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USC Postgame Thread

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Paige was dynamic, Sarah was brilliant diffused Iriafen, Chen had the game I knew she could have so so proud of her. Azzi gave me palpitations from her missing 13 shots to letting Von Oelhoffen drive whenever she wanted but she decided she was knocking then down in the fourth. KK has the defensive intensity we needed. Aubrey saw some good minutes. El Alfy and Brady did their best and Im proud of them but they have to learn to defend without fouling for the road ahead.

UConn won this game because Geno Auriemma was orchestrating on the sideline like the rent was due and he was a dollar short. He made the call to go back to Azzi after she was 0/13, continued the pick and roll with Sarah and Paige, kept the ball away from Kennedy Smith who is a defensive menace. Subbed appropriately and was the Wizard of Oz except for he can actually perform all the tricks and magic.
 
Not the worst thing in the world for them to go through some adversity before the Final Four, but it goes without saying they have to play levels above this to win next weekend.

That all starts with Azzi being good for more than one quarter, and they’ll need more from their role players across the board. El Alfy and/or Brady has to show up each game, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Griffin get more run.
UCLA’s strength is UConn’s weakness- strength at the center position. Jana had her good and not so good moments today, and she will have to hold her own against Betts, but she’ll get some help. I don’t think small ball is going to get the job done, but it’ll be exciting. Great game today!
 
I was so happy for Kaitlyn (and for us!) having the game she did on that huge stage. For as much as the media has fixated on this being Paige's last chance for a national championship, I was reminded that there is another player in her final season who isn't going down without a fight. Kaitlyn showed tremendous poise and delivered leadership, assists, scoring, and relentless defense. One of her best games as a Husky—if not the best. (Did everyone catch her parents beaming in the audience?) Way to go, Kaitlyn!

Edit: I realized I had spelled Kaitlyn's name wrong. Fixed!
 
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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!!
 
Kaitlyn Chen!!! I've said it a few times and I'm going to repeat myself. What she does for this team doesn't stand out in the stat sheet. But she is so valuable.

Sarah Strong is the best rebounder we've had in 10 years. Her ability to go get it is top 5 UCONN history.

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.

Paige Top tier performance and Top tier 3 game stretch. Most unselfish 3 game 100 points scored I've ever seen. The best part is she is playing great defense and rebounding while playing heavy minutes. Also like to add she finally got ft attempts like all the other big names in college basketball get.

Go UCONN!!!
 
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!!
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.
 
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?????????????
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!!!!!!!
 
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.
 
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?????????????
No sour grapes, but FTs is what kept USC in the game. Otherwise we win by 20+
 
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.
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.
 
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!!!!!!!
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 .
 
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.
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.
 
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 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.
 
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?
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....
 
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