Villanova Postgame Thread

[CTtoSanDiego]

I am glad (in a roundabout way) to hear that Sarah has been sick. I've been worried the past two games. She has missed a bunch of layups, which she never does, and I can't count the number of 3 pt shots she gave up on D today. Still, she manages to show up big in the second half of these games where we needed her.

 

[Centerstream]

It may not have happened as much this game, but over the previous few games, Kayleigh has literally been knocked to floor many, many times. A couple of those times, it took her a couple seconds to actually get back up and return to her position. One time she was limping and there was no opportunity to get a sub in and she managed to do her job. I am guessing that maybe with the travel to Philly, it caught up to her tonight?

 

[Monte]

She was K-9 today, literally.

Once a Husky, always a Husky!

 

[ccwarrior]

Villanova played the Huskies tough on their home court. And we played poorly in the first half. After that, it was all UConn thanks to Azzi and Sarah... and Ash.

The one worrisome thing for me wasn't the sloppy first half play. It was the narrowing of the scoring. Azzi had 25, Sarah scored 21, and Ash scored 13. No one else scored in double figures though 5 others did score.

Azzi had the right assessment after the game -- "we needed to settle." They were very unsettled at the beginning. "We didn't match their energy" in the first half.

Missed shots happen, but the first half effort was surprising - particularly because Geno has said that they don’t coach effort at UConn.

 

[romath]

Same as Marquette: Team is stale and center play is not close to Final Four quality. Jana looked terrible tonight. Completely lost. Serah woke up in the second half, but she has trouble working under the basket. Strength, confidence, jumping ability, I'm not sure. In any case, if they meet up, Okot and Betts will push her around like a twiddly wink.

Stale: I think Geno (and many supporters) is wrong about the quality of their schedule this year (compare it to last year's). It's not just about meeting the challenge of playing top teams, but more important it's about his team having some challenging games during the season to look forward to and get up for. There's not much motivation or excitement in repeating blow after blow out. The tournament out there becomes abstract, not just a continuation of what they've been doing. If they don't watch out, they're going to get caught out.

 

[romath]

Missed shots happen, but the first half effort was surprising - particularly because Geno has said that they don’t coach effort at UConn.

Not at all surprising. Consider my comment about the schedule and being stale.

 

[cleobel60]

Good points all. KK has to be more of an offensive threat. Here finishes need polish and determination, not a hail Mary at this time of year. She started out with strong moves to the hoop then goes unground. Why?

In my opinion, KK is a very good defensive player, but needs to work harder, harder on learning to shoot. She would be awesome. A point guard needs to be a good quarterback to manage overall team play. K Chen from last year did an excellent job. Jana & Serah
W. needs to learn to keep the ball up high to pass or shoot. They get in trouble when they lower it. This is my opinion. I am a little afraid that we might be in trouble come March Madness.

 

[Woof]

I suppose the plague could be to blame but, damn, they looked very pedestrian. This is 3 out of the last four games.

1. Way too little off-ball movement
2. Slow to loose balls
3. Anemic defensive effort
4. Way too little communication which leads to way too many lost players and wide open shots
5. Jogging on cuts
6. Passes are coming after hesitation and then they too soft

 

[Duncan Idaho]

How did Serah average 19 points a game while she was at Wisconsin and struggle here at UConn. Maybe she is better coming off the bench. Geno seems to pull her out early anyway.

Probably because she was the center of the offense on a not very good team. She was taking 15 shots per game making half plus a few foul shots....

 

[Dogdude]

In the second quarter, with almost no ball movement, I think we had 4-5 drives to the basket which all got stuffed or missed completely. Some were because there was no one trying to get open, some were simply rushed decisions. Nova's offense, though, looked exactly like ours was supposed to look. Quick passes around the perimeter, inside out, outside in, always finding the open shooter. Our mojo is based on quick passes, confusing defenses and hitting open shots, and it can all be corrected with a little health and recommitment. Defensively, Nova was sharp, we were flat. Same thing, just buckle up and get on it.

 

[Bald Husky]

I guess we do miss Paige!

 

[Bald Husky]

I think that Kayleigh got the most Badass votes in the Marquette game. She only played 10 minutes today; the least of all 9 players.

K9 played well against Marquette, but last night seemed out of it. One thing she has to learn is that she is not KK when she goes to the hoop.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[schmendrick]

February doldrums. Simple as that.

We forget the angst-fest on the Boneyard last February after the TN loss.

Among her miscues. I see Serah coming around.

 

[GetReal2day]

Probably because she was the center of the offense on a not very good team. She was taking 15 shots per game making half plus a few foul shots....

Serah with only 2 rebounds against a team that plays with 6'1" or less in height. Thank goodness Blanca is back because we will need the small lineup with Sarah at the 5 if we are going to win. Against UCLA, OK, SC or Texas, our bigs are going to get eaten alive.

 

[ERWUC65]

A lot of good comments from our BYers, a couple of note: (1) a general malaise at this time of year, February doldrums, winter illness and (2) Villanova is a very good team, well coached, plays together, a couple of potential star players and should be a lock for #2 in the BE and a place in the tournament. Some questionable refereeing, but a good game to watch, especially with the W at the end.

 

[jaundicedeye]

That's the point I was trying to make, the commentator said "Azzi has 25 points but not a dominant 25." I listed her stats to illustrate how foolish he sounded.

Thanks!

 

[Sun Dog]

Over morning coffee: cup half full, Blanca back, no apparent injuries, a win. Cup half empty, hope it’s just Feb funk, but for much of the game we were outhustled, outplayed and dare I suggest, outcoached. Credit to Nova for not awarding us the game and playing like they intended to win. Back to practice, plenty of issues to work on. Go Huskies!

 

[Big Fan]

While I am sure the team did not overlook Nova, I think many of the fans here did. Nova had not lost a game at home this year. 8-0 They had just won 6 in a row. Their coach is very good and they are clearly the second best team in the Big East this year. UConn was playing their second road game in a row. It should not have surprised anyone that this was a much tougher game than anticipated.

 

[Soxx]

When it came down to it Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong made sure this was a win, with strong contributions from Shade, Sarah W and others. That's what matters.

But this was a mess. Not just the game, the commentating, the officiating, this was just a spectacle.

KK has got to be more of an offensive threat, see the floor better or make her free throws. One of those three has to happen before March.

Blanca back was great, there’s rust but she’s needed.

Our post play is suspicious without Strong in the line-up. Williams and Jana are 6’5 and 6’4. You wouldn’t know that in this game.

The refs contributed and called the game so differently from quarter to quarter, both teams never figured that out.

The commentators were obviously Villanova fans and these games are getting tougher to listen to. They talked about everything but the game in moments and you'd think this was coffee date between friends. Even bringing up the Kim Caldwell - Coach Yo handshake debacle. Just messy. Also saying Azzi Fudd had 25, but it wasn’t a dominant 25 points. 25 points is 25 points. 10/18 4/6 from 3.

Spot on re: the commentators.

 

[Soxx]

There are positives that come from being tested on the road and winning games when they’re not playing their best. That’s likely to happen at least once during the NCAA tourney en route to a championship.

At the same time, this team can be extremely careless with the ball at times, and that could come back to bite them against stronger opponents if they don’t clean it up before March.

The carelessness seems recent. Not at all characteristic of the earlier part of the season.

 

[Soxx]

K9 played well against Marquette, but last night seemed out of it. One thing she has to learn is that she is not KK when she goes to the hoop.

She played without her mask—maybe that bothered her?

 

[HopJim]

How did Serah average 19 points a game while she was at Wisconsin and struggle here at UConn. Maybe she is better coming off the bench. Geno seems to pull her out early anyway.

Tough call for Geno. Does Serah have more upside and shot blocking? Jana has been improving but still is not performing up to last year's level.

 

[HopJim]

K9 played well against Marquette, but last night seemed out of it. One thing she has to learn is that she is not KK when she goes to the hoop.

Let's hope Sarah's bug is not spreading.

 

[DemonDeac22]

Tough game to watch and there is no need to repeat pointing out individual player issues in this game. It sounds like Sarah has been battling through an illness for a while which is leading to her inconsistency - hopefully she can fully recover before we get to the big tournament. If this same inconsistent UConn team shows up in the NCAA regionals we will be packing our bags for home. The good news is they have 3 full weeks to get their 100% mojo back.