Xavier Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Xavier game:

• Another good early season challenge for the Huskies against an experienced Xavier team with all 5 starters returning from last season.
• I love to see UConn open games with pressure defense that speeds up opponents and creates transition offense.
• Starting out 38-7 pretty much ends the suspense. UConn shot 71% for the 1st qtr, assisting on 13 of 15 baskets while forcing 14 Xavier turnovers. Those are video game stats.
• Ever since her breakout game vs ND as a freshman, we’ve been waiting for this type of game from Christyn.
• There was so much to like about the Huskies effort today: tough defense, 3-pt shooting, rebounding, great passing, FT shooting, etc. The one thing I did not like was the tendency by several UConn players to shuffle their feet. From now on, anytime a Husky travels they should be required to do 20 pushups.
• Six UConn players in double figures with 7 Huskies shooting at least 50% or better.

 

[Kaizen]

6 people in double figure, CW 24, Paige 19, ONO 16, Evina 15, Aaliyah 11, Aubrey 13 pts. Great game.

 

[JordyG]

In the chat I said how well UConn moved the ball in the quarter court. However, aside from CW and Liv playing so well (CW on offense), and Paige's assists, Evina's game was what I loved today. She came on the court without any knee support, so clearly she felt her knee was ready...and this after so many games in so few days. Her defense, again, was stellar, she moved the ball extremely well, moved without the ball well, and shot lights out. That's leadership. Evina gets my star for the game.

 

[RedStickHusky]

6 people in double figure, CW 24, Paige 19, ONO 16, Evina 15, Aaliyah 11, Aubrey 13 pts. Great game.

Good balance there.

 

[Woof 101]

Lets see.... @ 16 to 0 Geno expressing angst and hollering at Paige to pick it up!
35 to 4 Xavier time out.
56 to 21 Xavier time out.
The well oiled machine continues to develop. I'll leave the individual break downs for others.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

Great games from Aubrey Griffin and Aailyah Edwards off the bench

 

[EdSaid]

Positive step forward
Starting five is set
AE and AG are 6 & 7, that's gelled nicely the past two games. I think AG plays much better with starters
NM looks serious just sitting on the bench.
Have to chuckle when AE draws a charge. If she didn't sell it, the opponent would bounce off of her.
AW getting better each game
Center ice trap worked great

 

[huskeynut]

Starting to really see how this team functions on the break, the half court set and on defense. 26 assists on 37 baskets and 9 blocks. 19 turnovers is too many.rey
Liv with another double-double. Christyn continues her aggressive play. Paige doing Paige. Aaliyah and Aubrey the big subs.
The most impressive/ satisfying portion of the game was watching Evina. Very calm demeanor on the court. Her offense is starting to blossom. This team allows Evina to play within herself and its showing itself is great play. Her assist to Paige in the 4th quarter was one of the best I have ever seen. Just a perfect pass. And as one who has had two surgeries on both knees, her not wearing and sort of sleeve/ brace is a great sign!

 

[jabstep]

Wowzeeeer. All of the above. Some All American play by Paige, Christyn, and Liv. Evina is starting to find her role and it is a good one passing on transition good defense with Paige on the traps in the first quarter. Liv now completed the arsenal hitting outside shots and when they came up on her she drove by them to the hoop Wowzer. Aubrey and Aaliyah playing really well. Anna is passing great and rebounding. She still has more and when she and Evina are hitting on all cylinders we are starting to be bad for women's basketball. Paige will play a lot games like this and we will win a lot of those games. Autumn made a great pass to Piath near the end of the game. Totally unselfish. She has not looked out of place when she has been on the court.

 

[oldhusky]

On Old Dude's first two points, the pressure defense was even more impressive since it obviously did rattle an experienced team with five returning starters. Very impressive, as was the aggressive defense the last game.

The offense came together much better this game as well. They didn't do it much, but I liked the look against a zone when Paige or Evina would try to sneak into the middle of the zone to receive a pass. Putting a playmaker that can pass or shoot from there, and drop a pass down low, or out to a three point shooter if they collapse could be a strategy that works well with this personnel if we get used to running it.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Positive step forward
Starting five is set
AE and AG are 6 & 7, that's gelled nicely the past two games. I think AG plays much better with starters
NM looks serious just sitting on the bench.
Have to chuckle when AE draws a charge. If she didn't sell it, the opponent would bounce off of her.
AW getting better each game
Center ice trap worked great

Don’t sleep on AG busting the starting lineup. Picture that half court trap with Aubrey at the outset. Anna would be a good first sub. Only at UConn do you think about having 4 ball handlers.
You alluded to it. She could be on top instead of Paige and Paige could lay for the steals and/or trap with her long arms at the second level.

 

[and one]

Another game under their belts and an easy win. It looks like we have a set rotation of 7 now. All 7 contributed well, with a nice breakout by Squeeks. Paige wasn't flashy but has a team high 9 assists and a fine shooting percentage. My biggest takeaway was Evina taking and making more shots. As we hit the better teams in the schedule having her as a legit offensive threat will make a big difference and she has the game to make that happen.

 

[dtbtbtb]

In the chat I said how well UConn moved the ball in the quarter court. However, aside from CW and Liv playing so well (CW on offense), and Paige's assists, Evina's game was what I loved today. She came on the court without any knee support, so clearly she felt her knee was ready...and this after so many games in so few days. Her defense, again, was stellar, she moved the ball extremely well, moved without the ball well, and shot lights out. That's leadership. Evina gets my star for the game.

Totally agree! this was E's best game as a Husky! it's pretty clear that she is the leader of the team

 

[Charliebball]

did anybody else notice how much Edwards was talking at the defensive end on in bounds plays............gotta love that from a freshman......

 

[MD#12Fan]

If the comp was better we would progress faster IMO. We game plan and come out sharp and end up getting a bit sloppy. The game is decided half way through first quarter. It is what it is. There is execution and then there’s execution in pressure situations. Does give us a chance to use different combinations. Somebody said Marquette would give us something.

 

[dtbtbtb]

One negative: UConn struggled in zone defense. Way to many open 3's for Xavier during that time.

 

[Dokey]

Don’t sleep on AG busting the starting lineup. Picture that half court trap with Aubrey at the outset. Anna would be a good first sub. Only at UConn do you think about having 4 ball handlers.
You alluded to it. She could be on top instead of Paige and Paige could lay for the steals and/or trap with her long arms at the second level.

Aubrey is better coming off the bench but Anna is far superior in making team go.

 

[Blakeon18]

Back-to-back Ono quality games....LOVED Evina!

Uhhh...our running game is pretty and effective....our 'walking' game not so much....none of them looked forced...just trying to be too quick.

 

[Biff]

The one thing I did not like was the tendency by several UConn players to shuffle their feet. From now on, anytime a Husky travels they should be required to do 20 pushups.

 

[oldude]

Worth noting that after taking a 38-7 lead in the 1st qtr, largely as a result of full court pressure, Geno went to a 2-3 zone in the second qtr, and never pressured Xavier again. Scary to think what the final score might have been had Geno not called off the dogs after 1 qtr.

 

[psconn]

did anybody else notice how much Edwards was talking at the defensive end on in bounds plays............gotta love that from a freshman......

YES!!! I am so in love with this kid's approach and skill set AS A FRESHMAN!! Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades .

 

[MSGRET]

Worth noting that after taking a 38-7 lead in the 1st qtr, largely as a result of full court pressure, Geno went to a 2-3 zone in the second qtr, and never pressured Xavier again. Scary to think what the final score might have been had Geno not called off the dogs after 1 qtr.

It was a perfect time to play the zone defense's, if you don't play them, you won't learn from the mistakes you make. Playing zone in a game is completely different from playing it in practice. The more they have time to play it in actual games the better they will be at tournament time.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

What happened with Mir? Just five minutes' playing time? In a big blowout? That constitutes a severe rebuke from the head coach. Mir through the first three games was leading the team in points per minute. And even in this game, she came in and got a block and a rebound.

Very strange. Hope it passes......

 

[wbball novice]

Scored more points in the first quarter than they did in the first half against Creighton! Defense was particularly good in the first half. Offensive rebs kind of low so far?

Christyn had a breakout game. Her 24 matched Aaliyah & Aubrey combined, and those 2 were playing well. CW's short range efficiency could improve.

First time 3 pt shots going in -- CW 4/5, Evina Westbrook, 3/5, Bueckers 2/5, Mak only 1, but early in the game to set the tone. Free throws pretty good, though maybe not as good as in the Creighton game. PB's missing 2/3 for the 3 pt foul was unusual. CW missed her first, but 4/5 overall. Both Evina & LIv 2/2.

It didn't seem like Liv played a lot of minutes, but the skills she demonstrated in the Creighton game haven't diminished.

PB's passing is impressive, but as she gets used to D1 defense, I think she'll get better & have fewer turnovers. Good that she avoided foul trouble this time around.

Refs calling so many travels slows down the game to the point of being annoying.

EW is getting better and better. Better passer than PB at this point?

Nika needs to keep her mask on. And I'm sure Geno's voice can be heard through that bank robber thing; seemed like it was more off than on. Isn't he on the verge of Social Security?

 

[topogigio]

Many people believed early on that this would be a full-court pressing, 40 minutes of hell type team. The rotation would be continuous, with fresh bodies changing shifts like hockey. This is the type of team I would love to see, and we got a glimpse of such the first quarter. Only problem is that Geno is not one to run-up a score and try to humiliate another team, so we are left with a half court, over passing, offense and a half assed defense. Gotta' find a way to keep these kids aggressive the entire 40 minutes. Side bar - Evina is finding her groove, and will prove to be invaluable.