were trapping full court and playing aggressive defense
amazing"

When your opponent fans have this much respect for your team --you got to know how great they are---Uconn pro's!! Starting 5 played all minutes except 2--AMAZING-
Thank you for finding his--high praise from Cal Bears fans, thank them too.

 

[FridaFriend]

I sat several rows up behind the Cal bench at the game yesterday and I wanted to make some observations.

First, this game was a REALLY big deal in Berkeley. The San Francisco Chronicle never gives women’s basketball more than a few lines on a back page (Sometimes Stanford gets more mention). This morning, the UCONN game was front page of the sports section with a picture of Collier and Anigwe fighting for a rebound. The paper said that this was the largest attendance for any Cal women’s basketball home game ever. Coach Gottlieb wanted to use this game to help make women’s basketball popular and worth attending.

I was in the middle of a Cal fan section and they were cheering loudly for Cal. They were also saying, “Wow, look at that Samuelson kid. She can do everything. We get a basket and she immediately gets one back. Nobody can stop her.’ They also said, “UCONN really plays as a team and everybody can shoot and handle the ball. They look like they know what they’re doing, even when they miss.”

As to Geno and his coaching: Every timeout, he had the players gathered around him for the entire time. Cal players would be back on the floor ready to play and Geno didn’t let them go until the horn sounded. He was working very intensely with them the entire period. My impression was that he wanted to stay with the starters for the entire game, because he wanted them to play together great. I have seen him get bored or exasperated with his players; not today, he was intensely involved the entire game. I think he understood that people came to the Haas Pavilion yesterday to see the best team in the United States, not to see their understudies being trained.

 

[Padutch5]

I was thinking the same thing. Good game. I enjoyed the game today, along with all they Cal based hype leading up to it.

"The Huskies (11-0) have won 126 consecutive regular season games, and they won this one in the same fashion as many of those. Connecticut showcased highly skilled offensive players and the balance every coach seeks in getting five double-digit scorers".

"With a handful of WNBA scouts charting every move, Katie Lou Samuelson led the way with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Napheesa Collier added 16 points and six rebounds. The Huskies limited Cal star Kristine Anigwe to 10 points and 14 rebounds" (Great job by Collier - UConn could not have afforded a 25-28 point performance by her today) - "her 10th straight double-double that came on a day during which she shot only 5-of-16."


"

I thought that we were on our way to a 20+ point lead (when it was 17) and then there were a couple of non calls, one where Pheesa ended up on the ground as the ball went out of bounds under our basket, CAL ball, and the other when Geno thought the refs missed a call and then got the "T". I believe after Pheesa fell down(????), CAL got a 3 PT shot. SO in a matter of seconds, our 17 point lead was down to 11 or 9. And there were other non calls, one where the CAL player got an O board by jumping on CD's back in the lane and then putting the ball in the basket. Also the refs didn't seem to know how to count, like Lou's inbound late in the game where it seemed to take more than 5 seconds, as the announce team mentioned and when Anigwe was setting up her tent in the lane on quite a few possessions.
But hey, we won!!!

I'm assuming they meant women's games at Cal, not nationwide.

Just added your info in a table.

View attachment 37650

I should know this, but what does it cost to go to a South Carolina home game. When this topic has come up in the past, my recolllection is that very few teams , including Tennessee and ND , charge more than a nominal amount.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I sat several rows up behind the Cal bench at the game yesterday and I wanted to make some observations.

First, this game was a REALLY big deal in Berkeley. The San Francisco Chronicle never gives women’s basketball more than a few lines on a back page (Sometimes Stanford gets more mention). This morning, the UCONN game was front page of the sports section with a picture of Collier and Anigwe fighting for a rebound. The paper said that this was the largest attendance for any Cal women’s basketball home game ever. Coach Gottlieb wanted to use this game to help make women’s basketball popular and worth attending.

I was in the middle of a Cal fan section and they were cheering loudly for Cal. They were also saying, “Wow, look at that Samuelson kid. She can do everything. We get a basket and she immediately gets one back. Nobody can stop her.’ They also said, “UCONN really plays as a team and everybody can shoot and handle the ball. They look like they know what they’re doing, even when they miss.”

As to Geno and his coaching: Every timeout, he had the players gathered around him for the entire time. Cal players would be back on the floor ready to play and Geno didn’t let them go until the horn sounded. He was working very intensely with them the entire period. My impression was that he wanted to stay with the starters for the entire game, because he wanted them to play together great. I have seen him get bored or exasperated with his players; not today, he was intensely involved the entire game. I think he understood that people came to the Haas Pavilion yesterday to see the best team in the United States, not to see their understudies being trained.

Maybe it's just me...but in this post (of CAL Fan comments in the stands at the game) and ochoopsfan's post with CAL Chat Board comments, it sure seems Lou gets more respect from our opponents than from the Fans we would expect to "show her the love"... Just sayin'

 

[arch]

Dude, good point, but how much does this matter? While opinions vary, my view is that the past two years UConn has been worn down by the end of the year with numerous foot, ankle and other injuries limiting players like Kia and Crystal and KLS. All we needed was an extra basket to win Championship. Fouls mean we need some experience to come in at critical times. We will still need to go through the best of the best so having a deeper, well rested team would be my #1 priority.

Would like to suggest that nothing to-date has anything to do with the conditioning of the team in March.

 

[Zinethar]

Perspective from the Cal forum game thread
CAL vs UCONN thread | Bear Insider

My favorite posts are from someone named Hoop Dreams
"I like UConn's warmup drills "

I went to that link you gave and read the entire post. One of the most thoughtful team boards I have read. Not a ton of wild nutty things and were real complimentary of UConn. Some real fair and well thought analysis.

 

[Los24]

Sorry if this has been posted but if you have Fubo here are 3 times that the game is replaying. I signed up for trial and will be cancelling. It was a good game to watch and I am going to set the DVR function so I can hopefully re-watch it tomorrow.

 

[j66kicker]

1) Steve Spurrier (paraphrasing): If the idea isn't to win the game, what's the point of keeping score?

2) Nebraska vs. Miami, 1984 Orange Bowl. Nebraska comes from behind and scores a late touchdown. A successful PAT would tie the game at 31. Armchair pundits pointed out after the fact that since Nebraska was undefeated and ranked Number 1, and since Miami had one loss, going for the tie would have resulted in Nebraska being deemed the national championship (no overtime in those days). Instead, he went for two, the try failed, Nebraska lost the game, and Miami was hailed as the national champion. The play

1) Steve Spurrier (while at FL, in the locker room, to his team before the game): "OK let's go out there and beat 'em as bad as we can beat 'em. If they don't like it, tell 'em to get better."

2) That's the only thing Nebraska ever did that I admired. (I hate overtime in CFB)

 

[JRRRJ]

In the Cal game who do you put in that will not foul, turn the ball over. Uconn with it's starting five was having trouble keeping the score even--who then from the bench to you put in to LEARN. The OU, SJ, games at what point do you put in Molly, Coombs, ONO, Irwin without a great degree of probability they will hurt you?
Me and 100,000 UCWBB fans demand the 30 point blow outs--darn it all the memo hasn't reached SJ, Ou,Cal, Baylor, Louisville etc. The memo they received was--Uconn has no bench run the legs off of the 5, get them in foul trouble. So Geno tells his kid don't foul even at the expense of a basket--be in the game in the final quarter--and it has worked.
My poorly developed and losing 1 gram of weight per year brain wants Geno to give the bench more experience--then reality of life sets in --and I see Geno dilemma

Kyla's TO/min is less than Napheesa and Crystal, her fouls/min is less than Napheesa, Megan, Crystal and she shoots 50% from the floor 80% from 3. She gets more assists/min than Megan and Christyn.
Olivia's points/min is better than Christyn, Megan and Crystal, and she averages better than 2 blocks a game in just over 11 min/game.
Mikayla Has fewer TOs/min than Crystal and has more than twice as many steals/min than any of the starters, and only Napheesa among the starters has more blocks/min. She has fewer fouls/min than Napheesa, Meghan and Christyn.

These are not chopped liver, and held their own in the Paradise Jam games when they were given significant minutes against the starters. There is of course a gap between our starters and bench (duh!), but it's not as large as your "they'll drop the ball and trip over the opponents" attitude represents.

 

[Gus Mahler]

1) Steve Spurrier (while at FL, in the locker room, to his team before the game): "OK let's go out there and beat 'em as bad as we can beat 'em. If they don't like it, tell 'em to get better."

2) That's the only thing Nebraska ever did that I admired. (I hate overtime in CFB)

Your response is interesting and I totally respect it.

To clarify: I in no way want my post to be interpreted as though I admire or respect Steve Spurrier or Tom Osborne. I guess I should have clarified that. I was trying to enforce my view that you play to win the game, that that is the whole point of intercollegiate athletics (and high school, and pro). In other words, you play the game to win the game, and national rankings or mythological championships be damned.

I don't like Spurrier, irrespective of his many interesting comments. He was a braggart when he was succeeding at Florida, and was inevitably a quitter. Regarding Osborne, I respect what he did on this occasion, but that is countermanded by his playing a thug in a big game when he clearly should have benched the kid (or kicked him off the team).

I think we are on the same page, overall.

 

[j66kicker]

I don't like Spurrier, irrespective of his many interesting comments. He was a braggart when he was succeeding at Florida, and was inevitably a quitter. Regarding Osborne, I respect what he did on this occasion, but that is countermanded by his playing a thug in a big game when he clearly should have benched the kid (or kicked him off the team).

I think we are on the same page, overall.

Yes we are on the same page re. Spurrier AND Osborne. Just reminiscing, sorry.

Regarding Spurrier running up the score, many feel that's what Geno does.

 

[Ex Nutmegger]

Regarding the cost of tickets at other schools - I went to the Cal game yesterday (first game in person) and sat in some very nice seats in Section 17, Row C directly opposite the UConn bench. I got my tickets on stub hub. When they were sent to my email, I noticed their face value(price received by Cal) was $6 each. How much does a third row sideline seat sell for at Gample?

 

[j66kicker]

Regarding the cost of tickets at other schools - I went to the Cal game yesterday (first game in person) and sat in some very nice seats in Section 17, Row C directly opposite the UConn bench. I got my tickets on stub hub. When they were sent to my email, I noticed their face value(price received by Cal) was $6 each. How much does a third row sideline seat sell for at Gample?

For the Oklahoma game the other night I had ordered some nice seats (lower bowl, ~ half-way up) directly from OU for I think $12. The upper bowl seats were GA for $8. When we got to the arena there was a scalper in the parking lot so we asked what he had, just out of curiosity. We ended up giving him $20 each for $15 face value seats in the 4th row behind the press table. Plus he bought our original tix for $5 each.

Supply & demand, I guess. Of course OU is much like S. Carolina, in that it gets a LOT of revenue from being a big-time football school (only OU is more big-time than SC - 7 NCs and 7 Heisman winners). Like SC, I don't think WBB is more than an "incidental expense" on the income statement ("Title IX Expense"?). They keep paying Sherri Coale $1 million a year for basically zip results in the last 10 years, and don't seem to notice.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kyla's TO/min is less than Napheesa and Crystal, her fouls/min is less than Napheesa, Megan, Crystal and she shoots 50% from the floor 80% from 3. She gets more assists/min than Megan and Christyn.
Olivia's points/min is better than Christyn, Megan and Crystal, and she averages better than 2 blocks a game in just over 11 min/game.
Mikayla Has fewer TOs/min than Crystal and has more than twice as many steals/min than any of the starters, and only Napheesa among the starters has more blocks/min. She has fewer fouls/min than Napheesa, Meghan and Christyn.

These are not chopped liver, and held their own in the Paradise Jam games when they were given significant minutes against the starters. There is of course a gap between our starters and bench (duh!), but it's not as large as your "they'll drop the ball and trip over the opponents" attitude represents.

When you shoot three times in a season and make 2--your precentage is fantastic.
If NUMBERS/stats told the story Geno would be playing them every game maybe as starters. So why isn't Geno playing them? Is he some kind of boob that can't assess a player? Of course NOT.
Coombs and ONO HAVE POTENTIAL.
ONO in those games she went in and came out--2 minutes--WHY if NUMBERS told the whole story? She may be the best post Uconn has ever had she has potential. She lacks confidence, experience in Division one, the mindset to know how to defend without fouling. She HAS been effective with small teams--but-- Uconn doesn't need her with small teams, with them she adds a means to defeat the small team, but Napheesa KLS can do it without her.
Coombs assets are she can see the floor, can defend in the open floor-, can handle the ball--with your stats--why then isn't Geno playing her against ND, OU, Cal ? Because she too lacks confidence (using Geno's words there) she is athletic. It would appear her body runs faster than her brain i.e she makes a near perfect drive to the basket and throws the ball much too hard and misses, that is correctable, she too needs experience.

They are not chopped liver--when was the last time you saw chopped liver(?). All on the Bench had/have potential, all on the bench against AAC teams may add some relief to the starting 5--we all know they need that. Potential doesn't always get fulfilled.
Confidence for Bent, Ono, Coombs appears to be a common lacking. Geno can build some confidence if he has the time, some never really get it. Experience for ONO Coombs will begin in the AAC games.
If STATs told the whole story why then isn't Geno playing them?? Why are Walker and C William Starting? Bias, or because they were number 1 recruits--so Geno ignore their stats comparison??? Reality is real, stats are just number.




E

 

[Bajan Best]

I think he played the starting five all game for a reason. One reason is that they now have a lot of time off. Another is that he does try to win the games. Always. And it was evident that only the starting five could get it done. Olivia made two mistakes in her two minutes, and contributed exactly nothing positive. We have to get used to the fact that in close games, against quality teams, we will have five players to win it. And one, ONO, to provide a two minute breather for someone. I don't think we can expect more. I agree, however, it is a bit of a shame for all those kids to travel this far with no shot. But that's just the way it is. No different anywhere else, either.

What exactly were Olivia's two mistakes?

 

[HopJim]

In some ways, perfect game for UConn to play this time of year. Well coached opponent with good outside shooters and strong inside game. UConn played under control but still gave up many 3 pointers and was overpowered at times (Walker in particular) underneath. Geno likely smiling-a lot of points to coach without losing.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I was unable to watch the Cal game, but in viewing the highlights UConn seems to be utilizing high ball screens much more than they have the past few years. Do others have that same impression about their offense sets?

 

[wallman]

This was a very good game for the fans. First time I have seen Haas rocking. Sure Cal was hitting shots that they don't normally make but they had to have that shoot em up attitude, with nothing to lose, to have any chance as your game plan was to send help on Anigwe and leave a shooter open. Once the game went into the second half Uconn were on cruise, and then you had a few of your younger players decide to take early shots and you lost a few possessions, this brought Cal back in a little. Add on Genos technical, which was bad timing and Dangerfield missing her assignment on Thomas, and Cal thought they had a chance, but only for a few seconds. When your younger players understand time management better you will be blowing teams out by a lot.