UConn vs. Syracuse post game - on to the sweet 16!

[uconnever]

I can't believe both the men and women may be playing on Sat night. The men play Thurs, and if they win, would play on Sat. Both E8 games are on Sat night. For those who only follow the women, this won't matter, but for those of us who follow both teams, it could be a problem.

I watch both and I just DVR them

 

[DEpup]

Ice has to concentrate - stop missing gimmies and throwing ball away !!!

I think she probably needs to think less about it and let her body do what it wants to do. She looks like she's thinking too much out there.

 

[Henry]

One game on a mobile device/tablet, another game on the TV. Problem solved.

Yes, but it's hard to give full attention to 2 games at once, but that's what I may have to do. I certainly don't want to DVR one of the games and watch later after I already know the results.

 

[browns]

Preach. The game was close because Nika and Ice couldn't keep their defender honest by scoring. Allowed them to double Paige.... you are so right. 8-10 is not too much to ask for from a senior.

MoJeff comes to mind since we are praising Nika's assists. MoJeff did that, took on the opponents top scoring guard, and put up double digit points most of the time....

Sure but she was also playing with Stewie and Tuck for 4 years plus KML Gabby ad Nurse that left MOJeff open most of the time

 

[browns]

Watch the game and see how great she played

 

[jaydee602]

Just an advance warning: Joe Vaszily was one of the referees the NCAA selected last year to officiate at the final four. Most of the referees selected for the final four are repeat offenders.

Actually, last year's Final Four was only officiated by women. The NCAA promoted all female officiating crews for the semis & the finals.
It backfired as some referees were not qualified for such a high profile spectacle & the crew had a below average grade in the finals.

 

[Centerstream]

Good point! There were several times when Alliyah got a tough defensive rebound, only to have it knocked out of her hands. Her shot was blocked too.
I hope the week long break will help her to regain her dominant style.

I think getting hit twice directly on her broken nose might of had something to do with her game.

 

[Centerstream]

Yes, x 100!! That incidental contact has gotta go down in lore as the 'ponytail flop' - Paige barely brushed against her ponytail, and the Syracuse player chewed scenery & flopped as if she'd been hit direct on by a semi. I've seen better acting in professional wresting . . .

And her coach played along, yelling at the ref that she was hit in the face!

 

[Centerstream]

What? No, it isn’t and it’s not even a close comparison. 30 Straight Sweet 16s is remarkable but 14 straight final fours to survive the gauntlet of the top 8 and 16 teams is infinitely harder than beating the top 32 and 64/68 teams. Go and ask any coach who is proud just to make 1, 2, 3 or 4 final fours in a CAREER never mind 14 in a row. Sheesh….SMH

I could be mistaken but the runner up streak of consecutive Final Fours is 6, and UConn is one of the teams (separately from the 14) that holds it.

 

[jaydee602]

I think getting hit twice directly on her broken nose might of had something to do with her game.

I agree! And even though she has worn that mask before, it might not be easy to get acclimated to it. Her deadly outside shot has been off, so her perception might be affected too.

 

[Centerstream]

I was there. I don't think she was injured, just gassed and beat up physically. When you are exhausted you lose everything in this sport, except for Paige who just continues to astound.

She was definitely hit square on her nose twice. That had to be very painful.

 

[Rb335]

Before saying that Syracuse dominated the rebounding game, you might have checked the box score. Syracuse 36; UConn 37

I like to look at the net rebounds in a game. Not sure if it’s a tracked stat, but this is what I do.

Syracuse missed fga (45) less Uconn defensive rebounds (28) less Uconn offensive rebounds (9) = 8

Uconn missed Fga (28) less Cuse defensive rebounds (19) less Cuse offensive rebounds (17) = -8

Syracuse grabbed 36 rebounds, but in a perfect world would only have had 28, all of UConn’s missed shots for the game. Uconn grabbed 37 rebounds, in that perfect world would have 45.

That swing of 8 rebounds in Syracuses favor is what kept the game close. It’s how Syracuse could shoot only 33% from the floor to UConn’s 51%, but be within a possession. It gave them 11 more shot attempts, because there was a negligible FT or TO margin.

Total rebounds to me doesn’t tell a full story. Uconn had more rebounds, but I think they were handily outplayed on the glass. I’m not worried or upset about it, because it’s just a result of our team makeup from injuries. Just food for thought.

 

[martyn]

Some thoughts:

• Paige was awesome
• Shade was also awesome
• KK came through when we needed the big shot
• Nika player great D for 35 minutes, then 2 dumb fouls almost cost us the game
• AE struggled against the length of the zone but fought hard
• ICE, out of respect, I will just say, we need something from her on O
• That Aussie on the top of their zone really was a pain (for us)
• Never would have thought SYR would have 13 3s (only 4 by Fair) and only 10 2's
• I'm not sure about all of the SYR hate in the chat, I thought they played hard
• This is what a 3-6 matchup looks like

ICE seemed overanxious, wrecked her game.

 

[MSGRET]

Two of our players playing major minutes did not score. One took two shots?, the other zero (0). While scoring balance is one key, they do contribute in other ways like great defense. I do agree, that with scoring balance, it takes off pressure on other players. At this point in the season and our short roster, there aren't a lot of changes likely.
Against the Syr zone, Paige was able to get inside the foul line for pullups. That was very effective as were Shade's pump fakes and pullups. KK has to develop that part of her game against taller players. These three players are able to get off their shots without a pick which is very hard against a zone. We went with what worked playing against a zone. Another result was that we didn't often drive to the hoop playing against a zone, so few fouls were called. This was not a normal game. We won, great adjustments. On to Duke.

Nika took 2 shots and Ice took 3, everyone else that played scored. So who is the ghost that took 0 shots?

 

[Geew1992]

As Geno says, if the shots aren't falling, find other ways to help the team. Ice may have not been there offensively, but she impacted the game defensively.

 

[omshanti]

They won the darn game! I can’t understand the negativity and naysayers talk about Syracuse negativity and who did what wrong for UConn. Syracuse played tough, and without a starter.

Ice was probably very nervous being on that stage and AE was getting banged up. Nika fouled out and they still won. She extended herself so much on defense and it didn’t matter that she didn’t score. They pulled it out, could have had complete collapse like the ND game. They move on. That’s the only thing that matters. Get ready for Saturday! It’s so funny to hear complaints about a win! Go UConn

 

[FormerCTrez]

Read the first three pages and didn't see any mention of Nika not scoring. Why when we need Nika to score she doesn't take open shots. I was on an airplane and didn't watch the game I will Tuesday Night. I"m sure I will see Nika not looking for her shot as Box Score showed didn't score any points. She's a Senior she should be able to get 8-10 points a game.

It would’ve been nice if she got a few points, but I think her main assignment was to guard Fair. And so, it‘s awesome that KK added those 10 points.
It was a gutsy win, by a depleted team, that has lost so much, but has so much more to give. Also, they learned from the ND game, and that experience helped them last night. I’m elated for them. Go UConn! Go Huskies!

 

[FormerCTrez]

Nika had most of the defense assignment on Fair in the first half, Fair only scored 2 points in the first half. Maybe she was exhausted from that assignment, but I believe that at least two of the fouls that were called against Nika should have been called charges on Fair.

Many people have also stated the both Nika and Aaliyah had subpar games. Maybe they were a little anxious/nervous with it being their last game ever at Gampel.

Nika had most of the defense assignment on Fair in the first half, Fair only scored 2 points in the first half. Maybe she was exhausted from that assignment, but I believe that at least two of the fouls that were called against Nika should have been called charges on Fair.

Many people have also stated the both Nika and Aaliyah had subpar games. Maybe they were a little anxious/nervous with it being their last game ever at Gampel.

I believe so too. And maybe this is what Coach Jack was referring to during her post game remarks, when she mentioned Fair‘s ability to get her shot. She throws herself at her defenders, so she gets to the free throw line.

 

[Rowdy831]

Whenever ICE had the ball, Syracuse swarmed to her like sharks chasing bait. And she turned it over twice down the stretch. Give credit to Coach Jack for a smart game plan

Against that zone you can't catch the ball in the middle at the free throw line and not know what to do with the ball. The same three people collapsed on Paige all night long but she knew what to do with the ball before she even caught it. In the future I would put Ice where AE is playing and move AE to the decision making position against the zone.

 

[vballcoach]

Unless I misread the brackets and teams' results, UCONN and South Carolina are the only teams left that lost to NOBODY outside the Sweet 16 this season. Gotta be good to beat us.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Some thoughts:

-Paige can get herself open around the foul line and
score on virtually any play...really a different player
then say Clarke.

-She was also tough defensively on Fair at the end.

-We're going to see plenty of these one-on-one
scorers as we advance...Surely it's an important
area of concentration.

-Ice was on the verge of losing her composure at the
end...I would have put in another guard...But what
do I know?

-Ash has had a couple of good games in a row...very
helpful for the team...,How's that for an
understatement. And reliable on D and the boards.

-KK had some of her patterned drives where she
might have passed and then others where she might
have shot, but boy that 3 at the end was timely.

What other guard @msf22b ?

 

[Rowdy831]

liya was getting knocked all around so some of her t.o. ya gotta expect. still, the (2?) travels were not good. it was a rough game compared to her typical performance, but uconn would've lost without her..

ice, OTOH, had me tearing my hair out. terrible mishandling of the ball. unforced for the most part. she's got to settle down. she's recently shown she's cam rein in that flaw. nerves? like kk, it's at times like she has 'freshman-itis'. kk, of course, has been a major contributor (but when she learns all the ropes, she will be outstanding).

Ice is at the point in her career where the speed of her brain moves to the level of the game. She was so flustered and nervous out there and that is something that most likely won't change this season but she will need to be ready because UConn will need her at her best at some point to win the next 4 games.

 

[bbfanLA]

I could be mistaken but the runner up streak of consecutive Final Fours is 6, and UConn is one of the teams (separately from the 14) that holds it.

After UConn’s 14, there is a tie of 5 consecutive Final Fours between UConn, LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame.
After UConn’s record 16 consecutive Elite Eights, next is Duke with 7.
After UConn’s record 30 consecutive Sweet Sixteens (and counting), next is Tennessee with 27.
Those are all records that MAY never be broken.

 

[Rowdy831]

Fouls. A team playing a zone is naturally going to have less fouls than a team that plays an aggressive man to man. The team with the most height is going to get less fouls going over players for rebounds and the team that gives up the most offensive rebounds will be out of position the most while trying to match up. UConn was on the wrong end of every one of these and still only had one player who fouled out and she only fouled out because she gets bull headed sometimes.

UConn can win if the referees continue to call the game like they did last night. They need all their players available the whole game since they have such a short bench. Next weekend will be some exciting BB.

 

[Longtime fan]

In the 4th quarter, Syracuse's plan was "Don't let Paige or Shade beat us. The other three can't shoot."
It almost worked. Thank you, KK Arnold!!

Paige knew better, and fed the ball to an open KK.

 

[Centerstream]

After UConn’s 14, there is a tie of 5 consecutive Final Fours between UConn, LSU, Stanford and Notre Dame.
After UConn’s record 16 consecutive Elite Eights, next is Duke with 7.
After UConn’s record 30 consecutive Sweet Sixteens (and counting), next is Tennessee with 27.
Those are all records that MAY never be broken.

Thanks for the correct number. I know I looked it up after our game on Saturday but obviously got it wrong a day later. Doh!

 

[Longtime fan]

That was too close for comfort. Syracuse made UConn earn it. Damn Aussies. It seemed every time Syracuse needed a three, they got one.

It's official. KK and Ashlynn are no longer freshmen. Safe to say that three was KK's biggest bucket of her collegiate career.

We are beginning to run out of superlatives to describe Paige. Once Nika fouled out, Paige gave everything to stick with Fair, and that is after expending so much energy carrying the team. Her midrange pull-ups were reminiscent of the NC St classic 2 tourneys ago.

I think I lost count the number of times Aaliyah was slammed to the court. She will feel it tomorrow.

Great game - now I can relax and watch Iowa/West Virginia.

All due respect to the marvelous Nikka, but she fouled out during the most critical moments of the game, and Fair did score 20 ( without Nikka on her, that maybe would be 30...and game over ). That insurance bucket by KK showed that Paige ( best player in country ) had confidence in her. And KK now has the memory. of that big shot. As Geno says, " teams don't advance at this level unless players make big shots at big moments. " Syracuse recruited a whole different team to rebuild their culture. And that was a dog fight of the highest caliber. I don't think Duke is that much of a challenge. We'll see. But we can't have 0 points from ICE Bradyfor 17 minutes work. She missed bunny after bunny and then, it became obvious, she had no condfidence to shoot from anywhere. I get it that it is difficult for her to go from, " this is all on me " ( last two games of BE tournament ), to " I am back-up" again. But she has to b better than that. If not, we have no future.

 

[MSGRET]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

 

[Longtime fan]

UConn beat their #6 seed team by 8 points, while Oregon St beat their #6 seed by 10 and North Carolina St beat their #6 seed by 7 points. The other #3 seed beat #11 seed Middle Tennessee State by 27. So why is everyone screaming that the sky is falling considering what the other #3 seeds did over the past 4 days.

It just means that the hills are getter harder to climb. Everywhere.

 

[MSGRET]

All due respect to the marvelous Nikka, but she fouled out during the most critical moments of the game, and Fair did score 20 ( without Nikka on her, that maybe would be 30...and game over ). That insurance bucket by KK showed that Paige ( best player in country ) had confidence in her. And KK now has the memory. of that big shot. As Geno says, " teams don't advance at this level unless players make big shots at big moments. " Syracuse recruited a whole different team to rebuild their culture. And that was a dog fight of the highest caliber. I don't think Duke is that much of a challenge. We'll see. But we can't have 0 points from ICE Bradyfor 17 minutes work. She missed bunny after bunny and then, it became obvious, she had no condfidence to shoot from anywhere. I get it that it is difficult for her to go from, " this is all on me " ( last two games of BE tournament ), to " I am back-up" again. But she has to b better than that. If not, we have no future.

It's Nika, she has been around for four full years and you still spell her name wrong. To me that is an insult to one of the best PG UConn has ever had.