UConn vs. Syracuse post game - on to the sweet 16!

[Bone Dog]

I needed a moment to collect my thoughts about this game, and especially the reffing. Here goes.

1. I'm glad it's behind us
2. The reffing was good enough in the first half in the sense that they let us play, but one consequence was Syracuse got away with a lot of rough play under the glass. Aaliyah especially paid the price for this. On the other hand, Nika got away with lots of little holds and grabs on Fair as part of her ball denial defense.
3. It's clear after watching these two games -- and a few of their regular season games -- that Coach Jack's gameplan is to manufacture as many fouls as they can. There were some good ones and also some really cheesy ones, like a pretended intentional foul Wooley tried to hang on Paige. The refs didn't buy it, but they also didn't pin a technical on Wooley for the flop.
4. In the second half, the refs starting calling a lot of fouls... on UConn. And they called hardly any on Syracuse. I suspect this was a result of Coach Jack's complaining. And it's easy to see why, since she needs Fair to be free to run wild in the second half. But also she needs to soften up the defense by getting as many opposing players in foul trouble as possible. I was disappointed the refs fell so thoroughly for this. Wooley and Wood ought to have fouled out in the 4th.
5. Syracuse shot the lights out from 3 -- 39.4% as a team -- and 25% shooters shot >40%. This has been UConn's luck this season. Our opponents are on fire from 3, hitting bank shots and the like. Thank goodness Ash and KK shot really well from 3 as well. Ash 55% KK 100%.
6. I thought Ice and KK looked extra nervous, as if the first round win had kinda freaked them out. They hadn't seen how tough tournament play can get. Well, now they've seen it twice and I hope that washes the nervousness out of them.

 

[jaydee602]

Everything was fine and near the end we must have the guards handling the ball. The bigs turned it over to many times. It was a great great game

Whenever ICE had the ball, Syracuse swarmed to her like sharks chasing bait. And she turned it over twice down the stretch. Give credit to Coach Jack for a smart game plan

 

[ABCDFE]

Great game. Syracuse came to play and their player were not afraid of the moment, especially Burrows and Woolley. I though Fair made some amazing shots, but some of her body antics to get foul calls was a bit uncalled for and the refs fell for it. But again credit for that Syracuse team that never let the game get away. Survive and advance.

The good:

• People say Hidalgo best two way player, however, I firmly believe that Paige is and she has to play cautious knowing the team needs her to be in the entire game. She is amazing and we are so lucky to be watching this generational talent
• Shade was magnificent
• Aaliyah got fouled a lot, but she battled and played really well for us
• KK was really good too, a couple of ill advised drives and shots at the rim, but she was aggressive. She just needs to play at different speeds like Paige, where she's not going 100mph at the rim and hoping she gets the layup. She needs to have some change of direction and pullup action
• Muhl was amazing tonight defensively.

The bad:

• Ice was solid on D. There was a stretch she single-handedly turned the ball over and let Syracuse back in the game. She seems to lose the ball often and doesn't finish well around the rim. With her stature she should be a bully in the paint and more secure with the ball. Hoping she can work on that going forward. .
• Too many offensive rebounds by Syracuse.

 

[fomalhaut]

A little nerve racking

A little???

Plus, in the 4th qtr, the refs called 5 fouls on Uconn in 40 seconds. That was ridiculous!!!!

It bugs me when big scorers like Fair (yes, she's a great player) are given more leeway to push off defenders than lesser offensive talents. A few seconds before Muhl fouled Fair on the three-point attempt, Fair committed a blatant offensive foul, as least as bad as Muhl's 5th.

 

[maple]

• Too many offensive rebounds by Syracuse.

Credit to them, they are like the leading rebounding team in the nation.

 

[huskeynut]

I needed another bourbon after this one. Now I remember why I like blowouts!!!

That was a hell of a game. Down to the wire. KK with that 3 dagger was a thing of beauty. So happy for her. Syracuse is a tough team. Their 3 point shooting was unconscious. Kept them in the game.

Paige is Paige. Magnificent game. Ash is a stone cold shooter. I still do not understand why she is so open in the corner for her 3. She's been doing it all season.

Aaliyah the warrior. She battled all night while getting hammered. And kudos to Ice. I know she didn't score, and that bothers many, but she played good defense.

And Nika. Now the all time assist leader for UConn. She played great defense tonight. Fair was almost invisible with Nika guarding her.

We advance to the Sweet 16. Duke is next.

 

[fomalhaut]

Credit to them, they are like the leading rebounding team in the nation.

Skewed somewhat in their favor by being a bad shooting team.

 

[topogigio]

Took a while to get my heart rate down before I could post. The Orange are a good lot. I believe they beat ND 2x this season. Paige was spectacular, but needs to shoot more in games like this. Edwards looked out of sorts at times. Ashlynn is a killer! Nika simply can't continue to make bonehead plays this late in the season, or in her career. KK was solid, and Brady looked very unsure of herself (she had a number of open shots she passed up, and I kept yelling "go up strong"! When was the last time making the sweet sixteen such a big deal? On to Portland.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

UConn starts at 36 Geno does not want to speak into the mike

 

[HuskyNan]

Whenever ICE had the ball, Syracuse swarmed to her like sharks chasing bait. And she turned it over twice down the stretch. Give credit to Coach Jack for a smart game plan

Aaliyah turned it over 5 times, too

 

[fomalhaut]

In a way, 30 straight trips to the Sweet Sixteen in the 64-team era is even a more ridiculous stat than 14 straight Final Fours. That's 7-1/2 four-year cycles of players without a letdown. And tonight showed how tough it can be to avoid that letdown.

 

[Bone Dog]

Paige was spectacular, but needs to shoot more in games like this.

Shoot more? She took almost half of our shots: 25 of 57. Thanks goodness she made 14 of them.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

I really want Ice to do well, and I think she has skills and can contribute, but I think she would do better being less deliberate and just making quick decisions to shoot. Especially with sitting out a year rehabbing, she should know the offense a little. She can shoot the ball, so when she gets it, just let it fly. She will have to work on rebounding- after all, she is 6'3. But her touch around the basket just isn't there, and this surprises me. Maybe it was just an off night as lately she has had some good games. She did show quicker feet on defense tonight which is good, and there was one rebound where she really leaped for the ball and grabbed it, which is encouraging.

On board as far as her wanting her to do well, who wouldn’t but at this juncture, even with being out last year, she seems lost and it forces to play Edwards more than Geno would like and forces us to play small for far too long. Needs to step it up.

 

[Bone Dog]

I don't care if we win another game this tournament.

I'm kidding. We still need to beat Duke (sorry @triaddukefan)

What I mean is no one should expect this group to accomplish more than they already have. They are already overachievers. Anything beyond the Sweet 16 is gravy. Relax, Huskies, no pressure. Just enjoy beating those Blue Devils.

And next season, after this experience, our freshmen will be the equivalent of grad students.

 

[FormerCTrez]

Even though we never gave up our lead in the 2nd half, I felt bad for Nika thinking we might lose a nail biter and she was on the bench...and then KK and Paige made sure it didn't happen!!!

Paige and the gang relied upon the experience learned from the Notre Dame game. I’m so happy for them. Go UConn!!

 

[Fairfield Fan]

The past three years Coach Geno has displayed perhaps the best coaching of his entire career. Complete mastery of the coaching arts. Absolutely incredible that Connecticut could lose seven of their fourteen players, including the expected starting post player, a can't-miss All-American guard, the starting wing, and several other critically important players, yet play their way into the Sweet Sixteen!!

Utter brilliance by Coach Geno. He's getting better by the year!!! He is the Coach of the Year, even if he doesn't get the award!!!

 

[Childhood]

Congrats to Nika for being the assist leader.
Our freshmen is just too good. They really did well in the offense side and were not afraid to take shots. But I don't think we will go far once Paige has an off night. I will be satisfied if we can be ended at FF.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Fantastic game. The maturity of the freshmen really shined brightly.
Paige is tough as hell. What a performance.
Gotta say, the Syracuse women are much harder to hate with Coach Jack in charge.
I’ll always hate the ‘Cuse guys, though. That ain’t changing!

Good for you! I believe extreme dislike for all things Orange [particularly Tennessee] is a good thing!!

TWO Oranges out on the same afternoon/evening is good for the soul...

Go Huskies!!!

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I don't care if we win another game this tournament.

I'm kidding. We still need to beat Duke (sorry @triaddukefan)

What I mean is no one should expect this group to accomplish more than they already have. They are already overachievers. Anything beyond the Sweet 16 is gravy. Relax, Huskies, no pressure. Just enjoy beating those Blue Devils.

And next season, after this experience, our freshmen will be the equivalent of grad students.

Absolutely!!! The Sweet Sixteen with half of the roster out for the season is a brilliant achievement! Indeed, making the Final Four once, and Sweet Sixteen twice during three years when injuries devastated the team is a breath-taking achievement! So proud of Connecticut for all they've achieved!!!

 

[ThisJustIn]

Super rushed transcription of post-game w/AE and CD by Debbie and Bob:

AE: We had a will to win. We’re built for March

Brady presence – created opps to score, not a guard line. Been working on our chemistry. She helped us, especially when Nika went out. For some of us, it might not have been our night, But Paige and Ash did that. We concentrated on rebounds.

Bob: How tough was it under the boards?

I think my nose is broken in 5 different places now. It still hurts every time. The crowd help us in the 4 quarter. They were our 6th man.

KK Dagger 3?

AE: Guts. Absoluety. I knew it was going in. That’s who we are. We’re not done yet. Built for March.

Super special to me. UConn. Crowd energy will last for our road to Portland. It’s home. A second home.

BobYou're one rebound away 1st rebound..

AE: Felt like I had 30. A lot of "keep alives"

Bob: Next rebound: 1000/1000 – 9 players only
****
Bob/Debbie:
30th consecutive trip to 16.
Debbie – that girl is playing through a lot of pain. One tough cookie, can’t keep you off court.
That was a fun game
Time in Portland TBA

**
CD/
KK dagger

CD: That was a big shot. Didn’thesitate. Key. So was Ash’s pull up fro the corner. Paige's– all key.

Defense did job on kid Fair. She made some tough shots.

Handles ourselves on the boards.

Didn’t have "A" game from everyone. But everyone had moments. Missed opportunities on offensive end.

Were a little impatient. But we stayed with it. Nika foul out? Not a smart play by her. We could have folded, but we didn’t. Paige calming influence. AE big on boards

Yay, it was physical. But losers go home

First quarter offense flowed. 2nd quarter went two bigs. Good combo, attack zone.

They did good job. Funnel us into center in second half (can't make passes into it) 2 people on Paige. Once we moved the ball… They made a second half adjustment how guarding. We made adjustment offensively.

Key Ash shot: Ash – loves the pull up. Likes that spot. Seen her in practice to make 10 dribbles to get to that spot, and always go in. This time only had to make one.

Freshmen play. 2 hrs and three freesh.

Just think these guys are freshmen, 9 months ago they were in high school. They've had to make big plays in crucial game. Felt like five freshman were playing. (Laugh.)

Bob: Another sweet 16 impressive. Whoa.

CD: Happy for players. Happy for Nika, would have been distraught if we handn’t moved on. Able to pick it up.

Nika: her defense wastremendous – not smart last 2 fouls for a senior. Hopefully she's gotten that out of her system.Other guys stepped up. Paige, then AE stepped up on Fair. Not easy person to guard.

Don’t see a lot of zone. Handled pressure. They’re a well coached team.


DUKE? Played them in Portland. Teram is diff w/transfers. They’re playing really well. Good defensively. Richardson shooting really well. (Lost track of days. Thought Sunday was Monday...laugh)

Leaving Wed. for Portland.

2 games. 2 wins. That’s what we’d like.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Aaliyah turned it over 5 times, too

Apples and oranges

 

[RockyMTblue2]

See extended hilites:

 

[jaydee602]

Aaliyah turned it over 5 times, too

Good point! There were several times when Alliyah got a tough defensive rebound, only to have it knocked out of her hands. Her shot was blocked too.
I hope the week long break will help her to regain her dominant style.

 

[Zanzman]

Took a while to get my heart rate down before I could post. The Orange are a good lot. I believe they beat ND 2x this season. Paige was spectacular, but needs to shoot more in games like this. Edwards looked out of sorts at times. Ashlynn is a killer! Nika simply can't continue to make bonehead plays this late in the season, or in her career. KK was solid, and Brady looked very unsure of herself (she had a number of open shots she passed up, and I kept yelling "go up strong"! When was the last time making the sweet sixteen such a big deal? On to Portland.

When was the last time UConn had 5 key players out for the year Thats what makes reaching sweet 16 big deal

 

[Ozimoto]

A win is a win. Yes, it got a bit nerve wracking at the end, but they didn't fold and they hit the shots they needed to and held on for the win. I think this will be a confidence boost as it showed that they could face adversity and come out on top.