How good is UConn really

[LwrcasefaN]

There's just very little room for error when it comes to playing the top 10 teams. Up tempo small ball is the name of the game. Maintaining that on both ends of the floor takes a lot of energy and we don't have the longest bench. And you're susceptible to more fouls and more turnovers from fatigue alone. The press is very effective, but I think we have to be selective. It's a great counter to playing against bigger teams. I'm watching how minutes are managed during the conference schedule and hoping they use this stretch to keep pushing Ice forward. I noticed that her breathing is a lot less labored in the past 2 or 3 games and getting up and down the court is much improved.

 

[Cuango]

It's better

Yeah, I’m not so sure about that. However, it’s pretty clear the defense thing is essentially a wash. They are better than us defensively in some areas, in the post, protecting the basket. We’re no slouch either though. The thing that has me doubtful is the fact that Dawn has finally addressed their traditional weakness, which of course has been their outside shooting. That, to me is where the rubber meets the road for this game.

Even more than the post, we absolutely cannot allow them to have a night like tonight, for example, against Kentucky, where they shot 59% from three and overall! That illustrates the change Dawn has been able to make with the portal and better recruiting! SC shooting 59% from three is something that would never have happened in the past! ! Or overall, for that matter! That is where the game will be decided, imo. Can we hold their outside shooters to below 40% overall and below 33% on threes?
Even if we can do that however, we are still at a disadvantage, we must also have an outstanding offensive game and at least slow down their post play. This is a Herculean task for us and frankly is unlikely to happen

. However, we do have two legitimate advantages, We have Paige and we have Geno. Now Dawn is a great coach and has my full respect but even so, if I need a coach to figure out how to beat a clearly superior foe with limited resources, I’m going with Geno! The other advantage of course, is Paige. She imo is the greatest end of game weapon I’ve ever seen! If I had to choose any player to sub in for the last three minutes of any game, it would be Paige! She just seems to perform best in those situations! Hope springs eternal!

 

[Cuango]

Ummm? Whatever. The rest was what we needed to keep the game close. I'm not going to find fault with what Aaliyah did.

If Aaliyah scores 25 on 10-14 again, I think UConn has a shot. Kamila has already shown that she can't prevent it even with an NPoY center playing next to her. SC is going to win the rebounding battle no matter what. But the game won't be decided there.

Can Paige replicate what Lou did last time? I think we all know the answer to that one. What we need to see is how Ash and KK will play. Ice doesn't need to do much more than what Dorka did, which is well within her abilities. And will Nika be able to replicate her previous performance? What's the formula here -- can the girls keep SC to around 80 and score something similar?

I think this means Ice Ash KK and Q need to score something like 25 points combined to go along with the 60+ points Paige Nika and Aaliyah are capable of. I don't doubt the seniors. I only wonder whether the freshmen can produce with the amount of pressure they'll be under in this game.

I certainly think KK, Ash, & Q are capable of 25 points, but 60 from Paige, AE & Nika, is a little more difficult. If both those things actually happen though, I feel pretty confident that we would win. Surely Ice will contribute 6-12 points? That would give us 90+ points! If we score 90+ and lose, we won’t deserve to win because that would mean we gave up 90+ points defensively! I just don’t see that happening barring some kind of disastrous injury or foul situation!

 

[Conndog]

Hasn’t rebounding and boxing out been a negative this year? That is the key to any matchup with SC. Not only Ice but Q needs to shore up this task. I’d be thrilled if Amari could begin to contribute in this area, if only to give Aaliyah a break or if fouls make it necessary.

 

[Tonyc]

UConn is not a good rebounding team so what Geno has done is gone to a 4 guard offense which creates turnovers. Turnovers are another way to gain possessions. As UConns rebounding improves they will gain more possessions. To get more rebounds alot will depend on Ice and how she improves and gains more confidence as well as some others. We looked pretty good against STJ rebounding however against teams with height like ND SC Stanford etc we will have to depend on our defense to create turnovers.

Just thoughts on ND and SC. They are taller then UConn. I like our defense against them both. I also like ability to move without the ball which helps us create our own shots. Aaliyah and Ice will need to attack the rim with confidence and not be intimidated. I expect KK to spend alot of time on the line because she can cause havoc.

I know some dont give us much of a chance against SC, I do. I know some are nervous against ND, Im not. If we play our game like we have been playing with alot of confidence we will be fine. No team is playing defense like UConn.

 

[Dognusty]

Yeah, I’m not so sure about that. However, it’s pretty clear the defense thing is essentially a wash. They are better than us defensively in some areas, in the post, protecting the basket. We’re no slouch either though. The thing that has me doubtful is the fact that Dawn has finally addressed their traditional weakness, which of course has been their outside shooting. That, to me is where the rubber meets the road for this game.

Even more than the post, we absolutely cannot allow them to have a night like tonight, for example, against Kentucky, where they shot 59% from three and overall! That illustrates the change Dawn has been able to make with the portal and better recruiting! SC shooting 59% from three is something that would never have happened in the past! ! Or overall, for that matter! That is where the game will be decided, imo. Can we hold their outside shooters to below 40% overall and below 33% on threes?
Even if we can do that however, we are still at a disadvantage, we must also have an outstanding offensive game and at least slow down their post play. This is a Herculean task for us and frankly is unlikely to happen

. However, we do have two legitimate advantages, We have Paige and we have Geno. Now Dawn is a great coach and has my full respect but even so, if I need a coach to figure out how to beat a clearly superior foe with limited resources, I’m going with Geno! The other advantage of course, is Paige. She imo is the greatest end of game weapon I’ve ever seen! If I had to choose any player to sub in for the last three minutes of any game, it would be Paige! She just seems to perform best in those situations! Hope spring

I don't know defensively the 4 guard defense will be effective against SC. That high low offense is gonna cause havoc.

 

[oldude]

I don't know defensively the 4 guard defense will be effective against SC. That high low offense is gonna cause havoc.

The Huskies are just going to have to knock down 12-15x3’s….

 

[CL82]

It also bears noting that Coach Staley could strengthen her schedule but she really tries to support other programs in the state and some smaller schools that need the pub, $, or both. She doesn’t brag on this but it is legit, and reminds me of how UNC (men) have scheduled smaller in-state schools or programs headed by alums to try to help

So... Dawn Staley is magnanimous and noble when she schedules pre-conference cream puffs, Kim Mulkey is manipulative and cowardly when she does the same thing?

(I have no issue with Coach Staley, who may be the best coach in the game right now. I just find the juxtaposition of the two takes regarding scheduling low ranked opponents in the preseason interesting.)

 

[TCC Kid]

I am not concerned by how weak the BE is. Other than the Pac 12, the rest of the power5 isn't much better -- they're better, but not worlds better. Mostly I think it's important for a team trying to replace what we've had to replace with freshmen to have a conference schedule like this to get into March form. We will be in form come March.

I think the ND game is really important for us, for the freshmen to see how they stack up to better teams. And it's important for them to find this out before we play SC, because we are likely to take a loss in that one. An upset is not impossible, but it will take a lot of Paige-magic and we may wish she'd save some of the magic for the tournament.

The freshmen are currently doing what we thought Azzi and Caroline would do, forcing teams to spread the floor. If they can continue to do this, we have a chance at a deep run in the tournament. And we'll need Ice to be up to tournament form by then to take full advantage of what KK Nika and Ash are doing. We caught a few glimpses of that form against SJU, and I really hope we see even more of it by the time we play ND. In the end, however, even though it will likely to be a team effort no matter how far we get in March, the team will only go as far as Paige can lead them.

I've also said elsewhere that I think Inês may turn out to be important to a tournament run. It's not that she's going to be the scoring leader or anything like that -- too much weight to put on her shoulders. But if she can give Geno good minutes in the middle of close games, and not just in the end of blowouts, it may help Paige and Nika and Ash play at full steam in the end of close games.

Stack up is correct. Uconn has done exceedingly well against team with POSTS under 6'3. OR not really good posts. Edwards is truly amazing and terrific for her size. She does more with muscle than most POSTs do with size. Yet, Uconn hasn't met an effective 6 ft 4 or 5, and won that game.
I've seen moment with DeBerry where I said---MAYBE, but only moments.
It's the same old constant cry, since Dorka/ONO/Lou (guard) exited---Uconn needs a consistent DEFENSIVE POST to beat the top 5. Bone DOG---your thoughts??

 

[TCC Kid]

The Huskies are just going to have to knock down 12-15x3’s….

Ok SMILEY FACE--NIKA--has had games with 3 or 4 Straight 3's. Paige could do 4 maybe. Shades 4 maybe 5---EVERYTHING depends on how they are defended. Paige against Arizona, yes a freshman, was not the Paige we expected. Nika--is she hot and cold?? Right now she's hot. Ashlynn is consistent--but often OPEN (can that happen against SC, UCLA, Texas. ???
KK scores on speed, a good team can negate that. Edwards against a big and a double team--??? Without Griffin to pull some defense from the basket--it gets real tight down low.. Edwards, fouls or is called for mysterious fouls--in either case she may miss more than a few BIG GAME minutes---I'd work on making that happen if I were the teams above. Without Edwards Uconn becomes a lessor team.

 

[Bone Dog]

Stack up is correct. Uconn has done exceedingly well against team with POSTS under 6'3. OR not really good posts. Edwards is truly amazing and terrific for her size. She does more with muscle than most POSTs do with size. Yet, Uconn hasn't met an effective 6 ft 4 or 5, and won that game.
I've seen moment with DeBerry where I said---MAYBE, but only moments.
It's the same old constant cry, since Dorka/ONO/Lou (guard) exited---Uconn needs a consistent DEFENSIVE POST to beat the top 5. Bone DOG---your thoughts??

That's my concern, too, @TCC Kid. I'm not sure ND is a dominant post team, but they're bigger than the BE teams we'll have faced by then. They'll be the first such test for our new look lineup, and Amari is not the answer.

Watson and Marshall are big, but they're not talented scorers. They can certainly pose problems by guarding Aaliyah, but aren't themselves the main scoring threat. That's Westbeld. 'Who guards Maddy' is the question I'd raise. Clearly if it's mainly Aaliyah, then whether they're great scorers or not, Watson and Marshall will score more than usual. If it's Paige, Maddy is just too big and strong for her and is likely to have a big game, clever as Paige is. It would be tempting to play Ice next to Aaliyah, and while this might be effective for short stretches, I fear it would be a mistake to give up the advantage of our 4-guard lineup for long. So maybe Geno just decides to risk Maddy getting 20 and focuses on stopping Hidalgo and Citron.

I suspect the key here is to prevent Hidalgo from dominating the game. She averages 24 points 5 assists and 7 rebounds. I think she's too quick for Nika alone, even though she largely contained Unique Drake. But this is a different order of quickness. KK has to be the one to take this challenge on. I suspect she and Hannah know each other from HS games, so it may be a reunion of sorts. It's really hard to press a team with a PG like Hidalgo, so I think Geno will shift to a ball denial defense against her, and press only sometimes.

I wonder if this game will be like the Louisville game, since the two rosters have some similarities. Louisville has a big forward -- Olivia Cochrane -- who is playing the best ball of her career, a big talented guard in Kiki Jefferson who resembles Citron's talent, and a speedy playmaker in Jada Curry. They had other big guards, Taylor Rickards Harris and Love to rotate in. But Paige Aaliyah and Aubrey were simply too much for them. Would UConn win that game now, without Aubrey, but with Ice Ash and KK playing so much better? The answer to this question is probably similar to the one about how we'll do against ND.

We outrebounded Louisville, but I think ND will outrebound us. But if KK contains Hidalgo, and if Ice can be effective in the post, and if Nika Q and Ash hit their shots, that should be enough to allow Paige and Aaliyah to have the sort of game we need to run away with this one. Paige and Aaliyah are capable of getting 35+ points between them against almost any opponent. Can the other 5 combine for 50? I'm hopeful.

 

[jonack]

We will dominate the Big East…. Will have trouble against big teams like SC..

 

[omshanti]

So... Dawn Staley is magnanimous and noble when she schedules pre-conference cream puffs, Kim Mulkey is manipulative and cowardly when she does the same thing?

(I have no issue with Coach Staley, who may be the best coach in the game right now. I just find the juxtaposition of the two takes regarding scheduling low ranked opponents in the preseason interesting.)

South Carolina did play Norte Dame, Maryland, UNC, Utah sandwiched between cream puffs. They are scheduled to play UCONN also.

 

[CL82]

South Carolina did play Norte Dame, Maryland, UNC, Utah sandwiched between cream puffs. They are scheduled to play UCONN also.

Yeah, I'm not knocking them at all. Dawn runs a good program.

 

[Tonyc]

If think we beat ND by double digits. Westbeld and Citron are coming off injuries. Its gonna come down to defense and UConn will win the defensive war. Aaliyah has to attack and stay out of foul trouble. Ice will be effective on both sides of the ball. I am confident our defense will put pressure on Hidalgo which will mean the ball is out of her hands. Dont underestimate our defense. Its better then we think. With the ball out of Hidalgos hands ND will struggle.

Aaliyah will dominate the middle as she is to quick for ND and if the double down on her UConn has the scorers and shooters to make them pay. Dont be surprised if UConn wins by 15+ and maybe more.

 

[Steelerone]

I find it very difficult to measure the team when they are playing opponents within the conference. Aside from Uconn there are no other teams ranked in the top ten or fifteen. Not Uconn's fault. The Big East is a better conference than the AAC but still lacks enough teams to give Uconn competitive games. We have to judge how good we are by the outside competition and I'm not sure how much we've progressed from over a month ago.

 

[WLT1717]

So... Dawn Staley is magnanimous and noble when she schedules pre-conference cream puffs, Kim Mulkey is manipulative and cowardly when she does the same thing?

(I have no issue with Coach Staley, who may be the best coach in the game right now. I just find the juxtaposition of the two takes regarding scheduling low ranked opponents in the preseason interesting.)

Did I throw shade at Mulkey?

 

[CL82]

Did I throw shade at Mulkey?

Did I say that you did?

 

[WLT1717]

Did I say that you did?

You brought her up. I didn’t.

 

[Pharos]

It’s average points opponents have scored over the season to date

So. The difference between averaging 52.4 allowed points and 59.2 is 71 places in the rankings list. Combined with our "common knowledge" that UConn is very successful at disrupting opponent's primary scorers... says "On any given night..."

 

[CL82]

You brought her up. I didn’t.

Relax.

 

[Zarathustra]

Did I throw shade at Mulkey?

The only "Shade" that I know is "ASHLYNN"!

 

[WLT1717]

Relax.

I’m totally chill. Read your posts. “So…”. I actually think Coach Mulkey has done something similar. She scheduled an in-state school, eg, McNeese, to help. I have no idea why you decided to go sideways. My only comments were about Coach Staley. Relax. And go Huskies!

 

[Cuango]

So. The difference between averaging 52.4 allowed points and 59.2 is 71 places in the rankings list. Combined with our "common knowledge" that UConn is very successful at disrupting opponent's primary scorers... says "On any given night..."

Yeah, but over the last ten games it’s 52-54 points allowed. We are a different team since Texas.

 

[Plebe]

Yeah, but over the last ten games it’s 52-54 points allowed. We are a different team since Texas.

It's 54.4 if we include the TMU game.
Otherwise it's 56.7 in the 9 games since Texas.