Xavier Postgame Thread

[CTtoSanDiego]

Forgive me for not overly gushing on Allie's night. Takes more than one game against an overmatched team when we are way ahead to mean much. Her rep is as a great shooter, but we have yet to see that, until tongiht. In contests, etc, she has been great. Need to see more... but still, she would be a big extra piece if she can continue to make shots.... I know she's only a freshman. Fingers crossed!

 

[Huskee11]

Winning was obviously never in doubt, but they played hard for the entire game and won the right way.

That was the Azzi I have been waiting to see.

She was subbed out midway through the first quarter and I don't think she had scored. I remember her passing up a three pointer from the top of the key. She was only out briefly and when she came back in and the same shot again appeared, she took it and made it. I wonder if someone spoke to her. In any event, she was decidedly more aggressive from the point of her reentry on.

I really enjoyed the small lineups, they were really active and quick. Morgan didn't score but she played well on defense and really seems to get it. Allie has a pure stroke and a quick release, great to see her light it up.

It was also great to see all the younger bench players get a lot of court time.

 

[Next 12]

Xavier did not know what hit them. Uconn won every statistical point except they had one more foul. The Combo of SARAH and JANA put together 11 of 14 shooting,11 rebounds 4 assists, 6 steals and ONE foul. Everyone did their part in the win, with ALLIE scoring scoring 17 points on 5 of 9, with 5 3's. Xavier had 32 turnovers and Uconn had 20 steals. 32 give-a=-ways. The defense was spectacular. 27 points, a season low. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

 

[VAUConnFan]

California peaches, Arizona cactus.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Loved the way Azzi moved tonight.

 

[Centerstream]

It seemed to me like Qadence had a bit of a smile when she got called for her fifth foul, which was an obvious charge, and was still smiling when she sat down on the bench. Did anyone else see this or am I mistaken about what I observed? Cause I think that would be a big no-no.

 

[PJCLaw]

Is Xavier gonna win any conference games this year?

The odds are probably yes. They have not won a conference game since 2022, 45 straight losses, so the law of averages say they will win at least 1 this year. Heck, they only 1 game the entire year last year, so the 5 they have is a 500 percent increase.

 

[ABCDFE]

Sarah - so smooth so good so efficient, she never looks to be out of sorts and plays the game like Moses Malone.

Allie - when you’re hot just shoot it. Glad to see her play with confidence tonight. Geno had a talk with her and it seems to have worked.

Azzi looked like she trusted her knee tonight which is a very very good sign

Coach P was energetic and smiling in the sideline. Maybe this time off will be beneficial for her and the team as others establish their roles and gain more experience.

Jana - looking better out there. She seems to be in much better shape too

Shade - midrange savant

KK doing KK things

Chen was ok. She’s been probably the one player I was hoping would give us more of an offensive coming out party with Paige sidelined.

Ice - I don’t know. She moves better than she ever has and she’s become a good defensive player, but for some reason she just doesn’t impact the game you’d expect her to.

 

[PJCLaw]

It seemed to me like Qadence had a bit of a smile when she got called for her fifth foul, which was an obvious charge, and was still smiling when she sat down on the bench. Did anyone else see this or am I mistaken about what I observed? Cause I think that would be a big no-no.

I noticed it but I think she was frustrated at some of the calls, only 1 or 2 were obvious fouls. She just seems a little lost right now, not like she ended last year, but she will work through it especially in BE games where she'll likely get 8-10 minutes a game.

 

[packwrap]

It seemed to me like Qadence had a bit of a smile when she got called for her fifth foul, which was an obvious charge, and was still smiling when she sat down on the bench. Did anyone else see this or am I mistaken about what I observed? Cause I think that would be a big no-no.

Q has certainly never showed a bad attitude, and you can see she is much liked by teammates in how they play for her.

The smile hopefully is just knowing how preposterous 5 fouls in 8 min is! A wry smile.

Nika will send her an approving, supportive text. "Don't worry Q, in Croatia none of those were fouls."

Useful game. Azzi and Allie really stepped up.

Chen in a bit of a shooting slump. I had hoped with Paige' absence we'd see 'scoring Chen'.

 

[JoePgh]

I hate to complain after such a lopsided victory, but the first play of the game totally puzzled me. Jana was jumping against a totally outsized Xavier opponent, and she easily won the tip and pushed it strongly forward. The only problem was that all of her teammates were behind her or parallel with her on the half-court line, so she ended up tipping it straight to a Xavier player. It seems as if she didn't even look around to see where her teammates had lined up, so she would know where to tip the ball. But I'm sure they practiced that formation, so how could she not know?

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few Thoughts:
*A very pleasing game against a way over-matched opponent. UConn sure was not playing down to the level of Xavier. Great defense and a lot of good things on offense.
*Azzi: great game after a slow start. when Azzi is aggressive on offense she is reminding us what a great player she is. Her defense is outstanding.
*Sarah: running out of superlatives. A superstar! got all the skills and tools!
*Allie: at last, we saw her great shooting. Hopefully she can build on this game and continue to shoot high % from 3.
*Jana: had a good game and should be a confidence booster for her. What i really liked from her game tonight was her getting the ball down law and passing back outside for an open 3 point shot. It's a sign of growth to her game. Loved that right after the game finished, went to Allie to congratulate her for her nice breakout game.
*Ash: real good game. That mid-range jump shot is beautiful.
*Morgan: a player. love her basketball iq. hopefully her taped fingers heal soon so she can shoot better.
*Everyone basically had a good game aside than maybe Q who still seems confused out there, but she does work hard.
*Paige: seemed to have a good time on the bench.
*On to Georgetown which will be a much harder game.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Azzi had a masterclass game on both ends. From the three's to the drives and pull ups, she's the only guard on this current roster that equal Paige in talent when healthy and it didn't look like she broke a sweat.

Sarah Strong was so good, she's just a savvy businesswoman on the court. No games, just balling.

Ziebell was a great surprise, she knocked down shot after shot.

Shade made some key plans. Chen made some great passes but goes scoreless again. I hope she finds her shot. KK is 6th woman of the year. Jana made some good post moves. Overall the defense was solid and UConn shows that they are more than the superstar they were missing.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Am I the only one who noticed UCONN had 3 times as many points?

Azzi nearly outscored the X-women in 20 minutes...

Looks like the Huskies will have more than just a "Big Three" come the NCAA tournament!

Go Huskies!!!!

 

[Bald Husky]

I was at the game, and I was amazed that there were people in the upper deck. Providence game a sell-out, the fans are coming back and I love it. By the way, Xavier is the worse D1 team I have ever seen. The post people had stone fingers, and I don't believe their coach ever stood up during the game. It must have been like a nightmare for her. It also seemed that the starting line-up were all players from overseas, so if they had to go overseas to get players that are not good D1 players then their recruiting must be very bad. It will take a miracle to turn that team around, feel sorry for them.

 

[Vowelguy]

The odds are probably yes. They have not won a conference game since 2022, 45 straight losses, so the law of averages say they will win at least 1 this year. Heck, they only 1 game the entire year last year, so the 5 they have is a 500 percent increase.

That’s not how the law of averages works.

 

[oldhusky]

I hate to complain after such a lopsided victory, but the first play of the game totally puzzled me. Jana was jumping against a totally outsized Xavier opponent, and she easily won the tip and pushed it strongly forward. The only problem was that all of her teammates were behind her or parallel with her on the half-court line, so she ended up tipping it straight to a Xavier player. It seems as if she didn't even look around to see where her teammates had lined up, so she would know where to tip the ball. But I'm sure they practiced that formation, so how could she not know?

I believe she did the same thing in another game, so I think the only conclusion is it was by design. Of course who wins the tip doesn't really matter except to the extent that you prefer starting with the ball in the final quarter for example. The way tie-ups are handled now, the only real significance of the jump ball, is at the start of an overtime period where it clearly does matter.

Clearly if the Uconn players all line up on one side Geno must be supporting the decision. Personally I think the jump ball should be considered an opportunity to practice something that might matter a few times a year, so that when it does matter you have some experience with it. Regardless of the why it sure looks peculiar to start the game.

 

[oldhusky]

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Thanks for adding the analytics. I look at a number of those on other sites, but there were a few new ones here that I admit I had to reference the key to understand.

 

[Skeets]

Forgive me for not overly gushing on Allie's night. Takes more than one game against an overmatched team when we are way ahead to mean much. Her rep is as a great shooter, but we have yet to see that, until tongiht. In contests, etc, she has been great. Need to see more... but still, she would be a big extra piece if she can continue to make shots.... I know she's only a freshman. Fingers crossed!

I'm not gushing on Allie, although she is my favorite on the bench. I'm a little confused why you are being semi-harsh on her. Can't the kid have a good game and just let it go at that?

 

[Skeets]

Q has certainly never showed a bad attitude, and you can see she is much liked by teammates in how they play for her.

The smile hopefully is just knowing how preposterous 5 fouls in 8 min is! A wry smile.

Nika will send her an approving, supportive text. "Don't worry Q, in Croatia none of those were fouls."

Useful game. Azzi and Allie really stepped up.

Chen in a bit of a shooting slump. I had hoped with Paige' absence we'd see 'scoring Chen'.

Q always looks and plays like she is having the time of her life, even when she's sitting on the bench. She's fun to watch.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'm not gushing on Allie, although she is my favorite on the bench. I'm a little confused why you are being semi-harsh on her. Can't the kid have a good game and just let it go at that?

First day on the Boneyard?

 

[GoUconn7961]

Nice solid win for the Huskies. A confidence building game.
I hope to see them continue to roll as TN and SC loom on the schedule.

 

[oldude]

Just watched the Xavier game again this morning, and it reinforced something I felt last night. In past seasons if you removed Paige, Nika or some other key player from the starting lineup UConn’s flow and execution would suffer, at least for a game or two until the new lineup figured things out. This happened regardless of who UConn was playing.

Last night, without their best player and on court leader, UConn’s movement and passing was generally beautiful to watch. I know that it was against Xavier, but we’ve seen similar play, for extended periods, in pretty much every game UConn has played this season. When you add the offensive movement to the suffocating man pressure defense, supported by a deep and talented bench, there is a recipe in there for this team to achieve something remarkable.

 

[meyers7]

Lot's of Good last night.
Easy win, everybody gets to play. We shot much better 52%/39%/100%. Out rebounded them 32-26. 20 steals. Great defensive effort. Probably the best was we only have to play Xavier once.

The bad. Not much. Obviously Samuels. 5 fouls 0/2 with 3 TOs in 9 minutes. Not a good night. A little heavy on our TO's, against a team of Xavier's caliber, BUT, no Bueckers, so that kind of explains itself. Umm let's see, well Chen and Cheli shooting was off. They didn't have a bad game, just their shooting. 0/9 with 0 points between them.

Oh well, you gotta play whoever they schedule you. Again, glad it's only once.

 

[Bigboote]

Just a couple of things to add. To build on olddude’s remark above, I’d commented (as had others) that it could be a net long-term positive for this team to have to play 2-3 games without Paige. I think after one game against an over-matched opponent, the experiment is going well. Let’s see how they do against a better Georgetown team. First game, Paige and Sarah were the only players in double figures. Maybe there can be 4-5 Huskies in double figures Saturday.

I noticed during the game that Morgan has a lot of the characteristics that I like in Ashlynn. Lots of tipped balls, a couple of held balls, a foul going after a rebound. . . Also, did anyone else see that for a couple of minutes, I think, in the second quarter, the four-guard lineup had Morgan as the big? That’s a good sign that she’s coming along in her new role as a front-court player.

I was watching Ice the entire time she was in the first time. Many folks have been lamenting her (lack of) rebounding. She didn’t get a rebound in that stint of several minutes, and it seemed to me that she just doesn’t have a good eye for gauging where the ball is going to land when it comes off the rim. (I was a baseball catcher, and for some reason my traveling-league coach put me in right field. I never learned to judge a fly ball.) I don’t know how much of judging where a missed shot‘s gonna wind up can be taught, but I hope Jamelle and CD do some of that.