Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 12/8/16

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Tough night to be bowling late!!! But I'm here now and I am so excited about UConn's big win over Notre Dame.

As you all know by now, UConn handled the Irish 72-61. It was an amazing game that I won't be going into detail about until I write my Post Game Report. It will probably be out sometime Thursday Night/Friday. I can't wait to write it.

I'll just say that UConn is just the better team, and while you never know, they look like they are clearly the best team in the county. And the fact that Nurse and Samuelson are on the Wooden 30 player watch list, the duo of Williams and Collier are as good as anyone else on that list.

In the meantime, I have plenty of links for you to enjoy about the game.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

It is entirely possible that tonight's game against Notre Dame will come down to how well each team does in three statistical categories. Obviously, nothing trumps the points each team scores, but here are three categories that may explain why the winner won.

1. Three point accuracy - Notre Dame makes 42.3% of their three point attempts. UConn's accuracy is slightly higher at 44.4%. Any significant drop in 3 pt accuracy would be big in the outcome. The line in the sand might be 37%.

2. Turnovers - Both teams average 13.9 turnovers per game. Against Texas, the Huskies created 26 turnovers and ran away with the game. At least 16 or more turnovers by either team would greatly influence who wins.

3. Offensive rebounds - UConn's worst stat has been the number of offensive rebounds they allow opponents to grab (105 in 7 games). That 15 per game average will get them beat in South Bend. Hold ND closer to 10 and victory may be more likely.

So the winning formula is easy to come up with.... Make 40%+ of your threes, keep turnovers to less than your average and limit offensive rebounds to 10. Actually implementing that formula is the hard part.

Go Huskies..!!

Update after the game- Notre Dame only made three 3 pt shots (3-14). The Huskies were worse at 1-9. That really held the scoring down. ND also had 15 turnovers, but UConn had 16. No advantage there. ND had 13 offensive rebounds, with Turner getting 8. UConn had 11, so a wash in that stat too.

The only stat sheet number that mattered tonight was free throws. UConn made 19-20 despite three players playing 40 minutes. The Irish made 4-8 free throws. That 15 point difference made the difference.

Go Huskies..!!

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