Villanova post game thread

[EricLA]

First off, congrats to Villanova. They must be thrilled.

For me, I'm sort of Zen about this. The season has been SO hard - so many injuries, illnesses, missed games, changes, etc. I hardly think there is another team in the country who has been hit as hard as we have with all the issues. No Paige and no Aubrey. No Caroline was known, but no Olivia? It apparently was too much for the team tonight. We've not had any consistency with who practices, and then who is available to play for almost any game. Constantly changing.

I hope the fans take a pause and think before posting. As much as we've hated the season, I'm betting it's even been less fun for the team.

Just chalk it up to a rough game, bad loss, whatever. Nova is no slouch. Azzi and Christyn were ballers, but other than that, a frustrating game from the rest of the team. We made a nice run in Q4, but the game was too far out of hand at that point. We needed more of Q's 2 and 4 and less of Q's 1 and 3...

BTW, Azzi is flat out a stud. And her demeanor - cool as the other side of the pillow!

So, on to the next game. Let's hope those who were out get better soon, and Paige can't return soon enough!

 

[reelfan]

Who was the team in white ?????

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• UConn sets another milestone this season with their 8th different starting lineup in only 20 games.
• Somebody please wake me up from this nightmare. No Caroline announced a little over an hour before game time and no Liv announced right at game time cut UConn’s rotation to just 6 players against one of the hottest team in the BE. With Aaliyah picking up fouls quickly and often, UConn was practically down to only 5 prime time players.
• Christyn and Azzi provided some desperately needed scoring punch, and they both played really hard tonight. But it was not enough to give UConn a realistic chance to pull the game out, despite making a desperation late run in the 4th quarter.
• Without Liv on the court, Nova owned the paint, outrebounding UConn by 16. They attacked the lane all night and then repeatedly kicked the ball out to wide open shooters at the arc, over and over again.
• So much for UConn’s 169-game conference winning streak, along with the potential 2-seed in the Bridgeport Region.
• I think now, it all comes down to getting healthy, hopefully winning the BE tournament and then letting the chips fall where they may in the Big Dance.
• Respectfully asking the Boneyard to take it easy on the Huskies. The team feels far worse than you do about the outcome of the game tonight.

 

[Vowelguy]

Bad game, ugly loss, not much to say. Nice fight at the end.
CW and Azzi with a very solid games. I think Dorka is still injured.

While I certainly didnt expect this, I'm surprised that people are so surprised. There have been 2 consistencies all year, and folks are continually shocked when they happen again.
1) injuries/illness/etc
2) inconsistent play

Maybe folks will stop talking about who they'd rather play in the final 4, and understand that pretty much anything could happen in the NCAAT.

And everyone who made up the "Ono could play she just chose not to" bullcrap without a shred of evidence should be ashamed of themselves. If you've got some proof, then present it. Otherwise STFU.

 

[jchusky]

All this game proved is that not to take Olivia for granted. A player like her Uconn cannot win without.

 

[Centerstream]

Like I said before, look at the scoring by anyone not named Fudd or Williams. This can not happen again. Please. We should not consistently have to rely on only one or two players putting the ball in the basket.

 

[HuskieDawg]

The fact UCONN only lost by 3 is a testament to the heart the kids have. Losing the battle of the boards at the differential they did should have led to a much bigger point gap when all was said and done.

CW and Azzi did ALL the heavy lifting on offense. If one other player could have had even an average game offensively (Evina looking at you) we might have been able to steal this one.

Right now we just have to get these kids healthy and on the court together. We have enough to make a deep run in the tournament but not if every game it’s someone new who can’t suit up.

On to the next game.

 

[JordyG]

Bad game, ugly loss, not much to say. Nice fight at the end.
CW and Azzi with a very solid games. I think Dorka is still injured.

While I certainly didnt expect this, I'm surprised that people are so surprised. There have been 2 consistencies all year, and folks are continually shocked when they happen again.
1) injuries/illness/etc
2) inconsistent play

Maybe folks will stop talking about who they'd rather play in the final 4, and understand that pretty much anything could happen in the NCAAT.

And everyone who made up the "Ono could play she just chose not to" bullcrap without a shred of evidence should be ashamed of themselves. If you've got some proof, then present it. Otherwise STFU.

Good game, tough loss. I agree 100% with everything you've said. I think also Evina is hurting as well but is just gutting it out. On to the next game, and hopefully more people can play. I hope this Garzon kid is okay.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• So much for UConn’s 169-game conference winning streak, along with the potential 2-seed in the Bridgeport Region.
• I think now, it all comes down to getting healthy, hopefully winning the BE tournament and then letting the chips fall where they may in the Big Dance.

From a heated rival team's fan's perspective, y'all did well with what you had, and so many pieces out. Really admirable. And I'm still miffed we didn't get Fudd!

But I still think UConn can be #2 seed in the Bridgeport Region, because none of the teams above you are infallible. NC State and Louisville will play multiple times. No one in the Big 12 looks like a clear #2 seed. Tennessee is in free-fall. And there's a fair amount of parity in the B1G Ten. Win out, get everyone healthy, be dominant in the Big East tournament, and I still think it's possible. The committee will know just how short-staffed UConn was tonight and will discount accordingly.

 

[Biff]

Consider chatroom crap the same as crap from other boards. Don't drag it here please. We started game chats to keep that stuff off our forum. Leave it in the chat room to die.

 

[LarryLegend]

give credit to Dorka, she is obviously still hampered by the foot. Limped down the tunnel

 

[GoUconn7961]

Tough tough game. But the chat tonight was abhorrent

 

[Happydad745]

Out rebounded by 16...only 2 players in double digits. You can't win that way. What a strange season this is, so far. We did well considering only 6 players were available.

 

[Rb335]

I'm sure this thread is going to turn ugly, FAST. It's funny how a solid win over Tennessee had this board so optimistic about the future. Yet I'm sure our first loss in Big East play will promptly trigger the "we are doomed" theme. But it's not the end of the world.

I'm going to focus on the fact that Azzi Fudd has arrived, and she has arrived in a big way. She is an exceptional shooter, and on a night when she seemed a bit "off" she was still super efficient. Made big plays down the stretch and looks like the real deal.

We once again saw a new iteration of this team that we haven't seen before. No Ducharme and no ONO is tough. Once again having to adjust on the fly, I wish this team could catch a break.

I'm proud that they fought until the final buzzer, and they somehow gave themselves a shot. Although I thought it took way too long for them to show the right amount of effort/intensity. If they played that way from the jump, or capitalized on the Villanova scoring drought in Q4, they win.

Time to refocus and regroup before Depaul. Hopefully Ducharme and ONO are back in the lineup for that game. Another streak is officially on watch, the back to back losses. Let's see what they show us on Friday!

 

[Vowelguy]

First conference loss in how many games? 160+ I'm guessing.
That's a pretty significant milestone.

 

[hoopsfan22]

First conference loss in how many games? 160+ I'm guessing.
That's a pretty significant milestone.

169. First since ND in 2013.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Man really makes me think about those 2 point blank bunnies Dorka missed - one in each half.

 

[JordyG]

From a heated rival team's fan's perspective, y'all did well with what you had, and so many pieces out. Really admirable. And I'm still miffed we didn't get Fudd!

But I still think UConn can be #2 seed in the Bridgeport Region, because none of the teams above you are infallible. NC State and Louisville will play multiple times. No one in the Big 12 looks like a clear #2 seed. Tennessee is in free-fall. And there's a fair amount of parity in the B1G Ten. Win out, get everyone healthy, be dominant in the Big East tournament, and I still think it's possible. The committee will know just how short-staffed UConn was tonight and will discount accordingly.

Thanks. But I'm still miffed we didn't get Betts. This team though has far more heart than many posters here will acknowledge. Hopefully that, health, and a little execution, will do them well come Boogie Time. Too many negative milestones this season though.

 

[Hayven]

I don’t ever want to see any ONO hate for the rest of the season. Tonight proved how crucial she is for this team

 

[HuskyNan]

Tough tough game. But the chat tonight was abhorrent

A reminder that chat room posts can be Reported. A certain decorum is required and a poster can be banned for outrageous behavior there

 

[Centerstream]

From a heated rival team's fan's perspective, y'all did well with what you had, and so many pieces out. Really admirable. And I'm still miffed we didn't get Fudd!

But I still think UConn can be #2 seed in the Bridgeport Region, because none of the teams above you are infallible. NC State and Louisville will play multiple times. No one in the Big 12 looks like a clear #2 seed. Tennessee is in free-fall. And there's a fair amount of parity in the B1G Ten. Win out, get everyone healthy, be dominant in the Big East tournament, and I still think it's possible. The committee will know just how short-staffed UConn was tonight and will discount accordingly.

I admire your comments.

 

[Topdawg]

A tough loss. Team needs to move on and prepare for DePaul. Lesson here is to play with the energy they had at the very end. The same energy earlier on in the game would have put pressure on the other team and made it harder for their 3’s to fall. They had too many open shots early on and beat us on rebounds.