UConn vs Duke Post Game Thread

[cohenzone]

Watch out, UConn just got it’s sort of bad one out of the way

Stevens, I don’t know. She has a tendency to shoot flat footed and loses her height edge, leaving shots short. But she is definitely a plus.

 

[Centerstream]

Highly doubtful he still thinks that with how she’s played lately.

Oh, because she's not the leading scorer, she not playing well? By being defended the way she is, she's opening the court for everyone else. She's playing hard every play on both ends and making impacts every way possible.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Wow Coach P said "Gabby and Nurse" instead of #15 and #11!!!!

 

[pvdoggy]

Never seen coach JPM that gracious in defeat before. Also Lexi said that "We could have beaten UConn", yeah, sure

 

[huskeynut]

Its win and advance. Pretty or ugly doesn't matter!

The deeper you go into the tournament the better the competition gets. The better competition brings down the score for both teams. Geno was pleased with the defense. Not so much with the offense.

Next up - SC.

 

[Vowelguy]

Can you believe Holly asked Geno how will it be going up against the Best Player of the Year in A'ja Wilson? Geno was diplomatic in his reply, but I'm sure he was thinking KLS is the POY.

Yes I can believe it because Holly is the best in the business.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Coach P: I'm in the Gabby Williams fan club and is the closest thing to Maya Moore without the outside shooting obviously.

 

[bbballfan23]

Oh, because she's not the leading scorer, she not playing well? By being defended the way she is, she's opening the court for everyone else. She's playing hard every play on both ends and making impacts every way possible.

And you don’t think A’ja is being defended the same way? I love Lou as much as anyone and she’s been our best player during the regular season but she’s faded this postseason. Not scoring or passing at her normal clip. That being said, she doesn’t have to force like A’ja bc she has other AA’s around her so I do applaud her for not trying to do to much. I’m just telling you right now, the committee is noticing. Right, wrong or indifferent.

 

[oldude]

Sitting in a parking garage at TUC. Here’s some random thoughts.

- Duke played well, but the game was never really in doubt.

- Duke packed their zone in the paint and dared UConn to shoot 3’s. UConn made some, but they missed a lot of wide open shots.

- This was an interesting game for Z. She was much better on the defensive end than on offense.

As others have said, this time of year it’s either win and advance or lose and go home.

Still sitting in the parking garage. Got to find a better parking spot on Monday night.

 

[bbballfan23]

Coach P: I'm in the Gabby Williams fan club and is the closest thing to Maya Moore without the outside shooting obviously.

Wow...high praise! Gabby was our best player today though by a pretty comfortable stretch so I can see why she is impressed.

 

[UCONNfan1]

We are pretty lucky as fans... 13 elite 8'S in a row. And even a lackluster win where the game was not a work of art, lucky us to be that "blah" about the win.

I know it's win or go home, but at least 4 times during the game Geno was visibly and demonstrably disgusted with the team. Not sure if that was noticeable on TV...

 

[LasVegasYank]

With all the time the ESPN crew spent on Lexi Brown, I thought that they were going to cut away from the game for a 30-minute retrospective of her career.

Are we going to be "treated" to the same re: A'ja Wilson during the next game?

 

[HuskyNan]

Game stats from UConn's official site

 

[happymonsters]

And you don’t think A’ja is being defended the same way? I love Lou as much as anyone and she’s been our best player during the regular season but she’s faded this postseason. Not scoring or passing at her normal clip. That being said, she doesn’t have to force like A’ja bc she has other AA’s around her so I do applaud her for not trying to do to much. I’m just telling you right now, the committee is noticing. Right, wrong or indifferent.

Lou has been in a shooting slump since the end of the regular season, but I don't think she's playing poorly as a whole. Even today, which wasn't a great performance, she still scored 15 and shot 4/9 from 3; over 40% from 3 is solid. Not getting a lot of assists or rebounds but not turning it over either.

To contrast, Wilson had 20 but shot under 50%, which isn't great for a post player. She gets rebounds like she always does, but 8 turnovers to go with it. I also personally feel she gets the benefit of the doubt from the refs a bit too often, but that's for another day.

It's unfortunate for Lou that her only "bad" stretch of the season so far has come now, but she wasn't going to get NPOY anyways. The important thing is that the team wins on Monday, and I'm sure that's what she really cares about.

 

[dwalks93]

I guess I saw the game slightly differently....

Duke played not to get blown out....on offense Duke almost ran the shot clock out every time prior to throwing up a low probability shot. There was very limited offense execution by Duke (especially early in the shot clock) and Duke consistently passed up good shots in order to run more time. Effectively by playing that offense Duke said "we are going to lose but not by more than 20 cause we won't let you have enough possessions to score that much."

Sure, UConn's offense looked less fluid than normal but Duke did play solid defense and Duke's offensive stall game really ruined the flow. It never seemed to me the game was in doubt and it is hard to execute when you opponent just wants the clock to run out without getting embarrassed...

 

[HuskyNan]

When you shoot 45%... but your fans are used to seeing 50%+ this board gets a little coo coo for coco coco puffs. Lord I hope they make 3 more shots than they did today so they can hit that 50% vs SCar cause otherwise someone will go into cardiac arrest. Although since I will be at the game I doubt I will be on the BY to see all the moaning.

The nature of a chat feature and its ability to allow you to post much quicker (literally what's on your mind in an instant) than a thread will always lead to more negative comments. Just the way it is. I'll steer clear in the future but I am aleast glad I tried it. #bleedblue I will see those of you who are coming at the next game!

The on-board game threads were negative, too. I just got rid of some of the more hysterical comments. I much prefer watching the games over reading game threads for over the top hysteria.

 

[Centerstream]

And you don’t think A’ja is being defended the same way? I love Lou as much as anyone and she’s been our best player during the regular season but she’s faded this postseason. Not scoring or passing at her normal clip. That being said, she doesn’t have to force like A’ja bc she has other AA’s around her so I do applaud her for not trying to do to much. I’m just telling you right now, the committee is noticing. Right, wrong or indifferent.

As I have said all season, the media, especially ESPN, had preordained A'ja as this year's NPOY. However I think Lou did enough during the regular season to take the awards away from her and continues to do so. BUT, in reality I don't think Lou has a snowball's chance to win any of them.

 

[Mlb0814]

Still sitting in the parking garage. Got to find a better parking spot on Monday night. [/QUOTE]

Uncovered parking lot on the side street across from the TU Center. Out of the arena and driving in five minutes.

 

[DEpup]

That was a winning ugly game which is a good thing to get through as the tournament continues. Easily win playing your C game....I'll admit it isn't as entertaining when they are just managing the game. I'd like to see Lou get some 2pt shots in addition to the 3s. Probably were saving some gas for Monday night.

 

[UcMiami]

Nice attendance at 10658 - should blow the other regions away

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The game along with the thought I've carried and expressed.
We may very well win it all
But it won't all be pretty.

This poetic form I'm not recognizing; 'course, I'm a simple fella, like my poems to rhyme like The Ballhog Chick!

 

[huskeynut]

I guess I saw the game slightly differently....

Duke played not to get blown out....on offense Duke almost ran the shot clock out every time prior to throwing up a low probability shot. There was very limited offense execution by Duke (especially early in the shot clock) and Duke consistently passed up good shots in order to run more time. Effectively by playing that offense Duke said "we are going to lose but not by more than 20 cause we won't let you have enough possessions to score that much."

Sure, UConn's offense looked less fluid than normal but Duke did play solid defense and Duke's offensive stall game really ruined the flow. It never seemed to me the game was in doubt and it is hard to execute when you opponent just wants the clock to run out without getting embarrassed...

Spot on. I read somewhere that Duke's plan was to "take the air out of the ball" and limit UConn's possessions. Same thing Quinnipiac did. And you get the same result - a UConn win.

 

[HuskyNan]

This poetic form I'm not recognizing; 'course, I'm a simple fella, like my poems to rhyme like The Ballhog Chick!

Just msf's version of haiku. It works for him and is good mojo for UConn.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'm not a fan of ref-bashing but after a half of "let them play" didn't it seem like some oddly ticky-tack stuff got called in the second half? I know UConn was playing a physical game but it wasn't overly so, I didn't think. The Huskies got called for a couple head-scratchers in the second half.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Oh, because she's not the leading scorer, she not playing well? By being defended the way she is, she's opening the court for everyone else. She's playing hard every play on both ends and making impacts every way possible.

Agree! KLS is an all-around performer and obviously she has improved in other areas besides her shooting. It's hard for a shooter to concentrate on defense and passing like she has.
But personally I do not think she is POY. In fact I'm fine with UConn not even having a candidate. Their strength is their unselfishness and scoring balance and that doesn't go hand-in-hand with POY.
If I had a vote, I could easily argue for Gabby. If she didn't have that little "meltdown" (migraines) early in the year, I think she would be the frontrunner. No one impacts a game more than Gabby, game-in game-out. And even though we all love espn broadcasts, Gabby has had the most national exposure. Maybe with a couple of scorers from smaller programs like Plum recently, the world may be ready to embrace an all-around standout and not a pure scorer.