UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged)

[Linart]

I'm glad Jana played so well today. Her parents watch every game via the internet in Egypt but with the seven-hour time difference, they have to get up in the middle of the night to watch most games. At least this one was at a decent hour. Hope they enjoyed it!!

 

[MSGRET]

UConn's starting 5 outscored the entire South Carolina team 74-58. My only complaint is that the refs let SC foul Jana almost every time she touched the ball and she only had two freethrows.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Just watched one of the highlight videos.... and hard to believe, BUT South Carolina led in the game, ONCE... 11 - 9 at about the 4 minute mark of Quarter # 1...

 

[Vowelguy]

Agree with your assessments, except Shade and Paige--Ash had significant 3s to get us going and was great on defense, rebounding and sealing off the taller SC forwards on the boards. Just what Geno wants from her! Paige had 10 assists and set Azzi up for free shots on multiple occasions. No way Paige had a subpar game when she had a double double. Their contribution was certainly valuable and very significant to our win!

I said Shade had an above average game. Nothing is ever gonna top her IowaSt game.
But this may have been her 2nd best.

Also eye roll on everyone's Paige comments. IT WASNT A CRITICISM.
Would you be happier if I said "The only way we win a big game is if every single player plays out of their minds." ?

 

[PJCLaw]

I rewatched the game and I was even more impressed when I realized that the closest SC got from a couple minutes into the second quarter was 10 points, and that was after it was 31-14 and SC went on a 7-0 run to bring it to 10 before Geno called a timeout. Immediately after the time out UConn went on an 8-0 run to get it all back and held SC to only 2 more point for the remainder of the second quarter. SC never got it less than 20 for the rest of the game. Total DOMINATION!!!!!

 

[EricLA]

Just finished watching the game. To start off, SC didn't play their best and it wasn't their day shooting the ball so take that as you will. In regards to the team, I'm glad to finally get that signature win that we've all been looking for. Today you could tell UCONN wanted it more and didn't let up at any point in time. In addition, I thought when our bench players were in we didn't see a significant drop in play (like we've seen in seasons past).

I liked your entire post and agree with pretty much everything except the bold comment.

I have NEVER understood or believed the whole "just wanted it more". My mini rant to follow is not directed at you, but "experts" (announcers) who continue to peddle that as a legit explanation as to what happens on the floor.

Does any logical person REALLY believe that Geno and the coaches "wanted it more" than Dawn and her coaches? That the UCONN players "wanted it more" than SC's players? It seems to be a lazy explanation as what happens. UCONN simply played their A game, and SC did not. Part of SC's poor play was a direct relation to UCONN's incredible defense and spot on game plan.

I've been observing in several other threads that Geno has a tendency to recruit great all around basketball players who have "average" athleticism, and that those type of players seem like they won't win against superior athletes, who by and large, are now really good at scoring.

My point... going into this game, most seemed to acknowledge that SC had superior athleticism, size, and length, and that would probably be too much for UCONN to overcome.

However, UCONN's help defense was incredible, and their ability to clog the lane and prevent any easy layups for SC was on full display. The lateral movement or our "average" athletes was as good as I've ever seen, and it completely disrupted SC's offense.

Getting back to my original point, our great offense and great defensive plan was not a result of 'wanting it more'. IMHO it was a result of lots of really good practices leading up to this, great coaching, a great game plan, great execution of the game plan, and great leadership especially by Paige...

 

[ERWUC65]

Come Monday you will see #1 UCLA; #2 Notre Dame; #3 Texas; #4 Southern California; #5 UConn; #6 South Carolina; #7 LSU and #8 TCU

USC had that loss to unranked Iowa, keeps them out of top 4.

 

[Happydad745]

UCLA, Southern Cal, South Carolina, LSU...all lost this week..the ranking are a little up in the air.

 

[Bigboote]

You don’t get todays outcome from just shooting well/poorly.

It was an all around performance. Swarming defense and aggressive offense.

Yes — UConn shot 44%, SCar 38%. If the rebounding was as last year’s game, SCar likely wins again.

 

[HuskieDawg]

I believe one of the other underrated keys to this game was in the 1st half when Azzi didnt have her shot falling, Shade came in and nailed a couple 3’s. That was huge IMO. We know Shade is a grinder and is going to give you max effort, strong d, sneaky board presence, but her buckets, when she hit them, really pushed our momentum forward.

 

[ucmiami2]

A couple of keys. A few games ago someone said Geno was going to back off a little and instead of giving the team so many things to think about he would give them less or something like that. Today we were playing relaxed and free. The keys were somebody brought the ball up court and gave it to Paige to control the offense. She got Azzi going. Everybody was relaxed and just played. That was huge. Our focus was on executing plays and we did that well. Playing relaxed was the key. Just for kick just think about some of the open shots we missed and what could’ve been. Hey we aren’t going to out rebound all good teams like we did today. But thinking about it too we as a team could have others shoot a better percentage. Today we had a healthy Azzi who was up to speed. That was one difference. In our 3 losses we didn’t have that Azzi and we didn’t have Griff. We do now and because we do we are gonna be very tuff to beat. Very tuff to beat.

This is the time of year where Geno and CD start the build up toward conference tournament and NCAAs. The first part of the seasons is breaking people down, where no player can do anything right (except Precious.) The second is experimenting with the team, the combinations on the floor, and pushing the players hard. And the third part is now, when everything is good, the praise flows, and the team confidence is reinforced. They're first goal, the regular season conference title is in sight. The conference title follows quickly, and then the NCAAs after a break.

And, yes, it works like that every year, and the players gain a little swagger.

 

[oldude]

TN loss will keep UConn out of the top 4. UCLA, ND, TX and SC, then USC, UConn, LSU and ? (KY}

The TN loss knocked UConn down to 7. The win over SC, coupled with LSU’s loss to TX will move UConn up to 5. As I said before, there’s still a lot of basketball to be played. Tonight, USC almost lost to unranked Washington, which would have vaulted UConn to #4.

I expect UConn to win all the remaining games on their schedule including the conference tournament. The teams ahead of UConn all face tough games in conference along with conference tournament games where anything can happen.

UConn still has a very good chance of being a #1 seed during the Big Dance.

 

[oldude]

I believe one of the other underrated keys to this game was in the 1st half when Azzi didnt have her shot falling, Shade came in and nailed a couple 3’s. That was huge IMO. We know Shade is a grinder and is going to give you max effort, strong d, sneaky board presence, but her buckets, when she hit them, really pushed our momentum forward.

It was 11-11 when Ash nailed her first 3 from the arc. After that shot, UConn led for the rest of the game.

 

[PJCLaw]

Yes — UConn shot 44%, SCar 38%. If the rebounding was as last year’s game, SCar likely wins again.

Not a chance if that's the only change because very few of the UConn's threes were second chance threes, so what will account for the 30-point difference in the three-point shooting? The score, of course, would have been closer, but not a victory for SC.

 

[oldude]

I think this was an instance in which there was so much interest in the game that it spawned several different posts in the different forums. There was discussion of the game on the General Women's Basketball Forum and several congratulatory posts from many of our Gamecock friends and regulars. Here are a few of the many:

Visitingcock "The Empire strikes Back. Congrats to the Huskies That was a butt whipping!"

Gamecockfan77 "What a whipping. Congrats."

GamecockFam "Congrats UConn! You guys handed us our worst loss in probably 5 years. Sometimes it be like that... "

Thanks for the information on the numerous Gamecock fans that hang around the BY. I have met a number of SC WBB fans over the years, and I can honestly say that they are among the nicest people you could ever meet at a basketball game.

 

[UConnCat]

Paige didn't shoot well but she controlled the game for UConn. She pushed the ball, moved the ball in the half-court and put the ball in the right player's hands at the right time.

 

[DEFCONN1]

Just an observation. I thought Ash had loud 9 pts. and Sarah had a quiet 16 pts. I’ll take it either way !

 

[DEFCONN1]

Paige didn't shoot well but she controlled the game for UConn. She pushed the ball, moved the ball in the half-court and put the ball in the right player's hands at the right time.

That’s exactly the way Paige loves to play.

 

[Vowelguy]

The TN loss knocked UConn down to 7. The win over SC, coupled with LSU’s loss to TX will move UConn up to 5. As I said before, there’s still a lot of basketball to be played. Tonight, USC almost lost to unranked Washington, which would have vaulted UConn to #4.

I expect UConn to win all the remaining games on their schedule including the conference tournament. The teams ahead of UConn all face tough games in conference along with conference tournament games where anything can happen.

UConn still has a very good chance of being a #1 seed during the Big Dance.

No it really doesnt. The committee evaluates teams on their entire resume, not just the final weeks. And with 80% of games played, the results are mostly baked. The top teams are not going to get downgraded for losing to another top team, and UConn has no remaining tough matchups that would significantly enhance its resume. Even with a loss today, UConn was probably still a 2 seed.

Look at the quad 1 records. TX has 11 wins, SC has 10, UCLA/USC both have 8. UConn has 4.

 

[Dugway]

I admire Geno’s coaching. All of it, and not just basketball, but life! Even in the post game press conference. Where he recognizes that Sarah’s strengths and natural basketball skills, are just not the same, easily derived smooth flowing skills when it comes to her public speaking. And let’s face it, that is a skill that you can assign many, many $$$ to later on in her life.

Geno mentioned once before that Sarah’s mother really wants her to be better at speaking. And, what do you know, as a question is asked of Azzi, and while she is answering there is the coach setting the microphone up for Sarah, whispering to her, coaching her, knowing full well that she is going to be asked a question.

He’s got her back!

 

[oldude]

No it really doesnt. The committee evaluates teams on their entire resume, not just the final weeks. And with 80% of games played, the results are mostly baked. The top teams are not going to get downgraded for losing to another top team, and UConn has no remaining tough matchups that would significantly enhance its resume. Even with a loss today, UConn was probably still a 2 seed.

Look at the quad 1 records. TX has 11 wins, SC has 10, UCLA/USC both have 8. UConn has 4.

All the top teams have 5-7 games left to play, and upsets happen. As I indicated, had USC lost to Washington tonight, UConn would have jumped by them in the rankings. So let’s wait and see what happens before we declare UConn’s ceiling as a #2 seed.

 

[UConnCat]

No it really doesnt. The committee evaluates teams on their entire resume, not just the final weeks. And with 80% of games played, the results are mostly baked. The top teams are not going to get downgraded for losing to another top team, and UConn has no remaining tough matchups that would significantly enhance its resume. Even with a loss today, UConn was probably still a 2 seed.

Look at the quad 1 records. TX has 11 wins, SC has 10, UCLA/USC both have 8. UConn has 4.

Yes. UConn needs to finish out the regular season and win the BET and they'll be a #2 seed. Which #2 seed remains to be seen. They'll be capable of beating any of the #1 seeds but certainly match up better against some more than others.

 

[mainerhuski]

High Lights and if duplicate pardon me:

I hope the refs get a good look at the no contact fouls they called against UConn, featured in this clip. Overall, I think the game was pretty well-officiated, but a lot of people will see those mystery calls since they’re on the ESPN highlights.

 

[BRS24]

I was fortunate to attend today’s South Carolina game, and somewhat unfortunate to attend the game in Knoxville. My seats were in row one in Knoxville and in row one of the second level in Columbia. For anyone that has not been fortunate enough to be this close to the action during a big game it is a completely different feel than what you see on television. There are several things that struck me about these games. I had a better view with the Tennessee game, but a decent view for the SC game.

• It was interesting just how ferocious Ash is with defensive intensity and in things like going for a 50-50 rebounds. Her “aw shucks”Midwestern personality does not translate in person when she is locked in a defensive stance and stalking her opponent.
• I always picture Azzi with the big smile and the jovial personality, but on the court she has a locked in laser focus that should translate to taking over games in clutch situations.
• With Paige, it seems like the game actually slows down when the ball is in her hands. in Knoxville when the team was being pressed, and it seemed chaotic and things looked out of control, as soon as the ball hit Paige‘s hands, it seemed as if everything moved slower, and there was no panic whatsoever.
• Sarah was unusual to me as she seemed the same when I watch the games on television as in person. She is very poised and in control and doesn’t seem to move very fast even when she’s moving pretty fast.
• In person, KK is blazing fast and lightning quick This is something everybody knows, but until you see it close up, you don’t realize just how fast she is.
• Jana seemed like two different people in the two games, although in both cases, she made some minor mistakes. Today in Columbia she made several moves, and she had a presence, that made me feel very optimistic about the rest of the season.
• KC is still one of my favorite players, although I don’t have any significant observations.
• Glad to see Aubrey back on the court and moving well, she seems to be getting better each game.
• Caroline worked really good during warm-ups.
• I don’t believe Allie touched the rim on any shot during the warm-ups.

All in all, I saw two slightly different teams although obviously the Knoxville game just came down to missing a plethora of uncontested shots. The team I saw today dismantled a pretty good South Carolina team and gives me some pretty good hope for the upcoming tournament.

Ash definitely has some of that "midwestern nice" going on. And great observation on Azzi. For some reason, I noticed her expression in today's game, and yup, she was locked in, all business, and it didn't change the whole game.

For Jana, it's 100% a confidence thing. Each game shows a little bit more, and a few days ago, she said, I'm not where I want to be, but I'm getting there, and that's a good thing to recognize, and Geno called her out today with some props.