USC Postgame Thread

[Gus Mahler]

Understand. But Azzi is a steak player and needs to get into a rhythm. If she hits one- she can hit 10

"Prime" time, you might say.

 

[Rowdy831]

I thought the way USC came out was very impressive. They hit a lot of threes early and completely controlled the boards which isn't that surprising considering the length they have. I don't think USC has played that good all season and they are going to be tougher than I thought they would in the end.

UConn on the other hand looked great when KK was running the offense and looked not so great when she wasn't on the floor. Sarah played a great game but she can't be the only player on the team who gets rebounds when they are playing the good teams. I thought Ash played good in the third but didn't really get too many looks in the 4th but had a solid game.

Paige is obviously very important to the team winning so I don't fully understand why she was guarding Juju. I thought when KK was on Juju she was really frustrated and when KK was in and not guarding Juju she was helping out and bringing a lot of energy for the team. I thought Morgan played a good game but I also was a little surprised Geno didn't play Azzi at all in the second half and she could have helped and in the end need her to get to number 12.

In the end UConn dug a huge hole and showed the heart of a champion and fought their way back into the game. With a lineup tweak here and player getting healthy there I think they still will be there in the end. It was certainly a fun game to watch.

 

[Rowdy831]

Yeah they were nervous for a lot of the first half but they showed a lot of fight. I like the rotation Geno used the second half, KK and Morgan along with the five in the floor to close out the game. Never saw such poor decision making as we had the first half, most of the game before th come back. They missed a lot of open players. Great come back. I think we just have to accept that we don’t have any bigs. Sarah was awesome and expended a lot of energy on defense down low. KK has been showing up for the big games this year.

I did not like that KK didn't play in the 4th quarter. If you look at plus/minus for the game I think you would see the team dominated with her on the floor and struggled when she wasn't.

 

[Rowdy831]

I think Geno was platooning KK and Kaitlyn for defense and offense, respectively

I think Geno Geno thought KK went home after the third quarter. She played a great game both times she was in and USC didn't like playing against her. She should have been in the 4th too.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I love Sarah at the 5 but genos not going to give up on developing ice and Jana. It’s a long season.

I don't think you give up, but you plug that hole and avoid a flood in the meantime. Defenses aren't leaving UCONN perimeter shooters to help on our posts and it shows in the 3pt shooting in both losses...ND 18% and USC 26%. The solution is backdoor cuts like you saw from Cheli and Paige. But you need someone who can make that pass from the high post...and as you saw tonight it's Strong, not to mention she's a threat to shoot or drive from the foul line..and Ice and Jana don't have all those options...right now. If we didn't fall behind so much early, I think this was the perfect game to play Jana. The refs were letting them play physical.

 

[Stagnant]

KK did the same thing against Texas last year.

 

[Rowdy831]

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.

I would have went with KK as long as she could breathe. UConn was a different team with her on the floor. Morgan played good but I would have had to go with Azzi down the stretch.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

After watching tape on Ice in high school, I’m shocked she’s so hesitant to shoot when left wide open. It’s like she’s been told not to, which seems to be totally against Geno’s usual advice to his players.

She's not comfortable in the foul line area. It's obvious. She get's the ball there and everyone knows that 9 out of 10 times...she's going to pass. SO...the defense just sags or helps somewhere else. Most tape I've seen on her...she likes the wing or baseline and is a face up offensive player. She also uses the dribble to establish rhythm for her shot.

 

[Stagnant]

i am not convinced Azzi was on the board as an option in the second half.

 

[Blacketh’D]

Also USC didn’t miss anything that first half, so I think that probably won’t happen most games. They just were hot and coooled off the second half.

This happens all the time lol.

 

[hoophuskee]

Kiki Iriafen is a forward not a center. At 6'3" she only had one inch on her. She might not do that well against a real top flight center. Why would Strong play out of position for herself. It will do nothing for her preperation for the next level.

The same was said about Edwards that she shouldn't be a pf/c. The same was said about Gabby, And after her frosh year at UCONN, Maya Moore switched from SF to PF mostly. What position was she plaing in WNBA mostly?

Great basketball players can mostly adapt and make it a strength.

 

[Spaceman213J]

KK should have been given a chance to continue disrupting USC's offense in the 4th quarter.

Geno may have found something with the small lineup.

I know she suffered a bad injury, but with each game, I have trouble believing that this team can win a championship, facing tough teams in the last few rounds if Ice plays more than 20 minutes.

One thing I noticed with a few of the women's and men's players this year is that each team has a few players that have taken the coaching to heart, but lack some instincts that make the special player. They get the ball in the offense and look to make the next pass to where they have been coached to go with it, but don't have the ability to read a broken defense sometimes and find the wide open player when it happens. They get the ball and turn their backside to half of the court looking to make the next pass and have 5 defenders in their line of vision but don't realize they have a teammate open on the other side then.

Need Fudd to get healthy and back to playing well and give them that 3rd regular threat.

Also, she had a few bad turnovers, but Cheli looks like she will be important come March. You can see Geno's faith in her is growing.

 

[JellyBean]

I loved the fight this team put up. I am not going to lie. I thought the team was done in the 3rd quarter. Just looked lifeless out there. Low energy. But then they caught a 2nd wave of energy. They fought back. The grit this team showed in the 4th quarter was impressive. They are going to be a handful and into the NCAA tournament. I am not worried about this team, especially after facing their 2nd loss. This team is only going to get better and stronger.

 

[hoophuskee]

A few observations.
1. As everyone else has noticed, UConn does not have a center who, at this point, can compete with high-level programs. The smaller lineup makes more sense unless UConn is playing against a really tall team. At that point, I have no idea what they should do, because neither Ice nor Jana are ready to handle competition like that. They may be later this year or next year, but not now.
2. After the loss to ND, I made the observation that a team like USC, which has a superstar and a good center, can do what Notre Dame did to UConn. a number of responders said USC was nothing like Notre Dame and was not nearly as strong. Well, it's true that USC doesn't have ND's guard play, but they proved they don't need it., In this game it was Watkins and Iriafen instead of Hidalgo and the ND center. USC's center absolutely owned UConn's.
3. The UConn comeback was thrilling, even as it fell short.
4. It's very hard to criticize a player who comes up with mid-20 points and a bunch of great passes. But the opposition has gotten so much better in the last two years that Paige simply cannot put the team on her back and carry it over the goal line as she did in her freshman year. That puts the burden on the coaching staff to come up with plays other than just give it to Paige.
5. I thought KK Arnold played a very good game. She was a buzzsaw on defense and ignited at least a couple of offensive plays. She may not be the steady presence that Chen is, but she sure does up the overall team amperage when she is in there. She made a real difference.
6. Sarah Strong is already very good and will get better. I agree with the previous post that noted how unfair it was that she ended up in that really pressurized situation at game's end.
7. Morgan did not look out of place at all. Her game has steadily progressed in the last month.

Last year Paige didn't put her team on her back? And they wound up same position they were in her frosh year.

 

[cferraro04]

Yes, we lost the game...however, there is a lot of good to take from this game. 1. UConn didn't quit...they bit the bullet and came back from 18 points down...and even went ahead. 2. Paige showed great leadership by not allowing the red-hot first-half shooting by USC to affect her...she stayed poised and provided steady, inspired play. 3. Morgan Cheli showed that she can and will be able to provide valuable minutes when needed. 4. Sarah is playing at an All-American level and without her UConn would be in deep trouble...impressive double-double tonight (22/13). 5. Shade showed some hard-nosed play in the second half and made great, much-needed shots. 6. KK was a spark off the bench, she disrupted USC and her defense helped spur UConn's second-half comeback. Chen played great defense and hit a huge three in the second half.

Things that could and will make the difference if we ever get matched with them again. 1. They will not have another half where they shoot nearly 70 percent from three again. 2. UConn will not play as bad a half as they did in the first half again. 3. UConn shot 59 percent from the line...if they shoot 78 percent they win that game. 4. Azzi and Aubrey will be back and playing up to speed by the end of the season. 5. Our bigs will get better...they have to...so they will. 6. Ziebel, Samuels will also be ready to contribute if needed. 7. A full complement of players will take the pressure off of Paige and Sarah. I believe if any three of the above were to happen we will win by ten.

Money quote from Geno, "I have to figure out how to make sure it is the team that showed up in the second half is the team that shows up in January". Another interesting gem from Geno was his comment on Azzi when he was asked why he didn't go back to her in the second half. "I chose not to for whatever reason".

Loses are never great...but, this one I believe will end up being more positive than negative and will provide great motivation to our players who will always think back on this game knowing that it was a winnable one and that each one of them had opportunities that could have changed the outcome of this game. I think UConn will be a better team by mid-January. They will be even better in February and no one is going to want to play UConn in March.

 

[AJay11]

If you have to do a platoon, then the player who’s in for offense should be averaging more than 6.8 points per game.

I think it’s past time KK starts games, or at least plays a whole lot more than she has been.

I love KK and and admire her defense tenacity but I am surprised that fans are ignoring the fact that she can't shoot beyond layups and steals. And people complained about Nika not scoring...Chen has made a bigger impact on offense except for tonight. Also, on rewatch, while KK was the 3rd qt spark, Chen stayed in during the 4th because of the close score. Until KK can prove she can shoot consistently she won't start this year.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Chen did not play well. She did little of anything, missed a big three late, and took that awful 1-on-3 shot in transition with about 2-1/2 to go.

Everyone has an opinion, now we know yours. Did Chen play a perfect game? No! But she did play well. Every UConn player made mistakes (that's plural) throughout this game including Paige and Sarah.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Everyone has an opinion, now we know yours. Did Chen play a perfect game? No! But she did play well. Every UConn player made mistakes (that's plural) throughout this game including Paige and Sarah.

Sarah made a ton of plays, keeping UConn from being trounced. Paige made a lot of plays despite a subpar game overall. Chen was 1-3, 2-4 from the line for 5 points and 3 TO. Bit of a difference.

Now you will know another of my takes. Chen makes a lot of strange plays for a senior who went to Princeton, and that decision for a 1-on-3 pullup jumper in transition late with Shade wide open on the outside was another.

If it makes you feel any better, the foul call on her on the Watkins jumper late was as phantom and garbage as it gets.

 

[Doctor G]

Small and young: a senior, 2 sophomores, and 2 freshmen. Terrific composure from the young guys

KK was amazing. I loved her game in the second half

KK should be our starting PG but I know Geno loves her impact off the bench. Chen is good but she would be better used as a shooting guard in the rotation. I am not sure why she thinks being a PG doesn’t allow her to score but she doesn’t put up enough shots right now. Ice is not a 5; I will be shocked if Cheli isn’t starting by the end of January.

 

[fomalhaut]

If I have learned ONE thing from 65 years of watching and playing basketball, it is that it is very, very difficult, if not impossible, to come back from a large deficit to win in the fourth quarter. UConn made a valiant effort, but came up just short.

Not just basketball. It's true of just about any sport.

 

[fomalhaut]

Chen did not play well. She did little of anything, missed a big three late, and took that awful 1-on-3 shot in transition with about 2-1/2 to go.

That might have been the worst pay of the game.

 

[fomalhaut]

They missed some calls both ways, but it’s difficult to figure out with announcers wanting to tell stories.

I counted seven clear fouls committed by Watkins.

 

[fomalhaut]

If Fudd wasn't out there as an option when they needed a three to tie, she isn't anywhere near ready to play. I think she may have talked Auriemma into letting her dress, and he shut her down after her only appearance in the game.