Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/25/15

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In case you missed it, UConn/Rutgers Post Game Report

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Geno was thrilled to see Collier

Katie Lou Samuelson has won all the awards, but she might not have the biggest impact on UConn next season. While KLS (get used to the initials) is a tremendous offensive player and amazing three point shooter, it's Collier who will come in ready to play from day one on both sides of the ball.

"When you watch her play, you are amazed that she plays both ends of the floor equally hard. It is not some kids I see in high school, they do play both ends of the floor. You heard me say when they are on offense on this end, they play offense and when they are on offense on that end, they play that end but rarely at the same time. She is one of those few kids who competes and competes really hard on both ends of the floor."
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It's only Wednesday, so we have a few days before we trek up to Albany to watch UConn take on Texas. I'm working on the game preview, so stay tuned. In the meantime, lets take a look at the last several Sweet Sixteen matchups for UConn and the results.

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March 28th 2010

Dayton Ohio

No. 1 seed UConn played No. 4 seed Iowa State in Dayton beating the Cyclones 74-36. The Huskies were led by Maya Moore's 25 points. Tina Charles added 16 points as did Kelly Faris, who was coming off the bench at that time. This was the 36th win in UConn's undefeated season, eventually beating Stanford to win the National Championship.

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March 27th 2011

Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Moore had 23 points and 14 rebounds, leading No. 1 seed UConn to a 68-63 victory over No. 5 seed Georgetown. The Hoyas led by seven in the second half of their Sweet Sixteen matchup. Lorin Dixon was the sparkplug in her senior season. Bria Hartley added 17 points. It was clear this team was really missing Charles. They only went 6 deep and it would hurt them in the semi final game against Notre Dame where their season ended.

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March 25th 2012

Kingston, Rhode Island

No. 1 seed UConn beat the No. 4 seed Penn State 77-59 behind Bria Hartley's 20 points. Kelly Faris added 15. This was one of the Maggie Lucas led Nittany Lions teams. They had a few big kids in this team in Mia Nickson, Nikki Greene, and Talia East. It was a tough test for UConn, who still only went 7 deep, adding Stokes to the menu. Another flawed team that went on to beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight before losing to Notre Dame again in the Final Four.

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March 30th 2013

Bridgeport Connecticut

No. 1 seed UConn beat defeated No. 4 seed Maryland 76-50. This was the start of the Breanna Stewart show. She scored 17 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in 34 minutes. Freshmen Jefferson and Tuck were terrific in this game as well with 18 points on 9-13 shooting between the two of them. UConn held Two-time ACC player of the year Alyssa Thomas, who had scored 29 and 28 points in the team's first two tournament games, to 13 points for Maryland. UConn would go on to beat Kentucky, Notre Dame and Louisville by 33 in the championship game.

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March 29th 2013
Lincoln Nebraska

No. 1 seed UConn played a very game No. 12 seed BYU in Lincoln, finally putting them away 70-51. UConn really struggled early with BYU's terrific center, Jennifer Hamson, who had 9 points 10 rebounds and 6 blocks, including a few of Dolson's shots. Kim Beeston his 4-8 three point shots, scoring 16 points. KML had a great game with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists as four UConn players were in double figures with Dolson just missing with 9 points and 13 rebounds. All the starters played 34+ minutes and UConn went only 6 deep with stokes getting 15 minutes off the bench. UConn would then beat Texas A&M and Stanford before hammering Notre Dame in the championship game.

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I'm sure that some folks will equate the tough time that BYU and Hamson gave UConn in the Sweet Sixteen game last year with the challenge that Texas might bring with their 6'7" center Maggie-Stafford. I don't see the similarity in their games and the makeup of the two teams, Texas and BYU from last year. I also don't see the similarities between last years UConn team and this years team. There is something very different about this team. A calmness in their approach to the game and their consistency from game to game. Texas is tall in only two positions. They are under 6' in every other position. And their bigs are not mobile enough to keep up with UConn. But read my game preview....it will be out soon. Lots of details.

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