I think this narrative is created to make Louisville feel better and think they somehow stayed with U Conn!
When a team gets completely whooped in the first period and is down twenty at the half, they need to make up some narrative to give them hope. At the end of three quarters I think they were still down by was it 17 points. They leave their starters in to the very end so the final score is made to look much better than it ever was. It's often similar to how some use stats to contradict what is obvious to the eye.
The main takeaway I'd say was they were never in the game or had a real chance of winning.
U Conns takeaways are different. They will use the ending to teach them some valuable lessons. This team some of the time, needs to further their killer instinct. While it would be great news to get more from MW and the bench, that doesn't seem to be the case this year, especially against the stronger competition. The biggest issue is balancing a six person rotation with at least half the players being banged up and needing to be carefully watched and monitored. This leads to less practice time together, probably leading to less sharpness especially offensively. It also contributes to the tiredness towards the end of games and seemingly their slightly lowered conditioning.
Of course there's a elevated concern because of the unexpected loss to MS in last years semi-final as there should be. But as I've mentioned before this team has some advantages (and a few minor disadvantages) compared to last year. They have a top notch point guard; they have a big who can score in a variety of ways; they have a much improved KLS whose now a NPOY candidate as opposed to just a pretty darn good AA. They also have showed some true grit, even without spectacular play, when it has mattered. Last year as Geno warned repeatedly they were rarely seriously pushed by the competition. That left them somewhat unprepared for what MS brought. They did fight back from a horrible start and catch up late in third period but could never take control of the game. That's the one thing that concerns me, and so far I think only KLS demonstrates the capabilities of doing such. Yet she and the team seem to shy away from allowing her to do so. One of the things I love best about them is their team play and unselfishness. Yet, and this may seem like a contradiction they need someone to take control late in games when being pressured. It doesn't mean KLS has to take every shot, but she should be touching the ball almost every possession so she can create openings for her teammates and herself.
Let's truly enjoy this team, this culture without all the over negativity and also without the exaggerating players strengths and weaknesses.
Unless they have a significant injury or serious foul trouble to one of their top six, they likely will win and 12th national championship and hopefully without any heart attack moments.
Bronx23
