Tuesday, March 31, 2015

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 4/1/15


 


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In case you haven't seen it yet, here is my UConn/Dayton Postgame Report
 
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  Over the next few days I'll have put together the UConn/Maryland preview. In the meantime, I'm going to post links that pertain to the teams in the final four.       
   
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OK, I admit it. I am really happy that Tennessee lost. There is a lot of history between this blogger and the Tennessee fans in the internet world and their team can't lose enough for my tastes. That being said, the Tennessee post game presser was one of the saddest I've ever seen and I truly felt awful for Massengale and Burdick, who played their hearts out for Tennessee over the last 4 years.
 
This is now the seventh consecutive season that Tennessee was eliminated prior to the Final Four. This is by far the longest dry spell for the Lady Vols. Prior to this, the longest was three years in 1991, 1992 and 1993 where they were eliminated in the Sweet Sixteen twice and Elite Eight once.
 
So, does seven straight Final Four misses in a row make them less Elite? I certainly think they have dropped a few notched, but they still have talented players and will make a run at the final four in 2015-16.     
 
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Dominant UConn is taking all the excitement out of women's basketball Philadelphia Daily News
UConn's Stewart 1st Team All-American; KML, Jefferson 2nd Team Hartford Courant
UConn women used to tough competition...in practice New Haven Register
2014-15 AP Women’s Basketball All-American Team Sox & Dawgs
UConn earns eighth straight trip to Final Four Mike DiMauro (sans UConn Boxers)
Breanna Stewart, Jewell Loyd top AP women's All-America team CT Post
UConn's Big 3 all named All-American American-Republican
UConn women’s coach raves about CafĂ© Capriccio Times Union


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McGraw appreciates Notre Dame women's run more than ever Yahoo News
Notre Dame's Jewell Loyd named to AP women's All-America team Chicago Tribune
Notre Dame Women's Basketball Trio Earns All-America Honors iHigh
Notre Dame Boasts Most Successful Combined Basketball Programs iHigh


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I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

UConn/Dayton Elite Eight Post Game Report

ELITE EIGHT 

UCONN 91 DAYTON 70 
 

 
Post game report 
 
 A funny thing happened on the way to the Final Four in Albany. A real live competitive basketball game broke out.
 
As we all got settled in our seats after Morgan Tuck hit her two free throws, I doubt that many UConn fans knew what was in store for the Huskies and for the fans watching on TV as well. For the next 15 minutes the teams pretty much exchanged baskets with neither having more than a two point lead. Dayton was on fire, hitting their first four three-point baskets. Every time UConn took the lead, you expected a stop on defense and UConn would do what it always does, add to the lead. Not in this game.
 
It was 37-37 with five minutes left in the half when UConn went on a 6-1 run to take a 43-38 lead. This is almost always UConn time, where Geno expects his team to dominate the last five minutes of the half. But 13 second later Dayton hit a jumper, KML missed a three, Dayton his another jumper, Stewart missed a three and with 1 minute left Dayton drove the court for a fast break layup to take the lead into the second half. I believe it was the first time in almost two years that UConn trailed at the half and the first time in the NCAA tournament since 2011.
 
So, what happened? Well, for one, Dayton was just hot. They hit 70% of their first half three-point shots. 6'4" Ally Malott was 4-4, with a couple of those on the break. She does hit at a high percentage, around 40%, but she really didn't shoot that many during the season. It's clear the long range shooting was a big part of their strategy in this game. It wasn't just the three point shots. Dayton was terrific in using screens to get open for jumpers and they hit a good percentage of those. Lastly, they used nice spin moves to create separation from the UConn defender for an open look. They are just a very good offensive team and UConn did not play as well as usual on defense. UConn was late on the help defense and were not strong in their switches. You can't leave a good shooting team like that open.
 
Geno certainly had some choice words at half time and it showed when the second half started. UConn scored 43 points in the first half, so they knew they could score against Dayton. They needed to find a way to slow down Dayton and do a better job on the player with the ball. Boy, did they figure it out. UConn set the tone by turning over Malott on Dayton's first possession and Stewart hit a baby hook in the lane on their first possession. UConn scored the first 9 points of the half, with KML hitting two three-point shots while Dayton turned the ball over three times and missed two layups. It was the start that UConn fans expected from the beginning of the game. 
 
Dayton stayed tough, exchanging baskets with the Huskies, cutting the lead to seven points at the ten minute mark. And just like that, it was over as UConn scored the next ten points, Dayton missed a couple of three pointers and when Jefferson skied for a rebound and drove through the entire Dayton team for a layup, UConn had a 17 point lead with 7 minutes left and only the final margin was in question.
 
So, how did UConn change things around? First and foremost it was defensive pressure on the perimeter and help defense in the paint. You could see the difference in how intense the defense was for UConn. The switches were crisp and the help defense was quick to come. It was what most people expected from the start and I'm sure a lesson well learned by the UConn players.
 
At this point I just want to say that Dayton is now my official second favorite team and Jabir my second favorite coach. He has a great demeanor and ability to get the most out of his players. His style is fun to watch, not the boring grind it out defensive teams you see in 99% of the NCAA teams, especially in the much touted SEC. I really believe that Dayton had a shot to be in the final four in any of the other three brackets.
 
Congrats to the Flyers and their wonderful fans and specifically their fantastic band that entertained us throughout. Their flamboyant band leader was a stitch.
 
 
 
Next is Maryland and I'll have my Pregame Report out later in the weak. Just let me say that it won't be anything like we saw in this game.                     
            
 
 
Game Quotes
 
 Coach Geno Auriemma
 
"I love going to the Final Four. I don't care how many times it is, what the total number is. I love it for the fact that some of my players have never been there. When you get a chance to go, you feel like you did something pretty significant. We did it over and over again. Some kids don't get to go once."   "When we're challenged, sometimes that's when we're at our best, and that's what we talked about in the locker room and I couldn't be prouder of them and happier for them ... especially tonight against a great, great team. Boy, I'm glad we don't have to play them again."

"I can't say enough great things about the kids from Dayton. That's one of the best teams we've played in the last five years."

"We got together with the coaching staff and we made a strategic decision to tell the team in the second half that we'd really, really appreciate if one of you would just put your hand up. You all don't have to, and you don't have to do it all the time, but if just one of you puts your hand up it might catch on."
 
"What normal teams face every season a lot, if it happens once at Connecticut it's adversity. We were down one. The demeanor of our team really wasn't that different from when we were in the locker room up 21. There was a look on their faces that was more, 'We can't wait to go out there and take care of this.' There was no, oh, my God what happened? We've got to be careful at UConn that sometimes we need to be treated like mortals. The other team is allowed to make a lot of shots, too. They have the same basket we do."
 
 
 
Coach Jim Jabir  
 
"We looked like pingpong balls sometimes guarding their guys,"  
 
“I was just so proud. To watch the kids grow up in front of your eyes, that’s an amazing feeling. I guess the sense is just pride. Hopefully we’ll continue to grow and build.”
 
“I don’t want this to be the last time we do this. I want this to be a regular thing. We should work hard to recruit the kinds of kids to keep us here and I think that’s the critical thing.”
 
“Really proud of our guys, we competed, weren’t intimidated. They are the best team in the country, bar none. … For a long time we hung around and hung around. I couldn’t be more proud. This was a great day.”
 
“We’ll be back here. I can promise you, we’ll be back here.”
 
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Player evaluations
 
Player of the Game  
Breanna Stewart 
 
It was hard not to give the POG to KML. But Stewart was a difference maker in three ways, Scoring, rebounding and defending. She was unstoppable in the post and in what has been a great area of growth in her game, she is posting hard in the paint, calling for the ball play after play. In this game she played 38 minutes scoring 23 points, grabbing 16 rebounds including 4 big offense rebounds, and 4 big blocks. Her switching defense allow UConn to put more pressure on the perimeter in the second half. A superstar on a team of stars, she shines the brightest.     


Morgan Tuck 
 
There is no one in WCBB with better post footwork than Tuck. Her drop step move and finish with her left hand is almost unstoppable no matter how big the defender is. When Stewart brings her defender to the outside and Tuck can isolate on her defender, it's almost a sure thing UConn will score. I know some don't think she should shoot the three (especially sTu, who sat next to me and screamed in my ear NOOOOO every time she shot one) but it helps open up the inside for Stewart. Tuck played 38 minutes, and scored 23 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. She certainly deserved her all-regional team selection.         
 
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
 
As Tina Turner said "You're simply the best, better than all the rest, better than anyone, anyone I've ever met".  Certainly when it comes to three point shooting, there is no one one better. She hit her fifth three pointer of the game at 12:42 of the second half to break the all time NCAA record for three pointers made at 393. She was 7-10 from beyond the arc for the game, bringing her back to .500 for the season. "It eases my mind a lot," Mosqueda-Lewis said of getting the record. "Now I only have one thing to worry about - a national championship."
 
Kaleena not only broke the record, but every one of those three pointers in this game were huge. UConn needed to keep up with Dayton and KML answers their threes with her own. It was not only her threes. She worked hard on defense, posted up the smaller Dayton players and was a the leader you would expect from the senior. I can't wait to see what she does in her last Final Four.   
 
Moriah Jefferson 
 
She didn't make the all-Regional team and that is a shame. But I'm sure it didn't bother her. She ran the offense to perfection with 6 assists and no turnovers. While she didn't hit any of her threes (she didn't miss in warm ups) she had several coast to coast drives to the basket putting Dayton on their heels. She played 39 minutes and played with the same intensity from beginning to end. She better win the Lieberman award. No one deserves it more.     
 
Kia Nurse
 
Kia was a true freshman in the first half. Unsure of herself, she played with a little bit of hesitation where most of the season she was always aggressive. She struggled with the excellent play of the Dayton guards in the first half. The second half was a difference story. She turned up her defensive intensity along with her teammates and was much better on the offensive side as well. This game was a huge learning experience for Nurse and she should take that forward to the Final Four.   
 
Kiah Stokes, Gabby Williams, Saniya Chong
 
In games like this, Geno will always go with his best players for as long as he can and he only really subbed in for Nurse with the bench and for not that many minutes. Stokes was the only one to impact the box score with 2 points a rebound and a block in 7 minutes. 
  
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  (pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)

Instead of picking out some pictures, here are links to the UConnhuskies.com site with plenty of pictures for you to look at. 

Picture Group 1

Picture Group 2

Picture Group 3  

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/31/15



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 Just got home from the UConn/Dayton game. Wow...it was quite the event.

Here is my UConn/Dayton Postgame Report
 
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 Tennessee and Maryland played a pretty ugly game, with Tennessee shooting a horrible 31.8% from the field and 17.4% on three point shots. If I was still doing the UGGY award, Tennessee would win one hands down. I'll do more on this game in the next Dailies. 

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 Final four is set with UConn taking on Maryland and Notre Dame going against South Carolina. All the top seeds made it to Tampa and there will be some great guard play among these 4 teams. It also has some great coaches in Geno, Brenda, Muffet and Daley. Lots of great story lines that you will hear about this week.     
   
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ELITE EIGHT GAMES



  
7 Dayton 70
1  UConn 91
UConn tested vs. Dayton, reaches eighth straight Final Four ESPN
Dayton makes statement in loss to top-ranked UConn Chron
UConn shakes Dayton, advances to another Final Four Fox News
UConn shakes off slow start to fly past Dayton, 91-70, to Final Four Sportzedge
UConn defeats Dayton, headed to 8th straight Final Four The Register Citizen
Women's NCAA Tournament: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 7 Dayton Newsday
UConn advances to eighth consecutive Final Four with rout of Dayton Newsday
UConn women beat Dayton to reach another Final Four Times Union
Breanna Stewart helps UConn reach 8th straight Final Four with win over Dayton Syracuse Post-Standard
UConn responds to Dayton's threat, advances to another Final Four Norwich Bulletin
UConn overcomes halftime deficit, pulls away from Dayton to reach Final Four The Augusta Chronicle
UConn's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis breaks NCAA 3-point record News-times
Dayton led UConn 44-43 at halftime, but ultimately lost 91-70 SB Nation
 

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Sunday, March 29, 2015

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/30/15



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Here is my UConn/Texas Post Game Report
And my UConn/Dayton Pre Game Report
 
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Danny K and DoggyDaddy
 
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 Great game between Florida State and South Carolina Sunday. FSU was in control for much of the game but Tiffany Mitchell led South Carolina to the victory. She had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while playing all 40 minutes. FSU was terrific for much of the game, but couldn't overcome foul trouble to three of their players, two of them fouling out. Asia Dozier, who had been to the line only 9 times all season made all of her foul shots to keep South Carolina in the lead at the end of the game.     
 
Notre Dame and Baylor played a hell of a game Sunday night. Baylor had the lead for much of the first half behind Nina Davis and Nya Johnson. They led by nine points before Notre Dame does what it always does. Grind away on defense and their terrific guard duo brings them back. Got to give props to Mabrey as well. She couldn't miss. In the second half, Notre Dame slowly build a lead that they would never give up, pulling away from the foul line to win 77-68. You can talk all you want about this "great" Notre Dame offense, but it was the defense that won this game. Baylor score 26 points in the first 10 minutes and 42 points in the last 30 minutes. Great job by the Irish.
 
The game between Notre Dame and South Carolina has some great individual story lines. Loyd vs Mitchell in the battle of the 1st team AA guards. Wilson vs Turner in the war between FOY candidates. Can the ND front line handle the big Gamecock front line? Can the South Carolina defense slow down the Notre Dame offense. Can South Carolina score enough to win this game?
 
Should be a great final four matchup of two teams that UConn beat by 18 and 25. 
   
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Maryland/Tennessee should be a good game. Both are talented and fairly deep. Can Tennessee use the momentum of their big comeback win to play well against Maryland? Or will they revert to the team that was down 17 points with 6 minutes left against 11 seed Gonzaga? It might just be time for Tennessee to make the final four and how crazy will it be if they play UConn? Hide the women and children!   
 
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SWEET SIXTEEN GAMES



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 Monday ESPN 9:00
1 Maryland   
Explosive Maryland team stands between Lady Vols and Final Four The Daily Beacon
Lady Vols star still leading despite ACL injury Daily News Journal

 
 
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

UConn/Dayton Elite Eight Pregame Report







No. 1 UConn
34-1 No. 1 Seed
 
UCONN vs Dayton
Day: Monday
Date: March 30th, 2015
Location: Albany NY 
Time: 7:00
TV: ESPN
 

 
                                                                                                                   Dayton
                                                          28-6 No. 7 Seed 
 
 
 
Overview
 
UConn and Dayton have only met once and that was in Storrs in 2011. It wasn't close as UConn crushed Dayton 78-38. UConn was led by then freshman Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis who score 23 points and hit 6-8 three point shots in what was a vision of what we would see for four years. Stokes also played in that game, playing 12 minutes, adding 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 3 steals. Dayton also had two players in that game that are playing in Monday's game. Andrea Hoover started as a freshman in that game playing 23 minutes. She had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers. Ally Mallot came off the bench and played 22 minutes. She had 3 points, 1 rebounds and 3 turnovers. All four players have come a long way since then. This game was UConn's record setting 89th consecutive home win. They would extend that streak to 99 before losing to St. Johns in Gample.

Dayton has had a great season but it sure didn't start out that way. They lost 3 of their first four games including one to 18th ranked Iowa State. Since that game, they have only lost 3 games and all three were against 21st ranked George Washington. Apparently the Colonials have their number.

Dayton has had a terrific tournament. They beat 10 seed Iowa State in the first round 78-66, 2 seed Kentucky in a great game if you like offense 99-94, and Saturday in the Sweet Sixteen they handled 3 seed Louisville, 82-66 outscoring the Cardinals 27-13 over the last 8 minutes. I was able to watch the first 20 minutes of the game in person and I really though Louisville would be too athletic and physical for Dayton, but the Flyers were able to handle that and more. Their ability to find the open shot was tremendous.

UConn played as good a game as I have seen all season long. Texas is not a bad team and they looked like a JV squad playing the Varsity. When four different players hit three point shots in the first three minutes of the second half, you know something special is happening. UConn forced Texas to abandon their twin tower approach that they tried to use. The Texas guards looked slow and the bigs looked out of shape against the intense UConn pressure. Geno has stopped trying to improve the team and is just trying to keep the momentum going. It's why he played the starters so many minutes. He knows they will carry the day.        

Comparative Team Statistics 
 
                                            UConn                                        Dayton
 
                                              90.2              PPG                     77.6
                                              47.6        Defensive PPG          64.9
                                              42.5        Scoring Margin          11.8
                                              54.4        Field Goal %              44.4
                                              30.0        Defensive FG%         36.2
                                              40.8        Three Point %           38.0
                                              26.2        Defensive 3PT%       29.2
                                              72.2        Free Throw %           74.4
                                              44.2        Rebounds/game       42.3
                                              13.2       Rebounding Margin    4.8 
                                              21.8        Assists per game       14.1
                                              12.3        Turnover per game    15.9
                                                1.8        Assists/TO ratio             .9
                                              10.3        Steals per game          7.0
                                                8.1        Blocks per game         5.4
                                                         
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UConn Starters
 
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 26 min, 12 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 1 blk, 2 to    
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 27 min, 8 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 3 stl, 1 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 28 min, 13 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 0 to
 
  MPG 24.7, FG% .502, 3PT% .410, PPG 10.5, RPG 3.1, APG 3.0, 54 steals, 2 block

4 Moriah Jefferson 5'7" Junior Guard

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 22 min, 5 pts, 3 reb, 5 asts, 2 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 34 min, 19 pts, 4 reb, 5 asts, 1 stl, 2 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 34 min, 25 pts, 4 reb, 6 asts, 3 stl, 2 to
 
   MPG 27.9, FG% .596, 3PT% .520, PPG 12.4, RPG 2.9, APG 4.9, 92 steals, 5 blocks



23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 16 min, 2 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 0 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 32 min, 23 pts, 2 reb, 4 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 3 to 
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 23 min, 10 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 0 to

   MPG 28.1, FG% .528, 3PT% .491, PPG 14.8, RPG 4.2, APG 2.7, 37 steals, 12 blocks
 
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
 
                                Game 1 vs SFB - 29 min, 26 pts, 3 reb, 8 asts, 1 stl, 2 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 29 min, 16 pts, 7 reb, 7 asts, 1 stl, 3 to

                                Game 3 vs Texas - 24 min, 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk, 1 to
 
   MPG 24.3, FG% .605, 3PT% .270, PPG 14.0, RPG 5.4, APG 2.9, 29 steals, 12 blocks
 
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 30 min, 17 pts, 10 reb, 5 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 3 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 20 min, 8 pts, 2 reb, 4 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 2 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 31 min, 31 pts, 12 reb, 7 asts, 2 stl, 3 blk, 1 to
 
  MPG 27.4, FG% .543, 3PT% .318, PPG 17.5, RPG 7.3, APG 3.2, 56 steals, 92 blocks



UConn Bench


41 Kiah Stokes 6'3"  Senior Center

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 20 min, 2 pts, 10 reb, 2 asts, 6 blk, 1 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 12 min, 4 pts, 8 reb, 1 asts, 2 blk, 2 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 19 min, 4 pts, 7 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 4 blk, 0 to
 
  MPG 18.9, FG% .549, 3PT% .500, PPG 4.6, RPG 7.1, APG .9, 18 steals, 144 blocks
 
12 Saniya Chong 5'8" Sophomore Guard

                                Game 1 vs SFB - 27 min, 8 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 3 stl, 2 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 18 min, 2 pts, 4 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 1 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 10 min, 3 pts, 1 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 0 blk, 0 to
 
 MPG 19.9, FG% .470, 3PT% .366, PPG 5.9, RPG 2.0, APG 2.1, 26 steals, 8 blocks


 
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
  
                                Game 1 vs SFB - 14 min, 15 pts, 6 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 1 to
                                Game 2 vs Rutgers - 19 min, 11 pts, 10 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 1 to
                                Game 3 vs Texas - 13 min, 2 pts, 6 reb, 2 asts, 0 stl, 1 blk, 2 to

  MPG 16.5, FG% .638, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.9, RPG 6.2, APG 1.4, 46 steals, 14 blocks




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Head Coach Jim Jabir
 
From the Dayton site - Since taking over as Dayton's head coach in 2003, Jim Jabir is the all-time wins leader in program history. He has earned a mark of 210-133 at UD and is 430-356 in his 27-year head coaching career. With five consecutive NCAA appearances (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), two Women's National Invitation appearances, back-to-back Atlantic 10 Final appearances, the program's first A-10 Women's Basketball Tournament Championship in 2012, followed by the program's first A-10 Regular Season Champion in 2013 after posting a perfect 14-0 record in conference play. In 2014, Jabir led the Flyers to another A-10 regular season championship and to the first round in the NCAA tournament. Add to that the 22 A-10 All-Conference performers under his belt while at the helm of the Flyers, Jabir has undoubtedly led the University of Dayton to its most successful stint in modern program history. 

 

Dayton Starters
 
24 Andrea Hoover 5'9" Senior Guard 
 
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 40 min, 20 pts, 6 reb, 2 asts, 2 stl, 1 blk, 2 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 26 min, 5 pts, 1 reb, 0 asts, 0 blk, 3 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 40 min, 26 pts, 5 reb, 5 asts, 1 stl, 4 to             
 
2014-15: MPG 33.6, FG% .428, 3PT% .452, PPG 17.6, RPG 6.3, APG 3.2, 54 steals, 10 blocks
  

11 Ally Malott 6'4" Senior Forward
       
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 38 min, 18 pts, 12 reb, 3 asts, 1 stl, 3 blk, 1 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 36 min, 28 pts, 13 reb, 2 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk, 6 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 33 min, 9 pts, 7 reb, 1 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk,  3 to             
 
2014-15: MPG 30.3, FG% .510, 3PT% .398, PPG 15.5, RPG 7.9, APG 1.6, 29 steals, 28 blocks
12 Jodie Cornelie-Sugmundova 6'4" Junior Center
  
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 19 min, 5 pts, 2 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk, 0 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 27 min, 9 pts, 8 reb, 2 asts, 0 stl, 6 blk, 0 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 30 min, 12 pts, 11 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 4 blk,  2 to             

2014-15: MPG 21.5, FG% .383, 3PT% .222, PPG 5.8, RPG 6.1, APG 0.8, 14 steals, 91 blocks
 
22 Kelly Austria 6'0" Junior Guard
 
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 39 min, 11 pts, 8 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 1 blk, 1 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 38 min, 17 pts, 4 reb, 3 asts, 0 stl, 3 blk, 3 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 37 min, 10 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk,  3 to                 
 
2014-15: MPG 29.1, FG% .436, 3PT% .314, PPG 9.8, RPG 2.7 APG 1.8, 55 steals, 14 blocks

14 Jenna Burdette  5'8" Freshman Guard
 
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 17 min, 4 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk, 0 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 20 min, 7 pts, 2 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk, 5 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 24 min, 6 pts, 5 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk,  3 to             
    
 
2014-15: MPG 23.0, FG% .405, 3PT% .348, PPG 5.7, RPG 2.4 APG 2.9, 28 steals, 5 blocks
 

Dayton Bench

 
2 Amber Dean  5'9" Junior Guard
 
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 24 min, 7 pts, 1 reb, 4 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 29 min, 23 pts, 4 reb, 4 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk, 2 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 20 min, 15 pts, 1 reb, 1 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk,  3 to             
      
    2014-15: MPG 21.7, FG% .484 3PT% .390, PPG 10.7, RPG 3.6, APG 1.9, 18 steals, 8 blocks

55 Saicha Grant-Allen 6'5" Sophomore Center
 
                                Game 1 vs Iowa State - 24 min, 13 pts, 3 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk, 2 to
                                Game 2 vs Kentucky - 16 min, 6 pts, 5 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 blk, 1 to     
                                Game 3 vs Louisville - 16 min, 4 pts, 5 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk,  0 to             
 
 2014-15: MPG 18.2, FG% .477, 3PT% .000, PPG 6.1, RPG 5.0, APG 0.2, 15 steals, 20 blocks

 
 

 
 Game Analysis

When you get to the Elite Eight, teams are playing well and are confident in their abilities. Theses two teams are no exception. Dayton is playing great. UConn is playing out of this world.

On offense, Dayton loves to run, run and run some more. They run, drive and kick to open shooters. Their half court offense is a lot of screening. Hover is terrific at driving to the basket and her high floaters off the backboard with either hand are a thing of beauty. Mallot is what I would call Stewart-light. She moves great for a 6'4" player, loves to run on the break and can finish strong. Don't let the 2-10 from beyond the arc against Louisville fool you. They shoot a high percentage from behind the arc. Hover is at 45%, Mallot is at 40%, and Dean is at 39%. They love to shot threes on the break. They are also the best team left from the free throw line with 4 players at over 80%. They do tend to turn the ball over often and that has been a problem all season.

On defense, UConn is going to pressure Dayton from tip off until the end of the game. And Dayton will have to figure out a way to deal with it. Louisville put lots of pressure on the Dayton guards, but they haven't seen anything like what UConn will bring. UConn will try to get the ball out of their best players hands and Mallot might see some double teams. Stewart and Stokes will protect the paint with their length and it's something that Louisville wasn't able to do.

UConn's offense is as efficient as any you will see and maybe one of the best ever for the Huskies. with the Texas game, UConn is now averaging over 90 points per game. Right now every starter seems to be shooting well and they will pick and screen for each other until they get open shots. Stewart set a screen for KML in the second half where the defender looked like they ran into a wall. While Stewart, Tuck and KML all bring great skills to the offense, it's Jefferson that makes this engine run and I don't see anyone close to quick enough to slow her down. If the Dayton guards drive to the basket they better have at least one player to cheat back to protect against Jefferson running her one person break. One defender just won't cut it as she can drive past any defender and has multiple finishing moves. Dayton plays man-to-man with not much doubling. That might have to change. Stewart on the perimeter will bring one of the Dayton post players away from the basket and there is no answer for Tuck and her many post moves.   

As I just mentioned, Dayton plays almost exclusively man-to-man. That means that Hover, Austria and Burdette will be covering Jefferson, Nurse and KML. I don't see how they can slow down UConn's offensive juggernaut. No one is quick enough to stay with Jefferson, and with good screens, KML should get some good looks from beyond the arc. Mallot will probably cover Stewart. She is a really smart player and is the same size as Stewart. She could give Breanna some trouble. But more likely it should be a good lesson for Mallot. Jodie Cornelie-Sigmundova , their 6'4" center will probably cover Tuck. She is a very smart player as well and knows how to defend the paint. The problem for her is she has never seen a player with as good footwork and post moves with either hand like Tuck. On top of that Tuck has found her 3 points shot going 10-21 her last 13 games and she will take her defender away from the basket opening it up for UConn drives.

             
Final Prediction
 

Dayton is good. Very good. They have a terrific coach that just fills the players with confidence. If Dayton can stay close and keep UConn from any long runs, hit a high percentage of their three point shots and most of all, keep their confidence in tact, they could make this interesting. They are an upper class dominated team, with mostly seniors and juniors. That counts for a lot. But it always comes down to talent and UConn just has too much.

Dayton could keep it interesting for a while, and I do expect them to do just that. Under double digits for much of the first half wouldn't surprise me. But it's really difficult to hold UConn down for too long. They will wear Dayton down and take total control of the game.  They held two offensively challenged teams in Louisville and Iowa State to the 60's. The Kentucky game is a red flag for me, with Dayton giving up 94 points.

I think Dayton will get their share of points and might be able to score in the low 60's. But I can't see UConn being held to much under 85.

I'll go with a 25 point margin in this game. Dayton will not give in, even if down big.