Villanova Postgame Thread

[ME Husky Fan]

KK and Heckel could both be liabilities in close games because their free throw averages are not good. The point guard position has to have players who are accurate free throw shooters. As far as the team is concerned, at this time last season the team was on an upward projection. This season it seems, when they should be peaking, they may be on a downward spiral. Fudd, Strong, and Shade are still playing well but the others, who were playing well, need to start playing like they previously did.

Where’s Maria Conlon when you need her. Certainly not your poster-athlete but she hit free throw after free throw…when it counted!!

 

[Rowdy831]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• OK, everyone can stop hyperventilating. UConn won.
• Today UConn passed SC for the 7th longest winning streak in history at 44 games in a row. The 6 winning streaks ahead of this UConn team are UConn’s 13th straight regular season conference championship today and 32nd all time, covering both the BE & AAC.

A lot of very good points. When watching UConn this year and last the common thread is they have the two best players in the country on the floor wearing their uniform. They have 8 others that would start for almost every other team so they are also extremely deep which brings me to my point.

At times when watching UConn at this point in the season when Geno knows they are head and shoulders above any team in the country he purposely puts obstacles in the way to keep games closer than they really need be. I think he does it for two reasons. First he wants his team to have to handle adversity even when it is manufactued by him and secondly and I think more important is he wants to make sure his team doesn't make the rest of the league loos subpar.

At any point I love your bullets!!

 

[Jonathan14]

Here's a potentially off-the-wall observation from last night's game: Jasmine Bascoe reminds me a lot of...Blanca. So much speed, athleticism, and talent, and then every once in a while, she'll do something really wacky that makes you scratch your head.

I hope Coach Dillon can get Jasmine Bascoe, Kennedy Harry, and the cadre of other young, talented players to stay at Villanova and continue to build together.

 

[browns]

We have a somewhat ill Sarah and Bianca just getting in a game after sitting out a few, we were up 16 with 6 left in game. We had another off game and still won by 14. I think alot of the flow issues have to do with Sarah not at 100%. She just isnt moving as well.

I watch a ton of wbb and I only think there are 2 teams that can beat us, UCLA and Texas. SC is too inconsistent on offense.
I think UCLA is too slow to beat us but they have the offense to do it. Texas has the two headed monster in Harmon and Booker with a good supporting cast.

Still think we are heading to 13. If we play up to our potential, no one is beating us.

Texas also has 6'4" and 6'6' for posts that UConn has no answers for

 

[oldude]

Texas also has 6'4" and 6'6' for posts that UConn has no answers for

Yet another hyperbolic statement. Texas 2 post players are not particularly athletic. Vandy’s smaller forwards ran rings around them.

 

[joea]

Obviously not peak UConn. Most teams go through down periods in the season, for this team down is beating decent teams by 15. Good they get reminded they are not invincible, and better now than March.

 

[hussybulldog]

Here's a potentially off-the-wall observation from last night's game: Jasmine Bascoe reminds me a lot of...Blanca. So much speed, athleticism, and talent, and then every once in a while, she'll do something really wacky that makes you scratch your head.

I hope Coach Dillon can get Jasmine Bascoe, Kennedy Harry, and the cadre of other young, talented players to stay at Villanova and continue to build together.

And schedule a couple of more games against Quad 1 teams.

 

[Woof]

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

Let's hope it is!!! Because, if it isn't, I would be really concerned about the entire rest of the team playing that poorly while perfectly healthy!

 

[JellyBean]

I was impressed with how the team handled the adversity. Being down in that first quarter. It was nice to see the team figure things out and put together a strong 2nd and 3rd quarter game plan. I was impressed with Ashlynn. She had some nice stop and pop shots going. Azzi was in her groove. Glad that she is shooting the ball better. Overall, a win is a win. We will take it. Congrats, UConn!

 

[UConn990411]

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

They’re 32nd in the country in turnovers per game. That’s not disastrous by any means, but taking care of the ball hasn’t been a strength of theirs all season.

 

[BBallF]

I was doing a lot more than hyper-ventilating during the first half last night while at the Finn. It's not an easy place to play in and it was my third year in a row at this game. Nova always seems to play us tough in the first half. The intercepted passes seemed to be due to two things happening at once- the preparation by Villanova and a sheer lack of adequate energy by us. I think the point is this- that is not the UCONN team you will see in March.

You have to take a season long view of the team's positive developments. First, the emergence of Sarah as the country's best all around player. Second, the emergence of Azzi as not just a good, but great defender and the best shooter in the country. Third, Blanca. She became a game wrecker once she got her sea legs. Fourth, the bench. Kayleigh becoming a strong back up point and a dare devil defender. Allie becoming a confident shooter and scorer and improving on defense. Jana showing some improvement in her own way. Fifth, the steady play of Ash, very evident against Nova. Sixth, KK and her defense and making strides on offense. Seventh, the unknown for Serah in March but in my view, that is the month she has been waiting for.

Viewed positively and long term and not myopically short term, the same curiosity that you had last November about this team should be here now for March except with a season long body of work to reflect on. So the same question remains. What will this team be like in March when all cylinders are firing on both ends of the court? That is the only question that needs to be asked because it is a given that Geno will have this motor humming shortly as he always does.

 

[Zinethar]

It seems most here are always concerned by how UConn looks rather than how the opponent played. Villanova earned our respect and are greatly responsible for a lot of the issues UConn had. Not including all those missed layups however...

 

[JoePgh]

Texas also has 6'4" and 6'6' for posts that UConn has no answers for

I assume you are talking about Breya Cunningham and Kyla Oldacre. So, to get some insight and actual data into this comparison, I posed the following question to Gemini (the AI component of Google Chrome). After some tuning, my specific query was this:


How do Kyla Oldacre and Breya Cunningham of Texas compare in offensive production per 40 minutes this season to Serah Williams and Jana El Alfy of UConn?


And here is the verbatim AI response that I got:

Based on 2025-26 season statistics, Texas forwards Kyla Oldacre and Breya Cunningham are producing at a similar offensive rate per minute to UConn's Serah Williams, while both sets are significantly outproducing Jana El Alfy in scoring efficiency.

• Kyla Oldacre (Texas): Averaging 10.8 points and 6.7 rebounds on 62.7% shooting.
• Breya Cunningham (Texas): Averaging 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds on 59.2% shooting.
• Serah Williams (UConn): Averaging 7.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 58.5% shooting.
• Jana El Alfy (UConn): Averaging 4.4 points and 3.8 rebounds on 58.7% shooting.
  

Offensive Comparison (Per 40 Minute Metric):

• Oldacre is the most productive scorer of the group on a per-minute basis, frequently acting as a high-efficiency scorer off the bench for Texas.
• Williams (UConn) has a higher assist rate (3.6 per 40 min in 2025-26) compared to the Texas duo, making her a more versatile offensive threat despite lower raw scoring numbers in UConn's system.
• Cunningham (Texas) and Williams (UConn) have similar field goal percentages (around 59%), but Cunningham plays in a slightly more frontcourt-dominant role.
• El Alfy (UConn) has the lowest scoring output per 40 minutes among the four, focusing more on rebounding and high-percentage inside shots.

In summary, Oldacre provides the highest scoring production, while Williams offers the best all-around offensive efficiency (scoring + passing) per 40 minutes.

I think that is a pretty fair and unbiased assessment from our cyber friend Gemini. And while it gives some advantage to the two Texas players, it is by no means an endorsement of your "has no answers" assessment.

If your point is that UConn is not going to beat Texas based on the production of its primary and backup center, I think anyone would agree with that. But is Texas going to have such a large advantage in the interior that it can offset the production of Azzi and Sarah? How well do you think Booker and Harmon match up against Azzi and Sarah? (If you say "about even", then I doubt your credibility.)

If UConn vs. Texas actually happens in the Final Four (which is almost certainly where it would happen), it will come down to UConn's largely perimeter-based offense vs. Texas rebounding and shot blocking. It will be a close game (as a Final Four match-up should be), but I would give a small advantage to UConn. If Serah and Jana succeed in neutralizing (not dominating) Cunningham and Oldacre, UConn should win by double digits.

 

[mainerhuski]

Though certainly still a weapon, the press seems to be less effective against well coached teams the second time they see them.

UConn presses every game. They change the looks some but there is plenty of video out there to scout and prepare for the pressure.

The old adage "if ain't broke don't fix it" still applies but I wonder if parts of these remaining games could be used to give future opponents new looks to think about.

The press being less productive has coincided with Sarah’s illness. She seems to getting winded so much more easily, poor kid, and all 5 players need to be all in for a press to work.

 

[mainerhuski]

Is anybody in Husky Nation watching the SEC slugfests??!! The way we are playing right now, we wouldn't have a chance against So Car, LSU or Vandy. Can't count TN; I watched them against Mississippi St and the Volunteers couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. Such a bad time for our team to be letting down. How many layups did we miss in the first half; even Strong missed a bunny?! And then Azzi says, "I guess we didn't come to play tonight. Not a good sign.

Aside from Flau’jae, I didn’t think that LSU played well at home v So Carolina. You’re right, TN is weirdly overrated.

 

[oldude]

The press being less productive has coincided with Sarah’s illness. She seems to getting winded so much more easily, poor kid, and all 5 players need to be all in for a press to work.

In the first Villanova game, UConn turned them over 26 times. In the most recent Villanova game, UConn turned them over 26 times. I don’t think the press was less productive at all…..and by the way, even though she was on the bench with foul trouble, Sarah had 5 steals and 3 blocks in the recent Villanova game….poor kid.

 

[Forego]

Is anybody in Husky Nation watching the SEC slugfests??!! The way we are playing right now, we wouldn't have a chance against So Car, LSU or Vandy. Can't count TN; I watched them against Mississippi St and the Volunteers couldn't throw the ball in the ocean. Such a bad time for our team to be letting down. How many layups did we miss in the first half; even Strong missed a bunny?! And then Azzi says, "I guess we didn't come to play tonight. Not a good sign.

Yes. Watched the LSU vs Ole Miss game tonight and Ole MISS certainly lived up to it’s name. I lost count but they missed at least a dozen point blank shots in the final 6 minutes and let LSU come back from a 10 point deficit to win by 8. Their offense was beyond stagnant. It was frozen in fear. I don’t want to hear anything more about UConn missing bunnies.

 

[fomalhaut]

How many layups did we miss in the first half; even Strong missed a bunny?!

I checked at halftime; they were 4-12 on layups.

 

[hussybulldog]

There has been lots of hyper ventilating praises on the improvement of UConn’s centers. I just don’t see it , I think Serah is still tying to fit in with a new team. There has been brilliant moments when the high-low set works out greatly. But more often, the pass is misfired and intercepted because the timing(not all her fault). However she is much better at putting the ball into the basket than Jana. As for the later, injury has prob been a factor in the continuation of development. I can’t say that she has improved much since last year’s NCAA semifinal when she was brilliant against UCLA’s much overhypered center.

 

[Zarathustra]

As usual, a lot of good takes from the Boneyard.

For me, it was a Dickens of a fame (A Tale of Two Halves). The first half was about as dreadful as I could've imagined, and the second was much more like a normal UCONN performance.
I thought that Villanova is talented, very well coached and has a star in Bascoe who can score off anyone. The real surprise was Carter playing the game of her life both on offense and defense.
I was stunned by so many of our turnovers. All too often they were on careless passes that didn't take into account a Villanova player being directly in the passing lane (unfortunately, Azzi seemed to be one of the main culprits).
It seemed like UCONN's bench in the first half didn't contribute at all (I had no idea that Allie was even on the court that half, K-9 was having a very rough time and Blana, understandably, was very rusty) with the exception of some good minutes by Jana.
Thank goodness that Ash really asserted herself on offense, to compliment Azzi and Sarah's brilliance.
Azzi shot really well on all levels tonight and Sarah had a remarkable line tonight, augmenting very efficient scoring with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks - only being stifled a bit by, what I feel to be, 2 very questionable foul calls in tge 3rd quarter (how in the world can you be judged to have committed an "undercutting" foul while clearly beating your opponent to a loose ball?).
The great news is that the team regrouped in the second half, remained unbeaten and has a lot to reflect and improve on in their last few games before the Big East playoff gauntlet.
One more note about their turnaround tonight: they wound up outrebounding Villanova on both the defensive and offensive boards.

You forgot "BLEAK HOUSE" for UCONN in the first half!
(more Dickens).

 

[HuskyNan]

Texas also has 6'4" and 6'6' for posts that UConn has no answers for

Who does Texas have that can stop Azzi, Sarah, Blanca, and Ash, who’s remembered she can shoot?

Sarah and Blanca are matchup nightmares - they’re bigger and stronger than guards and forwards aren’t usually quick enough to stay with them. Azzi needs, literally, less than a second and very little space to get her shot off (there are videos on Twitter showing the time she needs to set up) Who on the Texas team can stop them?

 

[oldude]

Who does Texas have that can stop Azzi, Sarah, Blanca, and Ash, who’s remembered she can shoot?

Sarah and Blanca are matchup nightmares - they’re bigger and stronger than guards and forwards aren’t usually quick enough to stay with them. Azzi needs, literally, less than a second and very little space to get her shot off (there are videos on Twitter showing the time she needs to set up) Who on the Texas team can stop them?

Geno’s 5-out motion offense basically takes away opposing bigs who live in the paint. The image of last year’s national semifinal game when UConn went with their small lineup is forever seared in my brain. Betts, who was matched up with Sarah, was standing in the paint with her arms up while Sarah was all alone at the arc knocking down 3’s.

If a big can’t defend out on the floor, they are not going to be effective against UConn.

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno’s 5-out motion offense basically takes away opposing bigs who live in the paint. The image of last year’s national semifinal game when UConn went with their small lineup is forever seared in my brain. Betts, who was matched up with Sarah, was standing in the paint with her arms up while Sarah was all alone at the arc knocking down 3’s.

If a big can’t defend out on the floor, they are not going to be effective against UConn.

I’ve yet to see a team stop Sarah if she wants to get a layup, too. The last few games are anomalies because she’s been so sick

 

[Gusaford]

There has been lots of hyper ventilating praises on the improvement of UConn’s centers. I just don’t see it , I think Serah is still tying to fit in with a new team. There has been brilliant moments when the high-low set works out greatly. But more often, the pass is misfired and intercepted because the timing(not all her fault). However she is much better at putting the ball into the basket than Jana. As for the later, injury has prob been a factor in the continuation of development. I can’t say that she has improved much since last year’s NCAA semifinal when she was brilliant against UCLA’s much overhypered center.

I agree with most of what you've said but as it relates to Serah, I would make one qualification. She seems to be a better shooter than Jana in the paint and when going up for a left-handed lay-up on the left-hand side of the basket.

When going up on the right-hand side of the basket for a lay-up, though, she tends to release the ball from behind her head at the very top of her leap, sometimes leading to a shot-put kind of motion. The ball comes out flat and often too hard. If she could tweak one part of her game before March, I'd love if she could put the ball up more quickly on the right-hand side of the basket with more touch. Easier said than done, I recognize.

Jana's made improvements this year in shooting traffic at very close range.

We're going to need both for Texas, UCLA and SC.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

There has been lots of hyper ventilating praises on the improvement of UConn’s centers. I just don’t see it , I think Serah is still tying to fit in with a new team. There has been brilliant moments when the high-low set works out greatly. But more often, the pass is misfired and intercepted because the timing(not all her fault). However she is much better at putting the ball into the basket than Jana. As for the later, injury has prob been a factor in the continuation of development. I can’t say that she has improved much since last year’s NCAA semifinal when she was brilliant against UCLA’s much overhypered center.

UConn wins games by 37.9 points (the team’s Per 40 +/-).

• Serah’s and Jena’s rotations (below) win games by a Per 40 +/- of 33.10 (not far off from 37.9);
• Geno and CD’s deploy Serah and Jena’s rotations at ~27.50 minutes per game — I think they know what they’re doing better than you or I;
• Geno and CD deploy small ball rotations (which has a Per 40 +/- of 48.66) for around 12.50 minutes per game;
• Geno and CD don’t start games with small ball to preserve Sarah for a full season;
• TY’s post rotation is better than LY’ (none of LY’s traditional rotations were Winning Time Rotations);
• Details here.

WCBB is a game of 5x5, how a 40-minute sequence of rotations by one team beats another team’s;

• Geno and CD’s system depends on “plug and play” “basketball players” playing “beautiful basketball”;
• Currently, the Per 40 +/- of UConn’s Top 8 players are between 33.17 to 45.76 (Jana’s is 21.03). Pretty much “plug and play” “basketball player” stats.

Of course, Serah and Jana do have glaring areas needing improvement. These areas, which still can be improved some, have not been detrimental to UConn’s season, as they do many other things as “basketball players” do.