UConn's beatdown of South Carolina flipped the women's national championship picture | The Boneyard

UConn's beatdown of South Carolina flipped the women's national championship picture

CTBballfan243 said:
I’m just not seeing it. From my eyes, I see ND as the clear #1 and UConn just doesn’t match up well against ND at all. IMO, ND’s back court and post are better than UConn’s.
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Agree, but the gap isn’t huge. Hidalgo is a difficult matchup especially- only KK has the speed to stay with her. I think if they do meet, it will come down to shooting. ND is really good and has skilled players everywhere- plus superstar Hidalgo gives UConn fits. I didn’t watch their two losses, both by about 10 points to Utah and TCU, but from looking at box scores, ND didn’t shoot great, and their 6’5 freshman center Kate Koval didn’t score. ND also didn’t have 6’3 Maddy Westbeld who was injured but is now back in lineup. But when UConn is shooting well and their switching defense is as good as when they played against SC, they can beat anyone. Sarah is also a matchup nightmare for ND- I think she is too quick for Westbeld.
 
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I actually think Texas should be number 1 right now. At least through todays lens. As others said, gap between the top 6 is probably pretty tight. The reality is any of them could win it. Lots of variables and always a bit of luck.
 
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Too many people are letting emotions guide their rankings following UConn's "beatdown" of So. Carolina. The game did, if fact, show the world what most thought this team was capable of from before the season started. However there are several teams capable of winning the National Championship this year: ND, Texas, UCLA, USC, UConn, LSU and SC. We don't necessarily have to be the BEST team in order to win the crown. Several of these teams are going to get knocked off fighting their way through the NCAA brackets. In the end, I hope it's us against ND in the final. We have something to prove and what better way to do it than against this year's seemingly best team. When it comes to tournament time, that fact that we have Geno (and his experience in winning 11 previous titles and all those final fours) pulling the strings puts an added fear into the hearts of our opponents.
 
I’m with @CTBballfan243 and @Conndog in the matchup problem ND posed in that first game. I really hope there’s a second opportunity to explore the matchups again. The teams have changed a bit since then. Azzi and Aubrey are back, but so is Maddy Westbeld. What differences might this make?

Last game, ND overplayed Paige and it was effective mainly in surpressing her assist numbers. In fact, they won the assist battle overall 17-10. UConn overplayed Hannah to good effect and mainly kept her out of the lane. However she shot lights out from the perimeter. This particular matchup is likely to play out similarly in a rematch, though Hannah might not shoot 6-11 from 3, and almost 80% on the first half when they built their lead. But she’s been an excellent perimeter shooter all season long.

We also weren’t able to keep Liatu King off the boards. She got 12 rebounds, 6 of them were o-boards most of which were immediately converted. There were a couple of obvious over-the-back fouls the refs should have whistled but didn’t. These may have helped derail our comeback effort on the second half, but I doubt they made the whole difference. We have to do a better job on King next time.

Kate Koval played a solid game for 30 mins, but not necessarily better than Jana and Ice. She’s been reliable in the low post for ND, though in the meantime Jana may have developed her game more than Kate has. In a rematch, I think this plays to our advantage especially if Ice has returned.

KK and Kaitlyn scored well combining for 21 pts, and this was mainly against Hannah. This says a lot about her defensive game which is only okay as a primary defender, but excellent as a help defender where she is very disruptive. However Ash went scoreless and she was mainly guarded by Miles and Citron.

The real question is what might Aubrey and Azzi bring to a rematch. My expectation is that our assist numbers will be much better because of Azzi. I also suspect Ash will shoot much better because there’s just too many shooters now. I have a feeling Aubrey could make a difference on King, a player she’s almost tailor made to defend. The most interesting difference may be what Azzi brings. Will she shoot 50% or better from 3? It’s possible, and the pressure on Hannah might be very high after a couple of unfortunate remarks she made critical of Azzi. In themselves, they were insignificant and were blown out of proportion on social media. But in her own mind they may loom large, as she’s sure to be asked about them before and after the game.

The game within the game looks to be very interesting if we get a rematch. I’m looking forward to one.
 
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CTBballfan243 said:
I’m just not seeing it. From my eyes, I see ND as the clear #1 and UConn just doesn’t match up well against ND at all. IMO, ND’s back court and post are better than UConn’s.
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I think UConn matches up just fine with ND. The team had a miserable long distance shooting performance in the ND game and no, it wasn't all caused by the defense. I'm hoping for a rematch, because Azzi Fudd is going to make that a different game (not to mention a confident and assertive Jana El Alfy). Creme's bracketology has UConn and ND in the same regional. Game on...
 
I mean we are always in the conversation for the national championship. However, Coach G said it best as well after the South Carolina game, 10, 15, 20 years ago, it would have been automatic to pencil UConn into the National Championship game and title. Now, with so much parity in the women's game, it is so iffy. A lot depends on luck, which team can stay healthy down the stretch, and which team is peaking at the right time. We are in the conversation but so is Texas, LSU, South Carolina, Norte Dame, USC, and UCLA.
 
JellyBean said:
I mean we are always in the conversation for the national championship. However, Coach G said it best as well after the South Carolina game, 10, 15, 20 years ago, it would have been automatic to pencil UConn into the National Championship game and title. Now, with so much parity in the women's game, it is so iffy. A lot depends on luck, which team can stay healthy down the stretch, and which team is peaking at the right time. We are in the conversation but so is Texas, LSU, South Carolina, Norte Dame, USC, and UCLA.
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Watching Texas v. LSU after our beatdown of SC, I have to say bring either one of them on. Neither one of them looked at the Nat. Ch. level.
 
CTBballfan243 said:
I’m just not seeing it. From my eyes, I see ND as the clear #1 and UConn just doesn’t match up well against ND at all. IMO, ND’s back court and post are better than UConn’s.
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I think ND wants someone else to beat UConn. In a rematch I not only think UConn would win but I think they would win comfortably. When they played earlier they were missing key players and didn't shoot very well either. Some of that is ND defense but mostly I give the blame to the team who misses open shots.

I would be more concerned about teams that can put length on the court.
 
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Bone Dog said:
I’m with @CTBballfan243 and @Conndog in the matchup problem ND posed in that first game. I really hope there’s a second opportunity to explore the matchups again. The teams have changed a bit since then. Azzi and Aubrey are back, but so is Maddy Westbeld. What differences might this make?

Last game, ND overplayed Paige and it was effective mainly in surpressing her assist numbers. In fact, they won the assist battle overall 17-10. UConn overplayed Hannah to good effect and mainly kept her out of the lane. However she shot lights out from the perimeter. This particular matchup is likely to play out similarly in a rematch, though Hannah might not shoot 6-11 from 3, and almost 80% on the first half when they built their lead. But she’s been an excellent perimeter shooter all season long.

We also weren’t able to keep Liatu King off the boards. She got 12 rebounds, 6 of them were o-boards most of which were immediately converted. There were a couple of obvious over-the-back fouls the refs should have whistled but didn’t. These may have helped derail our comeback effort on the second half, but I doubt they made the whole difference. We have to do a better job on King next time.

Kate Koval played a solid game for 30 mins, but not necessarily better than Jana and Ice. She’s been reliable in the low post for ND, though in the meantime Jana may have developed her game more than Kate has. In a rematch, I think this plays to our advantage especially if Ice has returned.

KK and Kaitlyn scored well combining for 21 pts, and this was mainly against Hannah. This says a lot about her defensive game which is only okay as a primary defender, but excellent as a help defender where she is very disruptive. However Ash went scoreless and she was mainly guarded by Miles and Citron.

The real question is what might Aubrey and Azzi bring to a rematch. My expectation is that our assist numbers will be much better because of Azzi. I also suspect Ash will shoot much better because there’s just too many shooters now. I have a feeling Aubrey could make a difference on King, a player she’s almost tailor made to defend. The most interesting difference may be what Azzi brings. Will she shoot 50% or better from 3? It’s possible, and the pressure on Hannah might be very high after a couple of unfortunate remarks she made critical of Azzi. In themselves, they were insignificant and were blown out of proportion on social media. But in her own mind they may loom large, as she’s sure to be asked about them before and after the game.

The game within the game looks to be very interesting if we get a rematch. I’m looking forward to one.
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Karlen, the transfer to N.D. from Marquette, also did not play in that
first game (injury)..... "SHE'S BACK!"
 
does everyone forget 2017 and 2018, when uconn was undefeated going into the final 4 -- after 4 NCs in the preceding 4 seasons? it was the best team, but in the ff they didn't even make it to the N.C game. buzzer beaters foiled them twice.

obviously, anything can happen. .... (and uconn could be chasing NC #14 right now).
 
Karlen played, 10 mins, 2-5 shooting, 2 O-boards, 1 steal, 1 TO. Since then, she's been averaging 19 mins and 6 pts.
 
Zarathustra said:
Karlen, the transfer to N.D. from Marquette, also did not play in that
first game (injury)..... "SHE'S BACK!"
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Yes she may be back, but last year against UConn in the Semi-Final's of the Big East Tournament UConn limited her to 12 points, with 5-8 shooting, 0-4 3pt shots, 2-2 FT, 9 boards in 33 minutes of play with no Azzi, Aubrey, Jana and Sarah. While Marquette played 11 players to UConn 7 with the starting five being Paige, Nika, Ice, KK and Ashlynn.
 
With the way Jana played @ SC that gives us a big big and a big advantage down low. If Jana continues to improve I fear no team. We've got the defense, good passing, little TOs, depth, multiple go to players and terrific shooters.
 
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Where a seeding question gets tight and an SEC team is in it the Committee is going there.
 
As posted in the other thread, for me, UConn with Azzi Fudd healthy, 3 former #1 overall recruits on the floor, is best placed to win the national championship. Her defensive accumen, abiltity to anticipate and fight through screens, and lateral quickness is critical to beating Notre Dame's two-person game (Hidalgo/Koval). Without her, UConn has shown no ability to defuse it, which has been, to put it generously, disappointing.
 
Whether it flips the national picture is questionable.

The victory definitely put into question who is the favorite. I won't discount SC but there is a big question mark.

For UConn, Sunday was the first time this season we saw them click and roll. Time will tell.

The others are also there and also can be beat.

This makes for a fun run.
 
snowkot said:
As posted in the other thread, for me, UConn with Azzi Fudd healthy, 3 former #1 overall recruits on the floor, is best placed to win the national championship. Her defensive accumen, abiltity to anticipate and fight through screens, and lateral quickness is critical to beating Notre Dame's two-person game (Hidalgo/Koval). Without her, UConn has shown no ability to defuse it, which has been, to put it generously, disappointing.
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two person? what about Miles, Citron, Westbeld, Karlen? ND is the one team no one wants to play.
 
huskeynut said:
The victory definitely put into question who is the favorite. I won't discount SC but there is a big question mark….

The others are also there and also can be beat.

This makes for a fun run.
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This is one of the most interesting seasons I’ve seen. So many contenders, such powerful favorites, and a field full of potential giant killers.
 
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snowkot said:
As posted in the other thread, for me, UConn with Azzi Fudd healthy, 3 former #1 overall recruits on the floor, is best placed to win the national championship. Her defensive accumen, abiltity to anticipate and fight through screens, and lateral quickness is critical to beating Notre Dame's two-person game (Hidalgo/Koval). Without her, UConn has shown no ability to defuse it, which has been, to put it generously, disappointing.
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With Westbeld back, Koval doesn’t even start for ND.
 
The big difference with UConn right now is UConn is healthy meaning Azzi is back. Griff is on her way and Morgan and Ice will need some time. Having Azzi gives us the big 3. Seeing Jana @ SC gives us a new look. I do understand it will be a little up and down over the next couple of weeks until we become more consistent. I will make a bold statement and say with a healthy team and with an improved Jana UConn is the team to beat. Followed by ND and I feel the NC could very well end up being ND and UConn.

UCLA Texas and UConn have bigs. UConn now. That will be the deciding factor. UConn has a lot of great shooters not just one or two.

Last season may have been Genos greatest accomplishment based on the injuries and all UConn had to overcome. This season if healthy could be right there. Paige Azzi and Sarah are second to none. Shade KK and Jana just add to our great finish to this season
 
I know a lot of us are still glowing from the win against SC, and maybe rightfully so. But for me I’m gonna need to see a few more data points that thus team can consistently play at this level or close to it. At this point we’ve seen 3 losses where UCoNn didn’t play their best and only one game where they played close to it. Let’s temper our expectations about us being #1 or the best team since we have three #1 recruits. As we all know rankings dont necessarily translate to production at this level.
 
I don't know about any of you, but the thought of UConn being the betting favorite to win the tournament terrifies me, for reasons of karma. There is also the practical reality that the team that dominated SC is also the team that came out flat as a flapjack against Seton Hall.
I don't bet, but I think the two teams to watch in the tournament are ND (Hidalgo is as they get, at least against UConn) and UCLA (assuming Betts is healthy).
Don't get me wrong: UConn should win the next games and the Big East tournament and in the NCAAs, they have a chance, and it'll be a very interesting tournament to watch, but anyone who thinks the Huskies are the favorite is delusional.
 
I have a lot of faith in Genos coaching. ND is tuff but so is UConn now. UCLA has Betts USC has Juju Texas has a big too SC dosnt and SC does not have a go to player. UConn does not have to depend on one scorer to carry them. Now with Azzi and Griff back and Shade hitting shots UConn has more options then any other team in WCBB. ND is second. Jana will become a reliable big over the next few weeks something that will help UConn. However UConns defense much like last season in the NCAAs will stifle many teams. Barring injuries imo the only way UConn can loose from here on out if they beat themselves.
 
ERWUC65 said:
two person? what about Miles, Citron, Westbeld, Karlen? ND is the one team no one wants to play.
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Heck, I disagree, I would bet that a lot of the players and most on the BY would love to see ND go down in flames to our Huskies
 
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