UConn vs Duke Post Game Thread

[PAHuskeyFan]

Random thoughts in regard to some comments on this thread:
a. Not a great offensive game... but a VERY good defensive game...held Duke WELL BELOW their normal per game average.
a.1. UConn Players know they didn't have a great offensive game...and they will work hard to correct that in the next game. More times than not, UConn Huskies Women's Basketball follows an "off game" with an excellent one!
b. Lou has not been tearing things up in the NCAA Tournament...some of that is because of the way others are playing defense...some is because other UConn players are getting and taking their shots (and in most cases making them)... AND...it seems she has not been getting the ball. The fluid motion offense hasn't been there the last few games...so she is not getting the cuts, back cuts and so on....but today it seemed like Lou was standing alone on the wings or in the corner with the closest defender 15 or so feet away and she wasn't getting the ball.
c. Energy level seems lower in the last couple games...is that a factor of "over confidence"... surely not fatigue!!! No one gets tired in the NCAA tournament.

I feel pretty certain the Team will come out with a renewed energy against South Carolina... that they will not take anything for granted and that they know South Carolina Must be beaten...they are not going to roll over. I would not be surprised to see a game similar to the one played in South Carolina earlier this year.

 

[msf22b]

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

Poetry not attempted
just a brief expression of my thoughts
See y'all in Albany on Monday; couldn't make it today.

 

[Bama fan]

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

Let us hope she has three more chances to change his mind, and yours I guess.

 

[BlueDevils]

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...

I agree with everything said. Outside Leonna Odom and solid halfcourt defense in spurts, this was disappointing and just boring to watch.

 

[Bama fan]

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...

He looked at least unhappy more than once!

 

[wbball novice]

Based on ESPN post-game analysis the best way to counter the UConn offense is zone. Is this what they'll see from here on out? What are the various ways teams break a zone defense? Is better outside shooting the only solution?

 

[Vowelguy]

Based on ESPN post-game analysis the best way to counter the UConn offense is zone. Is this what they'll see from here on out? What are the various ways teams break a zone defense? Is better outside shooting the only solution?

Hit 3s, find soft spots in the zone, rebound well, push aggressively on offense before the zone has had time to set up.

 

[Bama fan]

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?

I am willing to go way out on the limb here, and say yes we will be so treated. At a certain point, you just have to mute them and watch.

 

[DEpup]

Oh yeah. Wilson best player in the country and number 1 pick should be a drinking game phrase....that will get you drunk quick....

 

[TitleTown]

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.

Stevens didn't have a great offensive game today but she still managed 8pt, 12rb, and 3blk in just 18 minutes of play.

 

[UConnNick]

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...

Exactly right. Why even bother playing the game if you've obviously conceded defeat before the opening tip? They're consistently down by 15-20 points throughout the 2H and all they did was pound the ball. You've got to quit stalling and increase your possessions to have any chance to win.

 

[CMC'72]

One downside is that it will increase South Carolina's confidence going into Monday night's game.

I sincerely hope it does increase SC's confidence going into Monday night's game.

For two reasons:
1. SC might give us a good game and not a blowout, and
2. Love to dash the hopeful.

 

[Topsail]

last time we played SC we shot about the same as tonite but won by 25. The key will be to limit TO s , fouls and shoot well from The Charity stripe.

 

[Topsail]

Last time against SC crystal was 1/10& 1/5 and Z was 1/5 3rb and 4 pfs

 

[Topsail]

And we still won by 25

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I sincerely hope it does increase SC's confidence going into Monday night's game.

For two reasons:
1. SC might give us a good game and not a blowout, and
2. Love to dash the hopeful.

Atta boy: It is not enough to win. Others must lose. A/K/A Not everyone gets a trophy.

 

[Alydar]

Point guard play needs to improve to beat SC. Half-court offense was very stagnant. I'm not sure if Dangerfield is hurt, but she did nothing to push the action. This is how UConn lost to Miss State - make UConn a flat jump shooting team.

For the entire 1st half Duke had four defenders with at least one foot in the paint. Kemba Walker wasn't going to penetrate that. When a team sags into the paint the other team needs to find good perimeter shots and make them. UConn found good shots but they weren't going in.

It was a boring game though.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I though the defensive effort was very good through 3 quarters. The last quarter was sloppy.

The offense wasn’t pretty, and we missed shots we normally make. We also shot a poor 8-16 on FTs.

It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing or fully satisfying, but we never were close to losing. Texas and Baylor sure would have liked an “ugly” 13-point WIN.

I’d like to see us clean up a few things for Monday and shoot the ball better. We have Gabby, and SC doesn’t.

 

[meyers7]

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.

I parked under the Egg. A little bit of a walk, up and down some stairs but it's all inside. Easy in and out. Was $5 today.

 

[Topsail]

Clearly Danger is struggling and I m sure it is due to her shin splints. She has not been able to practice much with the team and is not in the flow. They will have to win it with her as she is. Next year I expect her to be healthy and tear up the competition.

 

[rt bb fan]

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 is looking for her shot but no one is passing her the ball.

 

[donalddoowop]

I come to the BY and read all this criticism. I go to the Internet and read where "UCONN Routes Duke". No mention of all the negative things I have read on here. It gets old. Just a thought; I think UCONN's offense will be sharper on Monday.

 

[donalddoowop]

Lou is looking for her shot but no one is passing her the ball.

Not true.

 

[Zinethar]

My opinions are no more valuable than any but to me in the games I've see A'ja seems to take a lot of time off during games and plays with fire only when she feels like it. Gabby plays with fire always. I'm tired of hearing about her being crowned before the fact but it is likely to happen. She can not beat UConn so they will make it hard for her to get the ball and stop others from helping. Today's game the Duke player who lead the scoring was left alone in order to shut down the ones who could hurt them. Why are UConn vs ND games high scoring? Because they play to win, not to keep the score low.

 

[Alydar]

ESPN missed the opportunity so did anyone at the game see JPP & Stevens in the handshake line?????????

 

[JoePgh]

Having just driven back from the game and not having watched the replay yet (that’s next), I have a different and more positive take on the game than most of the posters here. The shooting was bad, both from the field and from the free throw line. Before I saw the box score, I expected to see UConn’s field goal percentage for the game in the low forties or even high thirties. It was actually 45%, which certainly surprised me.

But I really thought that was the ONLY thing that was wrong. I didn’t see any problems with offensive flow — what I saw was an offense that was producing open, “easy” looks on nearly every possession, and then too many of those shots were being missed. Napheesa especially was missing in a completely untypical way — she made some very difficult shots and missed a lot of (for her) easy ones.

It looked to me as if UConn was playing against Duke’s zone pretty much the way that they have played against other defenses that they have seen this year. In the second quarter especially, Duke’s defense was being shredded on a regular basis. In the other quarters, it was more a matter of missed shots than of having difficulty getting shots.

I did not think that Duke’s running the shot clock down on so many possessions was the result of an attempt to slow the game down and lose by a respectable margin. Instead, I thought they were just having extreme difficulty getting a good look against UConn’s defense. Duke was far more visibly stymied by UConn’s defense than UConn was by Duke’s zone.

One other observation that I’m surprised that no one has made: I thought Megan Walker played really well in the limited minutes that Geno gave her, and played a significant role in keeping the lead. She hustled for rebounds (looking like a very strong rebounder, as she has in other games), and I did not notice her missing defensive assignments. If she can do that for three more games, Crystal can get some more rest.

I also watched the South Carolina game against Buffalo. My general reaction was, “If you think UConn has problems, ...”. Based solely on what I saw in both games today, I would much rather be in Geno’s position than Dawn’s going in to Monday night.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I come to the BY and read all this criticism. I go to the Internet and read where "UCONN Routes Duke". No mention of all the negative things I have read on here. It gets old. Just a thought; I think UCONN's offense will be sharper on Monday.

You're free to adopt whoever's take you want, but you're basically saying that you follow the casual observer (e.g. national media outlets) over the committed fan (everyone here).

 

[mbr33ct]

Just got here, didn't bother reading through this thread...are we doomed?

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Having just driven back from the game and not having watched the replay yet (that’s next), I have a different and more positive take on the game than most of the posters here. The shooting was bad, both from the field and from the free throw line. Before I saw the box score, I expected to see UConn’s field goal percentage for the game in the low forties or even high thirties. It was actually 45%, which certainly surprised me.

But I really thought that was the ONLY thing that was wrong. I didn’t see any problems with offensive flow — what I saw was an offense that was producing open, “easy” looks on nearly every possession, and then too many of those shots were being missed. Napheesa especially was missing in a completely untypical way — she made some very difficult shots and missed a lot of (for her easy ones.

It looked to me as if UConn was playing against Duke’s zone pretty much the way that they have played against other defenses that they have seen this year. In the second quarter especially, Duke’s defense was being shredded on a regular basis. In the other quarters, it was more a matter of missed shots of than having difficulty getting shots.

I did not think that Duke’s running the shot clock down on so many possessions was the result of an attempt to slow the game down and lose by a respectable margin. Instead, I thought they were just having extreme difficulty getting a good look against UConn’s defense. Duke was far more visibly stymied by UConn’s defense than UConn was by Duke’s zone.

One other observation that I’m surprised that no one has made: I thought Megan Walker played really well in the limited minutes that Geno gave her, and played a significant role in keeping the lead. She hustled for rebounds (looking like a very strong rebounder, as she has in other games), and I did not notice her missing defensive assignments. If she can do that for three more games, Crystal can get some more rest.

I also watched the South Carolina game against Buffalo. My general reaction was, “If you think UConn has problems, ...”. Based solely on what I saw in both games today, I would much rather be in Geno’s position than Dawn’s going in to Monday night.

Thanks for these insights from being there. I believe we're OK...and on Monday night our Huskies will play an inspired game and move on.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Just got here, didn't bother reading through this thread...are we doomed?

Not "Doomed"... but it's hard to believe that some times. We all want the perfect game...this one was a bit less than that...missed shots, missed free throws...but great defense. We'll be OK.