Villanova Postgame Thread

[HuskyNan]

This is a Game Thread

 

[freshler40]

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.

 

[my2cents]

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.

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.

 

[Sun Dog]

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!

 

[oldude]

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.

 

[Ron and Vida]

Loved Sarahs block keeping the ball in play for a turnover rather than blasting the ball into the stands
The Celtics Bill Russell loved to do that and was one of the things that he was proud of

 

[DEpup]

Loved Sarahs block keeping the ball in play for a turnover rather than blasting the ball into the stands
The Celtics Bill Russell loved to do that and was one of the things that he was proud of

Well Stokes was in the building so she had to represent for who I consider the master at block and recover at UConn.

 

[BRS24]

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:

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%)

 

[Bone Dog]

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?

 

[hookshot]

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?

Obviously Ash if you were goîng to do it

 

[oldude]

Obviously Ash if you were goîng to do it

Ash played more minutes last night than anyone. On a team where everyone plays hard, Ash plays harder than anyone. She flies around the court hunting rebounds, closing out on shooters and if you don't cover her, she can kill you from the arc. If we are talking about someone who has earned a starting spot through hard work and effort, no one has earned it more than Ash.

 

[Ozimoto]

I was only able to watch the first half due to other commitments last night. At one point VIllanova put together a nice 10 - 0 run to get the lead down from over 20 points to just over 10 points and I was thinking "this isn't good." Two minutes later, including a three by Azzi, the score was back up to nearly 20 and the route was on. It must be very frustrating to try to run any kind of offense against the Huskies.

 

[jabstep]

The scary thing for the rest of WCBB is that the Huskies are improving and this year someone gets a boo boo, we've got someone else who can come in and do the job.

 

[drweo]

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?

Didnt she turn an ankle on a different play? Or was that someone else??