What happened in the 1st half?

[Vowelguy]

Geez that was bad. And depressing.

Yes, we still had the lead, but Geno talks about playing up to a certain level regardless of score, and that definitely did not happen.

So relieved that we had that 2nd half performance. But not sure what happened in the 1st.

 

[Icebear]

Geez that was bad. And depressing.

Yes, we still had the lead, but Geno talks about playing up to a certain level regardless of score, and that definitely did not happen.

So relieved that we had that 2nd half performance. But not sure what happened in the 1st.

I don't think the first half was bad at all. Jones was hot hitting shots after being set as the player they would cheat off. UConn adjusted and she stopped. Offensively, we were certainly effective other than the TOs which Duke did score off of. There was a lot of good out there not just bad.

 

[tomcat]

Let's also face the fact that Duke was doing some really good things themselves. Their defense in the first half was all it was cracked up to be, and Jones was unbelievable.

As for the second half, for me it was the most enjoyable half of basketball I've seen in a couple of years. UConn just dominated, playing against a strong opponent. Never thought I'd be saying it, but Faris is an All-American. Period.

 

[Olde Coach]

Geez that was bad. And depressing.

Yes, we still had the lead, but Geno talks about playing up to a certain level regardless of score, and that definitely did not happen.

So relieved that we had that 2nd half performance. But not sure what happened in the 1st.

You can start with 12 turn-overs in the 1st half and just 2 turn-overs in the 2nd half. That is ten more shots for Duke, and ten less for UConn. Ten shots is roughly ten points. Add ten for the Huskies, and subtract ten for Duke, and we win the 1st half by 22 instead of 2. And we win the game by circa 50.

The second half was classic UConn basketball. What a joy to watch.

 

[Vowelguy]

You can start with 12 turn-overs in the 1st half and just 2 turn-overs in the 2nd half. That is ten more shots for Duke, and ten less for UConn. Ten shots is roughly ten points. Add ten for the Huskies, and subtract ten for Duke, and we win the 1st half by 22 instead of 2. And we win the game by circa 50.

The second half was classic UConn basketball. What a joy to watch.

Yes definitely, but why the sloppy play is what I was getting at.


(By the way, I think your calculations are off. The opponent gets a shot whether you TO or score, so it's not an "extra" possession, though they may get a higher percentage shot. But it is fewer shots for you. )

 

[Vowelguy]

Yes definitely, but why the sloppy play is what I was getting at.

Along with 0 pts for Dolson+Stewart+Hartley, and foul trouble for Dolson & KML.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Somehow, I think the Duke fans are not asking, "What happened in the FIRST half."

 

[RadyLady]

"sloppy play"

there were turnovers in the first half, but I thought it an entertaining half and as Ice said, there was good playing along with the misses. I would not categorize it as sloppy play, but maybe my bar is set a tad lower than yours.

 

[bruinbball]

Along with 0 pts for Dolson+Stewart+Hartley, and foul trouble for Dolson & KML.

And a 2 point lead, while shooting 50% from the field.

 

[Vowelguy]

Somehow, I think the Duke fans are not asking, "What happened in the FIRST half."

I dunno, given the last several UConn-Duke games, they may have been just as shocked.

 

[msf22b]

What was wrong with the first half? They played lousy, helter-skelter BB. KLM's shooting kept us in touch.
But the ground was laid for the second half with the good D and Bria's aggressiveness.
Then Kelly took over the game, Steph joined the fun, Stewie started to assert herself, the Duke stars were overmatched (again) and the game got away (again) from coach McCallie (anyone tired of her views on everything?)
Conditioning and the wave of fresh players that we were able to bring to bear helped.

 

[jplotinus]

Perhaps the first half was a necessary prelude to the second.

I agree the second half was one of the most enjoyable in a long time. I would like to think the team can replicate that half in both halves of its next seven conference games, setting the table for the struggle with Baylor on 2/18.

If Kiah and Morgan can round into form by contributing more scoring production in their minutes over the next 7 conference games, leading up to the Baylor game, UCONN will be well positioned to defang Baylor.

The second half today was a great game, made all the better by the struggles of the first half.

 

[pap49cba]

"sloppy play"

there were turnovers in the first half, but I thought it an entertaining half and as Ice said, there was good playing along with the misses. I would not categorize it as sloppy play, but maybe my bar is set a tad lower than yours.

The guy on ESPN said they were sloppy so that's the final word. Oh, and Coach Peck said Uconn couldn't handle Duke's man-to-man defense.

 

[FairView]

In a way this reminded me of years past when UConn might struggle in the first half and there would be adjustments made at half time and UConn would take over the game and win. And throughout the close first half, I wouldn't worry because I knew the second half would be different and UConn would find a way to gain advantage. I think it was a very good sign today. Also, it appeared that Stef's fourth foul got the team angry and lit a fire under them. I loved this game -- even when it was close. Okay, I loved it a lot more as it became less and less close.

 

[doggydaddy]

In a way this reminded me of years past when UConn might struggle in the first half and there would be adjustments made at half time and UConn would take over the game and win. And throughout the close first half, I wouldn't worry because I knew the second half would be different and UConn would find a way to gain advantage. I think it was a very good sign today. Also, it appeared that Stef's fourth foul got the team angry and lit a fire under them. I loved this game -- even when it was close. Okay, I loved it a lot more as it became less and less close.

Spot on post. It was the most fun I've had at a game since the distruction of Notre Dame at Storrs two seasons ago.

 

[Icebear]

In a way this reminded me of years past when UConn might struggle in the first half and there would be adjustments made at half time and UConn would take over the game and win. And throughout the close first half, I wouldn't worry because I knew the second half would be different and UConn would find a way to gain advantage. I think it was a very good sign today. Also, it appeared that Stef's fourth foul got the team angry and lit a fire under them. I loved this game -- even when it was close. Okay, I loved it a lot more as it became less and less close.

Agree, I never felt stressed or nervous watching the first half. They were sloppy but I didn't really feel it was because Duke was forcing the situation onto them and that UCONN was not in control.

 

[doggydaddy]

They had 8 turnovers in the first 10 minutes. As they have done on occasion this season, they were just playing too fast.

4 TO's in the last 10 minutes of the 1st half. Still too many. But they did settle down some.

Only 3 TO's in the second hal and 7 TO's in the last 30 minutes.

 

[Bestiarius]

In my view, at the start of the game, Duke was stoked to take UConn down. Their defense was tremendous, and they got contribution from unexpected places, they played very well. Yet, at halftime they still were not in the lead. During halftime, they checked their adrenaline reserves and remaining optimism and found they already used 90% of both.

UConn came out in the 2nd half with 70% of their fuel remaining. Duke knew the game was over.

 

[doggydaddy]

In my view, at the start of the game, Duke was stoked to take UConn down. Their defense was tremendous, and they got contribution from unexpected places, they played very well. Yet, at halftime they still were not in the lead. During halftime, they checked their adrenaline reserves and remaining optimism and found they already used 90% of both.

UConn came out in the 2nd half with 70% of their fuel remaining. Duke knew the game was over.

Exactly.

No doubt they were.....