UCONN vs. USF tonight - what I'd like to see...

[EricLA]

We are almost at the end of the regular season. If Geno follows his regular M.O., still push the players to get better and improve in every aspect of their games... (once the NCAA's roll around, he flips a switch and suddenly is all about positivity and what the players are doing right and what they continue to need to do right to win it all).

But several players have gone backwards in the past month and I'd like to see that turn around...

Starting with Tuck - not sure what's ailing her but she scored 2 points 1-9 vs. Temple, 4 points 2-9 vs. ECU, 10 points 5-11 vs. SMU and2 points 1-6 vs. Tulane. Not sure what's ailing her but I'd love to see her snap out of it vs. USF.

Chong - not sure if it's the IT band issue but her PT has dropped down to almost 0 and while it bodes ill for next season, I'm concerned about right now and if she's lost her ability to be effective at this level. When Ekmark plays twice as many minutes as Chong and Saniya basically has a stat line that is all bagels, something is not right...

Nurse - so much has been made lately about her scoring, but there's a reason she plays so many minutes in just about every game - she's 100% intense all the time - every second she's on the court. Haven't seen intensity like that since Shea Ralph. I'd like to see her scoring touch return, but she's still averaging 9 PPG and she's a terror on defense. People keep saying she's pressing, and it's a fine line to reign in the intensity a bit and channel it properly. Geno was able to help Moriah adjust her speed to help maximize it when playing "team" ball - I hope Kia can do something similar with her aggression and intensity...

On the positive side- nothing to ask for from Stewie and Moriah - just to continue to be the best 2 players in the nation and do what they do best.

Lou-conn - she's now the 4th leading scorer on the team at over 10 PPG and it seems her shooting touch is back. As a freshman, she's already showing she's a special player and I just hope her confidence continues strong and she continues to do all the things on the court that she's gotten so good at. No one talks about her as a defensive liability any more...

Gabbulous - she seems to have found another gear this past month and as Geno said at halftime in a recent game "you put Gabby in and she makes good things happen". The kid has done everything asked of her - starting with playing in the post last year (something that made her go "huh"??), to expanding her game big time this year. Has any player improved her FT shooting so much from one year to the next? She's completely outplayed Tuck, an AA candidate this year, in the past 4-5 games. Keep it up kiddo!! It looks great on you...

Natalie - I do think her hand still causes some discomfort (or maybe lacks a bit of strength), which was evidenced I think in the ECU game where her butter fingers caused much sloppy play for her in the post. I don't think she's 100%, but she works her butt off and the improvement is noticeable. I'd like to see her continue to work hard and make the most of her limited minutes. It will pay off next year big time.

Napheesa - I'd like to see her continue to make a difference when in the game. Her offense has been hit or miss at times, and she admitted that she has "no muscle" on her body, but she uses her length well and seems to have pushed thru the "freshman wall". All you can ask is for her to continue to work hard and improve what she can right now and make a difference when she gets the call.

Ekmark - she may never be the fastest, tallest, or strongest player on the team, but she may be one of the smartest. Rarely makes a bad decision on the court and her improvement in her play and scoring has earned her more minutes. Another "keep it up kiddo" because she's moving in the right direction!

Lastly, I would like to see this team beat the snot out of USF. They've been a thorny team and have played UCONN as tough as anyone not named ND consistently over the past 2-3 years. I hope it all comes together tonight and I'd love to see a comfortable 25+ point win, because that's how much we should beat the #21 team in the nation by (at the very least)...

 

[MilfordHusky]

My list is simple, because this is a good USF team:

1. A win

2. A convincing win

I'll look at the rest of Eric's list for the next game.

 

[Aluminny69]

IMO, Tuck has lost her shooting touch since her time off. Especially from the three point line, where she is 1 for 14. Most of those shots are short. It would be better if those shots were long, where the backboard is your friend. Hopefully, her game time shooting will come back. It adds a nice dimension to the offense.

 

[CocoHusky]

I want to see Debbie proven wrong again!

Debbie Antonelli, "At some point, this year, they [USF] are gonna have a game that they are going to win over Connecticut."

 

[Sonny44]

I'd like to see Mo regain her shot, but More important to shut down CW.

 

[UcMiami]

Eric - very nice.
My take on Tuck - she is still a huge asset on this team scoring or not, and the Tulane game was just a mess for all of the seniors. I look at the SMU game and say ... Ok she is back on track and just ignore Saturday. I expect a good game tonight, a good AAC, and NCAA tournament.

I think the break this week, and then the longer one before the NCAA's is going to be big for everyone - a lot of travel in a very long season and then the heavy emotion of Saturday has taken a toll and they need a little down time.

 

[meyers7]

Nurse - so much has been made lately about her scoring, but there's a reason she plays so many minutes in just about every game - she's 100% intense all the time - every second she's on the court. Haven't seen intensity like that since Shea Ralph. I'd like to see her scoring touch return, but she's still averaging 9 PPG and she's a terror on defense. People keep saying she's pressing, and it's a fine line to reign in the intensity a bit and channel it properly. Geno was able to help Moriah adjust her speed to help maximize it when playing "team" ball - I hope Kia can do something similar with her aggression and intensity...

Geno has said as much on his shows. Nurses greatest asset is her intensity/aggressiveness, it is also her biggest problem. He said they have been working on it with her. Staying on that fine line.

 

[PalPa]

Eric - very nice.
My take on Tuck - she is still a huge asset on this team scoring or not, and the Tulane game was just a mess for all of the seniors. I look at the SMU game and say ... Ok she is back on track and just ignore Saturday. I expect a good game tonight, a good AAC, and NCAA tournament.

I think the break this week, and then the longer one before the NCAA's is going to be big for everyone - a lot of travel in a very long season and then the heavy emotion of Saturday has taken a toll and they need a little down time.

Stewie for sure could use some rest. She had a tough week playing in the National Team trials plus the UCONN schedule.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno has said as much on his shows. Nurses greatest asset is her intensity/aggressiveness, it is also her biggest problem. He said they have been working on it with her. Staying on that fine line.

I believe I recall him saying her charging into 3 opponents down low for a lay up attempt when Stewie is standing 12 feet out unguarded is a problem. Then there's the single speed syndrome. It's intuitively obvious that having a few gears is handy for so many things on the court. I've seen her do it on the Team Canada squad. Why it is not much displayed here I have no clue. Her shooting touch has been sporatic, but I'm hoping it will steady.

 

[USFMB]

We are almost at the end of the regular season. If Geno follows his regular M.O., still push the players to get better and improve in every aspect of their games... (once the NCAA's roll around, he flips a switch and suddenly is all about positivity and what the players are doing right and what they continue to need to do right to win it all).

But several players have gone backwards in the past month and I'd like to see that turn around...

Starting with Tuck - not sure what's ailing her but she scored 2 points 1-9 vs. Temple, 4 points 2-9 vs. ECU, 10 points 5-11 vs. SMU and2 points 1-6 vs. Tulane. Not sure what's ailing her but I'd love to see her snap out of it vs. USF.

Chong - not sure if it's the IT band issue but her PT has dropped down to almost 0 and while it bodes ill for next season, I'm concerned about right now and if she's lost her ability to be effective at this level. When Ekmark plays twice as many minutes as Chong and Saniya basically has a stat line that is all bagels, something is not right...

Nurse - so much has been made lately about her scoring, but there's a reason she plays so many minutes in just about every game - she's 100% intense all the time - every second she's on the court. Haven't seen intensity like that since Shea Ralph. I'd like to see her scoring touch return, but she's still averaging 9 PPG and she's a terror on defense. People keep saying she's pressing, and it's a fine line to reign in the intensity a bit and channel it properly. Geno was able to help Moriah adjust her speed to help maximize it when playing "team" ball - I hope Kia can do something similar with her aggression and intensity...

On the positive side- nothing to ask for from Stewie and Moriah - just to continue to be the best 2 players in the nation and do what they do best.

Lou-conn - she's now the 4th leading scorer on the team at over 10 PPG and it seems her shooting touch is back. As a freshman, she's already showing she's a special player and I just hope her confidence continues strong and she continues to do all the things on the court that she's gotten so good at. No one talks about her as a defensive liability any more...

Gabbulous - she seems to have found another gear this past month and as Geno said at halftime in a recent game "you put Gabby in and she makes good things happen". The kid has done everything asked of her - starting with playing in the post last year (something that made her go "huh"??), to expanding her game big time this year. Has any player improved her FT shooting so much from one year to the next? She's completely outplayed Tuck, an AA candidate this year, in the past 4-5 games. Keep it up kiddo!! It looks great on you...

Natalie - I do think her hand still causes some discomfort (or maybe lacks a bit of strength), which was evidenced I think in the ECU game where her butter fingers caused much sloppy play for her in the post. I don't think she's 100%, but she works her butt off and the improvement is noticeable. I'd like to see her continue to work hard and make the most of her limited minutes. It will pay off next year big time.

Napheesa - I'd like to see her continue to make a difference when in the game. Her offense has been hit or miss at times, and she admitted that she has "no muscle" on her body, but she uses her length well and seems to have pushed thru the "freshman wall". All you can ask is for her to continue to work hard and improve what she can right now and make a difference when she gets the call.

Ekmark - she may never be the fastest, tallest, or strongest player on the team, but she may be one of the smartest. Rarely makes a bad decision on the court and her improvement in her play and scoring has earned her more minutes. Another "keep it up kiddo" because she's moving in the right direction!

Lastly, I would like to see this team beat the snot out of USF. They've been a thorny team and have played UCONN as tough as anyone not named ND consistently over the past 2-3 years. I hope it all comes together tonight and I'd love to see a comfortable 25+ point win, because that's how much we should beat the #21 team in the nation by (at the very least)...

Massey predicts a 30 point win, 85-55.

Laksa won't be playing and she is our main 3-point threat and we probably lose about 10 points without her.

I can see USF losing by 20-35 points.

We don't have the firepower or inside presence to do better than that.

As much as I am going to miss CW and AJ, I'm excited to see how the USF team shapes up next season. We will be much bigger with more of an inside shooting presence. I think by this time next year, USF will still be in the top three teams in the conference, with a realistic chance of making it to the dance.

 

[EricLA]

Massey predicts a 30 point win, 85-55.

Laksa won't be playing and she is our main 3-point threat and we probably lose about 10 points without her.

I can see USF losing by 20-35 points.

We don't have the firepower or inside presence to do better than that.

As much as I am going to miss CW and AJ, I'm excited to see how the USF team shapes up next season. We will be much bigger with more of an inside shooting presence. I think by this time next year, USF will still be in the top three teams in the conference, with a realistic chance of making it to the dance.

I did not know Laska is out. She lit us up last time. Is she out for the season or is she coming back? She's a terrific shooter...

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

My list:

1. Beat USF.
2. Everyone finish the game healthy.

That's a wrap, folks.

 

[bags27]

Eric--I too very much like and appreciate your analysis. It's an interesting phenomenon that Morgon is slumping and Mo's 3 has gone missing at the same time that Lou has found her touch and Gabbie's game continues to reach new heights (pun alert!). The potential is there for some pretty amazing play.

 

[Blair]

I would like to see Stewie, Tuck and Nat in together…just to see if USF can score in the paint.

Force them to score outside.

 

[USFMB]

I did not know Laska is out. She lit us up last time. Is she out for the season or is she coming back? She's a terrific shooter...

She missed the last few games with an ankle injury. We expect that she will return next week at the AAC champioship. She hasn't warmed up in the pregame, but she possibly could tonight, even though she won't play in the game.

 

[ChicagoGG]

Pretty much a lock USF is going dancing this season....

 

[USFMB]

Pretty much a lock USF is going dancing this season....

I agree. USF RPI is #30 with 20+ wins. We probably don't have to win a game in the AAC tourney, but it would be nice to beat Temple again which would improve our RPI and possibly make us a #7 seed.

 

[bags27]

She missed the last few games with an ankle injury. We expect that she will return next week at the AAC champioship. She hasn't warmed up in the pregame, but she possibly could tonight, even though she won't play in the game.

Good news we'll get to play against her again. Of course we want the best possible competition, but we also need to work on our 3-point defense in anticipation of a game against a team from South Bend.

 

[Zorro]

Wasn't someone last time around wishing we had Laska rather than Lou? Wonder if he still feels that way.

 

[huskyd]

Massey predicts a 30 point win, 85-55.

Laksa won't be playing and she is our main 3-point threat and we probably lose about 10 points without her.

I can see USF losing by 20-35 points.

We don't have the firepower or inside presence to do better than that.

As much as I am going to miss CW and AJ, I'm excited to see how the USF team shapes up next season. We will be much bigger with more of an inside shooting presence. I think by this time next year, USF will still be in the top three teams in the conference, with a realistic chance of making it to the dance.

Whatever happens tonight, Coach Jose deserves credit for improving his program in a fairly short time. Of course he is blessed to have a talent like Courtney Williams to feature, but he has surrounded her with a solid cast. After getting blown out last year at UConn, USF gave the Huskies a workout down in Florida and repeated that feat this year. Frankly, w/out the Bulls, life in the AAC would be much less fun. I, too, will miss the magical Miss Williams. Bully for you.

 

[Ron and Vida]

I want to see Debbie proven wrong again!

Debbie Antonelli, "At some point, this year, they [USF] are gonna have a game that they are going to win over Connecticut."

Add Carolyn Peck to the list. She also is hoping against hope for USF in this matchup.

 

[Kibitzer]

Wasn't someone last time around wishing we had Laska rather than Lou? Wonder if he still feels that way.

Did the same guy claim that "Geno dropped the ball," either by "losing" Laska or offering a schollie to Lou?

 

[Nuyoika]

I would like to see at least 1 possession where Ferriera isn't flailing wildly (she could really hurt someone) or stamping her feet. Other than that a win is always nice.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Everyone finish the game healthy - Yes, please.

 

[hoophuskee]

IMO, Tuck has lost her shooting touch since her time off. Especially from the three point line, where she is 1 for 14. Most of those shots are short. It would be better if those shots were long, where the backboard is your friend. Hopefully, her game time shooting will come back. It adds a nice dimension to the offense.

I find it odd that she seems to be so desperate to shoot bank shots when she is in the lane. OFC it is best to bank but sometimes she si doing extreme moves to work for a bank (and she is missing a few easy banks too.) . And I wonder if defenses are playing her for that.