Xavier Postgame Thread | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Xavier Postgame Thread

SLY63 said:
I want to be positive and believe we can get our mojo back, but today was really disappointing and I really don't see how we can turn it around in less than a week to win 3 games in 3 days against Marquette/St. Johns (Sun) and 'Nova (Mon). At this point we might limp into the NCAA losing the BET and as a 3 seed with a tough road to another Final Four.

Today, we were outplayed and outscored by Xavier (0-20) outside of Q2. And had 17 TOs vs Xavier !!!! We were a 36.5 point favorite and won by 9.
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I’ve never seen a UConn team look defeated in a win. Just so many mistakes and blown layups and bad defense. Glad they won and proud with how they dealt with the adversity but there are many troubling signs. Turnovers and missed layups being the top two.
 
Hokay, mon, the regular season is over. Four days of rest and practice. No (or little) travel for a couple of weeks.

Time for Geno to take his team aside and say "You wanna win a National Championship, listen to me and I'll let you know how it's done." A paraphrase of what he said to them after losing to Notre Dame in the Big East tourney in Stewie's freshman year.
 
HuskyNan said:
The team was up 18 and looked like it would run away with the game then Geno subbed in 2 freshmen and, boom, big turnaround. Then Amari, and Xavier went up 2 points. During tournament time, the team will need to be up 30 before Geno puts both in at the same time.
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So true--incredibly poor time to sub, but I guess Geno felt at least they could maintain the big lead. Wrong. Yes, as you said, maybe put one in at a time. At least though, we can say, they're freshmen and in learning mode. What is inexplicable to me are upper classmen airmailing errant passes when her intended targets are wide open and on the defensive side allowing uncontested layup after layup...
 
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tchalla1 said:
So true--incredibly poor time to sub, but I guess Geno felt at least they could maintain the big lead. Wrong. Yes, as you said, maybe put one in at a time. At least though, we can say, they're freshmen and in learning mode. What is inexplicable to me are upper classmen airmailing errant passes when her intended targets are wide open and on the defensive side allowing uncontested layup after layup...
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They were trying to win the game with the next shot
 
BobbyJ said:
Whether some people don't see it or don't want to believe it, the team they're putting on the floor right now has multiple athletic and skills challenges along with the depth problem and is not more talented than most of the teams they're playing at this stage of the season.
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Which Big East teams are just as talented as UConn without Azzi Fudd?
 
We win the BE tournament we’re a 2 seed; we don’t win we’re a 3 seed.
This team is so gassed….
 
First 13 BE games this year UConn averages 79.4 ppg
Last 7 BE games this year UConn averages 62.4 ppg

I mentioned this in the past, teams no longer have the "Deer in the Headlights" look against UConn, that previous years opponents have always shown.
In fact, IMO, teams have tried to be physical with the starters as they know UConn has a very limited bench. wear them down, keep the games close and see what happens.
 
maple said:
Geno just said in the post game that even if came back tomorrow she would need time to get back into the swing of things. She's not gonna come back from injury and start dropping 30 points every game. The biggest advantage to Azzi being back would just being able to put someone on the floor who could be a reliable sub.
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Azzi is our “Caitlin Clark” and we would all be so excited to see her and we would be happy with 14 points ( like ST John’s ) - helping the team open up the middle and cut down on the TO. She also has an incredible pull up.
Azzi has such a high BB IQ and we miss her offense right now - especially if Lou cannot get her second wind.
 
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HuskyNan said:
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One of the dumb decisions Auriemma is talking about. When she picked up the ball she was approaching the 3 pt line with no one within 15 feet. With her choice of which way to go to the rim she then for no reason, instead of a straight right hand layup, veers left under the rim and tries to make a right handed layup with no chance.
 
and THAT ladies and gentlemen is why Geno dont play the bench. Amari and Ayanna looked lost and missed so many switches on defense. Next year they will hopefully improve. Ines didnt do bad on Defense but she was scared to take the shot.

The rest of the Huskies played pretty good for the most part but had to cover for the bench players and that took THEM outa position.
 
Agree with Geno - they are consistently inconsistent. Hopefully he’s able to work some serious magic getting this team some mojo back. Usually during the season he breaks them down to build them up for a March/April run. This next run will have to be his masterpiece.

The team feels like it’s pressing. Pressing on offense is going through the motions and not really seeing the openings or have the presence of mind of going 1 on 3. Even their transition offense is struggling. But the defense is still decent for the most part, just not tonight. Still would love to see him change the pace and press some teams to dictate pace. We seem to settle and play to the level of the competition.

Go Huskies
 
This team has not been the same since the South Carolina game, after which Geno said he felt good about his team. The drop-off in play since that game has been pretty dramatic, but for a solid win at Villanova. Hopefully they can find some answers.
 
Husky fanatic said:
Not much gas left in the tank. Each game is an adventure. How do you miss wide open players?
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We only have one player who can find others who are " wide open." And that is Nika. Did you also notice that our 18 point lead went down to 10 in the 2 minutes DeBerry was on the court? She was hard to watch. And there iw good reason why she gets no playing time. Sorry to say.
 
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I'm over the whole bench thing. Going forward Nika will have to play 40 minutes unless the team is up by 20 with 3 minutes left and then put Ines in. Same with Amari. Maybe Patterson can give a few minutes though she's typically a net minus for her minutes.

Indiana essentially goes 6 deep. If Azzi is back UConn will go 7 deep. That's just the way it will be for the remainder of the season. Buckle up.
 
UConnCat said:
Which Big East teams are just as talented as UConn without Azzi Fudd?
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Right now I would say the teams that they've struggled to beat or have lost to. Marquette, Villanova, and Creighton are physically comparable and they are playing smart. And IMO that's a mental talent. I'd still take UConn's physical talent over St. Johns. As I said, the margin is too slim to play dumb.
 
The two teams we'll draw in Storrs for the NCAA are definitely going to be tougher outs than XU. If the team shows up and expects a 13/14 seed or a 5/6 seeded team to rollover because of the shirts we're wearing and the banners in the venue, we may all wind up very disappointed.
 
The pregame ceremony was done fairly well. They played two anthems for Lou, Mexican and French, and the Hungarian anthem for Dorka. Then the introductions - five managers, Lou, and Dorka. Large appreciative crowd.

Only glitch in my opinion is that the public address announcer started talking about Dorka`s accomplishments while we were still cheering for Lou. I don`t know why he rushed it like that.

Well, that and the fact that Dorka didn`t play.

It was starting to snow when the game ended. It did not keep the crowd down, the place was almost full, but a lot of people left early to avoid the snow.

The game itself was disappointing, as practically everyone has pointed out. If we were shooting better that would make up for some of the other deficiencies, but we are not shooting it real well right now. We played well in a couple of spurts but could not sustain it. Very tough going when Aaliyah was not on the floor.

Our players seem to be constantly hitting the deck, especially on the offensive end. I worry about that. Lots of reasons - increased physicality generally, overly aggressive opponents, players trying to draw charges, and on the good side our determined takes to the hoop. I also sense that some of it especially lately is coming as a result of our sloppy play and bad decision making.

Kudos to Nika for breaking the assist record and doing it in the regular season. Beating out Sue Bird and a host of other legends is something special.
 
Anyone else notice the bruises on Jana's knees ? Girl must have hit the floor a time or two in practice.
 
UConnCat said:
Ugliest game of the season by far. Just some inexplicable things done on the court, missing point-blank layups, head-scratching passes, defensive breakdown after defensive breakdown. Xavier is all kinds of awful and UConn matched them tonight.

Bench was as bad as it's been all season and showed why they aren't reliable even against teams as awful as Xavier.

I say this while fully appreciating what this team has been through and accomplished. Despite all that, something is not right with this team. There isn't enough time before the BET for Geno to go back to training camp as he said post-game. Something like that may need to happen between the BET and NCAAT after a few days of rest.

I was thinking this is the first season in a long time when I don't feel confident penciling UConn in for the BET championship game. I'm now worried about Saturday's game.
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I'm expecting our MOVs, if we win the tourney, to be all single-digits.
 
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Huskee11 said:
The pregame ceremony was done fairly well. They played two anthems for Lou, Mexican and French, and the Hungarian anthem for Dorka. Then the introductions - five managers, Lou, and Dorka. Large appreciative crowd.

Only glitch in my opinion is that the public address announcer started talking about Dorka`s accomplishments while we were still cheering for Lou. I don`t know why he rushed it like that.

Well, that and the fact that Dorka didn`t play.

It was starting to snow when the game ended. It did not keep the crowd down, the place was almost full, but a lot of people left early to avoid the snow.

The game itself was disappointing, as practically everyone has pointed out. If we were shooting better that would make up for some of the other deficiencies, but we are not shooting it real well right now. We played well in a couple of spurts but could not sustain it. Very tough going when Aaliyah was not on the floor.

Our players seem to be constantly hitting the deck, especially on the offensive end. I worry about that. Lots of reasons - increased physicality generally, overly aggressive opponents, players trying to draw charges, and on the good side our determined takes to the hoop. I also sense that some of it especially lately is coming as a result of our sloppy play and bad decision making.

Kudos to Nika for breaking the assist record and doing it in the regular season. Beating out Sue Bird and a host of other legends is something special.
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I am one that does not like to hear we are tired and I know Geno commented on that last night. But.
Why does our players get blocked a very high percentage when they go to the hoop or post up ?
Maybe - they are just not getting off the floor because their legs are shot.
 
I am glad that they won. However, I miss the old days of UConn basketball when they could move that ball with precision, players constantly moving, cutting, and players hitting the target including making layups. I also miss a defense that use to smother the opposing teams offense in every category.

Right now, I think that they may get through the BE Tournament but winning it is not a sure thing. The NCAA Tournament .......... not with this style of play.

Sorry to see Dorka and Lou end their careers. Wonderful to have seen them play. There goes 30 points per game. He ought to see if there are more folks from Europe are available.

These young women need an energy boost somehow and bring back more precision to offense and intensity to defense. I don't have the answers and I am glad that I am not the Coach. Bottom line, it is up to the individual player and Coach. He can lead them to water but he can't make them drink.
 
fomalhaut said:
Only Notre Dame among the top teams is within a million miles of the injuries Connecticut has suffered.
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would be an interesting exercise for someone with way way too much time on their hands to go through the top 25 and list the injuries for each, maybe in terms of both games lost and number of players. Would this exist already somewhere?
 
SJF said:
1. 3’s were not falling after 1st Qtr(Tired legs) 2. Teams are catching UCONN with bad D switching or no communication on the switch. 3. Aubrey got beat off dribble a few times she is beat up and it shows. 4. Don’t you just hate it when the other team believes they can win and plays really really hard.
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Re: "4": Perspective... opponents who believe and try their best... is the best it gets. It's a game played by emerging adults. In a small way it gives them a way of looking at all the stuff that can happen as the rest of their lives unfold. Life can be very, very tough. Tough opponents are a healthy thing to face.
 
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