Villanova Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Didn’t see who was complaining, but the foul discrepancy should have been even greater with even more fouls called on Nova. Yea, agree the reffing was inconsistent, and oftenunexplainable.

As a fan of one team, it’s difficult to watch a physical game impartially. There was a play in the 4th qtr when Maddy Siegrist was sent sprawling on the floor after getting tangled up with several Huskies. No foul was called and UConn came away with the ball.

Siegrist couldn’t believe the no-call, and Denise Dillon was beside herself on the bench. The inconsistency of the refs was experienced by both teams, and, imo, if anyone benefited, it was UConn.

 

[jaydee602]

I've watched the replay and that "held ball" call at 47 seconds still seems bizarre to me. Someone suggested there was a foul called on Griffin for some reason in that sequence. But Griffin wasn't in the game! She came in after the play was stopped and Villanova was given possession. Is it possible, maybe that she came in and quickly held someone before the ball was inbounded, and TV just missed it? My hunch is that the refs just panicked and made several calls on that play that made no sense at all.

Griffin was in the game when the "held ball" occurred. She was chasing down the ball after it squirted out of the scrum. Since there was no replay, I'm guessing they called her for pushing a Nova player while diving for the ball. But the whistle had already blown for a held ball. VERY confusing & shame on the Fox announcers for a lack of clarification.

 

[hoy-ah!]

Another grinding W. With all parts of the body being hit or hitting the floor, it's a miracle no one was/is "starts with an i ends with a d". I don't understand Aubrey, some games she's looking for her offense, others she's invisible. There were times when she's to the left or right of the key and the lane is wide open, no weakside help. I'm very sure she's faster than her defender...Do what Dorka does, fake the pass or shot and DRIVE it.

Turnovers...it's what's going to do them in against an equal or better opponent. These are lost possessions. Per Belichick, "winning favors the team that makes the fewest mistakes". They just had a < 10 TO game! So, it can be done. Play smart...please.

 

[hoy-ah!]

As a fan of one team, it’s difficult to watch a physical game impartially. There was a play in the 4th qtr when Maddy Siegrist was sent sprawling on the floor after getting tangled up with several Huskies. No foul was called and UConn came away with the ball.

Siegrist couldn’t believe the no-call, and Denise Dillon was beside herself on the bench. The inconsistency of the refs was experienced by both teams, and, imo, if anyone benefited, it was UConn.

IDK, but for me, I'd rather not have an uppercut to the chin (AE), karate chop to the face (CD), or two opponents looking to chop-block me (NM).

 

[Biff]

For all of you that didn't like the squawk boxes announcing the game, I believe these two will be doing the DePaul game.

I will again take this opportunity to remind folks that there is the radio call on the Varsity network.
I stream the radio call (Bob Joyce and Debbie Baer Fiske) Bob, as a radio play by play spends his time watching the game and reporting it. It's "Radio" after all. No time for pre-canned stories and side stuff. Debbie keeps her color comments relatively short and pertinent to the action. No long protracted analysis (again they can't, the game is marching onward.)

No stories, no distractions, just basketball. Only downside I can see is that being courtside they sometimes can't see the action as well as the TV view and make some bad calls of the action, but that is minimal.

Here's the catch. You need a DVR so you can delay the video to sync with the audio. I usually get it close by stopping the video at the tipoff and starting it again when Bob calls the tip on the audio. Once you are synced up, it's all gravy.

All I can say is I love it and I don't scream at the coverage team anymore. Frankly at this point, if I can't get Bob and Debbie, I'd probably turn the sound off.

 

[darkstar1]

As a fan of one team, it’s difficult to watch a physical game impartially. There was a play in the 4th qtr when Maddy Siegrist was sent sprawling on the floor after getting tangled up with several Huskies. No foul was called and UConn came away with the ball.

Siegrist couldn’t believe the no-call, and Denise Dillon was beside herself on the bench. The inconsistency of the refs was experienced by both teams, and, imo, if anyone benefited, it was UConn.

Agree with you on the Siegrist no call, although she really should have been fouled out of the game by then, in my opinion. Agree totally oncthe inconsistency of the reffing. Refs miss calls in every game, but they missed some obvious foodies in this one. Have to disagree on who “ benefitted” more. Really no one benefits from such inconsistency. Seemed clear to me though that the reffing overall favored Nova by a mile. I did not have the benefit of seeing it on tv though. So no replays for me.

 

[Biff]

Griffin was in the game when the "held ball" occurred. She was chasing down the ball after it squirted out of the scrum. Since there was no replay, I'm guessing they called her for pushing a Nova player while diving for the ball. But the whistle had already blown for a held ball. VERY confusing & shame on the Fox announcers for a lack of clarification.

That explanation doesn't hold. I believe the player that went to the line was one of the two Villanova players that was scrumming for the ball with Nika.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think the ref issue has been more or less resolved: they were terrible, and they failed to call many fouls on Villanova. I’m done with this question.

What I’m thinking now is that Villanova was exposed in this game. Siegrist should probably have fouled out at the beginning of the 4th, but got a pass on at least two obvious fouls. Even with this gift from the refs, they still weren’t really competitive with UConn.

In their previous meeting, they appeared to be competitive, but now in hindsight it seems clear that Dalce should have fouled out in that game too. Aaliyah struggled scoring then, but watch the replay and you’ll see how much Dalce got away with then. Aaliyah was getting hammered in the paint over and over again.

Siegrist is a legit superstar, and Olsen is a very good player. But beyond them, this is not a top rank team. The previous game masked the discrepancy between them and UConn because of the poor reffing. But now it should be clear.

 

[Jaime]

I will again take this opportunity to remind folks that there is the radio call on the Varsity network.
I stream the radio call (Bob Joyce and Debbie Baer Fiske) Bob, as a radio play by play spends his time watching the game and reporting it. It's "Radio" after all. No time for pre-canned stories and side stuff. Debbie keeps her color comments relatively short and pertinent to the action. No long protracted analysis (again they can't, the game is marching onward.)

No stories, no distractions, just basketball. Only downside I can see is that being courtside they sometimes can't see the action as well as the TV view and make some bad calls of the action, but that is minimal.

Here's the catch. You need a DVR so you can delay the video to sync with the audio. I usually get it close by stopping the video at the tipoff and starting it again when Bob calls the tip on the audio. Once you are synced up, it's all gravy.

All I can say is I love it and I don't scream at the coverage team anymore. Frankly at this point, if I can't get Bob and Debbie, I'd probably turn the sound off.

I do this for all the games when I watch the replay.

 

[Biff]

Griffin was in the game when the "held ball" occurred. She was chasing down the ball after it squirted out of the scrum. Since there was no replay, I'm guessing they called her for pushing a Nova player while diving for the ball. But the whistle had already blown for a held ball. VERY confusing & shame on the Fox announcers for a lack of clarification.

That explanation doesn't hold. I believe the player that went to the line was one of the two Villanova players that was scrumming for the ball with Nika.

O.K. I figured it out by watching the replay. Jump ball called (Horrible call). On the ensuing inbounds play (which the TV did not show) Apparently Aubrey committed a foul on #3 so she went to the line. And, since no time went off the clock they rejected Geno's subbing in Edwards and sent her back to the bench.

The big confusion was that we did not see the foul committed before the inbound because TV was doing a replay.

 

[heffe]

I think we must crush our enemies, see then driven before you and hear the lamentations of their fans...ie UCONN Basketball

 

[jaydee602]

That explanation doesn't hold. I believe the player that went to the line was one of the two Villanova players that was scrumming for the ball with Nika.

I DVR'edthe game & just replayed the confusing play. The erroneous held ball call was upheld & the arrow pointed to Nova. Aubrey came in the game & fouled Olsen while denying the inbounds pass.
We never saw the foul because Fox was replaying the held ball call. In their defense, both announcers criticized the call because Nika was fouled hard & there was never dual possession.

 

[HuskyNan]

It's not just her o-for from the field that had me shaking my head, but as the so called "team leader" she sure did play/act selfishly today. She needs to be better with her play and her mentality for the team to go far in the tournament

The Huskies beat the #14 ranked team on the road with 6 players. I can’t believe this is the only conclusion you drew from the game

 

[JBK]

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!!!



*

Well said.
We are missing 20 critical points that we will need in the tourney. Lou had a great game and Dorka and AE had double doubles and we still only had 60 points. We do need Azzi back now to get us to 80 points plus

 

[jaydee602]

The Huskies beat the #14 ranked team on the road with 6 players. I can’t believe this is the only conclusion you drew from the game

In the chat room, there was actually a complaint because the UCONN players weren't smiling after the final buzzer. The conclusion was that they are depressed & totally frustrated.
I guess there should be a new box score stat for facial expressions & levels of euphoria!

 

[psconn]

Cool Hand Lou...!

T-shirt time! Call Lou and strike a NIL deal.

 

[browns]

crazy how ppl were saying Griffin didn't look right but made the biggest play after Dorka whiffed on both ft's to get off reb

She was terrible on offense and not much better on defense..Three times the person she was guarding blew right by her for a layup,,Thank fully we have CD now

 

[Mdoggie]

A coach's dilemma, for sure!
How many "Nikas" do you think Geno has coached furing his UCONN tenure?

Minimum 4 or 5.

 

[psconn]

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.

The ball knows...

 

[browns]

Refs were pretty bad ..Tremendous defense by Uconn and especially AE on Maddy..they owned the boards which is a good thing seeing they had 22 to's..Very physical game but Uconn is used to that now..Great having CD back..real gritty win!!!!

 

[OldSchooler]

O.K. I figured it out by watching the replay. Jump ball called (Horrible call). On the ensuing inbounds play (which the TV did not show) Apparently Aubrey committed a foul on #3 so she went to the line. And, since no time went off the clock they rejected Geno's subbing in Edwards and sent her back to the bench.

The big confusion was that we did not see the foul committed before the inbound because TV was doing a replay.

I believe you are correct. It wasn't just the play-by-play announcers who misled us. The director of the telecast also did a lousy job.

 

[The deacon]

1. Where is the Tony Romo or Tim McCarver of NCAAW TV announcing? At the end of the game there was very little good explanation of what was going on. The coverage of the Caroline Collision missed a lot.
2. Camera work?
3. Just asking...

I hope you're kidding about Romo... the guy can't finish a thought before stumbling on to something else.

 

[housekeys]

With all do respect, what does any of this have to do with bad officiating?

No, that’s not it at all. The FT disparity was significantly in UConn’s favor.

This stat is mostly useless. The first five fouls, if not while shooting, do not cause a FT attempt. In theory you could have two teams with 5 files each and have a 10-0 FTA disparity. Never mind the end of regulation "fouls" from the losing team, that add to the discrepancy.

My only issue with the refs is that sometimes they called fouls close and sometimes they let the two teams play. So there was an issue with consistency.

There are whistles and there are fouls. A 3 second call is a whistle but not a foul. A charge is whistle and a foul (plus scored as a turnover). The inconsistency is not only in who gets more whistles, but what is the result of the whistle (i.e foul or turnover?). Many people who want to see fewer whistles(like myself) are not advocating for fewer fouls. Do you see the difference? I would prefer refs be loose on the nit-picky turnover violations and tight on the physicality (i.e fewer no-calls). A directive by the NCAAW to officiate in this manner, would help. IMHO. Not holding my breath.

But as for fairness, UConn came out on top of the foul situation, and if you don’t think so, watch the game again, and see who’s complaining more vociferously: Geno or Denise Dillon.

Fairness has nothing to do with it. We won and the officiating was still horrible. If UConn lost, the mantra is, "loser's whine, etc". The fact that you think it favored one team over another is proof of poor officiating. If UConn fouled Siegrist, call it. If they didn't, then the officials are poor. You agree? If Siegrist fouled a UConn player, call it. If they didn't then the officiating is poor. The idea that criticizing officials, by fans, is somehow a bad reflection on the fans is baloney, and frankly, I do not understand the posters who run to the refs defense, while ignoring what both teams fans see: bad officiating. As you state.

 

[Bone Dog]

Doesn’t like Tony Romo? That explains a lot.

 

[The deacon]

As a fan of one team, it’s difficult to watch a physical game impartially. There was a play in the 4th qtr when Maddy Siegrist was sent sprawling on the floor after getting tangled up with several Huskies. No foul was called and UConn came away with the ball.

Siegrist couldn’t believe the no-call, and Denise Dillon was beside herself on the bench. The inconsistency of the refs was experienced by both teams, and, imo, if anyone benefited, it was UConn.

Well said, Oldude. I wasn't going to say anything because of the tide of UConn fans understandably upset some of the hard hits on the Huskies weren't called. I'll add to your point that, as I watched the game and the replay, I saw quite a few times, Aaliyah got away with fouls on Maddy. In truth, both of them should have fouled out. I'm thrilled the Huskies emerged on top, but those UConn fans who saw only Villanova fouls should consider seeing the game through a more objective lens.

 

[GardenState]

No, that’s not it at all. The FT disparity was significantly in UConn’s favor.

My only issue with the refs is that sometimes they called fouls close and sometimes they let the two teams play. So there was an issue with consistency.

But as for fairness, UConn came out on top of the foul situation, and if you don’t think so, watch the game again, and see who’s complaining more vociferously: Geno or Denise Dillon.

If one team commits more fouls than the other team, then that free-throw “disparity” is the fault of the team committing the fouls, not the fault of the refs. And I’m sure there were a few missed calls for both teams on shots here and there. But there needs to be some sort of follow-up/repercussion for the four blatant misses by the refs: the karate-chop uppercut to AE’s chin right in front of the ref; the Siegrist smack down on Caroline’s head right in front of the ref; the mind-blowing jump ball call where Nika was mugged right in front of the ref before the ball squirted away from the scrum; and Olsen’s bulldoze of Nika into Siegrist (need I say - right in front of the ref?).

 

[housekeys]

I'm thrilled the Huskies emerged on top, but those UConn fans who saw only Villanova fouls should consider seeing the game through a more objective lens.

I agree with this part of your post (self included). The rest, not so much. For me, it's OK though.

edit: Actually I think Nika fouls a lot, and she also gets fouled. She is physical, so no surprise.

 

[Bone Dog]

Well said, Oldude. I wasn't going to say anything because of the tide of UConn fans understandably upset some of the hard hits on the Huskies weren't called. I'll add to your point that, as I watched the game and the replay, I saw quite a few times, Aaliyah got away with fouls on Maddy. In truth, both of them should have fouled out. I'm thrilled the Huskies emerged on top, but those UConn fans who saw only Villanova fouls should consider seeing the game through a more objective lens.

You are totally wrong about this. I’m disappointed. I’ve watched the game twice now and am more convinced than ever. Dalce should have fouled out a lot sooner, and Siegrist should have been gone midway through the 4th quarter. Olsen too. The reffing was absurd.

Your point that Aaliyah got away with fouls and should have fouled out is simply mistaken. If all the touch fouls were called, (which I don’t wish for by any means) Dalce, Olbrys, Burke and Orifel would have been gone before the end of the third quarter. Aaliyah wouldn’t have had a chance to foul out because half of Villanova’s team would already have been gone. Who’d have been left for her to foul?

As for Maddy, I know she’s one of your faves, and I respect her talent, too. But she got away with a lot today. Much more than could reasonably be blamed on Aaliyah. Call all the fouls and she’d be gone before the middle of the 4th. You want to fantasize about players fouling out? Then look a little more carefully at what the video actually shows.

Here’s my “favorite” moment: Olsen shoves Nika into Siegrist, Nika gets a foul, and the camera catches Lucy and Maddy laughing about it. They knew what was up and that they’d been getting away with murder all game.

 

[Longtime fan]

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!

Nika was responsible for a ton of the turnovers, which means she is tired already. And with no relief in site, it is draining.

 

[Longtime fan]

Hope you need for surgery is wrong but UConn has been very quiet about the nature of her injury.

So do I, of course.