USC Postgame Thread

[VoiceOfRzn]

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.

And runs around with the ball wayyyyy to much

 

[SLY63]

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.

Agree with every point !

 

[SLY63]

The challenge we face now is -- with Big East competition, our bigs will not see top competition and have the opportunity to improve and prepare for facing top tourney teams. I think once Aubrey is back, we should focus on small-ball and use Sarah/Aubrey at the 5 and develop Morgan at the 4.

The other issue with BE Competition is unless we beat So Carolina, our ceiling will be a mid-to-low 2 seed. We will have no signature wins.

On a side note, Morgan is becoming my favorite and Sarah is as good as any freshman we have had in 25 years (and yes that includes Maya)

 

[HuskyNan]

The challenge we face now is -- with Big East competition, our bigs will not see top competition and have the opportunity to improve and prepare for facing top tourney teams. I think once Aubrey is back, we should focus on small-ball and use Sarah/Aubrey at the 5 and develop Morgan at the 4.

The other issue with BE Competition is unless we beat So Carolina, our ceiling will be a mid-to-low 2 seed. We will have no signature wins.

On a side note, Morgan is becoming my favorite and Sarah is as good as any freshman we have had in 25 years (and yes that includes Maya)

Morgan, at 6-2, was also playing in the post. She may be the best at boxing out and scrapping for rebounds, too. Her fundamentals are excellent, unsurprising as her high school coach was the estimable Sue Phillips. I like this young woman’s potential

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

A. Sooo happy to see Azzi back.. Keep in mind, had Azzi made any of her shots, we would of the game.
B. KK and Sarah should of played the entire half. KK was the difference maker. Morgan also.deserved to play more.

 

[Cheddie]

I do like the 2nd half team, but I'm disappointed that UConn isn't where I'd hope it would be. Geno was quoted after the game: "in these games, if we don’t make more threes than the other team, it’s going to be really hard for us to win.” Really frustrating that Azzi is hurt again, and unfortunately AZ isn't ready yet to add to the firepower. Ayanna's toughness would be invaluable. Would love to see Aubrey guarding JuJu. And I miss Caroline's contributions. Look forward to a fuller lineup later this year.

The team has room for improvement and adjustments. Fingers crossed there aren't too many more "first halfs."

 

[CONN78SEJ]

What a battle! In the end, UConn was cold from 3 and that made all the difference. It came down to the last shot, and it didn’t have to.

First half — USC 42-29. Juju was on fire and USC shot 60% from 3. UConn did not. Sound familiar? Kiki also shot and rebounded well. Azzi played briefly in the 2nd quarter but didn’t score. Also, it looks like Coach Gottlieb has developed her freshman better than Geno has. Heckel, Smith, Samuels and Howell all had meaningful minutes at both ends of the court. Other than Sarah and to a lesser extent Morgan, no freshman contributed for UConn. Finally, Paige was throttled again in the first half (7 pts on 3-10, and missed 2 FTs). In general, USC’s defense was hyper-aggressive and since we weren’t hitting 3s, they paid no penalty for overplaying every pass and cutter.

Second half: UConn 40-30. Paige and Sarah lit up on offense and defense and closed the gap to 6 in the 3rd quarter and took the lead in the 4th. But there were still a lot of missed opportunities. In the 4th quarter, there were some dubious whistles, especially the usual friendly whistle for Juju and some silent whistles for Paige and a couple of tight whistles against Kaitlyn. Geno’s not wrong when he says Paige is the most fouled player in D1 who gets almost no whistles. There was something sweet to see Juju whining about an obvious foul she committed against Sarah shooting a last second 3.

Also worth noting that Geno played a small lineup most of the game. Jana and Ice played less than 20 minutes between them. By contrast, Morgan played 20 minutes for the first time.

And the game within the game: Juju+Kiki combined=42 pts 17 rebounds, Paige+Sarah = 44 pts and 16 rebounds.

I would also acknowledge Ash scoring 9 pts and KK and Morgan both adding 5. All three players made critical plays in the 2nd half. I’ll take it to heart that even with Paige having a horrendous shooting 1st half we still could’ve won this game. We also hurt ourselves at the FT line, making only 10 on 17 attempts. Last but not least, I think the refereeing was decidedly one sided.

 

[HuskyNan]

The team has room for improvement and adjustments. Fingers crossed there aren't too many more "first halfs."

I thought this game showed improvement over the ND game, at least as far as the team’s approach to it. They’ve learned to grind out games and how to adjust when shots aren’t dropping. I know the loss is disappointing but rather than feel it’s a lost chance, I see growth from the previous loss.

Some players are still catching up on the learning curve but others are moving along nicely. Ash has found a way to get herself free from defenders and take shots in rhythm. KK has learned she can channel Nika as the emotional spark for the team. Morgan is just absorbing everything and finding ways to be effective on the court. Sarah learned how really good teams will defend her in the ND game and was also able to find her way to the basket. I see positive growth

 

[BobbyJ]

Won't be a Popular Opinion, but like the Notre Dame game this game shows that Paige should not be in serious consideration for Player of the Year. Yes, she scored 22 Points and USC would have won in a Blow Out if Paige didn't play. However Ju Ju outplayed Paige in all facets of the game. Paige was 2-8 on three point shots (9-22 overall shooting) and only had 3 Rebounds and 2 Assists. Many of her 3's were wide open. I thought down the stretch she took an ill advised three that wasn't in the flow of the offense. Now if it went it, it would have been a clutch shot. That is not POY Stats in a Game this big. Injuries have taken the toll on Paige. She's not the same player she was as a Freshmen.

About any college coach in the country along with any WNBA coach, GM, and scout would disagree with you because, unlike fans, they don't judge talent based on stats.

 

[veryolddog]

When they cannot shoot the '3's, maybe they should focus on a smothering defense and go for mid range 2's.

 

[BRS24]

As Geno has said in past seasons, losing early gives the coaches a lot of film material to use in practices, in order to show the players exactly what needs to be improved before a tournament run. He's said that winning all the games into March makes it harder for them to convince players that all is not well. Losing to ND and USC now will let them bank a lot of practice material and use it later on.

 

[BRS24]

Won't be a Popular Opinion, but like the Notre Dame game this game shows that Paige should not be in serious consideration for Player of the Year. Yes, she scored 22 Points and USC would have won in a Blow Out if Paige didn't play. However Ju Ju outplayed Paige in all facets of the game. Paige was 2-8 on three point shots (9-22 overall shooting) and only had 3 Rebounds and 2 Assists. Many of her 3's were wide open. I thought down the stretch she took an ill advised three that wasn't in the flow of the offense. Now if it went it, it would have been a clutch shot. That is not POY Stats in a Game this big. Injuries have taken the toll on Paige. She's not the same player she was as a Freshmen.

Paige and others have said that POY and other awards are not the focus and goal. First win the BE regular season, then the BE tourney, and lastly the NCAAs.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Geno made one statement that explains most, if not all of UCONN's problems. He said they had too many players that are one dimensional. Pick any player not named Paige or Sarah and they have issues holding their own at either one end of the floor or the other. Usually, it's on defense. The more you have to help with penetration...the more shooters you leave open. In the moment, you resolve it with substitutions. In the long run, you bet on your development kicking in come March or someone who is injured returning. I think fans are somewhat spoiled, but other than FT shooting I thought they played well and are getting closer to...fixing their deficiencies.

 

[Linart]

At the end of the game, I kept thinking of that children's nursery rhyme:

Once there was a girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good
And when she was bad she was horrid.

 

[BobbyJ]

Just opinion but I think she was better offensively as a frosh. More creative. More dynamic. Could impact the game in a lot of ways and had answers to your answers. She would routinely have games where she approached double figures in assists (she did it a couple times but would have 7-9 a lot too). Her best game this year was 7 against BU on opening day.

She’s mostly just a mid range jump shooter now against good teams, and she doesn’t affect games much with her passing. I felt she was an extraordinary talent as a freshman and she’s become a lot more ordinary. The 15-18 foot jumpers have their place, but it feels like that’s her whole bag.

You should watch more closely. For all the fans who love stats here's 3 compared to everyone's greatest ever, Watkins. Overall Bueckers shoots 56% to Watkins' 46% and on 3s it's Bueckers 42% to 36%. And they both have exactly 46 assists for the 12 games. Without Bueckers' offensive presence in this game it would have been a 25 pt blowout and Strong wouldn't have gotten single coverage for most of the game.

 

[freshler40]

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.

Some excellent sub points of who guards who. KK was the defensive engine along with Morgan and Shade. Our first half defense of 3 point line was weak especially from our center who played well off of switches or didn't switch well.
It was also concerning about our determined efforts to get the ball to Paige, at all costs. when others are open. This happened during much of the game as we played a slow clock. Paige had to make desperate shots with little time left. KK runs this team at what seems to be at optimum pace. Love to see more KK driving to the hoop for finishes or other decisions. We are an easily scouted team. It appears the coaches' decisions is to limit others shooting. Paige got blocked several times in the first half under the above conditions. We did get their star to have two fouls early but didn't seem to make attempts to add more which could have changed the outcome. Ju Ju is the real deal and is surrounded by many solid players. Overall, a fun game with great growth possibilities for the Huskies.

 

[HuskyNan]

You should watch more closely. For all the fans who love stats here's 3 compared to everyone's greatest ever, Watkins. Overall Bueckers shoots 56% to Watkins' 46% and on 3s it's Bueckers 42% to 36%. And they both have exactly 46 assists for the 12 games. Without Bueckers' offensive presence in this game it would have been a 25 pt blowout and Strong wouldn't have gotten single coverage for most of the game.

Paige has 46 assists, same as Watkins, but 17 turnovers to Juju’s 38. Juju does lead in fouls, 31 to Paige’s 14. Hence the talk about Paige’s efficiency

 

[HopJim]

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.

Anyone who has watched UConn and Geno for years knows he plays a vanilla offense and defense in the beginning of the year-few changes. I remember the year UConn lost to Notre Dame 3 times during the season with Geno making few adjustments. Ended up being one of his championship years. By the NCAA's, he will have his top 7-8 players, know what their strengths are, and have several "special plays" ready to offset the strengths of the top teams. While relatively young, this is a smart team with a high basketball IQ. I suspect we will enjoy watching it evolve.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I thought the refs were good. They let them play and ignored contact created by the offense. Juju and Paige like to lean in and for the most part...the refs weren't buying it.

 

[ERWUC65]

As Geno has said in past seasons, losing early gives the coaches a lot of film material to use in practices, in order to show the players exactly what needs to be improved before a tournament run. He's said that winning all the games into March makes it harder for them to convince players that all is not well. Losing to ND and USC now will let them bank a lot of practice material and use it later on.

A good example of what you said is the University of South Florida (unranked) who just beat Duke by 10. They probably had the hardest schedule of any NCAA school in their first games, playing 5 of the top 10 teams. But they learned, got better, and now just might make it into the big dance.

 

[Orc]

Brady and Fudd with zero points in 21 total minutes isn't going to get it done.

What happened to Brady? So highly rated in high school but now cant even defend, score, dribble, etc.

 

[topogigio]

Sunday morning, and sun still rose. As a very long time UConn Women's fanatic, I am finding losses easier to manage. Boy, those undefeated streaks of the past have become a mental curse. Looking back on last night's game, Paige was gassed in the last quarter, and maybe even earlier when she missed those two foul shots. She fought through it, and Sarah certainly took some heat off Paige. Good teams have found the recipe to slow the Huskies down. We just don't intimidate teams anymore (not a knock on the players, just an observation).

 

[Gusaford]

Clearly, the small-ball lineup worked wonders in the second half last night. But when I was watching the game, I didn't put Jana and Ice in the same bucket of ineffectiveness. I thought Jana more or less held her own out there, including on the boards. I figured Geno didn't play her in the second half, not because Jana did anything particularly wrong, but because USC was sagging off her at the top of the key and doubling up on our outside shooters. If Jana can turn the screw half a rotation and make quicker decisions to distribute the ball at the top of the key and/or drive effectively so that defenses have to play her honestly, I think she has the athleticism to play with the Iriafens of the world. The kid knows how to rebound.

 

[boontonbomber]

Did anyone else notice a stretch there where Ice caught the ball at the Foul line, defense sagging off of her, and never once looked to the basket for a potential shot? She immediately was looking to pass after a pivot. She can and has made those shots in the past. I wondered if she had been told—this is your job tonight. Really unfortunate that USC could ignore her and double soneone else.

Players have to play by instinct,play freely, just PLAY!! Ice definitely has shown a nice touch from 17 feet. I'm sorry, but for some reason some of these players really look like they're thinking too much, and they're "not just playing basketball ", if you get my meaning. I've been feeling this way for awhile , with other players, with them looking sort of "mechanical" out there.

 

[hookshot]

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.

Agree but could have used a steal or layup in crunch time. I would have had her in there in the last two minutes but respect coaches call on both KK and Azzi

 

[BobbyJ]

Paige has 46 assists, same as Watkins, and 17 turnovers to Juju’s 38. Juju does lead in fouls, 31 to Paige’s 14. Hence the talk about Paige’s efficiency

Yes, anyone who thinks Bueckers is part of any of UConn's problems has no idea what they're watching.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Keep in mind, had Azzi made any of her shots, we would of the game.

That's not the way it works!

 

[Martinj481]

Sarah really needs to play in the post for us! She needs to play at the 5. She has post moves and can score in there and then draw out the opposing 5 to the 3 point line! Chen,Azzi, Paige,Arnold, and Sarah need to start! Ice hasn't developed and looks lost! She was number 4 recruit! Maybe how we use her needs to be changed. We need 10 points and 10 rebounds from her and Jana and it's not happening! They need to be rim runners kinda like Iowa does with O'Gradey! Make it easy!

 

[Martin84]

To me this is a very flawed team. Coach can’t even make substitutions for offensive or defensive situations as the game winds down.

 

[CONNCAN]

Reality check to the Boneyard ! UCONN will "Not" win a National Championship this season WITHOUT a Healthy and Productive Aubrey Griffin and Azzi Fudd. Without them BOTH, this team will come up short.