What We Learned from Bay-Tenn

[Vowelguy]

Baylor:

• Can not play its best and still get a huge road win.
• Can take a hit -- down 8 in the 2nd half -- and overcome a rowdy crowd.
• Other players are not afraid to take shots.

Tenn:

• Can hang with the #1 team in the country. This team is definitely a contender.
• Stricklen showed that she is All-American potential.
• Stuck with Baylor until the end despite 2-22 shooting from its guards. While they won't go far if that performance continues, if they improve even a little, Vols become all the tougher.
• Coaches showed some rare discipline in not throwing every available player on the floor, but just going with the effective ones. They may be finally learning.

 

[tomcat]

Good analysis, Vowelguy. Baylor continues to look very strong. It will take a superior effort for UConn to even come close in Waco.

 

[stwainfan]

Tennessee played good just didn't have a good shooting game. Baugh looked very good. Holly Warlick said "now you see what we have been missing last two years" This is the most athletic team in Tennessee since 1998. Baylor is a very good team. With Sims and Griner they are going to be hard to beat.

 

[easttexastrash]

Tennessee played strong and it was good to see Baugh in good form.

Has anyone noticed how often the words "(fill in the blank) did not shoot well against Baylor" are spoken? "Notre Dame didn't shoot well against Baylor" either. There may be a bigger reason than just poor shooting nights. Griner allows her teammates to play some tight defense on the perimeter. They force their opponents to shoot threes, they are not a lot of threes that they want to shoot as part of their usual offensive game plan, thus the percentage is lower.

 

[easttexastrash]

Interesting to hear Warlick say that they went "at" BG too often. There goes the "go right at her" theory. You can only do that so often before she changes your mind. But you have to have good shooters to go away from her.

 

[stwainfan]

Yes Baylor does play real good defense. They also have Griner to protect the basket. I am not trying to take away from that. Just early in the game Tennessee had a few good looks and missed. Shots that normaly would have made.

 

[triaddukefan]

Tennessee played strong and it was good to see Baugh in good form.

Has anyone noticed how often the words "(fill in the blank) did not shoot well against Baylor" are spoken? "Notre Dame didn't shoot well against Baylor" either. There may be a bigger reason than just poor shooting nights. Griner allows her teammates to play some tight defense on the perimeter. They force their opponents to shoot threes, they are not a lot of threes that they want to shoot as part of their usual offensive game plan, thus the percentage is lower.

Well ND shot worse vs Duke than they did vs Baylor... not sure what that says.... perhaps ND isnt a particularly good shooting team against good competition?

 

[EricLA]

it's always easy to say "shots they would normally have made". suffice to say no way does tennessee get 19 offensive boards in a half again either. i think Baylor clearly showed they are the better team, at least right now. but tennessee is inconsistent. today stricklen scored a ton. the other day it was spani. massengale has a long way to go. baugh looked really good. so did johnson. but just like tennessee will improve during the year, so will Baylor, and everyone else in WCBB.

i'm shocked top 5 recruit has Burdick really contributed nothing so far this year. seems like Harrison has contributed more so far, and she's a serviceable reserve. one knowledgeable UCONN poster said that she read Burdick will really only be a really solid reserve, in spite of her high ranking. i wonder if tennessee fans agree.

i was less impressed with massengale than i expected to be. but i was more impressed with baugh than i expected to be.

 

[alexrgct]

• Can not play its best and still get a huge road win.
• Can take a hit -- down 8 in the 2nd half -- and overcome a rowdy crowd.
• Other players are not afraid to take shots.

All true, but to me, what really stood out about this game was that Griner heated up down the stretch. That killer instinct is what's most critical to Baylor winning it all. Other players were not afraid to take shots, but they sure weren't hitting a ton of them. In the end, they took the hit and emerged victorious because Griner stepepd up, and Baylor hit their FTs down the stretch. In a game where the opposition hits more from the outside (and, despite Baylor having quality perimeter D, the Bears will face better outside shooters than Simmons and Massengale), and where Baylor doesn't shoot 92% from the stripe, you have a chance to win. Obviously, they're the clear-cut #1 team at this stage until someone proves otherwise.

 

[Jmpenn]

it's always easy to say "shots they would normally have made". suffice to say no way does tennessee get 19 offensive boards in a half again either. i think Baylor clearly showed they are the better team, at least right now. but tennessee is inconsistent. today stricklen scored a ton. the other day it was spani. massengale has a long way to go. baugh looked really good. so did johnson. but just like tennessee will improve during the year, so will Baylor, and everyone else in WCBB.

i'm shocked top 5 recruit has Burdick really contributed nothing so far this year. seems like Harrison has contributed more so far, and she's a serviceable reserve. one knowledgeable UCONN poster said that she read Burdick will really only be a really solid reserve, in spite of her high ranking. i wonder if tennessee fans agree.

i was less impressed with massengale than i expected to be. but i was more impressed with baugh than i expected to be.

Right now Burdick is playing behind Spani and Stricklen. I believe Burdick will make an impact this season but next season will be her season to shine. Harrison has impressed the coaches so far and is needed because of her size. I do think Ariel will improve and she missed a lot of practice earlier because of her concussion. All 3 freshmen have great attitudes and have a great work ethic.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Teams simply do not shoot a high percentage against Baylor. Griner controls the paint, and they have other good defenders.

Baylor is not a great rebounding team. Despite her height, Griner is only a good--not great--rebounder.

Odyssey Sims can shoot FTs. Don't send her to the line.

 

[Kibitzer]

Tennessee played very hard and very well. Spani is a lights-out shooter and an excellent ball-handler, but not speedy. Stricklen is terrific. Baugh was, too.

It seems like Baugh's return, Massengale's recruitment and Harrison's emergence have caused limited playing time for Manning (a player I like) and Simmons (who simply does not seem to blend in, with her "shoot first" mindset).

If Baugh stays healthy, Tennessee will be a tough out in March.

Baylor, with Sims and Griner leading the way, is powerful and deserving of its #1 ranking. But they are beatable by a team that plays good team defense, has good outside shooters, plays tough defense, has deadly outside shooters, and has defenders who can limit Griner. If they are well-coached, good passers and rebounders and can shoot free throws, so much the better.

I wonder who that team can be?

 

[Icebear]

Interesting to hear Warlick say that they went "at" BG too often. There goes the "go right at her" theory. You can only do that so often before she changes your mind. But you have to have good shooters to go away from her.

There is a difference between going at her and being into her.

 

[RoyDodger]

Since the Baylor game is at Waco, I wonder about how important being at the other team's home court will be with regard to the outcome. Been having a debate with my brother (who hates women's basketball) about the relative merits of college sports. He insists that the home court advantage is ridiculously important in college basketball, pointing out how even the men's #1 UNC couldn't beat UNLV at UNLV the other day. He lives in New Mexico and thinks even the Lobos could beat NC if they were playing in the Pit. But that aside, I look at the UConn women's record since the year I started following them (2003-2004) and it's rather astounding. Since and including that year, UConn has a record of 276-25. Obviously, that includes an awful lot of wins on the road.

 

[Ruffian75]

I started following them (2003-2004) and it's rather astounding. Since and including that year, UConn has a record of 276-25. Obviously, that includes an awful lot of wins on the road.

It is even more astounding when you think that 18 of those 25 losses were during the Dark Ages ('05 to '07)

 

[RoyDodger]

It is even more astounding when you think that 18 of those 25 losses were during the Dark Ages ('05 to '07)

Yes, considering the 90 game winning streak, since the beginning of the 2007-2008 season, UConn has lost only 4 games! Their record: 156-4. That is surreal!!

 

[RadyLady]

• Can not play its best and still get a huge road win.
• Can take a hit -- down 8 in the 2nd half -- and overcome a rowdy crowd.
• Other players are not afraid to take shots.

All true, but to me, what really stood out about this game was that Griner heated up down the stretch. That killer instinct is what's most critical to Baylor winning it all. Other players were not afraid to take shots, but they sure weren't hitting a ton of them. In the end, they took the hit and emerged victorious because Griner stepepd up, and Baylor hit their FTs down the stretch. In a game where the opposition hits more from the outside (and, despite Baylor having quality perimeter D, the Bears will face better outside shooters than Simmons and Massengale), and where Baylor doesn't shoot 92% from the stripe, you have a chance to win. Obviously, they're the clear-cut #1 team at this stage until someone proves otherwise.

To be fair, in the first half, there were a lot of feeds to the low post that were way off the mark - it took until the second half for the quarterback to start hitting her mark.

I agree that tennessee has some impressive weapons - Vicky Baugh is as good as advertised, even better IMO, and Strickland, now that she is playing her correct position is excellent as well. Glory is quite an athlete, but still has a way to go to polish some raw edges - she still was good, but I bet that with some discpline and developement, she would be a top player.
Tennessee's agressive rebounding - a lot of no calls - really kept them in the game particularly on the offensive side of the court. I don't think that I have ever seen so many second, third, and even fourth time chances. that said, they blew many opportunities to score with these chances because instead of resetting the offense, they just hoisted up shot after shot (after shot). I see them still with the problem of an out of control offense, and that is a coaching issue.

Sims (Baylor) has ice in her veins, making all of those free throws at the end of the game during the foul-a-thon. I see Tennessee pulling out wins before with this strategy, kudos to the Baylor guard for keeping her cool and landing all those shots. It irritates me no end to see Tennessee pull out a win they didn't deserve because their opponants shooters can't handle this kind of pressure.
Tennessee clearly respected their opponant this time around, where the lesser team they were less so and paid the price. As such, I do not yet see the hunger to win it all with this team unless they can flip that switch to permanently on, and get some offensive strategy (and use it). They could be a contender, and likely will be, but there are obvious flaws that have to be fixed, and Vicky has to stay healthy. Without her, they are lost.

JMO

 

[stwainfan]

Massengale may not have had a big stat game. She only had one turnover. She will be a lot better.

 

[semper]

For some reason, I have a strong feeling that we will meet the Vols this year in the post season. I wonder what will happen?

 

[nan linds]

This was a very good game to watch. I think Geo could get more hustle from BG. She kind of just lopes up and down the court.
Good to see all the fan support for Coach Summit. And wasn't Coach Mulkey's blue vinyl (?) jacket interesting. (or maybe it was leather)

 

[Kibitzer]

The level of support (I prefer that to "sympathy") for Coach Summitt was impressive, even moving. On a related note, it was sad to see her limited involvement in actively and energetically coaching her team, the reins having been apparently handed to assistants Warwick and DeMoss.

The Lady Vols had great fan support from a good crowd. I can only imagine the decibel count if it were UConn on that court instead of Baylor. Old-timers in Hartford know something about roofs being removed unexpectedly from arenas.

 

[EricLA]

rady, it's funny that you mentioned the no calls on the tennessee O-boards. there is a whole thread on the summitt where they complained about the refs calling nothing against Baylor.

 

[tnvolfan65]

I'm not worried about Burdick at all. She is playing behind Spani/Stricklen/Johnson right now, who are playing like All-Americans. She also has Manning, who is a senior, backing up the same positions. She will see time this year. I'm sure she will help us win some games this year. But Miami and Baylor are not the games to break her into the rotation.

I think the "complimentary player" terms came from a Hoopgurlz review that stated she shined playing with Williams down low on the USA team. She was her "Robin".

Burdick has a lengthy skill set and has real size at 6'2"/6'3". While she will have to work hard to earn substantial PT this season, she's virtually a guaranteed starter for the next three years. She has plenty of time to show the rest of WCBB what she can do and why she is every bit deserving of her lofty ranking coming out of high school.

Even if you made a highlight reel of her limited play so far this year, no one would be questioning this. She is an awesome passer who likes to put some flair on them. She can put the ball on the floor and shoot from the perimeter. Again doing this at her height.

Where I think she could really improve and help this team is developing some post moves and hitting the boards. She's played mostly the 3 when she's in the game, and the limited practice film I've seen always has her with the guards. But I think she'll need to play the 4 next year and would be a nice relief for Glory this year if she can make the transition to playing in the paint.

Y'all needed KML to come in and be a scorer and replace as much of what Maya brought to the team as she can. Duke, likewise, had an immediate hole in the paint for Williams to step in. Massengale and Harrison have been seeing more time on the court for us because of the positions they play, but it's comparing apples to oranges. It has nothing to do with Burdick's ability or talent. Bria Smith has been doing really well for Louisville, but if she had decided to come to Tenn, she would likely be on the bench behind Simmons, Spani, and Massengale.

 

[tnvolfan65]

rady, it's funny that you mentioned the no calls on the tennessee O-boards. there is a whole thread on the summitt where they complained about the refs calling nothing against Baylor.

The officiating was in no way to Tennessee's benefit yesterday. A few of Griner's blocks were far from clean. She goes over the back. Glory's foul on Sims' breakaway?

I'm not blaming the refs for the loss at all. If we had hit our open shots, we would have won. But the amount of contact they got away with definitely impacted the game. I don't like when they call everything. Post play should be physical, but it wasn't consistently called on both sides.

 

[UConnCat]

I'm not worried about Burdick at all. She is playing behind Spani/Stricklen/Johnson right now, who are playing like All-Americans. She also has Manning, who is a senior, backing up the same positions. She will see time this year. I'm sure she will help us win some games this year. But Miami and Baylor are not the games to break her into the rotation.

I think the "complimentary player" terms came from a Hoopgurlz review that stated she shined playing with Williams down low on the USA team. She was her "Robin".

Burdick has a lengthy skill set and has real size at 6'2"/6'3". While she will have to work hard to earn substantial PT this season, she's virtually a guaranteed starter for the next three years. She has plenty of time to show the rest of WCBB what she can do and why she is every bit deserving of her lofty ranking coming out of high school.

I used the "complementary player" term and didn't get it from Hoopgurlz. It was said to me by someone who had watched her play several times. The point was simply that a #3 ranking should be for special, impact players and this person didn't put her in that category. She looks to be very skilled and will no doubt have a lot of success at Tenn.