Villanova Postgame Thread

[ctkaiser]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• This was a dog fight of a game between two really good teams who were fighting over the same bone. Everyone should know, don't ever try to take a bone from a Husky...
• It’s been 10 years since UConn had a conference matchup this BIG. While it isn’t quite ND-UConn, the game today between UConn and Villanova is the biggest WBB game yet in the NBE, with a national audience, NCAA tournament implications as well as conference tournament seedings in play.
• UConn’s win today over a very good Villanova team answers a lot of questions for the Huskies, and it certainly helps UConn’s seeding for the Big Dance. In addition, today’s victory practically assures UConn the top seed in the BE tournament, as the Huskies need only 1 win in their final 3 games to lock up the top seed, something that’s really important with the prospect of playing 3 games in 3 days with a very limited bench.
• Today, the refs got a little whistle happy on both sides, which clearly put added pressure on UConn’s limited rotation. Despite a bunch of fouls on everyone, the Huskies somehow managed the game effectively with a 6 players rotation.
• If you watch Villanova on offense, frequently, after they put up a shot, all 5 players sprint back on defense. Clearly the goal was to force UConn to try to score in the half-court offense as opposed to allowing UConn to get out in transition. It wasn't always pretty, but somehow the Huskies managed to put enough points on the board to come out on top.
• I guess that holding Siegrist under 30 points constitutes a moral victory of sorts. Aaliyah really worked her tail off battling the likely BE POY throughout the game, while holding her to only 22 points on 8/22 shooting.
• I kept waiting for a Husky to step up and win the game today. Today UConn got just enough from everyone, along with a HUGE SHOT & SOME FT's BY LOU to pull out a really hard-earned victory.
• Stat of the Game - UConn was +22 on the boards!!!
• UConn has faced some large, hostile crowds on the road this season such as ND, MD & TN. In addition, the Huskies have had some tough conference battles over the last few weeks. I have to believe those games helped the Huskies deal with the pressure of today’s game on the road against an outstanding Villanova team.

I think Seigrist was 5 for 7 on FG in the 1st qtr which would make her 3 for 15 rest of the game.

 

[Fishy]

Do you watch many women’s games? Lou is our RJ Evans. She’s shooting 48/46/86 before today

Some.

But it was the arc of the shot - it had that Ben Gordon arc where you can’t even visually project where it might come down.

 

[hookshot]

Anyone know why Patterson is not getting any minutes. Did I miss an injury? I understand Bettencourt and to a lesser extent DeBerry but thought Patterson had played decent.

Because they needed points, VU was conceding the rebounds

 

[Lynx23]

I must have missed something on the play in which Nika was pushed from behind, with a jump ball then called. Not a great call--as the announcers said--but it happens. Then I look up and Villanova is shooting free throws (missed both). Who was the foul on and when did it happen?

I had the same question. We may never know. I don't complain about the refs much but this was awful.

 

[Centerstream]

Another exciting win that I am going to enjoy watching again tomorrow via @MJL243 s replay

 

[cferraro04]

THE GOOD~~~

Edwards got the assignment...she did a great job holding Siegrist to 21 points...9 points below her average but, Runyan got 9 points, (5 above her average).

Dalce had a subpar game with only 1 point (6 points below her average) and only 4 rebounds (4 below her average).

UConn out rebounded Villanove 47 to 25...huge stat there...

UConn made 17 foul shots to Villanova's 6 made free throws.

UConn had 12 offensive rebound to Villanova's 5

Nika had 8 assists

Jurasz got a double - double

Edwards got a double - double

Caroline got 6 points and 6 rebounds in limited minutes

UConn beat a top 15 team on the road by 9

THE BAD~~~

UConn shot 65.4 percent from the line

UConn only made 3 three pointers

Nika Muhl shot an 0fer for the game

Griffin was held to 9 points below her average.

Both Lopez-Senechal and Muhl had 4 fouls

THE UGLY~~~

UConn shot 30 percent from three point

UConn had 22 turnovers while Villanova only committed 9

Nika Muhl had 7 turnovers

Aaliyah Edwards had 6 turnovers

Dorka Jurasz had 5 turnovers

Nika, Aaliyah and Dorka had 18 turnovers between them

Villanova stole the ball 12 times to UConn's 4

Villanova committed 23 fouls (1 player fouling out; 4 players with 3 fouls and 3 players with 3).

Villanove made 20 shots but missed 40 shots

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Nika should skip warmups and just spar for 3 rounds. That chick would fight her shadow.

 

[DEFCONN1]

At 47 seconds, after Nika got mugged and a jump ball was called, does anyone know how Olsen got on the foul line shooting 2

 

[Kaizen]

At 47 seconds, after Nika got mugged and a jump ball was called, does anyone know how Olsen got on the foul line shooting 2

They called Nika travel, hence 2 shots for Nova ....

From the play-by-play, they called Aubrey fouled on Olsen. But Olsen missed both F/Ts.

 

[wingsfan055]

Good win. You can see the difference that CD makes. She is a true wing that can play both the inside and outside game. When she shakes the rust off, she's a 15/5/5 player for UConn. I like the rebounding today. Geno sent the guards/forwards to help out on the boards on both ends and it showed. More unforced TOs is my only complaint.

Cant wait for Azzi to come back. This team will be dangerous come Tourney time. They will be battle-tested (ridiculous SoS relative to other teams), with enough scoring power to win. The defense has been great all-year long.

 

[Longtime fan]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• This was a dog fight of a game between two really good teams who were fighting over the same bone. Everyone should know, don't ever try to take a bone from a Husky...
• It’s been 10 years since UConn had a conference matchup this BIG. While it isn’t quite ND-UConn, the game today between UConn and Villanova is the biggest WBB game yet in the NBE, with a national audience, NCAA tournament implications as well as conference tournament seedings in play.
• UConn’s win today over a very good Villanova team answers a lot of questions for the Huskies, and it certainly helps UConn’s seeding for the Big Dance. In addition, today’s victory practically assures UConn the top seed in the BE tournament, as the Huskies need only 1 win in their final 3 games to lock up the top seed, something that’s really important with the prospect of playing 3 games in 3 days with a very limited bench.
• Today, the refs got a little whistle happy on both sides, which clearly put added pressure on UConn’s limited rotation. Despite a bunch of fouls on everyone, the Huskies somehow managed the game effectively with a 6 players rotation.
• If you watch Villanova on offense, frequently, after they put up a shot, all 5 players sprint back on defense. Clearly the goal was to force UConn to try to score in the half-court offense as opposed to allowing UConn to get out in transition. It wasn't always pretty, but somehow the Huskies managed to put enough points on the board to come out on top.
• I guess that holding Siegrist under 30 points constitutes a moral victory of sorts. Aaliyah really worked her tail off battling the likely BE POY throughout the game, while holding her to only 22 points on 8/22 shooting.
• I kept waiting for a Husky to step up and win the game today. Today UConn got just enough from everyone, along with a HUGE SHOT & SOME FT's BY LOU to pull out a really hard-earned victory.
• Stat of the Game - UConn was +22 on the boards!!!
• UConn has faced some large, hostile crowds on the road this season such as ND, MD & TN. In addition, the Huskies have had some tough conference battles over the last few weeks. I have to believe those games helped the Huskies deal with the pressure of today’s game on the road against an outstanding Villanova team.

Very well said, dude. A few additions; I know that Nikka had to go an intense, full forty today. And she did, despite getting clobbered on several occasions. But she was turnover happy....unforced errors, poor decisions, and fouls. In other words, she needed a few minutes to breathe on the bench. But Geno has no trust in Ines during a close game like this one. Edwards deserved a game medal for her rebounding. Dorka is dangerous, particularly when she puts the ball on the floor. But she never stops working. Aubry did a " walkabout" today and really did not play close to her abilities. Caroline did not have the " I'm back" magic that she had against Creighton, but she helped. The entire UCONN world comes to a halt every time she gets hit in the head or face area. It was good to see her back in the game. And Lou was our MVP. On the floor, on defense, and at the foul line. She is our only shot maker at the moment. A gritty win that Villanova will hate for a while. Truth is; they shot poorly. Some was due to our defense, but some was just pressure and nerves. And Edwards' job on Maddie was amazing. But I will say this; if Geno can't give some meaningful time to the three bench players soon, our starters are going to crack. I still can't believe Patterson can't contribute. She was a star in HS, I guess numbers are deceiving.

 

[Blond D.]

I'd let these ladies back me up in a bar fight.

They would probably start the bar fight

They called Nika travel, hence 2 shots for Nova ....

Since when does a travel give the other team foul shots?

 

[Longtime fan]

Well, a win is a win and this was a good win that positions UConn to move into the BE Tournament with a positive record. In this game, the only thing worse than UConn's shooting was Villanova. The UConn turnovers were just like they UConn wanted Nova to win. They gave Nova extra opportunities score. And the fouling, the play acting and referee calls made wife jump out of her chair and walk up the TV and scream language that I could not post on this board at the refs. And this is usually a very calm women.

When are they going to control the turnovers? Maybe the next game. Someday, someone is really going to eat UConn's shorts with these turnovers and it will all stop there for the rest of the season.

If you combine fouls, poor passes and awful decisions ( passing into triple coverage in the paint), at least 10 of the turnovers were created by Muhl. I think the fact that she hasn't had a minute off in a month may be taking its toll.

 

[PvP]

Anyone know why Patterson is not getting any minutes. Did I miss an injury? I understand Bettencourt and to a lesser extent DeBerry but thought Patterson had played decent.

Too many fouls and zero points

 

[Junkman]

I don't like to complain about referees because I think they have a tough job that I could not do. But it seems that the past couple of games it apparently is not a foul to hit a UConn player in the face/head. Glad Aaliyah decided to wear that mask. And hoping Caroline is ok. I won't tell you what I yelled as I threw my pistachio shell at the tv, but it rhymed with duck.

 

[Longtime fan]

It could be time the censors put up a pixelated area around her mouth, while cam is on her.

We do need AZZI, but I have about 5% confidence we will get her back full on healthy. Maybe we won't see her at all. I have long felt that surgery is lurking, but she ( and UCONN ) just cannot face it. And Caroline needs some easy games to get back right.

 

[topogigio]

Just got back from a brisk walk after the game. Needed time to "settle down" before I post. My take;
The game started with the refs calling everything real close, I thought "well, Geno got what he asked for."
After halftime, and especially in the 4th quarter there were brutal no calls on some brutal fouls by Villanova.
Very no quit, gritty performance for the Huskies, but we expect no less by now.
Lou is a superstar, as clutch a performer as there is. I have no problem with her taking as many shot as Seigrist.
Dorka had some clutch shots, rebounds, assists, and hustled throughout the game. I like her pump fake and drive, but darn, don't stop 10 feet from the basket. Take it to the hole strong like there is absolutely no one there, even if there is!
Hope Caroline is OK, she is going to be very valuable down the stretch, and into the tournament.
Doesn't Nika ever get tired?
Edwards made some very tough shots, and strong rebounds, but seems like her confidence is not what it was.
Aubrey needs to attack all the way to the rim, strong!
Turnovers are killing the team, Geno, and me!
A great overall win and with the Utah loss the other night, should be back in the top 4!

 

[CTinLA]

This was a really nice win! Even though the Huskies led almost the entire game, it felt like it could go either way up until the last 45 seconds. There were way too many turnovers, but the defensive effort was fantastic. As for the officiating, there has to be a happy medium between ‘let them play’ that means ‘let them get mauled’ and the whistles today for many tiny touches. At least there were bad calls and missed calls that went both ways. We got a bit lucky that Maddy missed some shots she usually makes, but huge credit to Aaliyah for her defense and for holding Maddy to 22 points. Getting it done took double-doubles by both Aaliyah and Dorka and a really good game from Lou, but we got it done. Great game!

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I don't like to complain about referees because I think they have a tough job that I could not do. But it seems that the past couple of games it apparently is not a foul to hit a UConn player in the face/head. Glad Aaliyah decided to wear that mask. And hoping Caroline is ok. I won't tell you what I yelled as I threw my pistachio shell at the tv, but it rhymed with duck.

And they finally realized that Siegrist does foul. She should have fouled out by my count.

 

[jaydee602]

I missed something completely near the end, Nika had the ball two players went at her, one of them seemed to hit her in the face. Announcers seemed to be saying jump ball tie up. Then with no explanation Villanova is shooting free throws. What happened?

It looked like three refs made three different calls. one ref called nothing since there was no possession. One ref inexplicably called a jump ball despite neither team having possession. The 3rd ref came charging in from midcourt & incorrectly called a foul on UCONN. For some reason, they deferred to the foul call.
This was a synoposis for the whole game with three refs calling the game differently and players trying to adjust to the disparity.

 

[cferraro04]

Something less than this was a penalty in the Super Bowl

Yeah...literally grabbing and impeding Lou's ability to move and no foul called.

 

[maple]

I don't like to complain about referees because I think they have a tough job that I could not do. But it seems that the past couple of games it apparently is not a foul to hit a UConn player in the face/head. Glad Aaliyah decided to wear that mask. And hoping Caroline is ok. I won't tell you what I yelled as I threw my pistachio shell at the tv, but it rhymed with duck.

The fact that AE traveled BECAUSE she got hit in the face .... Some choice words were also uttered in my house as well.

 

[jaydee602]

LOL....fans who don't follow UCONNmust think Geno hates Nika because he screams at her the whole game. They don't realize that Geno yelling at her is the only language Nika understands. She seems to embrace it!

 

[tkaes]

Few Thoughts:
*Great win for UConn which practically assured them the regular season championship! Villanova is a good team and winning against them on the road with that sell out hostile croud was great.
The refs in WBB sxck...all those ticky tack fouls they called and all the hard fouls they didn't call was hard to understand.
*Why is CD head such a magnet to be hit??? poor kid! there must be a for her to play with some kind of a soft helmet...
*Lou: what an amazing player! so cool under pressure
*AE: was waiting for the Edwards the AA to show up during the last few games. Still was not it but she was fighting hard, guarding Maddy S. and did a real good job on her (remember that Maddy had 50 and 39 points her last 2 games).
*Nika: our mad Husky you don't want to mess with Nika but when she complained very verbally (using some choice words), the refs were quick to give her a third foul...
*Those turnovers are just crazy...they make some brain fart mistakes that cost them in having way less opportunities to shoot.
*The strong defense is really keeping UConn in games.
*Azzi, we need you!!!



*

Disagree that Villanova is a good team. Nova is Siegrist and a bunch of others. They might be lucky to have won 5 or 6 BE games without her. In addition to 2 injured players on the bench who can dominate a game like #20, UCONN starts 5 players who individually are better than their match-up on Villanova.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

It looked like three refs made three different calls. one ref called nothing since there was no possession, one ref inexplicably called a jump ball sepite neither team having possession. The 3rd ref came charging in from midcourt & incorrectly called a foul on UCONN. For some reason, they deferred to the foul call.
This was a synoposis for the whole game with three refs calling the game differently and players trying to adjust to the disparity.

No because that would have been Nika’s fifth.