Villanova BET Championship Postgame Thread

[OldSchooler]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• This was a tough game tonight against a good Villanova team. Two teams grinding it out in the half court. To paraphrase the Hanson Brothers, “OLD TIME BASKETBALL!!!”
• What a great team effort by the Huskies!!! I’m guessing tonight’s 30 -point beat down of the Wildcats made it abundantly clear that their game on February 9 against a woefully shorthanded UConn team was a fluke.
• Villanova really struggles with full court pressure. The first time around against UConn and yesterday against SH, the Wildcats stumbled against the press during the 4th qtr. Tonight Nova got to deal with pressure from the opening tip and it didn’t go very well.
• Paige had done a little of this and that in her first 4 games back. Tonight, when she entered the game, it was really good to see her take control of the offense and start directing her teammates all over the court.
• There was a play when Evina went coast to coast for a layup in the 4th qtr, followed by Aaliyah stealing the ball from Siegrist and going in for a layup. During that sequence, many of Nova's players were dragging around the court, clearly out of gas from the relentless pressure they faced from UConn's 9-player rotation.
• Somebody needs to tell Tim Fudd to get with the program when they play YMCA on the PA system.
• Aaliyah makes some absolutely incredible plays as well as a number of head scratchers. I will die on this hill....Aaliyah is going to be a great player at UConn.
• UConn has taken care of their business by wrapping up their 20th BE championship convincingly. Now, it’s time to sit back and hope that the Selection Committee finds a justification to put the Huskies in the Bridgeport Region.

I agree that AE is a mighty force out there, doing all the things she did last year and more, but she has GOT to be able to make a driving layup on the break without taking 2&1/2 steps. She's ruining some beautiful assists and video highlight plays.

 

[OldSchooler]

What a great team effort....UConn did not forget the loss to Villanova. Everyone really played well, especially Edwards. Evina Westbrook is really showing her matured leadership skills, really cool lady. .

I thought E could have gotten MOP for the tournament.

 

[The deacon]

I thought E could have gotten MOP for the tournament.

Good post, and Aaliyah as well.

 

[HuskyNan]

While not insinuating trying to injure- she checks into the game and draws 3 fouls in about 20 seconds. Coincidence?
(24 beers in a case-24 hours in a day- also a coincidence?)

UConn was way too athletic for Villanova so the Wildcats were often out of position on D and had to resort to reaching and grabbing. Fatigue was a factor late in the game too as ‘Nova was too tired to have the quick feet needed on defense

 

[Plebe]

After yesterday’s loss, Villanova is now 72. Because I haven’t studied all the 71 teams higher than Villanova, I don’t have an opinion about whether the ranking is correct.

FWIW, Villanova is #59 in Massey today. In the now-meaningless RPI, they are #45.

A couple years ago I researched the RPIs of the lowest-ranked at-large teams, and going back to 2002 (the earliest year I could find records for), the lowest RPI for an at-large bid was Green Bay at #70 in 2010.

On the men's side, I think St. John's got in the tournament a few years ago with a NET ranking around 73. Prior to that, Syracuse had gotten in with an RPI in the mid to upper 70s.

 

[npignatjr]

She's protected in Storrs and immediate environments. If the white coats show up, there will hordes dressed and looking like her walking around. So, there.

The mission, according to Paige and Azzi is Multiple cut downs of nets at end of each season for this team over the next few years.

Officials last night not UConn friendly

 

[boontonbomber]

I don't think the story of this game or the last one was Aaliyah at all. She had 5 turnovers this game, didn't know what to do with the ball under the basket half of the time, and just isn't a complete basketball player. She is extremely athletic and if that can be turned into a complete basketball player in the next two years that would be great but right now I worry about her in the Elite 8 and FF games. Just too many mistakes.

I thought a big story these last two games was Evina. It's like she got a new jet pack. Her speed seems to have increased, her confidence is sky high, and she should have had even more assists. Her going coast to coast was great and showed a lot of people just what kind of a player she really is. She was leading scorer the last two games, tied for combined most assists in those games, and was a great floor general. It was heartwarming to see. She has had a lot on her shoulders this year and she will make some WNBA team very happy.

It was all about the defense again. With this many bodies, and with the caliber of players we have, the press and then tight man to man defense in the half court just wears you down. I thought the 2-3 zone was run really well also. On offense, just too many weapons and I was very glad Caroline got the ball tonight. She became a real offensive threat when she started during the season and has a tremendous future ahead of her. She can score in bunches underneath and can also sink the 3 as was shown tonight.

What can you say? We have been waiting all season and the way this team is forming now (still present tense) is both thrilling and interesting at the same time. During the dark days of the regular season I thought Geno's job was an awful one to have. Now I am completely jealous. So many combinations, so many fun ways to play, so many delightful players, all of which is making for one very unselfish team.

In fairness to Edwards, if you're going to down her on the turnovers, then best to mention her defense,in general, and, specifically, her job on Seigrist.

 

[jchusky]

While not insinuating trying to injure- she checks into the game and draws 3 fouls in about 20 seconds. Coincidence?
(24 beers in a case-24 hours in a day- also a coincidence?)

so what? There's nothing dirty about fouling a player especially when there was no malicious intent.

 

[boontonbomber]

With all the comments about the defense, I was surprised ( maybe missed seeing them) that more wasn't mentioned about the rebounding. It was a 180 from the first Villanova game. I'm really old-school, but always have thought championships are won with defense and rebounding. What's great is that it's not just the bigs doing the job. They really have 9 rebounders, ( and 9 players playing defense), and that kind of effort and energy is what,in the end, makes the difference in tough games. No mystery why Geno has been all smiles for awhile.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Officials last night not UConn friendly

Zebras? They just get hollered and sneered at......to the UConn team, doesn't matter when they are playing like this and having a margin in numbers.....

 

[HuskyNan]

Officials last night not UConn friendly

I disagree. It seemed like every time they blew a whistle, the call went UConn’s way. Villanova called for 10 fouls, UConn for 5. Women's Basketball vs Villanova on 3/7/2022 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn was by far more physical and aggressive. I thought they let the kids play because if they didn’t the Huskies could have been called for a lot more

 

[Longtime fan]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• This was a tough game tonight against a good Villanova team. Two teams grinding it out in the half court. To paraphrase the Hanson Brothers, “OLD TIME BASKETBALL!!!”
• What a great team effort by the Huskies!!! I’m guessing tonight’s 30 -point beat down of the Wildcats made it abundantly clear that their game on February 9 against a woefully shorthanded UConn team was a fluke.
• Villanova really struggles with full court pressure. The first time around against UConn and yesterday against SH, the Wildcats stumbled against the press during the 4th qtr. Tonight Nova got to deal with pressure from the opening tip and it didn’t go very well.
• Paige had done a little of this and that in her first 4 games back. Tonight, when she entered the game, it was really good to see her take control of the offense and start directing her teammates all over the court.
• There was a play when Evina went coast to coast for a layup in the 4th qtr, followed by Aaliyah stealing the ball from Siegrist and going in for a layup. During that sequence, many of Nova's players were dragging around the court, clearly out of gas from the relentless pressure they faced from UConn's 9-player rotation.
• Somebody needs to tell Tim Fudd to get with the program when they play YMCA on the PA system.
• Aaliyah makes some absolutely incredible plays as well as a number of head scratchers. I will die on this hill....Aaliyah is going to be a great player at UConn.
• UConn has taken care of their business by wrapping up their 20th BE championship convincingly. Now, it’s time to sit back and hope that the Selection Committee finds a justification to put the Huskies in the Bridgeport Region.

I need to say a couple of things. The turnovers are still mind boggling. We threw the ball away on 3 of our first 4 possessions, I thought our most solid player was AZZI Fudd. Her defense is stifling; she is smart; her court awareness is great. Her shooting was on. And her energy is enormous. She seemed to be on the court for nearly 40 minutes . Paige did not look good to me. She looked a bit weak, physically. And she was tentative. She even made a few mistakes that Paige never makes. When I saw shots of her doing squats before the game, I sensed something was wrong. It seemed as though she needed to test her knee. She didn't look good. But she is still critically important. This team will win with nine players, including Paige, even if she only does a little bit. Others have learned the they can ( and must ) step up. Few teams can hold up against our waves of talent. A great win. We all hope that Paige becomes a miracle recovery but the clock is ticking. And she came back about one year before anyone else would have. Have to love the comment from the Seton Hall coach; " anyone who thinks UCONN is a 9th ranked team is nuts."

 

[Longtime fan]

"We want UConn" chant at the end... not sure how I feel about mocking a team we just beat so bad.

We were mocking their band.

 

[BBallF]

In fairness to Edwards, if you're going to down her on the turnovers, then best to mention her defense,in general, and, specifically, her job on Seigrist.

I thought her defense was great and has improved dramatically over the season. Seigrist had a real hard time with her physicality with 3 air balls and in fairness got 6 straight points later off of Evina on some pretty difficult shots and Evina is a real solid defender. That didn't happen against Aaliyah.

It's not just her turnovers though. She fails to see the open man cutting at times as a passer, does not always have good footwork and timing with the ball ( the walk on the great fast break lead pass by Evina last night is an example), does not have effective moves yet under the basket after an offensive rebound, and I think at times slows up the half court offense. She makes basketball mistakes that a natural basketball player, for example, would not make but that is because she is still learning the game and I don't think she has played a lot of basketball, certainly compared to a Dorka, for example..


She is extremely athletic, though still partially raw in talent, has great conditioning, is more of a mechanical player than a fluid one right now, and Geno sees great promise in her as do many BYers. I do too but I am cognizant of these other areas where improvement is needed. I worry in games now where those turnovers or mistakes will prove costly but I have also seen her have very tight, focused games as well. I don't think she played a lot of basketball games in the off season last year ( as opposed to practicing) and that may be the reason for her slow start this year but her improvement each game lately has been discernible.

She deserved to be on the All BET team. I am only saying that I don't think she was the highlighted player last night or on Sunday. As good as she was, I was also floored by Evina's 4th quarter performance and her new found speed and confidence.

 

[boontonbomber]

She's only 19 years old. Wait until she matures, gets stronger, and her conscious proprioception catches up with her size. I look forward to that time.

 

[Willowglen]

I need to say a couple of things. The turnovers are still mind boggling. We threw the ball away on 3 of our first 4 possessions, I thought our most solid player was AZZI Fudd. Her defense is stifling; she is smart; her court awareness is great. Her shooting was on. And her energy is enormous. She seemed to be on the court for nearly 40 minutes . Paige did not look good to me. She looked a bit weak, physically. And she was tentative. She even made a few mistakes that Paige never makes. When I saw shots of her doing squats before the game, I sensed something was wrong. It seemed as though she needed to test her knee. She didn't look good. But she is still critically important. This team will win with nine players, including Paige, even if she only does a little bit. Others have learned the they can ( and must ) step up. Few teams can hold up against our waves of talent. A great win. We all hope that Paige becomes a miracle recovery but the clock is ticking. And she came back about one year before anyone else would have. Have to love the comment from the Seton Hall coach; " anyone who thinks UCONN is a 9th ranked team is nuts."

I think the team must rely on Evina in the tourney. Otherwise, I agree, the turnovers are a problem and will be in the inevitable tight game, I see Stanford at times turn the ball over too much too. Drives me crazy. Teams just can't get away with superior talent on an off night and must be disciplined, Westbrook is fast and yet plays under control and is calm - a joy to watch.

 

[CL82]

The loss to Villanova wasn't a fluke. It's just that the team that lost to Villanova is not the same team that clobbered them last night. Over the past few weeks, this team has gelled as never before. Finally, Coach Geno has gotten this group of players to play the way Coach Geno has always gotten his teams to play. They play together as they've never done this season. And they won without Paige. Yes, she spent 9 minutes on the floor. But it was the other players that beat down Villanova and won this conference championship.

They've been transformed. Too bad we can't have just one more game- against Oregon!

So you’re saying the loss to Villanova was in a fluke, it was just that the team floundered?

 

[RoadMaster]

Some have referenced surgical precision regarding defense. Nah, unless you perform surgery with a hammer.

That has happened, but should only be performed by world-class surgeons..

 

[BBallF]

She's only 19 years old. Wait until she matures, gets stronger, and her conscious proprioception catches up with her size. I look forward to that time.

Great word and very appropriate. I just don't know if maturity alone will change it. I would put my money on a lot of playing time and training over the summer.

 

[BBallF]

I thought E could have gotten MOP for the tournament.

Agree 100%. Leading scorer last two games, tied for combined assists in them as well. Played a total of 17 minutes less than CW and 22 minutes less than Aaliyah in the last two games.

 

[rubymae4]

I think Paige is not really used to all the movement from her teammates. Before her injury, there was so much standing around during offensive sets. Over the last 10 games or so, we are really moving so well without the ball. Especially Azzi and Caroline.

I noticed last night that Paige looked a little lost at times on the floor. Sometimes she was in other teammate’s space; her head was spinning from side to side. It’ll take time for her to acclimate to the improved movement from the team in addition to settling in after an injury. Because it’s Paige, I’m sure she’ll come out stronger on the other side. But it will take time.

 

[BBallF]

I noticed last night that Paige looked a little lost at times on the floor. Sometimes she was in other teammate’s space; her head was spinning from side to side. It’ll take time for her to acclimate to the improved movement from the team in addition to settling in after an injury. Because it’s Paige, I’m sure she’ll come out stronger on the other side. But it will take time.

Agree. It's a different team now and to come back like this is so difficult in and of itself. As was pointed out, 3 games in 3 days is brutal for anyone. This extra rest should be a big help to everyone although I think many of them, including E and AE, wouldn't have minded a 4th game today! They were having FUN out there.

 

[Papa33]

There are plenty of capable players at 100% strength on this team that can carry the load. Paige at best looks 60% of herself right now. Players always hack and get physical with her mostly due to her being a smaller and not a strong player. See the Baylor and Arz games last season.

By my calculations, she's playing at at least 62.5%

 

[TeamFirst!]

Regarding CD channeling Maddy Seigrist, what in the hell is wrong with that? They are similar players in many ways. I think Seigrist would be an excellent player for CD to model going forward. Of course she could observe and learn some things from her, for example that move from the middle of the post area.

I think there are a lot of reasons why Azzi got the most pt. One reason is because right now she's our biggest scoring threat and Geno wants that scorer on the floor who can score at any time. And he is wise to optimize her for the NCAA. Azzi will be key to winning at least one game in the tournament, especially if we make it to the final 4.

I'm not so sure if Azzi isn't a better overall defender than Nika already. She doesn't get as many steals but she is rapidly improving as a defender. Is smart and moves her feet. In the last game or 2 she has really ramped things up. Her intensity is great and she gives so much more on the offensive side as well. I don't think we need Nika to be in there to be strong defensively. I have no problem with her starting and setting a tone but the team is fine defensively. We sometimes struggle to score at the beginning of games so maybe having more offense in there besides CW and Azzi would be good. Why not start Caroline? She is underutilized.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Ideally Paige starts in place of Nika but Paige is clearly not completely back yet.