Why did Maryland lose the Game?

[Bajan Best]

Slocum played this game the same way Danger played against Baylor. Uconn fans had no problem with Danger hitting the 3s now did they? Slocum player great especially for a freshman.

Sorry I Totally disagree...
Dangerfield 3's and scoring were in the flow of running a half-court offense, where as for the most part in Maryland's game Against UCONN Destiny's was primarily an individual effort with little or no ball movement..

 

[Bajan Best]

Post like this give UCONN fans a bad name. No different from a low brow MD fan.

Constructive criticism sir, you don't have to agree with it..
Before the game played I actually thought Maryland was a serious contender, Huskynan said it best Maryland is playing like Tennessee of past years without the good defense..

I would like to ask this question for all of you who don't seem to get where I'm coming from;
Who is the better point Guard and why, Sue Bird or Diana Taurasi ?

 

[Bajan Best]

This was one of my favorite games in a long time-have watched 3x already. While opinions always vary, don't share your opinions. This game could have gone either way but have to respect Maryland. Without a superhuman effort by KLS and some clutch shots by Chong, they had momentum at end. Their frosh were great and unlikely their upper classmen would be this poor again. While we likely would not have the same issues with fouls and illness, would not want to count on Huskies to shoot this well again.

LOL, we are on this fan site, NOT TO SHARE OUR OPINIONS? ..
I will respect players and teams who earn my respect..
As a team Maryland lost my respect in that game and now have to earn it back.. I am not impressed with this years version of Maryland team.. they have talented players individually.. until they prove to me that they can play together as a unit for 30+ mins at both ends of the court i will remain UN-impressed..

 

[HuskiesU]

This was one of my favorite games in a long time-have watched 3x already. While opinions always vary, don't share your opinions. This game could have gone either way but have to respect Maryland. Without a superhuman effort by KLS and some clutch shots by Chong, they had momentum at end. Their frosh were great and unlikely their upper classmen would be this poor again. While we likely would not have the same issues with fouls and illness, would not want to count on Huskies to shoot this well again.

How could this game either way when Uconn was up the whole game and big leads. Uconn shoots good every game. I dont count on charles and Solcum playing like they played. I want to see how they play on the road against a good team because their non confrrnce schedule is weak.
Uconn was never threaten in this game as the biggest leauge was 19 and Maryland couldnt get it under 5. What Maryland didnt do was give up once the lead got larger. Maryland is good but still dont think they are a final 4 team.

 

[HuskiesU]

I'd sign up for UConn and Maryland meeting each other again in the Finals

I want to see Uconn and Baylor again.

 

[Bajan Best]

 

[Bestiarius]

A big factor in UCONN's favor is the coaching staff's ability to diagnose what is wrong and how to fix it. Many of these adjustments are very small and not noticeable, but they result in big benefits. It's probably Geno's doing for the most part, but wouldn't it be wonderful if Shea and Marisa were the source of a high percentage of the observations? That would bode well for the team post Geno & CD.

 

[WiseOne]

Uhhhhhhhh....BECAUSE UCONN WON!!!!

 

[HuskyNan]

Constructive criticism sir, you don't have to agree with it..
Before the game played I actually thought Maryland was a serious contender, Huskynan said it best Maryland is playing like Tennessee of past years without the good defense..

By the way, I don't mean to knock either Tennessee or Maryland. Pat Summitt's strategy worked because she, like Geno, recruited kids whose abilities matched the system or fine-tuned the system to match the abilities. The players also 100% bought into PHS's style of play and worked hard at it, as do the Maryland players. The current problem with Tennessee is that Holly is trying to imprint PHS's style of play on kids whose talents don't suit it and she's too stubborn to adjust.

Anywho, the way Maryland plays isn't "bad", Frese just needs to tinker her players' positioning on defense.

 

[Charliebball]

By the way, I don't mean to knock either Tennessee or Maryland. Pat Summitt's strategy worked because she, like Geno, recruited kids whose abilities matched the system or fine-tuned the system to match the abilities. The players also 100% bought into PHS's style of play and worked hard at it, as do the Maryland players. The current problem with Tennessee is that Holly is trying to imprint PHS's style of play on kids whose talents don't suit it and she's too stubborn to adjust.

Anywho, the way Maryland plays isn't "bad", Frese just needs to tinker her players' positioning on defense.

Tinkering may help but defense is as much about the desire to work hard at it as anything else.........if even one player on the floor is less then 100% committed you'll see easy baskets if the opposing team is as offensively gifted as UConn.........if nothing else this season has shown that it will take more then sheer physical ability to take down the Huskies

 

[dwalks93]

Ok, let me start off by saying I was impressed with Maryland. I was at the game and the crowd was crazy. Maryland is a very solid talented team and legitimate Final 4 team. All that said, Maryland had everything lined up to beat UConn and could not get it done. If they play again, UConn will beat them even more significantly.

So let's look at how Maryland had UConn set up...
1. A crazy, loud arena filled with Terp fans.
2. A sickened UConn team which was less than 100%. The most obvious was KLS but Collier looked sick as well
3. Maryland was able to get both UConn low post players in 1st half foul trouble. UConn is small but Gabby and Collier are a formidable low post tandem. But it requires both of them in the game to control the glass....
4. A phenomenal game out of Slocum and Charles. No doubt they are both great players but getting 40+ points out of your Freshman will not happen every night.
5. A usually exceptional free throw shooting team in UConn having an off night and missing a lot of free throws.

Yet, in spite of all these advantage, UConn lead the whole game and won by at least 2 possessions. It won't get any better than the above for Maryland.

If I was a Maryland fan I'd be worried about the effect of this game. IMO too many Maryland players, fans and sportswriters are looking at this competitive loss like it was a win. Playing close should not be the standard if you want to be a champion. There is no "victorious loss" in this world....a loss should make a team hungrier and I'm not hearing that in Maryland's comments.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Many think MD scored easily in the Fourth Quarter because they developed "momentum" --they scored because Geno Milked the clock and told his kids to avoid fouls to the point of letting them score--smart coaching--but what else would you expect with Geno///

Hey Broadway - Happy New Year! I totally agree with your post. Geno "let them have the opportunity to score" and Maryland (Slocum) took advantage of it. Yes, milking the clock was a nice move. IMO Geno was very conscious of the possibility that Maryland could score more, but he KNEW that Maryland had a porous defense and UConn could match score for score. So, no fouls, kill the clock, and tit for tat---UConn wins. When a team has a great offense (5 double figure scorers) and a great defense (the best switch defense by far) and the best coaching staff ( CD, Shea, Marisa, and Cloe included) --- How the heck do you beat them?

 

[BroadwayVa]

Hey Broadway - Happy New Year! I totally agree with your post. Geno "let them have the opportunity to score" and Maryland (Slocum) took advantage of it. Yes, milking the clock was a nice move. IMO Geno was very conscious of the possibility that Maryland could score more, but he KNEW that Maryland had a porous defense and UConn could match score for score. So, no fouls, kill the clock, and tit for tat---UConn wins. When a team has a great offense (5 double figure scorers) and a great defense (the best switch defense by far) and the best coaching staff ( CD, Shea, Marisa, and Cloe included) --- How the heck do you beat them?

Thanks Coach--your agreement means a lot.
Happy New Year---May you and your loved ones be safe and happy the whole year through!!

 

[Zanzman]

I love how the boneyarders always know what Geno and the coaches are thinking and saying to the players .

 

[Bajan Best]

Hey Broadway - Happy New Year! I totally agree with your post. Geno "let them have the opportunity to score" and Maryland (Slocum) took advantage of it. Yes, milking the clock was a nice move. IMO Geno was very conscious of the possibility that Maryland could score more, but he KNEW that Maryland had a porous defense and UConn could match score for score. So, no fouls, kill the clock, and tit for tat---UConn wins. When a team has a great offense (5 double figure scorers) and a great defense (the best switch defense by far) and the best coaching staff ( CD, Shea, Marisa, and Cloe included) --- How the heck do you beat them?

You are the coach, thought you were going to provide the answer
If you are fortunate to have the talent that Maryland had, you beat them by making them work extremely hard on defense for the entire shot clock by moving the ball , so that their legs aren't fresh enough to score on offense.. and hit a ton of threes on offense.. A ploy Villanova use to try every year with some limited success..
easier said than done though...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Maryland-UConn was a game of runs

Provides some of Geno's thinking about the offense. Article is cut and paste protected.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Maryland-UConn was a game of runs

Provides some of Geno's thinking about the offense. Article is cut and paste protected.

Clearly, I have anti-cut & paste powers...

“I think everyone was pretty upset at how the first half ended,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “For us to go from having all the momentum to ending the half with a turnover and a layup, it got our attention.”

But like so many times over Auriemma’s 32-year career as the Huskies head coach, his team broke open the game, with a 14-0 run to take a 50-31 lead to start the third quarter.

 

[ThisJustIn]

You know what would be great - sitting in the room with the UConn or Maryland coaches talking/analyzing the play during the game. What do they see, what were they thinking, moves and countermoves (successful and unsuccessful).

 

[RockyMTblue2]

It is his other quote I find most telling. Got more opportunistic coming out in the second half. First half were passing on opportunities to get better opportunities. By design?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

You know what would be great - sitting in the room with the UConn or Maryland coaches talking/analyzing the play during the game. What do they see, what were they thinking, moves and countermoves (successful and unsuccessful).

That would be a clinic.

 

[donalddoowop]

I want to see Uconn and Baylor again.

I don't. Baylor looks really strong now. even stronger and their big players are getting better and Uconn's big players are not getting any bigger. I would like to see Baylor against SC and Maryland. Also, SC against Maryland. That won't happen this season.

 

[PhillyCoach]

I love how the boneyarders always know what Geno and the coaches are thinking and saying to the players .

Welcome Zanzman. That's the fun of the BY. People have opinions and personal insights--sometimes wrong and sometimes right. I have seen Wild guesses, educated guesses and dead-on predictions. On this board, I have read hundreds, even thousands of perceptive thoughts, psychological analyses, and the revealing of BB nuances that only experts would recognize. I could name 30 posters off the top of my mind who I respect immensely. They really know their stuff. This posting activity is one of my part-time joys that I look forward to--and I am sure others feel the same. Hope you can get some enjoyment from the BY as well.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I love how the boneyarders always know what Geno and the coaches are thinking and saying to the players .

WE DO!! Geno has this SECRET group and we all have decoder rings--he says things to the Courant or the NH Register--and we decode them---So at 8 am noon and 11 Pm we receive messages in those papers --and we always know what he is thinking!!

Didn't you get your ring?? If you didn't pay up your By dues --no ring--remember every day to drink Ovaltine three times or more a day.

 

[BroadwayVa]

You are the coach, thought you were going to provide the answer
If you are fortunate to have the talent that Maryland had, you beat them by making them work extremely hard on defense for the entire shot clock by moving the ball , so that their legs aren't fresh enough to score on offense.. and hit a ton of threes on offense.. A ploy Villanova use to try every year with some limited success..
easier said than done though...

The answer you should have provided to PhillyCoach was: You don't beat Uconn. (I hope).
To beat Uconn you need 4 double figure shooters who rebound better than Uconn, and play equal or better D and are equally conditioned.
And hope Geno,Christine, Shea , marissa are all home with the norovirus.

As far as running their legs off --it's a great ploy--but don't use it against a healthy UConn team--they are so well conditioned most team wear out 8 or so players trying to platoon system Uconn--it doesn't work.
Villanova--has used the 3 ball attack almost all the time. Their kids are rarely athletic--or WNBA candidates--so they use up the clock and then shoot--hoping to get a rebound if they miss. Because they are deliberate and pass for 29 seconds they are not fun to play against.
They HAVE been successful against Geno's teams and if my faulty memory has recovered--Harry P and Villanova won a BE game or 3 against UC.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Or

That would be a clinic.

Or the coaches would NEED a clinic for allowing fans or tv or media into their coaching session during a live game.

St johns and another team the other night had HOT mikes on the coaches the whole game and during half time sessions

They did that to Pat and Geno years ago, and Geno agreed to it--he had some "COLORFUL" words to say during one of the timeouts--and received a lot of negative feed back--hasn't done it since--and i doubt he ever will..