Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 2/27/16

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Here is my UConn/Tulane II pregame report.

I wanted to put this early in the blog so make sure you read the article I linked in the UConn section about UConn 2016 incoming freshman Kyla Irwin. She is one amazing kid and don't underestimate what your contributions will be next season.

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While I won't get into tryouts, performance of the bench and all the crap that annoys me about looking ahead with the players coming back on who will start and how UConn will be so much worse next year, I will do one thing. Here is the returning players with possible minutes for next season.

UConn will be losing approx. 90 minutes next season.

If you figure that the three incoming freshman will get minutes like the freshman did this year, you can give them 60 minutes.

That leaves 30 minutes to add to the total of Nurse, Williams, Samuelson, Collier, Butler and Ekmark.

Nurse is currently at 27 minutes. I'd keep her the same.
Samuelson is at 22 minutes. Give her 6 more.
Williams is at 19 minutes. Give her 7 more.
Collier is at 18 minutes. Give her 6 more
Butler is at 15 minutes. Give her 8 more
Ekmark is at 10 minutes. Give her 3 more.

That's 30 more minutes split up among the 6 players.

So how would their stats increase with the increased minutes?

Nurse is 27 minutes. No change, although I expect her to score more like her freshman year.
Samuelson in 28 minutes. 12.7 ppg.
Williams in 26 minutes. 13.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg.
Collier in 24 minutes. 9.3 ppg, 7.6 ppg
Butler in 23 minutes. 11.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg
Ekmark in 13 minutes. 3.2 ppg

With the expected improvement that most players get under UConn coaching, you move than likely have 5 double digit scores and three amazing rebounders close to double doubles. But just with extended minutes and not unreasonable ones, this team looks pretty darn good to me!!

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I say this about SEC games, but this PAC-12 game between No. 9 Arizona State and USC had to be one of the worst first half of play in WCBB history.

Arizona State only scored 4 points in the first quarter towards a 16-16 tie. The scoring numbers are bad enough but the shooting percentages were painful. Arizona State was 6-22 and 0-4 on threes while USC was 7-25 and 0-5 on threes. To add insult to injury, Arizona State turned the ball over 14 times while USC turned it over 13 times.

Thankfully, both teams shot much better in the third quarter with Arizona State taking a one point lead after a 17-16 quarter, 33-32. They carried that into the fourth quarter with the lead never getting to more than 4 before the final of 50-45. Congrats to one team getting to 50. Bleech!

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I guess I didn't take a closer look at the South Carolina game Thursday night. Although they beat Ole Miss by 22 points, I believe that was the expected thread. Ole Miss is in last place in the SEC and not a very good team unless they are playing Tennessee.

So, what did I miss? Well, the first thing I noticed was that their star guard, Tiffany Mitchell, didn't start. Supposedly Dawn didn't like what she saw in the shoot around. Now I know Geno sat Stewart and Tuck last year to get their attention, so maybe it was a case of Dawn doing that with Mitchell. But Mitchell should be setting an example, not doing something in shoot around that would cause that reaction from the coach.

The next thing was the crazy amount of turnovers. I thought it was a misprint at first, but they had 29 turnovers. TWENTY-NINE!!!

Staley started Cuevas and she was her usual good player/bad player. She had 4 assists, 4 steals and made 5-6 free throws. But she missed her only three and had 6 turnovers.

Dawn said she wasn't worried about the team. She said they all were just fatigued. 29 turnovers is because they are tired? Good luck with the three games in three days in the SEC tourney.

I'm just not impressed with South Carolina this year and my guess is they don't make the final four this season.

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From David in Naples

Brenna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, along with Morgan Tuck and Briana Pulido. Stewie and MoJeff have won a place in the hearts of UConn fans, as well as the record books. Both are poised to take their place among the greats for the Huskies.

Stewie is currently 2nd in UConn history in scoring with 2,461 points. She will not catch Maya at 3,036 pts, but can finish in the 2,600-2,700 point range. Stewie is also 2nd in blocked shots with 380, only 16 away from Rebecca Lobo. She should reach that record early in the NCAA tournament. Stewie is currently 5th in total rebounds with 1,071. Stefanie Dolson is 4th, only 32 boards away. It might be hard to reach Lobo in 3rd with 1,268 rebounds. In summary, Stewie has a great chance to finish 2nd in scoring, 1st in blocks and 4th in rebounding. Add in that she has 388 assists and you can count her as one of the greatest to play for the Huskies.

Moriah is currently 3rd in steals with 333. Second place is only 16 away, but 1st is over 114 steals away. MoJeff is also currently 4th all time in assists with 598. Only 50 assists separate her from D.T. and 1st place. At 5 assists per game, MoJeff could catch D.T. if the season goes the distance. Scoring wise, Jefferson is currently 24th with 1,418 points. At 13.5 points per game, she could reach into the top 20 if UConn goes deep into the NCAA tournament.

Playing together has probably cost Stewie and MoJeff some points or assists because they use only one basketball. But, overall the combination of the two best players in women's college basketball has benefited both tremendously, maximizing their individual talents and bringing home three National Championships...so far.

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Finally!!!! Charlie SECreme has seen the light. Here is his latest article on the Lady Vols.

Tennessee in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament

He lists them as a No. 9 seed. That in itself is mind blowing enough. He lists their positives as follows:

- The No. 1 strength of schedule

- Four top-50 wins

- A top-35 RPI

- A win over projected No. 2 seed Oregon State

Of course, I have an opinion on each of these.

The No. 1 SOS only means something if you win a few more than four top 50 RPI games. And the top 50 RPI wins were against Syracuse by 2, Missouri, Oregon State and Chattanooga. And I had to look up Chattanooga. Not exactly the top teams in the top 50.

RPI is directly related to the No. 1 SOS. If the teams you play have a high RPI you get the benefit of that even if you lose to them.

I watched that Oregon State and they played their worst game of the season. And both that game and Syracuse were earlier in the season. This is NOT the same team that beat those two teams.

He also listed why they are in trouble:

- Their play as of late

- Their overall performance in the SEC

7-8 in the SEC is not good. That is why the Georgia game is so important. 8-8 might get in. 7-9 might keep them out.

How bad has Tennessee been of late? Really bad. God awful bad. Donald Trump bad hair bad.

They have lost 3-4.

4-6 their last ten games.

6-9 their last fifteen game.

I said this the other day, if they lose to Georgia and then in the first round of the SEC tourney, there is no way they deserve to make the tournament.

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So, without further ado!!!

Ladies and Gents, DD looks at the news........