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USC Postgame Thread

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Tonyc said:
No sour grapes however before the last couple of minutes USC went to the line 26 to our 8 They may not have had Juju but they made up for it going to the line. Yeah we committed some fouls but they didnt?????????????
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Unfortunately, veteran refs have an unfair habit of calling fouls to help teams that are getting blown out. Some analysts feel that they do this to avoid being blamed for a team's loss.
It's amazing how refs officiate a great half, allowing physical contact & letting the teams play. But in the second half, they call every touch foul and become whistle happy.
 
What a game. Prognosticators had the spread correct. 24 Final Fours - unreal. Paige moves into 3rd place on the All Time scoring list. Sarah only the second player in UConn history with 600+ points as a freshman joining Maya Moore. The history of this program is unbelievable.

The story of the game was the Big Three - Paige, Sarah and Kaitlyn!!! Kaitlyn was the third big scorer we needed with her 15 points.

With this team you know Paige and Sarah are the big guns. When called upon, every other player has to fill their roll and contribute. That happened tonight.

So onto Tampa!!!!!!!!
 
My favorite moment in this game. Paige is tired and points to Sarah as if to say…I need a break…you light em up. And - she does. That’s some serious chemistry and trust right there from a senior to a freshman no less…in the Elite 8 game.:)
 
1. It's been such a pleasure to watch Paige all these years. Besides being a great player, she is also such a special person. I love hearing the story of her getting up at 5 a.m. to cook for Jana to eat before she had to fast so she could follow her religious requirements, which are important to her. Also staying after games to sign for kids. She will be a great spokeswoman for the game going forward.
2. Great to see Kaitlyn step-up when we needed her tonight.
3. It was great to see Azzi come out and fire them up. She was off until she wasn't—just when we needed her most.
4. Great to see Sara play like an All-American.
5. Great to see Aubrey come out to try and slow Marshall up. I thought Ice played some good defense when she was out there.
6. I live in Florida about 1:45 minutes south of Tampa so I am looking for tickets tomorrow. Go Huskies!!!!!!!
 
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Hard fought win. Bringing in Aubrey Griffin when things were spiralling was a stroke of genius. And then Azzi caught fire and they pulled away. [Connecticut's 16th 35-win season, by the way.]

Never have understood in a quarter century of watching how a very physical team gets called for fewer fouls (until the intentional ones in the final minutes) than the most disciplined finesse team in Division 1.
 
Tonyc said:
No sour grapes however before the last couple of minutes USC went to the line 26 to our 8 They may not have had Juju but they made up for it going to the line. Yeah we committed some fouls but they didnt?????????????
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No sour grapes, but FTs is what kept USC in the game. Otherwise we win by 20+
 
and one said:
This was a 14 point win that could easily have been a 25 point win. USC even without Juju is good and we beat them by double digits despite more sloppy passes and dribbling than was absolutely necessary. Paige did her thing, Sarah was huge, Chen kicked in 15 points, and Azzi after a horrible shooting night redeemed herself with 8 well needed points in the 4th quarter. Overall we got through a tough last 8 matchup without playing our best. This is a formidable team folks. I can't wait to have at it with UCLA.
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USC is ranked #4 and was, at one time, ranked #1. They were the cause of a lot of UConn’s sloppiness and periods of offensive woes. USC deserves some credit.
 
Next 12 said:
Tough game. Someone posted "whoever gets to 70 first, wins." How wise of who posted. Uconn got to 70+ first and "VIOLA" we won. The 3rd quarter almost gave me a heart attack as it looked like Uconn forgot how to play BB. Thank God they took charge in the 4th quarter.WE had 3 GIGANTIC players that carried the game. Paige, Sarah and Kaitlin. AZZI did her share also. Uconn was the better team this night and now on to the rest of our journey to No.12. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!
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I can’t take much credit, that first to 70 thing holds up pretty well for most any college game ever played over the past many years
 
There were a lot of good things that UConn made happen, most discussed above. The one thing that I' was really impressed with was Ksotlyn Chen, who wss playing a lot faster than I recall seeing before and was making her shots count. A couple of her drives were off-he--charts difficult. If she is going to be an offensive threat, it could make a real difference next weekend.
Also great to see Aubrey In there .
 
oldude said:
I did not put a bet down on the game. But I was acutely aware of the 14.5 point spread at the end of the game, knowing a bunch of folks were either ecstatic or pissed off.

Congratulations on getting your bet down on the early line.
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Good job being aware of that point spread. Isn't it an exciting "game within a game"?
The other wager I didn't touch was the over/ under total points (137.5).
It looked like the under was a lock with only 128 points scored with a minute left. But 14 points were scored in the last minute to cover the over.
 
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jaydee602 said:
Unfortunately, veteran refs have an unfair habit of calling fouls to help teams that are getting blown out. Some analysts feel that they do this to avoid being blamed for a team's loss.
It's amazing how refs officiate a great half, allowing physical contact & letting the teams play. But in the second half, they call every touch foul and become whistle happy.
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What I hate is the whistle that is called every time a player ends up on the floor. The assumption must be a foul has been committed. A lot of times the shooter is attempting a crazy, off-balance shot and fell because of their own clumsines, but they 99% of the time get a foul called on defender who often didn’t even touch the player but just happened to be nearest person.
 
pvdoggy said:
Technically, they are not under .500 in Final Fours. Before today, 23 trips to FF4, with 11 NC means they must have won 22 games out of the 34 games they played in the FF4?
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I didn't say "in Final Four games." They are under .500 in going to and coming home champs.

Not a week from today if I have anything to say about it. Unfortunately....
 
Vowelguy said:
hard to make up a deficit late if you cant hit any 3s
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Avery Howell hit a couple down the final stretch when the defense got a little ragged. But she'd been effectively smothered the rest of the game. That kid is really good. I expect we'll hear of her successes in the coming years.
 
mhshuskies said:
I think it’s always humorous how they put up a ladder to cut down nets to go to FF. Have they never seen UCONN go to the FF before, they don’t cut down when there is still work to be done.
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A ladder company paid the NCAA money for the photo op. They get the ladder.

At the rate of the UConn women going to they should get a 25% discount.
 
fomalhaut said:
Hard fought win. Bringing in Aubrey Griffin when things were spiralling was a stroke of genius. And then Azzi caught fire and they pulled away. [Connecticut's 16th 35-win season, by the way.]

Never have understood in a quarter century of watching how a very physical team gets called for fewer fouls (until the intentional ones in the final minutes) than the most disciplined finesse team in Division 1.
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Greater genius would have been bringing Audrey in somewhat earlier still
 
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Bone Dog said:
Avery Howell hit a couple down the final stretch when the defense got a little ragged. But she'd been effectively smothered the rest of the game. That kid is really good. I expect we'll hear of her successes in the coming years.
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She made both in the final 64 seconds when the outcome wasnt in doubt. She hit 0 before that.
 
Quick post game radio comments from CD:

Strong start by Sarah. Something from everyone.

CD: It’s awesome. We had to make it a little interesting. I preferred it when we were up 19. But that’s the game: ebbs and flow. And we got it together at the end.

Re: KC

CD: She's as been great all year. Happy for her. Happy for all the kids. It’s a long process. It started in June after we got back. Not easy for someone like K who comes in for just one year. For her to figure out how we do things. She found her niche.

Re: Sarah rebounding...

CD: They’re big… and they only get bigger. Betts is TALL! :-0 *talked about Wolters & eligiblity**We’d love to get Kara back. Went with our small line up. Second half fouled a little too much, made some bad decisions. Went away from game plan. Got back to it to make a strong finish to the game.

Sarahs strong start:

CD: When Pplay in Dec – we, as a group, did not have a good start. Lost by 2, but got down 19. Glad we started out with that kind of intensity. We’re just happy for the players. Now we have flight – leave tomorrow morning get to Tampa 6pm?

Start up five in 4th. Then Azzi hits 3. Was having a tough shooting game.

CD: I thought of Diana when we played ND in semi's and shot 0-11…. I was thinking, maybe she’s gonna knock one in and she’ll be okay. Every time she shoots I think go in. When she did, there was a smile.

Aubrey:

CD Aubrey gave us big, big minutes. You preach it as a coach: You don’t know when your number’s gonna be called. Be ready. She was. Without her reoubnds, we don’t win.

Head to Florida (radio crew's returning to CT) Pack. It's going to be in the 90s.

CD: I packed poorly. Might have to order online.

Discussion of record in F4 at Tampa – 1-3?

Consider: You’ve reached 16 of the last 17 Final fours. Game has grown, yes, haven't won Finals in a while, but consider that record.

CD: You have to put yourself in that position in order to get the chance to win. 300+ schools are home now. We've got work to do. We’re going to give us our best shot. We’ll be ready.
 
Geesworld said:
I was so glad to see Azzi makes some shots in the 4th. Shooters shoot and I'm glad she kept shooting and great coaching when Geno started the 4th getting her a shot.
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Gutsy call by Geno and Azzi delivered the clutch shot.

Great coaches call plays like that. He was telling Azzi he had confidence in her to make a big shot in a big moment despite not making a shot the entire game. Hopefully she builds on those last few minutes.
 
ec33 said:
24 Final Fours and 12 National Titles looks far prettier than 24 and 11.

Tired of being under .500 in Final Fours.
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Yes good value in both 12pack and 24pack.:rolleyes:

What a game!

Credit to USC they played inspired basketball. Seniors Marshall and Van Oelhoffen both played their best games of the year!

The 2 threes Paige hit in last 0 :40 of first half proved enormous.

Just when USC caught up, enter Aubrey and boom! 2 rebounds and a steal leading to two Azzi 3s and lead back to 10.

Like olddude has mentioned, K Chen is always sleeping on a 15 point game. Tonight in Elite 8 was a good time for it!

Paige - great as always. Funny how 9-11 at foul line can be a step backward for Paige.:eek:

Sarah - her defense in the post has improved greatly from USC game 1. We will need that against UCLA and TX/SC. Iriafen/Marshall was a nice appetizer.

All others were fine. Plenty of chance in next 2 games for unsung heroes to step forward.

On to UCLA! Plenty of seats left on the popular Spokane to Tampa route.
 
jaydee602 said:
File this under, "So You Want To Be a Gambler!"
The opening point spread for this game was UCONN (-13). I thought that was high, but I placed a "small" wager on the Huskies. (The line jumped to UCONN -14.5 today, so I was glad to bet early.)
The game fluctuated around that number until USC hit two "meaningless" 3 pointers in the last minute. Sarah rebounded with 8 seconds left & was running out the clock for a 12 point win & a lost wager for me. Luckily, USC needlessly fouled her. With her two free throws, UCONN covered the 13 point spread!
Meanwhile, those who bet UCONN at -14.5 today lost by a 1/2 point!!
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How about Sarah going to the line at the end with UConn having 76 points and UConn's team total 77-1/2. I had the over in addition to UConn -12-1/2.
 
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nutmegger said:
How about Sarah going to the line at the end with UConn having 76 points and UConn's team total 77-1/2. I had the over in addition to UConn -12-1/2.
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Good for you! Yeah, Sarah missing a foul shot would have been meaningless..... except to the bettors.
 
HuskyNan said:
Did you not see Sarah flatten a kid without being called for a foul?
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So you agree that the refs were bad, which was Tony's point?

HuskyNan said:
UConn got the benefit of some calls/non-calls in the first half; USC got them in the second half
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If you take out the last minute of the game, when USC had to foul and gave UConn 8 FTA's, the game total was:

UConn FTA - 9
USC FTA - 26

What's more, UConn had 6 FTA in the first half(2Q's) as did USC. Bad calls, good calls, whatever, it is even right? No problem.

Second half UConn had 3 FTA, (leaving out the 8 UConn FTA in the last minute), while USC had 20 FTA's during the same time.

20 to 3.

The fact that we won has got nothing to do with calling out obvious flaws in the game we all saw. UConn is fortunate to be good enough, on this night, to overcome this discrepancy.
 
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