UNC Postgame Thread | The Boneyard

UNC Postgame Thread

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oldude

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Some thoughts on the North Carolina game:
  • The Huskies dispatched most ranked teams they faced this season with relative ease. Today 15th ranked UNC played UConn tough on defense as UConn struggled to hit shots. The Huskies defense also played the Tar Heels tough, with UNC leading at the 1st qtr 12-11.
  • Initially, just about every Husky struggled to make shots with the exception of Blanca, who continues to demonstrate that she’s made for the Big Stage.
  • In the 2nd qtr, UConn made a mini-run on offense by going with the “Sarah Strong” package. But they didn’t get much from anyone else. With that said, the Huskies went into the locker room at half leading by just 8 pts, 28-20.
  • In the 3rd qtr UConn did what good teams do, shaking off a lackluster 1st half and playing with a purpose, Azzi started to find her shot and the Huskies basically put the game out of reach, going up by 23 pts.
  • Ash was all over the court hustling as usual, but she had a brutal shooting day. Hopefully she finds her shot on Sunday.
  • I don’t know if anyone is still voting for any of the NPOY awards, but if they watched the 2 games in Ft Worth today, Blakes did score 26 in a loss with a really tough shooting day, going 7/26. Sarah finally played BIG PT: 38 minutes, 21 points (9/17), 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals & 2 blocks. Case closed!! 😎
  • I’ve said it before. DEFENSE TRAVELS! For the first 3 qtrs of the game, UConn held UNC to 12 pts, 8 pts and 5 pts respectively.
  • I have no doubt that Geno loved seeing Blanca & Sarah diving on the floor for a loose ball, up 23 in the 4th qtr. 😁
  • Next up is a rematch with a revitalized ND team, led by HH, who stunned Vandy in the Elite 8. This is not the same ND team that UConn beat by 38 at Gampel in January. LETS GO HUSKIES!
 
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Q's 2 and 3 - nice. Q's 1 and 4, meh.

Survive and advance sure. Blanca was really good. Sarah and Azzi did some scoring in spite of off shooting nights. Big minutes for them tho. Ash was basically a no-show on offense. For most of the night our defense was elite. We gave up 14 O-boards (yuck) but forced 24 TO's.

Having said that, I'd hate to rely on scoring in the low 60's to beat UCLA or SC...
 
To UNC's credit they somehow induced UConn to play at a slower pace. But most of the problem was ice cold shooting that was not entirely forced by the Heels. Mostly it looked like 3rd round jitters.

But we won. Sarah put the team on her shoulders and held off UNC almost singlehandedly. The second pair of hands in this game belonged to Blanca.

One thing that really stood out is what it cost UConn to let UNC slow down play. When they can't play at top speed, it puts a lot of pressure on KK and Ash especially. They didn't miss assignments. But they seemed out of sorts on offense.

And kudos to Indya Nivar who carried her team as far as they could go. It wasn't enough, but it was all they could have asked for from her.
 
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You almost take Strong’s brilliance for granted but Blanca’s performance today in my mind was the difference in the game.

For the first time I think in 37 games, Geno called timeout because they looked tired. Rare indeed. Strong for sure, needed the extended minutes.

The early cold shooting manifested itself again but as usual, defense allowed them to settle in.

I thought Jana was effective in her time on the floor. Is she close to earning some first half time?
 
Survive and advance. I’ll take a 21 point win in the S16 after a dismal 1Q and some uncharacteristically poor shooting. Some adversity is good. Take a breath and then get back to work.

Massive shoutout to Blanca for a huge game!

And I loved seeing Sarah take over.
 
Q1 and Q4: UNC +3
Q2 and Q3: UConn +24

Leads to a comfortable win!

That was the most disgusting first quarter in a while and perhaps the worst first half all year, yet UConn was still up by nearly double digits because of their complete lockdown defense. The defense stayed strong, the offense caught up, and UConn keeps rolling

Shoutout Sarah and Blanca, SO fun to watch them go to work

Bring on Notre Dame!
 
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If I wasn't bald, I would have been pulling my hair out...our shooting was dismal at best, except for Blanca and Sarah.
Defense was really good, which is ranked #1 and that should help carry us to the final four. Ash and Azzi might need their nails done.
 
I am not going to overreact. I thought we were pretty poor in Spokane last year too.

I will say though. We saw the formula for a UConn loss today. I have claimed it to be the formula anyway. Azzi 1-7 at halftime. And Shade I think was 1-10 for the game. Some of the teams in this tournament are too good for us to overcome if that kind of shooting happens.
 
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Based on the two games played today, I wonder if the rims are super tight, or the sight lines for shooters are really bad. Total points scored by 4 teams in a combine 80 minutes was 236 pts, or 59 points each. And field goal percentages was 90-245 or 36.7%. Subtract layups and I am sure it was below 30%. 3pt shooting was an abysmal 14-77 or 18.2%. Yeah, good defense but these are good shooting teams, and it was terrible.

I was worried that ND having shot 6% from three would explode against us in the elite 8, now I am not as worried since Uconn shot so poorly themselves.

Otherwise steady as we go. Blanca and Sarah getting to the rim saved the first half, while defense was great throughout.
 
That's a boxscore I do not recognize and I confess to not knowing what I was looking at. For much of the game UNC's athletes looked like the better athletes. Did some Huslies get rattled? Not saying they did. How neat would it be to be in the ACC? Serah I was hoping for substantially more offense.
 
God bless our defense. For the first 2 quarters they were unbelievable holding NO. Carolina to 20 points until Uconn got their team in gear and started scoring, Azzi finally got going. Blanca is now a formidable team player who earns her time on the floor. North Carolina tried very hard to show they belonged in the Elite Eight but our defense said " no you weren't " A gritty win for Uconn and now Uconn will get their 40th win against Notre Dame next that leaves 2 more to go for NO.13 ..GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
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EricSD said:
Q's 2 and 3 - nice. Q's 1 and 4, meh.

Survive and advance sure. Blanca was really good. Sarah and Azzi did some scoring in spite of off shooting nights. Big minutes for them tho. Ash was basically a no-show on offense. For most of the night our defense was elite. We gave up 14 O-boards (yuck) but forced 24 TO's.

Having said that, I'd hate to rely on scoring in the low 60's to beat UCLA or SC...
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Defense wins games, offensive determines the MOV...lots of people have said tht they're tired of me saying this but those same posters are awfully quiet after games like these... CRICKETS!!
 
Thoughts

-During the warm-ups shown on TV, Azzi looked pensive…not the cheery smiles I’m used to…and whatever she was concerned about carried into the game.

-Good plan by Courtney to limit 3-point attempts by Azzi…quite successful.
…………..
-I’d like to see Blanca’s +/- forth first half (if they do that)…bet it was faraway the best on the team.
When she came in, the team performed better…and the contrary…Nice to have an such an extra weapon

-She was rightly credited by the half-time crew for keeping UConn in the game.

-Serah had some good boards and helped with D but also had a “hands of stone” game on O…too bad

-So, which are the real Husky’s…the team that walloped Syracuse or the team that wallowed this afternoon…My choice…neither…as Geno has hinted…not as good as we thought…but still championship caliber.

-A thought about Blanca after I posted the above:
A few times she attacked the basket…was closely guarded…and looked like she didn’t have anything...
At that moment…and more than once, there was a calmness and patience as she confidently pursued
a reasonable alternative shot

Many vets don’t have this ability…really striking.
 
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Sarah, Blanca and Azzi outscored UNC 47-42. They did 75% of the scoring. The rest of the team were virtual no shows on offense. That's not going to win another championship. I keep reading about how KK and Ash are left off lists and are potential AA's. Well, the games are not going to get any easier and we need one or both to play like they are starters on the best WBB college team in America.
 
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Blanca was the opening act and Sarah was the main event. The two of them really carried the day offensively.

NC did a really good job on Azzi I thought. She really had a hard time with her shot and getting her shot on her own I thought.

Shade, in my view, is a streaky shooter and right now she is in it deep. I think she is 4-20 in her last two games and 0-9 from 3. I don’t necessarily think she’s taking poor shots, but maybe taking a shot to quickly or looking for her shot a bit more than she should.

Would love to see KK get some aggressiveness back on offense. She can help.

No matter what our defense travels.

We shouldn’t underestimate ND. They are a very hot team right now who has historically played us very tough. Hannah might be the hottest player in the tourney. We are the better team but wouldn’t surprise me ND hangs tough and even has a lead at one point.
 
CD on radio with Bob

Winning ugly survive and advance

Doesn't matter what it looks like, sometimes you have to grind it out. We had to grind it. Had looks, didn't fall. But we survived.

Defense was strong

Yes. But #24 likes to go left and we kept letting her going left. Annoyed me. lol. But, can't fault our defense, kept them to few points. Offense, walked the ball up too often in first half. Better in second. Pushed the ball, even if we don't get a layup, must push

Blanca

We wouldn't have the lead we had without blanca. Good def. w/pressure. Bailed us out offensively.

Uconn had 18 steals

Did a really good job, forced guards to give ball up. Might not get steals with our pressure, but it wears teams down..

Thought could have don't better on getting around the ball screens.

Navarre had good game last time. Huksy slayer. Good player. Good team. Very physical. Give ourselves credit. Not easy to miss shots - azzi ash not missed that many all year. Jana came in and gave us a couple of good minutes.

ND - elite 8

Hildago - playing much better as a team than when we played them. We've improved too, not like we were taking vacation. Get rest tonight. Get our game plan. NOT expecting to go in we beat them by 30. Diff. team. Good old battle. They're playing well.

Defensive ND?

Saw Vandy's Blakes 1-11, gets free throws. Surprised ND didn't play zone. They're feeling really good about themselves. Lot of confidences. Get that from Hildago. Also, another player KK B is back. Going to enjoy this win, get some rest, and prepare for a battle.
 
All in all, I was never concerned about this one but continued the lack of production from the non-stars against quality opponents remains worrisome for later on down the line. Hopefully a familiar opponent next game brings back some comfort for the likes of KK and Ash.
 
Stagnant said:
I am not going to overreact. I thought we were pretty poor in Spokane last year too.

I will say though. We saw the formula for a UConn loss today. I have claimed it to be the formula anyway. Azzi 1-7 at halftime. And Shade I think was 1-10 for the game. Some of the teams in this tournament are too good for us to overcome if that kind of shooting happens.
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So the "formula for a UConn loss" is for the opponent to hope that UConn has a terrible shooting performance??

I'm sure Niele Ivey will just stick that "formula" into her laptop and process it into a Notre Dame win ...?

In reality, if any team has an unusually poor shooting performance against a good opponent, they are very vulnerable to losing that game. That is hardly a revelation, and certainly it is not a formula.
 
REB1094 said:
Q1 and Q4: UNC +3
Q2 and Q3: UConn +24

Leads to a comfortable win!

That was the most disgusting first quarter in a while and perhaps the worst first half all year, yet UConn was still up by nearly double digits because of their complete lockdown defense. The defense stayed strong, the offense caught up, and UConn keeps rolling

Shoutout Sarah and Blanca, SO fun to watch them go to work

Bring on Notre Dame!
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You know what those quarters have in common? When the refs called fouls on UNC, we scored. When the refs didn't call fouls on UNC, we didn't score. UNC averages 16.5 PF per game. They got called for 9. I guess we are an easy team to guard. It is all about the refs and what they DON'T call. It is hard to hit layups when you are fouled. It is hard to get open for a non-rushed three when you are being held or are being pushed into the screener.
 
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