Tennessee Postgame Thread

[mhshuskies]

 

[housekeys]

Charlie Creme has just tweeted that the charge call isn't being administered properly. He claims that if the offensive player got the benefit of the doubt on close calls, the defense would be more hesitant to take a charge. Right now, it is dominating the game in a negative way.

I tend to agree. The close calls should go the offensive players way (not a charge). This is the way it is in soccer and makes sense. The defender has to guess, the offensive player just chooses to make a play. Well, you know what happens when you guess? You may get it wrong. Therefore, it is overall likely the defender fouls. Not all the time, and unless it is an obvious offensive foul, any "bang-bang" charge into the lane should favor the offensive player. IMHO.

 

[Carnac]

First Q - all UConn.
Second Q - ouch!
Second half - wouldn't let UT get their foot back into the door and winning margin surprisingly large.

Lou is officially a UConn legend. Sticking it to UT on their home court and leading UConn to the win won't soon be forgotten by the UConn faithful.

In the only opportunity she had. Way to go Lou. After this year you'll be gone, but certainly not forgotten.

 

[Bone Dog]

I tend to agree. The close calls should go the offensive players way (not a charge). This is the way it is in soccer and makes sense. The defender has to guess, the offensive player just chooses to make a play. Well, you know what happens when you guess? You may get it wrong. Therefore, it is overall likely the defender fouls. Not all the time, and unless it is an obvious offensive foul, any "bang-bang" charge into the lane should favor the offensive player. IMHO.

Me too. One of the few times I’ve agreed with Creme's analysis of anything, but he has hit the nail on the head. This one shift would probably be more effective than a flop-technical.

 

[MSGRET]

What I find amazing is that Nika actually had more assists (14) then the whole team that wears Orange (12).

 

[JordyG]

Bolded areas are all a preview of the SC game. Staley will have them pressure the ball screens, gum up the handoffs, take away the post entry passes and pound the offensive boards.

Really all she need do is, as most teams that have any success against UConn this year, is pressure the guards (Nika) on the perimeter with length or speed, and force the offense to start further out and above the nail. By the time the posts can set on the block or under the basket it's so late in the clock that the offense either needed to hurry, which led to bad passes and poor sets for the forwards, or they just went one on one, the results of which were horrible in the 2nd period. Dawn won't need to gum up the handoffs too much, not at first anyway. Note how few handoffs UConn had this game and how few real post entries. UConn however responded well in the 2nd half by having one forward set better screens off the arc for the guards, and the cutters set more false screens moving toward the basket then ran out for down screens which got Lou open. UConn also used Nika's ability to get out into space better out of the defensive end in the second half. Dorka's inability to work any pick and roll off her smaller mark was very discouraging to me though. Glad to see you check in though.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Lou! Lou! Lou! While the team was excellent, Lou was incredibly exceptional. Love the grit this team shows.

We meet on common ground. Screenshot of txt exchange with my sister...

 

[AzzisBraids]

If Lou isn't drafted in the WNBA first round, I'd be shocked. With her height, shooting stroke, finishing around the rim, toughness and now her emphasis on defense, there aren't many guards in this coming draft that has all she has.

 

[Geesworld]

Tough Non conference game against along time arch rival on the road at this point of the season is just what the doctor order.
*Biggest take away from this game is UCONN would absolutely be the most dangerous team if at full roster.
Im glad addressed that it's fatigue that gets

 

[Bone Dog]

I agree that a gritty gutsy win is a good experience for the team. There’s much for them to be proud of in it, especially Nika Lou and Aaliyah.

I also think there were a few embarrassing moments for the refs, which is just another obstacle for us to overcome.

And Tennessee has some things to be proud of, Jordan Horston in particular. They played especially well in the 2nd quarter. And they have some things to regret and maybe even be embarrassed about. I expect they’ll be licking their wounds over this game for a while.

 

[socal613ws]

Tough Non conference game against along time arch rival on the road at this point of the season is just what the doctor order.
*Biggest take away from this game is UCONN would absolutely be the most dangerous team if at full roster.
Im glad addressed that it's fatigue that gets

this game was definitely not a tough task, all this did was say what me Mdoggie and a few others have said, Tenn is inflated every season "Final 4 contender" huh. This head coach is no different than the previous one, maybe she can recruit better but never going to take Tenn anywhere.

 

[Littlemin]

I just wish he hadn't said the bit about "what do you expect when you come down here." That was unnecessary. If he wants to go off on the refs have at it, though it's not a great look, but there's no need to insinuate there's some impropriety about playing "down there."

That‘s why the whole sideline reporter “interview” during a game is just ridiculous IMO. Catch a coach in an emotional moment in the middle of a game and that’s what you may get.

 

[Littlemin]

I tend to agree. The close calls should go the offensive players way (not a charge). This is the way it is in soccer and makes sense. The defender has to guess, the offensive player just chooses to make a play. Well, you know what happens when you guess? You may get it wrong. Therefore, it is overall likely the defender fouls. Not all the time, and unless it is an obvious offensive foul, any "bang-bang" charge into the lane should favor the offensive player. IMHO.

One of the problems causing so many charge/block collisions is the dearth of players who have a mid range game. I used to be amazed at how many players would turn down a wide open 6-15 foot shot to barrel in to the basket for a wild, contested shot or worse, a put your head down goal line buffalo charge to the basket. Now I am surprised when a player takes a mid range shot off the dribble. There were two players with that in their game last night, Senechal and Horston. Muhl made one but that is a rarity for her. Edwards takes them but not off the dribble.
One last comment on the refs last night, I thought there was only one “horrible“ call, Senechal’s 3rd foul. Tennessee became the aggressor in the 2nd qtr, cranked up their D, drove the ball hard and hit the offensive boards hard. Uconn just did not match that intensity, got out of sync on offense, and that’s why the game turned around, not the refs IMO. To their obvious credit, they turned it back up in the 2nd half and got the game back under control.

 

[jazz]

Terrific win on the road against a good team and playing essentially only 6 players. A total of 11 minutes from the bench and no points. I’m not sure many teams or any teams can do that.

Players get tired, they make mistakes and that is why we have stretches of bad basketball. It would be better if NM, Lou and AE could play 32 minutes and AG and DJ around 22-25. Fatigue is real and it shows up more on the road. I think DJ is affected the most by this.

AE was great again. She needs to be careful coming across the lane and getting the offensive foul. She has been prone to this for almost 3 years now. Wish she could have gotten a few more rebounds. I hope she can play as strong or stronger against SC. That will be her litmus test.

DJ – good game. Hit some shots, made some good passes, rebounded (wish she could have had more) and made good decisions. She does play smaller than her size however. Brings the ball down, can’t finish in traffic. Doesn’t look weak but often plays that way. I don’t think this will change. Still a good player but may not have a good game against SC. Need her to player stronger.

NM – terrific game against a team that clearly has superior physical talent than her. TN is long and quick. But there aren’t many teams that can put a 6’1 player on NM. She could have come close to 20 assists in this game – I’m sure she had more than TN had in total. Has a great knack of finding open players in a split second and with pinpoint passing. Loved how she didn’t back down when TN got chippy with her. I think she gets tired and trapping and making her work for 40 minutes takes its toll. Had some lapses on D, but who doesn’t when you play the entire game. TN has some good players and they are going to win some possessions too. Has a great deal of responsibility, and say what you want, but we scored 84 points on the road against a good team that is an even better defensive team. NM had a hand in close to half those points. Throw in 4 rebounds and 4 steals – just a really good, tough BB player.

Lou – wow, hope this is a sign that she is still ascending as a player and not just a one off hot night. She did this against a good team on the road – almost like D did many years ago. Wish she could fill up the stat sheet on something else, but if she can score like this, I’m pretty happy with that.

AG – another solid game – all over the place. Showed she is getting more comfy shooting the outside shot – even when she misses, it looks good coming out of her hands. More of a chess piece type of player but forced to play almost the entire game. One player that doesn’t seem to ever wear down however. She makes a huge difference on defense and rebounding the ball at a smaller size.

AP – still waiting for the breakout game. Happy with her energy but expecting a bit more.

You got to love this win and our players' efforts in this game.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Some thoughts, some may not be so popular.

Great win for UConn. They did what I expected, which is the starting 5 showed their superior talent and managed to stay on the floor without getting winded. That's a strong testiment to the conditioning of the players and their desire.

I thought Geno's "down here" comment was tacky. Clearly he was frustrated but it was unnecessary. Coaches know there will be a mic stuck in their face at every half time of a nationally televised game. Comments like that, as well as when he commented about the UT program after Evina didn't get a waiver, shows the rivalry still gets under his skin sometimes too.

Horston and Jackson are terrific. Both did about all they could do. Hollingshed also had a good game and should be part of the building block of success for next season for UT. However, this game highlighted what has been an issue for UT for many years now. Pat built the program off defense and rebounding. It was incredibly successful and won plenty of games. This strategy ceased to be as effective when teams began to focus on offensive execution. Last night UT won the rebounding battle as they almost always do but again lost the contest to a superior offensive opponent and one that is far more athletic. Outside of Horston and Jackson, there just isn't a lot to work with on the roster. Point guard should be better than it is and the rest of the parts, while all decent players, just aren't very fast or athletic enough to play with top flight teams.

Congratulations to the Iron 5 for what was a great showing of basketball. That took a lot of moxy and guts to pull off and the players, coaches and fans should be very proud of the effort.

 

[Blueberries]

I’m sure I missed it somewhere in here or elsewhere on the board, but is there a link to Geno’s halftime interview for those of us who missed seeing the game? Thanks in advance!

 

[HuskyNan]

I’m sure I missed it somewhere in here or elsewhere on the board, but is there a link to Geno’s halftime interview for those of us who missed seeing the game? Thanks in advance!

I think it’s hysterical that people are focusing on Geno’s rant and not the fact that the Huskies beat Tennessee in Knoxville with 5 players by outplaying them physically . Gee, almost like he was trying to take the heat off his players and put it on himself.

I love Geno. He’s got his players’ backs. And I love seeing him find his fire after being despondent for the last 6 weeks.

 

[freshler40]

It seemed as though half of Tennessee’s offensive rebounds started with Dorka getting a hand on the ball. I was wondering if her wrist/thumb is bothering her.

Dorka did have a lot of trouble handling the roughness and packing in for offensive rebounds that TN used. She needs to two hand the ball and hold it up high. She often brings the ball down to waist height where it was poked away by eager TN guards.

 

[jaydee602]

Especially if the NCAA watches the replay. LOL....they might fine the refs!

 

[ktuck911]

Hopefully this wasn't mentioned yet, but there's a blessing that's happening to our team associated with our cursed injury bug... more players (that Geno wouldn't normally play in live games pretty much all season long) are now getting that in game experience. IMO, it's paying off.. We should be much deeper and well prepared later on this season and beyond...

 

[faithfulfan]

This was a great win by a short handed UCONN team.
Tenn lost by 7 at Stanford, and UCONN beat them by 17 in front of a huge Tenn. home crowd!
The 2nd qtr is mental fatigue, from being short handed, emotions high in front of a huge hostile crowd! That will change hopefully when Azzi and Caroline return!

 

[HopJim]

Yeah it sure did seem that way. Even when there were 3 black jerseys going for it, the ball seemingly just dropped into the hands of a Lady Vol.

Likely just a result of new, tight rims, but I have never seen so many long rebounds in either a men's or women's game. Whenever you play in Tenn, you always wonder if this was just a coincidence or done on purpose.

 

[HopJim]

Have to agree - both Horston and Rickea Jackson were able to get shots when guarded by Aubrey. Have to give credit to Horston who played one of the most perfect games I have seen from a competitor this year. Great combination of shooting from everywhere and physical play. Horston made herself some money last night with the pro scouts watching.

 

[npignatjr]

It was like Lou's quinceanera. She's been getting attention all year long and you can bet she got a ton tonight. Games like these are THE REASON A KID CHOOSES UCONN. The best exposure a young talent like Lou could possibly get. We are all so happy for her. And yeah, she was beginning to tear up in that interview and who wouldn't in her situation.

I just love Aubrey's game. She gives it EVERYTHING she's got but she plays within herself also. Doesn't make a lot of mistakes, plays terrific D and just wrecks havoc out there. Solid offensive rebounder and just an efficient contributor. And that's what Nika is all about also. Great supplementary players who are efficient. Great teams are made up of efficient players and great players. Sometimes both. Both Jackson and Horston are great but neither is as efficient as AE and Lou. And our supplementary pieces were able to contribute enough to win.

We had to shoot lights out to win this game though. We can't count on that every big game. Tonight was the recipe for beating SC. We are going to get creamed on the boards but if we shoot over 50% from the field and 57% from 3 we have a chance.

This team are just the little engine that COULD. The heart of a lion.

The team leader is not supplementary.

 

[HopJim]

Uconn gave up way too any offense boards gonna have to do better with South Carolina coming up next weekend.

If you rewatch the game, the refs let anything and everything go under the basket, particularly in the second half. "Scrum" would be too soft a term to describe the pushing and shoving.