Villanova Postgame Thread

[PJCLaw]

Hate to break it to you. But ever UConn essentially stopped playing, giving the ball over to Villanova with about 5 seconds left. Villanova threw up a 3-pt shot to cut the margin to 39 points.

They deliberately took a shot clock violation to not run up the score, only to have Villanova go down and throw up a 3 pointer. That was classless after UConn showed class!

 

[Ron and Vida]

Some thoughts on the Villanova game:

• Villanova comes into tonight’s game at 25-6, including a 22-pt win on the road at Big12 Tournament Champion WV. The Wildcats have a great young coach, they’re heading to the Big Dance and Jasmine Bascoe is the best player in the league, not wearing a UConn jersey.
• The battle tonight between KK and Bascoe was special. From the start KK was all over Bascoe picking her pocket and harassing her all over the court. Bascoe, the BE's leading scorer, ended the game with 14 points on 5/19 shooting.
• Geno has clearly encouraged Sarah to look for her shot more. Just like last year with Paige, for UConn to win it all this year, Sarah will have to shoulder a bigger share of the scoring load.
• Really nice bounce back game by Blanca tonight after a tough shooting game yesterday. She made several highlight reel plays that had her mom and dad grinning from ear to ear.
• Also a nice bounce back game by Serah who played under control. I really like Serah in a game like this because of her ability to defend Villanova’s mobile forwards out on the perimeter.
• The Huskies have at least 4 players who can body up ballhandlers on defense and just take the ball away. KK, Sarah, Azzi and Blanca are all guilty of strong arm robbery which, fortunately for them, is perfectly legal on the basketball court. 😄
• UConn is running a lot of their halfcourt offense through Sarah at the high post, who is most definitely a triple-threat with her ability to shoot the 3, drive to the hoop or drop dimes on her teammates.
• One of the plays UConn loves to run is to create a scrum around the foul line, at which point, one or more Huskies sets a screen for Azzi to pop out to the arc at the top of the key, receive a pass from the wing, quickly release that perfect shot……money!!!
• There were several spectacular degree of difficulty layups tonight by KK, Blanca and Kayleigh that made me think I was watching the X-Games. 🙃
• I just like Jana's "take no prisoners" rebounding.
• I have no idea what in the hell is going on with the Mohegan Sun. But for the 2nd time in 3 games the live stats cut out. 😞
• Congratulations to the Huskies on winning their 29th conference tournament. Getting showered with confetti never gets old. Now we can all sit back, watch the Selection Show next Sunday night and get pumped up for the Big Dance as UConn chases #13.

Have to say glad that Jana’s “take no prisoners “ rebounding is recognized

 

[Ron and Vida]

-UConn was less affected by playing three games in three days. Ball handling was a little sloppy but the defense was relentless.

-Villanova probably shot their worst percentage all year. They got looks buts could not convert. Tired legs were evident in my opinion. By games’ end, they were gassed.

-It is one thing to press every game. it is another thing to change the look. Sarah was up front tonight trapping with KK.

-Maybe Sarah keeps KK from being tourney MVP but no doubt KK was terrific.

-Another game, another unique lineup combination. Blanca and four guards. Ball pressure was great with this group.

-Replays made the officials, who are supposedly final four worthy, look bad on several occasions.

-Fun watching the second team play well in the fourth.

-Awesome three days of basketball for the number 1 team in the country.

Yeah Villanova missed a lot of uncontested threes

 

[Longtime fan]

-UConn was less affected by playing three games in three days. Ball handling was a little sloppy but the defense was relentless.

-Villanova probably shot their worst percentage all year. They got looks buts could not convert. Tired legs were evident in my opinion. By games’ end, they were gassed.

-It is one thing to press every game. it is another thing to change the look. Sarah was up front tonight trapping with KK.

-Maybe Sarah keeps KK from being tourney MVP but no doubt KK was terrific.

-Another game, another unique lineup combination. Blanca and four guards. Ball pressure was great with this group.

-Replays made the officials, who are supposedly final four worthy, look bad on several occasions.

-Fun watching the second team play well in the fourth.

-Awesome three days of basketball for the number 1 team in the country.

I disagree about Vilanova being gassed by games end. They should have been, no doubt. But I was impressed with their endless hustle. They will be handful next season. Lots of exceptional young players and fine coaching. I would not be shocked to see them make it into sweet sixteen.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[jaydee602]

Interesting stat:
Both teams made 7 three point shots.
But UCONN attempted 22 while Villanova attempted 37 three pointers!
Villanova probably felt that the only way to beat the Huskies was by hitting an enormous amount of three point baskets.

 

[Longtime fan]

Interesting stat:
Both teams made 7 three point shots.
But UCONN attempted 22 while Villanova attempted 37 three pointers!
Villanova probably felt that the only way to beat the Huskies was by hitting an enormous amount of three point baskets.

Hitting threes is one of Villanova's strong points, and wins them a lot of games. UCONN defense made it tough to get decent looks.

 

[pghhuskydoc]

3 cheers for our Huskies!
Everyone contributed without any drop off in intensity
A special shout out to Blanca’s parents who looked so thrilled to see their daughter play. May be my new favorite Husky Mom and Dad.

 

[msf22b]

-When Sarah is chasing shots it opens more possibilities for everyone…look for some interesting new combos upcoming.

-Sarah was credited for 3 T/O’s (I thought it was 4)

-Last Sarah…Did anyone notice a never seen before shot?…Just before the half, She dusted off a baby hook…Went in of course.

-I really expected to see the starters more in the 2nd half
but Geno kept to his season style and in the 4th, we saw the 2nd squad (only)…and they totally outplayed the V starters. Good for them.

 

[Glenn]

AZZI and KK are on the all-tournament team

 

[Ron and Vida]

😊As a general matter, when you are up by more points than the other team has scored at the half, you are likely to win right?

I wrote down that K-9's lay up was the shot of the game before the Peacock crew deemed it so. Blanca has a close second in the first half.

I like to hear people say nice things about UConn but Fanta's fawning is just annoying.

Allie - most improved player this year.

Some sloppy passing turnovers in the first half. There was a tendency to allow virtually uncontested 3s; I thought maybe it was a defensive decision to not go hard after the 3 shooters...until Geno in the half time interview indicated he noticed too and wasn't real happy about it. Still, a convincing win over a decent team and I'm not going to pick nits. OK, I did. Geno needs something to get on their case for during practice for the Big Dance.
.

Fanta announces every game like it is the Super Bowl 😊

 

[Cornell Lt]

Live press conference on the Big East You tube site

 

[jcoton56]

Just got back from the game and I will agree with the glowing reviews of the players, but to my eye a little bit of mental fatigue was showing on both sides. 3 games in 3 days is quite the test.

 

[fireford]

UConn has been so dominant in tournaments lately that below fun facts about the historical dominance of this particular tournament are probably taken for granted:

In the 2026 Big East Women's Basketball Tournament,
UConn set a record for the largest cumulative margin of victory for an entire tournament run, outscoring their opponents by a total of 133 points across three games.

2026 Tournament Performance
UConn averaged a margin of 44.3 points per game during the tournament, the highest such average in league history.

Round	Opponent	Final Score	Margin
Quarterfinals	Georgetown	84–39	+45
Semifinals	Creighton	100–51	+49
Championship	Villanova	90–51	+39
Total		274–141	+133

Historical Context

• Most Points Scored: The 100 points scored against Creighton in the semifinals was the highest single-game point total in UConn's Big East Tournament history.
• Program Dominance: This run secured UConn's 24th Big East Tournament title and their sixth consecutive since rejoining the conference in 2021.
• Season Margin: The Huskies finished the 2025-26 regular season with an average scoring margin of +37.8, which ranks as the third-best in NCAA women's history.
• Total Titles: UConn has won 24 Big East Tournament titles (and 31 conference tournament titles overall, including their time in the AAC).
• Recent Precedent: The 2024 tournament run featured a similarly dominant +36 margin in the final alone (78-42 over Georgetown), part of a 12-year streak of consecutive conference tournament titles.

 

[my2cents]

Congrats to the UConn women on another dominating BE Tourney title. ( The trophy still looks like plastic to me).
Sarah Strong is playing Stewie/ Maya next level stuff. Fun to watch for about a half.
All we heard was Boscoe, Boscoe, Boscoe....KK owned her tonight. I think KK is a better player.
Serah is playing better, but from a stat perspective, Jana is accomplishing significantly more.

My one concern. When our press doesn't work, we give up a lot of open threes. There is a team from LA, that won't miss that many open looks, just sayin.

 

[Centerstream]

Well that was fun!

Congrats to the team on a well-deserved Big East Championship. 2 quick things at the end of the game.

• Classy - UConn taking a shot clock violation with 36 seconds left giving the ball back to Villanova with 6 seconds left.
• Not classy - Villanova running down the floor and taking a 3 with 2 seconds left.

Thank you. I was going to post the same thing but with much less class.

 

[fomalhaut]

Sarah Strong - MVP. Don’t take her greatness for granted. I still think she should have been tournament mvp last year too.

There's no such thing as tournament MOP for the NCAA tournament: there are regional MOPs and a Final Four MOP. Azzi Fudd was well deserving of the latter.

 

[husky98]

Team looked fantastic tonight. Sarah, Azzi, and Blanca were efficient, KK led the defense, bench was productive. Jana was exactly what we need her to be.

 

[DEFCONN1]

Hate to break it to you. But UConn essentially stopped playing, giving the ball over to Villanova with about 5 seconds left. Villanova threw up a 3-pt shot to cut the margin to 39 points.

That 3 pointer did irk me a bit, especially after we took the shot clock violation in the previous possession

 

[huskeynut]

Great tournament by the ladies. Defense and offense were enjoyable to watch.

Loved that the bench outscored Nova 19 - 9.

For some perspective;
This was UConn's 24th BE tournament championships. Now add the 7 AAC tournament championships, that's 31 tournament championships in 41 years. That is unbelievable.

It is also a statement of the sustained excellence that no other program can claim.

 

[Next 12]

Hate to break it to you. But UConn essentially stopped playing, giving the ball over to Villanova with about 5 seconds left. Villanova threw up a 3-pt shot to cut the margin to 39 points.

I turned the game off after the shot clock violation and went to the Bone Yard and posted that . What a shock I got when I saw the final score. Not in good sportsmanship. GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[DemonDeac22]

Well that was fun!

Congrats to the team on a well-deserved Big East Championship. 2 quick things at the end of the game.

• Classy - UConn taking a shot clock violation with 36 seconds left giving the ball back to Villanova with 6 seconds left.
• Not classy - Villanova running down the floor and taking a 3 with 2 seconds left.

Sarah and Azzi led the way, but defensively, the tone was set by KK. What a great trio. I was glad to see Williams with a bit of a bounce back game. Blanca looked really good. Kayleigh and Allie were solid. Credit to Nova for a really good Q3. The bench was really solid in Q4 - a ton of missed layups by just about all of them, but 19-9 in Q4 is impressive.

It really was a team effort. I agree with Geno - Nova will be a nightmare for an 8-9 game or 7-10. I hope for their sake they are a 10 seed. getting a 2 seed in the 2nd round is a far cry from a 1 seed.

Now the team gets a well deserved rest. Any nagging injuries can be rested. Get ready for March Madness. 6 more wins to go!! Congrats team!!!

Even less classy? Leaving most of your starters in the entire game when you are losing by 40 points. What was up with that?

 

[Skeets]

Yeah Villanova missed a lot of uncontested threes

In a completely dominate game, leaving so many 3-pointers wide open is the only weird thing. Luckily the Wildcats missed most of them. Can't do that in the next tournament.

 

[ABCDFE]

Amazing game by UConn. They essentially won by 40 with our bench playing the fourth quarter. It is also comforting to see that our pt guard position playing well ON BOTH ENDS OF TIE FLOOR with KK and K9. Blanca hasn’t been shooting it as well since she came back but what a difference maker on defense and her drives to the basket is electric.

Im excited to see what this team can do when they go full beast mode for all 40 minutes.