USC Postgame Thread

[Bone Dog]

hard to make up a deficit late if you cant hit any 3s

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.

 

[ec33]

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.

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.

 

[hookshot]

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.

Greater genius would have been bringing Audrey in somewhat earlier still

 

[Vowelguy]

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.

She made both in the final 64 seconds when the outcome wasnt in doubt. She hit 0 before that.

 

[ThisJustIn]

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.

 

[UConnCat]

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.

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.

 

[packwrap]

24 Final Fours and 12 National Titles looks far prettier than 24 and 11.

Tired of being under .500 in Final Fours.

Yes good value in both 12pack and 24pack.

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.

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.

 

[nutmegger]

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!!

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.

 

[Dugway]

This UConn team plays pretty well don’t they!

 

[jaydee602]

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.

Good for you! Yeah, Sarah missing a foul shot would have been meaningless..... except to the bettors.

 

[uconnever]

I’m like CD, I also thought of Diana against ND going 0-11. UCLA will be a challenge, have to avoid foul trouble.

 

[jaydee602]

Here we go again!
Vegas just posted the opening line for UCONN/ UCLA
The Huskies are favored by 8.5 points!!

 

[ThisJustIn]

Re: Ash and shots. Any chance she's got a little stiffness from her super-hard v. Oklahoma?

 

[jaydee602]

All of the Men's & Women's Tournament #1 seeds are going to the Final Four..... except for one #2 seed.

 

[housekeys]

Did you not see Sarah flatten a kid without being called for a foul?

So you agree that the refs were bad, which was Tony's point?

UConn got the benefit of some calls/non-calls in the first half; USC got them in the second half

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.

 

[hoopsfan22]

All of the Men's & Women's Tournament #1 seeds are going to the Final Four..... except for one #2 seed.

And all of the teams are P4 teams except us.

 

[Crossover]

How did Shade not even have a shot attempt?

She didn't shoot.

 

[ec33]

 

[Fore!]

How did Shade not even have a shot attempt?

She did have one, but was called for an offensive foul which wiped it off the board.

 

[Stagnant]

I am glad Chen had a game like this. I think people have undervalued her a bit this season. Shooting over 50% as a 5’9” guard. Shooting around 37% from 3. 2-1 assist to turnover ratio. Plays hard on defense. Injury free season. It was great we got her.

 

[Stagnant]

I also want to say Marshall impressed me. That is the best I have seen an opposing big look with Sarah Strong guarding them. And it really impresses me because we had Morgan Cheli on Marshall quite a bit in the first meeting. So big improvement from her in the second meeting.

 

[packwrap]

She did have one, but was called for an offensive foul which wiped it off the board.

I guess that's a reverse charge, or giving a charge for the team. Who said she doesn't drive hard to the basket?

 

[ucmiami2]

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?

Not sure if someone has corrected this already later in this thread, but prior to this year they have 23 semi-final games and won 12, and have played 12 finals and won 11, so the correct numbers are:

23 wins and have 12 loses in FF games .657 percentage.

And are 12-11 in the semi-final games .522 percentage.

 

[Blakeon18]

Idle thoughts: Huskies favored over UCLA by 8.5? Pretty high imo. Betts will be a problem...interesting
to see how Geno solves it. Plus: UCLA beat LSU due to their trey shooting not Betts. Think they had 10 with
a good shooting percentage...hope that is a one-off.

We've been watching Azzie and commenting on her release for a while. When she spots up for
a trey attempt my thought is her release [from the moment she touches the ball to the moment it is out of
her hands] is the quickest I have ever...ever... seen...men or women. Shooting a trey off a dribble is a bit
rare but the release itself is the same.

Biggest single bucket of the game? Lead down to 5...super comeback from USC...Azzi enters...immediately hits
a trey for a bit more breathing room.

 

[Skeets]

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.

The later in the game you get, the more frantic both the players and the refs get.