UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged)

[JoePgh]

Dawn made the same diagnosis of her team's loss in her in-game interview and in her post-game press conference. She said (almost verbatim) that South Carolina's big problem was its transition defense against UConn's 3-point transition offense -- that if you allow UConn to get an open 3-point shot before you have time to set up your defense, the shot will be in the air and through the net before you do get organized. I think that is exactly what happened.

I think that also explains, in part, why the rebounding was so lopsided. South Carolina, like most teams, is accustomed to rebounding out of a man-to-man half court defense, where they can box out the opposing rebounders. But if the opponent's shot goes up during transition, the boxing out isn't organized, and quick guards like Ashlynn and KK (not to mention Paige) can sneak in to grab the rebound before the one-on-one boxing out gets organized.

I wonder if there are any SEC opponents who emphasize transition offense, and particularly transition 3-point offense, in the way that UConn did today. What UConn did today was more like the Celtics' offensive strategy, which other teams in the NBA also use to a degree. If you have good 3-point shooters, then let it fly whenever you can. You will win if you hit more that 33% of your 3-point attempts (equivalent to 50% 2-point shooting), because it's unlikely that the opponent will really be able to hit 50% of its 2-point shots. And when you hit 46%, as UConn did today on a high volume of 3-point attempts, it's almost impossible for the opponent to score enough to keep pace.

The SEC does not play basketball that way.

 

[Zonepress]

Lots of great performances but imho
What really set this game a part was in it look like Paige is finally going to be the point guard
While she didn’t shoot very well and passed up a number of wide-open shots(Geno went nuts on one in the 2nd half) and had a few careless turnovers she controlled the game by having the ball in her hands the assists were outstanding
And showed the leadership needed

 

[oldude]

I’m guessing that Agot Makeer was an extremely interested fan of today’s game, considering that UConn & SC are two of the final 3 schools she’s considering. I wonder what she’s thinking right now?

 

[Zarathustra]

South Carolina couldn't rely on their beat-em-up/knock-em-down game today. Too much size (and grit) with Sarah and Jana, and toughness throughout the UConn lineup.

"PRETTY BASKETBALL" is "VERY PRETTY".

 

[tomcat]

Crow never tasted so good.
I was one of those who did not believe UConn could win today. I had a ton of reasons, not the least of which was having to play in SC with that insane crowd and UConn's lack of victories against strong teams this year. I cannot tell you how happy I am to not only be wrong, but to be wrong in a big way.
Among the wonderful things that happened today:
1. A coming-out party for Jana, who has not played like that at any time previously. She seems more assured, which is an essential if UConn is going to go anywhere in the postseason.
2. Ashlynn's three 3s, which were early-game nails in the coffin. In addition, she keeps impressing with the ability to slash toward the basket and grab rebounds.
3. Azzi, who is proving me wrong. I thought she would continue a trend of showing up small in big games, but boy, she has turned it around with a bunch of points against a top-notch team. Looks like a trend and could not have happened at a better time.
4. Paige did not have a great shooting day, IMHO, but was where the team needed her with assists, rebounds and defense.
5. KK continues to impess. Her defense is amazing, and she gets the occasional shot that can keep the momentum going.
6. Most of all, Geno going from big ball to small ball to really small ball and back again. Everything he did today worked. Perhaps another trend?
It's never good to see a player out with an injury for an extended period, but I think Ice's absence has a positive side. It has allowed Geno to settle on lineups that seem to work without a disruption in momentum. The transition game worked very well today, and SC didn't have an answer. Dawn's a good coach. Her team will learn from this and (gulp) be better in the NCAAs.
In short, to me this was the most enjoyable UConn game in maybe four years.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Found tis in my scrolling:

 

[WiseWillie]

Well... who could have predicted that? Q1 was really solid, Q2 a thing of beauty, Q3 - I thought SC might blitz us after the halftime lecture I'm sure Dawn gave them, and frankly I didn't care what happened in Q4 - the damage was done. But... we basically outplayed them in EVERY quarter. Holy cow!!

I'm not going to speak in hyperbole regarding the future this season, nor even discuss it. Just going to enjoy this game, which to me was totally unexpected. 3 things shocked me in the first half:

• Jana's play, AND going 2-2 from the FT line
• Ash going 3-3 from 3
• All of that lead was done with average output from Paige and Azzi

Then obviously Azzi caught fire and showed us the potential she has. Every player contributed. Even in an off shooting night for Paige (3-12, but a double-double and a host of boards), this TEAM still played great for a hard fought and well earned win. A couple shout outs...

• Azzi in the 2nd half - just wow
• Jana battled
• Sarah with a double double
• Ash on fire in the first half
• Kait was solid
• Paige was a real leader in spite of an off-shooting night
• KK was a terror
• Aubrey made some FT's, got several assists and rebounds
• Our rebounding was fierce

Just gonna bask in the glow of this tremendous win. Possibly the best non-NCAA tourney win in a LONG time.

All is right with the world!

 

[EricLA]

A couple thoughts as I read thru all the posts...

• Haven't seen a single SC fan over here congratulating us (it is possible I missed one in the 8 pages of posts in this thread). You know they would have been over here consoling us saying "good effort" had we lost .
• Someone mentioned in the first page about people saying we don't have enough athletes on the team etc. I was one of them. HAPPY to have been wrong. It's one reason Geno is a great coach and I am... NOT LOL.
  • For the record I'm still thrilled at the "athletes" we have recruited next season - even Gandy at her size and position. But our help defense was sensational today. Against a bigger, longer, more athletic SC team who looked anything but...
• I can't believe anyone would say Paige had a "below average" game. Her shooting was off for sure (3-12), but she still managed a double-double with assists and scoring, and was a very vocal leader today. Oh and she grabbed 7 boards and had 1 steal.

I do tend to agree that no matter what happens we won't get a 1 seed, even tho both us and SC both have 3 losses and we just mopped the floor with them. IMHO right now the top three 1 seeds are ND, Texas, UCLA. And neither Texas/LSU/SC will win out. One of them will have at least 2 more losses this season. Same goes for UCLA and USC. They play each other in league play 3/1, and likely will face off a 3rd time in the conference tourney. one of them will have at least 2 losses.

I don't know enough about the metrics to know how it all will work, but a 30 point win over a top 4 team AWAY should have a huge impact on UCONN's numbers. Our only "bad" loss was to Tennessee. But who knows? Certainly not me, and there are folks on here who are way more tuned in as to how the committee uses criteria for their seedings.

Originally, I would have said we would be lucky if we were able to avoid ND and SC for as long as possible in the tourney. Geno has often said you need luck as much as skill to win a NC. But now... not sure I'd like to "avoid" anyone. Again this was just one game, but if Geno and Azzi are correct - that the team has been in a different place since the Tennessee loss, that might end up being the turning point and the best thing that could have happened to this team this season...

 

[Rowdy831]

The big 3 showed up big on both ends of the floor. UConn got great minutes early from Jana and Ash came in and hit a couple threes. SC has no size and UConn has the best small lineup in the country and when they play like they did today they are tough to beat. Jana even had a couple good drives to the basket that made the defense play her honest.

I do think that UConn played a perfect game defensively and SC couldn't hit a shot even when they were open. After watching SC against Texas and UConn I am pretty sure they will have a more difficult time making the final 4 than UConn. I do think this win will erase a couple losses from the evaluators and UConn will move back into the top 4 where they should stay unless they really drop the ball in a game down the stretch.

 

[housekeys]

On a side note, I was watching Texas/LSU and it struck me that Taylor Jones jump hook would be a perfect addition to Jana's arsenal.

Speaking of Jana, I noticed that her scoring around the basket rarely if ever used the backboard. It is remarkable how soft and smooth a touch she had floating the ball into the basket. Maybe this is how she normally plays around the basket? Not every shot needs to be by the text book to be effective. Hope she is comfortable with it and continues to grow confidently down underneath the basket.

 

[HuskyNan]

A couple thoughts as I read thru all the posts...

• Haven't seen a single SC fan over here congratulating us (it is possible I missed one in the 8 pages of posts in this thread). You know they would have been over here consoling us saying "good effort" had we lost .

How many times have you gone to ND’s board to congratulate them immediately after a win? Or Tennessee’s board?

 

[bschwartz]

I don't know about you, but I want a 30 for 30 special on the Jana crossover.

 

[BBallF]

All is right with the world!

You nailed it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

KK had a sort of strange game, but she was very active and her pass forward to Chen on her back was magnificent.

It wasn't dropping for Paige. If it had this game would live forever in our collective memory.

 

[EricLA]

How many times have you gone to ND’s board to congratulate them immediately after a win? Or Tennessee’s board?

Never, but they post over here all the time. I NEVER have posted on those boards. If I was a regular contributor on the ND or Tennessee boards, I certainly would then post congratulating them. And on our board, when posting after a loss, I almost always compliment and give credit to the other team. They certainly posted in our threads leading up to the game...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

How many times have you gone to ND’s board to congratulate them immediately after a win? Or Tennessee’s board?

I know I don't like getting tears on my keyboard. Maybe that's it.

 

[WiseWillie]

The Huskies played a great game, especially defensively in the first half, and put Azzi in her comfort zone so she could shoot well in the second half.

Plaudits to Sarah, Jana, Kaitlyn, Ashlynn and KK for their fine games, and to Paige for her rebounds and assists.

Hats off to all but especially Paige and her 10 assists, many to Azzi. (Something that they have talked about for years in coming to UConn and we all saw it finally came to fruition today.) Paige had an off-shooting day but she was clearly the leader and floor general.

 

[Huskee11]

Been waiting a long time for this! The aggressiveness, decisiveness, urgency, focus, even dare I say the athleticism.

I was concerned that we would struggle to get open shots as we have in the recent past against SC but that was obviously not a problem. Actually felt that we could have been up by at least 30 in the first half if Paige and Azzi were hitting them. Beat down.

I feel like this is the most important regular season win we have earned in many many years. Maybe since Tennessee in 1995. In the space of two hours, the energy and momentum has suddenly swung back to UConn. What a great feeling!

 

[Henry]

Because transition offense was so important in this game, it was equally as important for Paige to be the pg today.. I trust her to make those kinds of reads and passes much more than I trust Kaitlyn or KK.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

High Lights and if duplicate pardon me:

 

[SCNCHuskie]

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.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Here's Dawn

 

[PacoSwede]

Hats off to all but especially Paige and her 10 assists, many to Azzi. (Something that they have talked about for years in coming to UConn and we all saw it finally came to fruition today.) Paige had an off-shooting day but she was clearly the leader and floor general.

maybe nika gave her slime a pep talk when she visited

 

[WiseWillie]

Best games of year
Azzi
Jana

Above average games
Shade
Chen
Griffin

Good solid games
Kk
Strong

Below avg game (not bad, mind you)
Paige

1o assists a below average game? Not in my book. Paige was off today but was the floor general for 35 minutes.

 

[Valleyfan]

Wow, amazing team effort in all phases, offense, defense, rebounding, steals, etc etc etc. Everyone contributed significantly to this win. It was so fun to watch, might have been the best UConn game I have seen in 4-5 years!

Sorry to bring in the UConn men’s game (they played Seton Hall a one win big east team) into this thread, but if you were to ask someone before the weekend that one team would win by almost 30 and the other would lose in OT how many would have predicted this! So glad to end the weekend with this magnificent performance.