Some Thoughts on USF and UConn

[Tonyc]

Anyone who was nervous about UConn playing well after the last couple of days....there aint no doubt in no ones mind. UConn is on a mission and playing at a different level. USF is a very very good team The game was a battle and like in the past UConn steam rolled and won big. Bigger then most thought. Now the NCAAs. Well as the ESPN announcers have said no body wants UConns bracket and you cant blame them. USF is going to surprise a lot of teams in the NCAAs. They are under rated imo and if healthy will be the tourneys biggest surprise.

As for UConn. If healthy almost unbeatable. Last nite put to rest what they are capable of against a top team. I don't see much of a change for the rest of the season. UConn is playing at a different level. They are playing at a level that no other team has seen. The are fun to watch in their blowouts because they don't let up and execute at a level that only machines know. A well oiled machine is an understatement. They run over good teams.

Now that its tournament time Geno's crew will be playing at an intensity that other teams can only dream of. Under pressure they will execute like no other team can imagine. When you have a big 3 like UConn has and a team that is prepared like UConn is well you can turn out the lights. Maybe you haven't seen this coming. Maybe you think well UConn is playing in the AAC. Maybe your thinking what would happen if UConn played in a tougher conference. There aint no Maybe's. UConn will do this to every team in every conference. When it comes to this team you cant get ready, you cant see what you cant see. All you can do is try to give them your best shot and wish and hope and pray your not in their bracket.

Monday nite there will be a lot of prayers not answered because some teams will be in UConns bracket. On Monday nite we will find out who is coming to Conn. Next weekend UConn continues the unimaginable and in a few weeks they will once again re write the record books. Why because theyre UConn.

 

[snlMINAJ]

well the first quarter and most of the first half they werent playing at a different level. not in my opinion.

 

[Aluminny69]

Hopefully, there won't be any close games, as this team has very little experience with close games. Never forget Maya's senior year...

 

[cohenzone]

well the first quarter and most of the first half they werent playing at a different level. not in my opinion.

Actually, after the first quarter they played at a very high level. The first quarter was deceptive, too. UConn did turn the ball over, but of the 14 USF points , 8 were on banked in jumpers from deep, otherwise known as air balls that hit the backboard. The D was there all night. The O stopped missing the lay ups that were missed early, Stewie abused them inside and two minutes into the 2nd, UConn was in full massacre mode.

 

[Ct Dog]

Actually, after the first quarter they played at a very high level. The first quarter was deceptive, too. UConn did turn the ball over, but of the 14 USF points , 8 were on banked in jumpers from deep, otherwise known as air balls that hit the backboard. The D was there all night. The O stopped missing the lay ups that were missed early, Stewie abused them inside and two minutes into the 2nd, UConn was in full massacre mode.

Well said

 

[cohenzone]

Hopefully, there won't be any close games, as this team has very little experience with close games. Never forget Maya's senior year...

Pretty true. . But I think only a very good team that has faced them has a shot at playing them close, which would be SC, ND, OSU and MD. Of that group, they would probably only have to play one. I think of the teams that haven't played them, Baylor is the likely suspect to make it hard in them. Teams just don't face the constant defensive pressure UConn brings coupled with Stewart and a pretty fair supporting crew that will burn you if teams concentrate on her.

 

[UcMiami]

The interesting thing with that first quarter was USF got every loose ball and every 50/50 ball it seemed - the number of deflections and tipped balls that result in USF getting or retaining possession was pretty amazing - and not dissimilar to the number of shots that instead of swishing were beautiful if totally unintended bank shots. Add Uconn missing some open shots and it was not pretty, but also not disheartening. The energy was there and seldom does the ball bounce wrong for you for 40 minutes if you are playing aggressively.

 

[iamcbs]

Anyone who was nervous about UConn playing well after the last couple of days....there aint no doubt in no ones mind. UConn is on a mission and playing at a different level. USF is a very very good team The game was a battle and like in the past UConn steam rolled and won big. Bigger then most thought. Now the NCAAs. Well as the ESPN announcers have said no body wants UConns bracket and you cant blame them. USF is going to surprise a lot of teams in the NCAAs. They are under rated imo and if healthy will be the tourneys biggest surprise.

As for UConn. If healthy almost unbeatable. Last nite put to rest what they are capable of against a top team. I don't see much of a change for the rest of the season. UConn is playing at a different level. They are playing at a level that no other team has seen. The are fun to watch in their blowouts because they don't let up and execute at a level that only machines know. A well oiled machine is an understatement. They run over good teams.

Now that its tournament time Geno's crew will be playing at an intensity that other teams can only dream of. Under pressure they will execute like no other team can imagine. When you have a big 3 like UConn has and a team that is prepared like UConn is well you can turn out the lights. Maybe you haven't seen this coming. Maybe you think well UConn is playing in the AAC. Maybe your thinking what would happen if UConn played in a tougher conference. There aint no Maybe's. UConn will do this to every team in every conference. When it comes to this team you cant get ready, you cant see what you cant see. All you can do is try to give them your best shot and wish and hope and pray your not in their bracket.

Monday nite there will be a lot of prayers not answered because some teams will be in UConns bracket. On Monday nite we will find out who is coming to Conn. Next weekend UConn continues the unimaginable and in a few weeks they will once again re write the record books. Why because theyre UConn.

What is this different level that this team is supposed to be playing at that I keep hearing about? I've watched every game this year and I don't see it. They execute, execute, execute, at a high level on both ends of the floor. Lou and Kia are comfortable and hitting shots, which makes it nearly impossible for teams to pack the paint against Stewie and Tuck, that's the only significant difference from the beginning of the season. MoJet is controlling the tempo and taking the opponent's best guard away and Stewie is the best help-side defender in WCBB. Gabulous comes in and raises hell and Pheesa comes in and creates chaos, Chong is still inconsistent, Courtney is still too slow and reticent to take a shot, but she works hard and she's a willing defender, Natalie Butler is big and a little feisty, Polly and TLaw get the garbage. Since game 1 this season very little has changed. The Huskies play at the same level and that seems to be good enough.

 

[Jeff H]

The interesting thing with that first quarter was USF got every loose ball and every 50/50 ball it seemed - the number of deflections and tipped balls that result in USF getting or retaining possession was pretty amazing - and not dissimilar to the number of shots that instead of swishing were beautiful if totally unintended bank shots. Add Uconn missing some open shots and it was not pretty, but also not disheartening. The energy was there and seldom does the ball bounce wrong for you for 40 minutes if you are playing aggressively.

Totally agree. I'd add that those tipped and deflected balls often seemed to not only come to a USF player, but one who was free to go to the basket because the defense was out of position from chasing the ball. A lot of bad luck early on, but not bad play (especially defensively).

 

[chrissaran]

Aluminny69, are you really compaing this team to Maya and the four dwarfs? Tiffany Hayes scored four points, two on a layup in the last minute against ND in the semi final. Bria Hartely, a frosh, was the second leading scorer with ten. Breanna, Moriah, Morgan, Katie Lou and Kia are so much better than Maya and the four dwarfs. Maya did all she could going for about 35-38. However, you can't win a game all by yourself. She had little to no help from the upperclassmen.

 

[Bestiarius]

I liked Mo's 32 points. That is 12 plus 20 that Courtney didn't get.

 

[Aluminny69]

Aluminny69, are you really compaing this team to Maya and the four dwarfs? Tiffany Hayes scored four points, two on a layup in the last minute against ND in the semi final. Bria Hartely, a frosh, was the second leading scorer with ten. Breanna, Moriah, Morgan, Katie Lou and Kia are so much better than Maya and the four dwarfs. Maya did all she could going for about 35-38. However, you can't win a game all by yourself. She had little to no help from the upperclassmen.

Not comparing, but UConn WAS 36-1 going into the semi-final with ND. It took a hot shooting ND ( over 50%) to beat UConn. But I do remember Tonyc telling us not to worry, so that's a similarity.

 

[JoePgh]

In a UConn - Baylor semifinal, I would expect the margin of victory to be under 10 points either way. Baylor's teams have always been able to defend UConn quite well compared to most (certainly better than ND or South Carolina), and this year they seem to have some offense as well.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

For the life of me I couldn't understand USF's (Jose's) offensive sets. When they were down by 15+ points in the 4th quarter he's got Stringfield out there dribbling away with not a care in the world with seconds preciously ticking off the clock with no urgency that I could detect. How the heck were they even thinking about chipping away at the lead with this approach? And this seemed to me to be repetitive. Attack the basket...

 

[HGN]

In a UConn - Baylor semifinal, I would expect the margin of victory to be under 10 points either way. Baylor's teams have always been able to defend UConn quite well compared to most (certainly better than ND or South Carolina), and this year they seem to have some offense as well.

Very true , Joe...............I watched Baylor vs Texas last night and one thing you notice about Baylor is , they are BIG. Mompremier is LONG . And Kalani Brown is HUGE. Slow but Huge. To win any game against Baylor UConn will have to use its quickness and outside game to draw them out of the paint. And Duke transfer , Alexis Jones , gives them a good lead guard. I would expect a win but by less than 15.

 

[Vowelguy]

For the life of me I couldn't understand USF's (Jose's) offensive sets. When they were down by 15+ points in the 4th quarter he's got Stringfield out there dribbling away with not a care in the world with seconds preciously ticking off the clock with no urgency that I could detect.

At that point the outcome was not in doubt. He may have rather had them get experience running their regular offense against a quality defense, than in making a sure-to-fail crazy effort at winning.

 

[Vowelguy]

USF is going to surprise a lot of teams in the NCAAs. They are under rated imo and if healthy will be the tourneys biggest surprise.

The same way they surprised Memphis (in losing)?
Just because a team can give UConn fits doesn't mean they are a top 10 team.
That said, USF does have that key attribute for March: guard play. But at a 6-8 seed, it's not gonna be easy to make it out of the first weekend.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Now that its tournament time Geno's crew will be playing at an intensity that other teams can only dream of. Under pressure they will execute like no other team can imagine

Not to be a downer, but if I recall correctly UConn's offense went missing for 2 games in the preliminary rounds last year, with Morgan saving the bacon. It was perplexing, but it happened.

 

[easttexastrash]

The slow/close starts could be an issue in the NCAA tourney against teams like ND, Baylor or SC, which have the ability to keep making shots. That is the only thing I have seen in UCONN this season that has caused me to think that a four-peat is not inevitable.

 

[noirwestern]

The slow/close starts could be an issue in the NCAA tourney against teams like ND, Baylor or SC, which have the ability to keep making shots. That is the only thing I have seen in UCONN this season that has caused me to think that a four-peat is not inevitable.

You might think that but we've all watched the teams you mentioned play as well, ND hasn't exactly looked all that sharp for long stretches of this season, Baylor is thuddingly slow and struggled with teams that they supposedly should have blown out from the starting gun and don't even get me started on the subject of SC and their lackluster approach to offense.

 

[easttexastrash]

You might think that but we've all watched the teams you mentioned play as well, ND hasn't exactly looked all that sharp for long stretches of this season, Baylor is thuddingly slow and struggled with teams that they supposedly should have blown out from the starting gun and don't even get me started on the subject of SC and their lackluster approach to offense.

Your assessment tells me that you haven't watched much basketball other that UCONN games. If you think Baylor is slow you may need to watch a few more games and shift away from the talking points that you've memorized or heard someone else quote.

And if you think that these close starts aren't a reason for concern, you may want to pull your head out of that sand hole. Any team that has a slow start in the FF would have reason to worry.

 

[Bonpland]

Pretty true. . But I think only a very good team that has faced them has a shot at playing them close, which would be SC, ND, OSU and MD. Of that group, they would probably only have to play one. I think of the teams that haven't played them, Baylor is the likely suspect to make it hard in them. Teams just don't face the constant defensive pressure UConn brings coupled with Stewart and a pretty fair supporting crew that will burn you if teams concentrate on her.

I would limit the dangerous teams that we may have to face to ND and Maryland.

Of course any team can, on a given night, beat any other team (we've lost a few painfully to unranked opponents over the years - St John's, Villanova) but if we agree that Geno has the team ready and that we have the weapons to take down any potential opponent, then I think that only ND's ball handling, shooting and perservance, and Maryland's size and aggressiveness pose a real threat to us winning it all again this year.

Maryland played us even up at The Garden in December and our long-termed history with ND has proven that they have the ability to beat us if things play out just right for them. We beat them both, but on the wrong, night things could go differently.

The Ohio State University WBB team has been erratic, I don't believe in Baylor (sorry ETT) and South Carolina hasn't shown me yet that they can rise up to beat us.

Next year of course SC, ND, Baylor, Maryland, Louisville (am I forgetting anyone?) will all be poised to beat us to the finish, but for this year, save the two I mentioned, I don't think anyone else is equipt.

 

[msf22b]

I'm with Tony
You can turn out the lights.
No one's coming close to this express.
If you watched yesterday's game, it took 8 or 9 minutes to figure out what was available offensively.
The D got inrto strangulation mode
And the rout was on.
This was basketball on a completely different level
Sure, Baylor has some good players and will score some
I expect to see them in the semi's or finals
but their bigs are less mobile than SC's and will be eaten alive one-on-one
Better guards for sure, but we've shut Jones down before and will dso it again
Perspective is important.
When this team gets going, you're never again going to see the likes of it.
Enjoy the moment.
It's here.

 

[noirwestern]

Your assessment tells me that you haven't watched much basketball other that UCONN games. If you think Baylor is slow you may need to watch a few more games and shift away from the talking points that you've memorized or heard someone else quote.

And if you think that these close starts aren't a reason for concern, you may want to pull your head out of that sand hole. Any team that has a slow start in the FF would have reason to worry.

Ehhhh the problem here is that I have watched Baylor play. What I've yet to see is them play a single quality team this year. Texas? Seriously?

 

[DaddyChoc]

Courtney Williams is really really really good... hopefully she has a great WNBA career

BTW it seems that Baylor has a few posters worried, glad to see its ok to be normal