Who wins this weekend? #6 Notre Dame at #3 U$C, #1 SCAR at #5 fUCLA

[DallasDomer]

As a UConn fan yesterdays game was encouraging. USC will find a way to lose and to stop ND all you have to do is force Hidalgo to shoot the 3 and force Miles to drive. Easy 25 point wins against either team.

I wonder why Uconn didn't do that last year?

 

[Orc]

Guards and post for ND are elite. They are the best team Ive seen this year so far. Should be favorites to win the natty

 

[mudcat]

USC is almost a repeat of LSU last year. LSU was the media darling preseason, based on portal additions. LSU tried to turn Hailey Van Lith into a pg but when that failed they struggled. USC has a few outstanding players who can beat most other teams by themselves and look great doing it but they have no one to play pg and their ball security was non-existent today. I think the official scorer missed some TO's. It appears that NDame's plan was to double the ball every time it went inside and USC made it easy when their inside players started dribbling whenever they got the ball down low. .

Their point guard was out of the game and they had a freshman playing pg, was the most likely reason.

 

[CalWBBfan]

I love Coach Gotlieb. She is a solid coach. Her track record at California speaks volumes about her coaching ability. This game, she was out coached. It happens from time to time. You learn from it and move on. Thankfully, it was an early season loss. 10 games down the road, if they are 10-0 during that stretch and firing on all cylinders, this loss will be nothing more than a wakeup call for USC.

I've never thought her to be a particularly good X's and O's coach....and she did same thing with Anigwe at Cal. She also bailed on the program in a way that left a bad taste with Cal fans to this day....that said, she's very friendly and I can see why recruits respond to that. I always liked her.

 

[mudcat]

As a UConn fan yesterdays game was encouraging. USC will find a way to lose and to stop ND all you have to do is force Hidalgo to shoot the 3 and force fMiles to drive. Easy 25 point wins against either team.

Much easier said than done: especially since Hidalgo is a decent 3 point shooter.

 

[cancontent]

Their point guard was out of the game and they had a freshman playing pg, was the most likely reason.

Ummmm, Kennedy Smith is also a freshman.

 

[Stagnant]

Horrible defense from Juju on this possession. Miles is hard to stay in front of. But that can’t happen.

 

[Bone Dog]

In fact, I would probably take Sonia Citron ahead of Iriafen. Citron is an exceptional wing who plays lock down defense, can score from all 3 levels and could move over to shooting guard in a pinch.

I might too, especially after Kiki's performance against ND. It showed how narrow her game currently is. She's got a lot to prove after that outing.

 

[Stagnant]

I would think LA is strongly considering drafting Miles atm. No doubt about it.

 

[Reypl21]

As a UConn fan yesterdays game was encouraging. USC will find a way to lose and to stop ND all you have to do is force Hidalgo to shoot the 3 and force Miles to drive. Easy 25 point wins against either team.

Prior to this season I think the scout was to stop Miles' driving and let her shoot. Her 3PT shot has come alive, but I don't think you want her driving. Recipe for disaster as she's a great finisher, but also that's where her passing is dangerous. Also, I don't think anyone is going to stop Hannah from driving.

 

[Geew1992]

Prior to this season I think the scout was to stop Miles' driving and let her shoot. Her 3PT shot has come alive, but I don't think you want her driving. Recipe for disaster as she's a great finisher, but also that's where her passing is dangerous. Also, I don't think anyone is going to stop Hannah from driving.

I think it was sarcasm

 

[darrell]

I might too, especially after Kiki's performance against ND. It showed how narrow her game currently is. She's got a lot to prove after that outing.

I don’t think it was her game as much as it was Gottlieb’s coaching. Playing in a system designed for one player is tough, especially when that one player can’t use their defensive attention to set up their teammates. She was a beast last year under Tara.

 

[Zanzman]

I don’t think it was her game as much as it was Gottlieb’s coaching. Playing in a system designed for one player is tough, especially when that one player can’t use their defensive attention to set up their teammates. She was a beast last year under Tara.

All her missed layups were the coaches fault ?

 

[WBBTakeover]

Yikes--this is truly embarrassing!

 

[darrell]

All her missed layups were the coaches fault ?

No, I’ll credit that to ND’s defense. If I remember correctly, they rarely ran sets for her and most of her shots came inside a clogged paint.

 

[The deacon]

@cancontent

With growing evidence (5 games and counting), I think some prominent members of the press are starting to recognize that Hidalgo and Miles not only can play together, but play very well together.

Chantal Jennings of the Athletic (and this was before the USC game):

"Miles and Hidalgo have still been pretty close to automatic together, bringing together a year of unexpected preparation as they begin to answer the questions that lingered after Hidalgo’s commitment. Any notion there wouldn’t be enough basketball to go around for these two didn’t consider what they could do for one another even when the ball wasn’t in their hands.

"With two alpha guards who have shared the spotlight and the ball, Notre Dame has the best (and yes, most dynamic) backcourt in America and it’s ready for the biggest stage so far come Saturday."

and
From ESPN's Alexa Philippou



Now, it's obviously early in the season and ND will have games against teams with other good backcourt pairs (trios, even) in Texas, TCU, UConn, etc. But the debate about whether these two can work together shouldn't be a factor anymore.

OK, time for South Carolina and UCLA!

TCU? You have Van Lith even close to the level of all those other guards? I don't...

 

[TheFarmFan]

One additional comment on ND vs USC. Most of the basketball pundits have already assumed that Paige goes #1 in the draft and Iriafen goes #2. Well if I’m the LA Sparks, who need a pg to pair up with Brink and Jackson, and Dallas takes Paige at #1, then I have to believe that Olivia Miles is a pretty good consolation prize as the #2 overall pick ahead of Iriafen.

In fact, I would probably take Sonia Citron ahead of Iriafen. Citron is an exceptional wing who plays lock down defense, can score from all 3 levels and could move over to shooting guard in a pinch.

I will say this: Kiki looked like a shell of herself from last year. I can't remember the last time she had so many missed bunnies, failed to muscle through the follow through, and was stripped of the ball so easily. Last season she was a reliable rock under the basket and she seemed a bit lost, a bit lacking in confidence. I realize I'm biased here, but she looked so much better wearing Cardinal red.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I know somewhere on this board some posters insist Gottlieb is a much better coach than Close. I think it's close to even, and I'm sticking with it.

 

[oldude]

I will say this: Kiki looked like a shell of herself from last year. I can't remember the last time she had so many missed bunnies, failed to muscle through the follow through, and was stripped of the ball so easily. Last season she was a reliable rock under the basket and she seemed a bit lost, a bit lacking in confidence. I realize I'm biased here, but she looked so much better wearing Cardinal red.

There is a definite problem with USC’s offense. Last year it was JuJu and the 4 Tops. This year, I’m not quite sure what Gottlieb’s vision is. USC doesn’t move the ball well. A lot of times, there was little player movement or screen setting.

USC’s best offense is still JuJu taking the ball and scoring, and if she struggles, as she did for the first 3 quarters yesterday, then USC is in trouble.

The good news is that it’s early in the season. There’s lots of time for Gotlieb and her team to figure things out.

 

[Geew1992]

This SC team is not the same as last year. What has happened!?

 

[triaddukefan]

I had no idea that bears from the west coast love to devour chicken.

 

[nwhoopfan]

When was the last time South Carolina got beaten handily? 3 or 4 years?

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I believe this weekend answered a lot of questions.

I'll try not to crown UCLA and Notre Dame.

 

[Geew1992]

When was the last time South Carolina got beaten handily? 3 or 4 years?

They said 2019 vs Baylor

 

[aceboon]

What is going on with Fulwiley? Dawn trying to humble her?