ochoopsfan
OC Hoops Fan
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As a fan of WCBB this was a fun game to watch.
USC Postgame Thread
- Thread starter oldude
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They at least showed some fight this time, but the same bad habits continue to put this team in difficult positions.
I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but the coaching has been inexplicable this season. We’ve seen way too many Chen minutes at the expense of Arnold/Azzi, not nearly enough of Paige at the point, and Brady starting over El Alfy is indefensible at this point.
It’s time for a lineup change so this team can compete athletically with the top teams in the nation.
I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but the coaching has been inexplicable this season. We’ve seen way too many Chen minutes at the expense of Arnold/Azzi, not nearly enough of Paige at the point, and Brady starting over El Alfy is indefensible at this point.
It’s time for a lineup change so this team can compete athletically with the top teams in the nation.
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OK, caught my breath and I can now post. Great comeback, just a bit shy. Gutsy 2nd half, but gotta' give USC their props, too. Yep. the small lineup was much better than having either Ice or Jana in there. The D was really turned up a notch in the 2nd half, but they just can't wait 20 minutes to start digging in. Bigs were disappointing when they were in! Good to see Azzi in there, she seemed to move all right. Great game for experience and will pay off down the road. Chelli is a keeper! Time to feast on the East!
I don’t mind this loss, I don’t like it but I think we may have found a formula that we can get better at. Sarah being able to guard Kiki shows that she more a capable of holding it down at the five if need be. I just hope she doesn’t get worn out by having to do too much. In the big east Ice and Jana will be fine, but against the elite teams, Sarah will end up having to guard those bigs because they will be a lot better. I hope I’m wrong.
Yep
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Wow, What a good college basketball game. Not the score we hoped for but just a good fun game!!! Those power conference schools are tough.
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This came down to game management and UConn just did not manage the last 3 minutes as effective as they could have. Kudos for them on the comeback, but recognizing time and score was missing in the end. Geno not throwing KK back was costly and ultimately, this came down to making free throws. USC kept the ball in JuJu's hands and she made her, we couldn't make ours. Sarah, KK, Cheli, Shade and Paige really tried their hardest.
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My guess is Sarah's the new 5.
The minutes Morgan Cheli played versus Ice & Jana, I think, are telling.
Morgan had shown all year that she brings KK Arnold level intensity and is ever-present around the ball, but this is a rapid evolution for a 1st year player. At the same time, I think it underscores the lack of development potential of our post-game with Ice & Jana. Not the first time we’ve seen this deficiency bite us. Hope this matures more quickly, but doesn’t seem to show a third through the season.
Kudos to KK Arnold for the impact she has on game flow with her intensity. She & Morgan stand out as having “Nika-like” intensity and they change the emotion of the game when in.
Morgan had shown all year that she brings KK Arnold level intensity and is ever-present around the ball, but this is a rapid evolution for a 1st year player. At the same time, I think it underscores the lack of development potential of our post-game with Ice & Jana. Not the first time we’ve seen this deficiency bite us. Hope this matures more quickly, but doesn’t seem to show a third through the season.
Kudos to KK Arnold for the impact she has on game flow with her intensity. She & Morgan stand out as having “Nika-like” intensity and they change the emotion of the game when in.
UConnDan97
predicting undefeated seasons since 1983
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This was a really tough loss, but I think that this loss can propel us into the post season.
The first half was awful. Didn't run our offense, we looked scared, we looked confused. The second half was night and day. We ran our offense, we made the extra pass, we played better defense.
Trust me when I say that USC does NOT want to see us come tournament time...
The first half was awful. Didn't run our offense, we looked scared, we looked confused. The second half was night and day. We ran our offense, we made the extra pass, we played better defense.
Trust me when I say that USC does NOT want to see us come tournament time...
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She was the best player on the floor tonight and the scary thing is that she will get better. In a tournament setting where it’s one and done, and she plays like this, we may be able to get it done.
Good call! If USC repeated their 1st half scoring in the 2nd half, they would have had 84 points!
That was improbable & when they came down to earth, UCONN took full advantage.
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While I agree that KK should get more playing time I don’t feel like Azzi is ready right now except limited time. Not because of injury but because she was unproductive tonight. If she was hot I would say yes let’s keep her out there.
Probably not to start the games, but against the better teams, she will end up there.
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Unfortunately, there was no carryover from the Iowa St on offense tonight. As hot as the team was against ISU, they started the game ice cold. Wasn't the best effort in the first half, but give USC & JuJu credit for being prepared and ready to play from the opening tip.
I wasn't a fan of having Paige guard JuJu. She is a strong, physical player that really makes you work on defense. I think it took a lot out of Paige on offense as she was off & short on her shots most of the evening.
However, happy to see the fight from UConn in the second half, and KK brought a lot of the energy & tenacity. It's easy to forget that in the last minutes of the game, UConn had Paige, a transfer, a soph and 2 freshmen on the floor. Obviously, it wasn't a win, but this loss hopefully prepares the team for later contests against SC and UT, and more importantly, tournament time.
I wasn't a fan of having Paige guard JuJu. She is a strong, physical player that really makes you work on defense. I think it took a lot out of Paige on offense as she was off & short on her shots most of the evening.
However, happy to see the fight from UConn in the second half, and KK brought a lot of the energy & tenacity. It's easy to forget that in the last minutes of the game, UConn had Paige, a transfer, a soph and 2 freshmen on the floor. Obviously, it wasn't a win, but this loss hopefully prepares the team for later contests against SC and UT, and more importantly, tournament time.
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It was a hard-fought game, for sure. I was proud that we fought back like we did. But as Oldude stated, we cannot afford to get so far behind in games that it takes everything to get back into them. We still need to figure something out with our post-play or lack thereof. In one huddle Lindsay told her players that we had no match up for them in the paint. However, our guards and Sarah attacking the paint with dribble drives seems to be effective most of the time. Maybe this should be the formula because it seems to be paying dividends.
Keep your head up Husky Nation. We haven't had a full complement of players for a few years now and yet, we are still in the running at the end. That if anything says a lot about how great this program is!
Keep your head up Husky Nation. We haven't had a full complement of players for a few years now and yet, we are still in the running at the end. That if anything says a lot about how great this program is!
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Morgan reminds me of all the scrappy UConn players of old. Not necessarily the best player on the floor but is bringing 120% and creating plays and changing the momentum.
I think Morgan played a lot.
I do t think so, did you see Azzi to tonight?, she looked rusty. And besides I like our guard and wings, we are rock solid there, we have a serious post problem and I pray it doesn’t do us in. Chen has been solid.