Villanova Postgame Thread | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Villanova Postgame Thread

oldude said:
Caroline will start on senior day at Gampel
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Of course, but that's nothing more than a tradition, not really anything special. And I think she deserves something special.
 
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Sarah is just such a fine basketball player. It's amazing that we have gone from Paige to Sarah back to back. Both of those two have, in addition to extraordinary skill levels, things that can't be taught. Whether on defense or offence they see and understand better than everyone else where everyone is on the court, where they will likely be in five seconds and position themselves accordingly. Both also have not only great body control but also an inate sense of where they are in space. What would be a difficult and awkward shot around the basket for most anyone is for Sarah controlled and effortless.

All the nice things already posted about the game....ditto. I was more than a little annoyed that the interview with Pheesa turned into a bloody podcast that ate up most of a quarter. Not only way too long but also nothing but obvious questions eliciting stock answers. Not Pheesa's fault. She was probably ready to get back to watching the game long before she could.
 
Next 12 said:
Again, a TOTAL team effort. 60 points for the starters and 39 points for the BENCH That's teamwork. To single out a player doesn't do justice to the team except Caroline, 4 points / 6 rebounds and 1 assist. Anything positive from her is a positive. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!
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You sound surprised
 
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Gee, I was only 31 points off the MOV.

I sort of expected Villanova to play tough defense, rarely turn the ball over, walk the ball up court with the point guard chatting with the coach on the sideline for 20 seconds, and then making lots of threes in the last five seconds of the shot clock.

What! Harry is gone?

In a blowout this big, it's too easy to say/repeat positive things about UConn's juggernaut performance. So, I'll just admit that perfection expectations are such that the 16 muffed layups miffed me (26-42).
 
oldude said:
I think the world of Caroline. Players earn starting spots. You are suggesting a gift. That’s not the way Geno coaches.
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No, I'm suggesting that she's earned it. And, actually, I think she's steadily earning more minutes. To suggest that playing her would be a gift really sells her short. You surprise me. The only players on that team who understand the game as well as Caroline does are Azzi and Sarah.
But you're right, that's not Geno's style. He is a bit of a savant, he is stuck on that starting group, and that's the way it's gonna be.
 
Large crowd, a fun night at Gampel, the pregame ceremony was well done. Sad to see Napheesa on crutches, and happy to see that there is apparently another Pulido on the way. It is always loud there but the sound system seemed especially loud tonight.

All of Notre Dame’s starters played at least 37 minutes and the one sub played nine minutes. So no big secret what UConn will do next Monday, and this was a great game to get that mojo going. The way UConn played Bascoe is undoubtedly what UConn will throw at Hidalgo.

And KK gets the primary credit for keeping Bascoe in check, but it was a team effort. Bascoe got in the lane a few times and tried spin moves, but was always met with another UConn player taking that away. She got a lot of attention and had very little room to operate. Dillon took her out fairly early in the third quarter and she sat for a long time.

Henry is a good player for them, long and quick.

I thought that was the best double teaming on defense that UConn has done all season. That was one reason why we had so many held balls. Heckel is really good at that.

I’d like to see a 30 point game from Azzi one of these nights. As in Monday night.
 
Great comments by all.

That bounce pass by Blanca to K9, which was from over half the court, was absolutely crazy. It’s at the 1:28 mark in the 3rd quarter for those interested. Blanca found a new way to amaze us tonight.
 
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DemonDeac22 said:
Great comments by all.

That bounce pass by Blanca to K9, which was from over half the court, was absolutely crazy. It’s at the 1:28 mark in the 3rd quarter for those interested. Blanca found a new way to amaze us tonight.
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They work quite well together and it does extend to Allie at times. Lots of good stuff coming our way the next few years.
 
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I was kind of shocked at the utter domination of a talented, well-coached team in Villanova; especially when you factor in UCONN having a subpar game from 3 and also with layups.
Team defense tonight was outstanding as was the level of effort from each player.
Sarah was an utter monster out there, and I think she may have gotten a little angry when she was "blocked" (read mugged?) on several occasions.
The transformation/maturation of KK is a joy to behold: whether or not she is the best point guard in college, to me she is absolutely the best possible point guard for this team (I wouldn't trade her for anyone else currently playing).
It is also an utter joy to see KK, Kayleigh, Blanca & Kelis slash and finish in a blur at the basket.
How good is it to see Caroline moving well, rebounding and making great decisions and (finally) having the 4th quarter gang play true UCONN basketball.
Bravi, tutti!
 
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boontonbomber said:
No, I'm suggesting that she's earned it. And, actually, I think she's steadily earning more minutes. To suggest that playing her would be a gift really sells her short. You surprise me. The only players on that team who understand the game as well as Caroline does are Azzi and Sarah.
But you're right, that's not Geno's style. He is a bit of a savant, he is stuck on that starting group, and that's the way it's gonna be.
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OK, let’s say Caroline has earned a start. She is most definitely a Wing/forward. You can’t start her at center because that would be a negative mismatch in the post and she doesn’t have the handle to play the guard spot. That leaves two possibilities. So who do you sit: Sarah or Azzi?
 
HuskyNan said:
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Loved KK's early aggressiveness. That kicked off sparks all over the court. Our offense was led by fewer passes and more dribble penetration at high speed. I can't remember seeing this kind of explosiveness. It really didn't matter that several misses ensued, the intense offensive pressure matched our great on ball defense. This is what was different in this game. Geno tapped into another higher level of speed that this team's talent and depth is well suited for. We dictated the pace and kept at it, even though the 4th quarter.
 
Bigboote said:
Shade only scored two points, but I thought this was one of her best games of the year. It seemed like every time Villanova turned the ball over, she was somewhere close to it -- doubling a player, in a passing lane, grabbing a pass a teammate had tipped.

Plus three offensive rebounds after (IIRC) the second game this season when she hadn't gotten one.
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She did contribute a lot. However, on offense , I would like to see more. As a freshman, I thought she made more of her 2 point shots. She is really struggling to put the ball in the basket.
 
12 PF,14TO better than last game, still room for improvement. But, wow what defense. KK is so much fun to watch, K9 can really motor, Ash is everywhere, Azzi so solid and then the blocking monster Strong. ND will be more of a challenge. We know what Hildago can do, so let’s have the same energy on Monday. And, Azzi make more than 2 threes. Go Huskies!
 
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One aspect of last night’s game deserves mention. UConn leads the nation in 3-pt shooting percentage at over 40%. Villanova made every effort to defend the 3-pt line, with some success. The result is that UConn shot a pedestrian 30% from the arc (6/20).

The problem is that against a team like UConn, you can’t effectively defend every option. UConn constantly attacked the basket by putting the ball on the floor, post entry passes and backdoor cuts. Against Nova, UConn shot a scintillating 65% (33/51) from inside the arc.
 
I couldn't decide whether to post this thought here, or in the "What are opposing teams thoughts", so here goes.

Villanova is the #2 team in the conference, and agree with others that I thought it would be a bit more competitive, however:
1768570188902.jpeg

But, for all the naysayers that slam UConn for playing in the BE wrt ranking and SOS, my response is "look at the box score". Now, last night's quarter to quarter production was pretty consistent, and earlier in the season there was a lot of angst about it. Because Geno demands the same level of play no matter the opponent or quarter, that's what makes them a great team.

Things I enjoyed about the game -
  • The K9 and BQ chemistry is off the charts.
  • Everything that Sarah did. Seriously. Her footwork and positioning around the basket is .... chef's kiss. 5 blocks. Phew.
  • Azzi's night was somewhat quiet from a points perspective, however her drives to the hoop and defense were great.
  • The absolute joy of the bench when Ayanna scored, and the smile on her face hearing that support.
  • Same, the bench support when Gup-Gup scored.
  • Sarah and Azzi on the bench in the 4Q will go a long way this season wrt rest and recovery.
  • The number of held balls the team caused. Ash is a menace.
  • Ash had the highest mpg at 29.
The 3 second calls on Serah seem to be unevenly enforced. One play, I started counting when she went into the lane, and she got the ball before 3, and it still got called. Reminds me of players in the past that were unfairly tagged with doing certain "things" and it seemed the referees would make those calls based on past calls and not what was actually happening.

A fun DYK - through 18 games, the team is averaging 90.4 ppg and 51.7 against, where last year it was 79.1 ppg. and 51.6 against. And 13 games have resulted in 4 or more players in double figures, a mere (lol) 72%, where last year, it was 4 of 18 (22%)
 
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At one point in the third quarter (I think) Bascoe got caught in a trap and lost the ball out of bounds. It looked like she wanted to complain to the refs and may have lost her temper when the camera cut away, the analysts were chatting on a tangent, and then apparently coach Dillon had subbed her out of the game. Bascoe didn’t return for several minutes. Did anyone who was at the game see what happened?
 
oldude said:
OK, let’s say Caroline has earned a start. She is most definitely a Wing/forward. You can’t start her at center because that would be a negative mismatch in the post and she doesn’t have the handle to play the guard spot. That leaves two possibilities. So who do you sit: Sarah or Azzi?
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Obviously Ash if you were goîng to do it
 
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