Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 2/7/17

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Well, heading back to Connecticut Tuesday. If there is WIFI on the plane I should be able to blog after the UConn game. If not, talk to you Wednesday!!!!

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Sorry, no time for the Pre Game Report for the UConn/Cincinnati game.

It that changes, you will be the first to know.

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"Collier averaged 24.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game while shooting 82-percent (22-of-27) from the floor during a 2-0 week for top-ranked UConn. The sophomore started the week with 25 points, 10 rebounds, four blocks and three steals in UConn’s win at Temple on Wednesday. The O’Fallon, Mo. native was 12-of-14 from the floor and the double-double was her seventh of the season. Collier followed that up with a 24-point, nine-rebound, three-assist effort in the win over Tulsa on Sunday."

Congrats Napheesa!!!!!

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Congrats to Napheesa, Lou and Gabby for being added to the Wade Watch list. Kia Nurse was on the list at the beginning of the season.

Wow....four starters on this list? Amazing.

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I'm so happy that the No. 2 Baylor vs No. 11 Texas game was on FS1. It was fun to watch two teams that UConn beat play each other. Texas ran out to an early lead and held on to it heading into the 4th quarter taking a 67-54 lead. Then it happened. Baylor woke up. They put on a great defensive display and slowly but surely closed the gap. After Texas took a 71-56 lead the Lady Bears went on an 18-3 run to tie the game at 74 with 2 minutes left. Texas looked shell shocked and ready to collapse. After an exchange of baskets Texas took a time out. They put the ball in the hands of their terrific freshman Joyner, who hit a jumper to give Texas a lead they would never lose again. The Longhorns put the game away from the foul line to finally win 85-79. Wonderful win for Texas on the road.

No. 5 Florida State beat No. 16 Miami 80-71 in the battle for Florida in the ACC. FSU continues to make a case for a No. 1 seed. How far will Baylor drop? Will the Seminoles move into the top 4? We will see in the coaches poll on Tuesday.

No. 7 Notre Dame beat up on No. 12 Louisville 85-66 in a game that was never competitive. The Cards were led by Asia Durr with 31 points and Mariya Moore had 18. The rest of the team? They scored 17 points combined. Notre Dame was terrific in this game with four players in double figures. Westbeld has been terrific since being moved out of the starting lineup and coming off the bench. She had 14 points on 7-8 shooting along with 4 assists. Freshman Jackie Young had 16 points on 6-8 shooting and 7 rebounds. Notre Dame shot an unusually bad three point shooting night going 3-16. Yet they still won by 19 points.

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In non-top 25 action on Sunday, Tennessee played Georgia in Athens and I neglected to talk about the game in my last blog. You know how I love to post about the Lady Vols.

I was watching the game, avoiding all the pre-Super Bowl stuff and was disappointed that Tennessee had built a 6 point lead with just over a minute left and had the ball. At that point I turned off my computer and turned on the TV. Another Tennessee win and more Lady Vol love on the internet to make me crazy.

After about an hour, I was looking at the scores and was SHOCKED to see that Tennessee had lost in double overtime 81-78. Stunned! After the Super Bowl, I watched the reply of the game from the point I left off to the end. It was amazing to watch this team blow the lead and then blow another one in the 1st overtime. But I wasn't surprised. On the road, this team has a tendency to wilt in late game situations. Even in their best win at South Carolina, they almost blew an 11 point lead in the fourth quarter.

DDD had 34 points and when she was good she was great. But when she was bad she was horrid. Deshields turned the ball over 10 times, many in crucial game situations, and some of those were totally unforced. It's hard to figure her out. The announcers thought she hurt her leg but I didn't see any indication of that. She sat down on the bench away from the huddle late in the game. Not good.

I thought it pretty funny to read the Tennessee fans talk about fatigue from playing 3 games in 7 days. Funny, but so did Georgia and ironically so did UConn. Then one fan totally misrepresented the roster of UConn saying they play all ten roster players significant minutes. We all know that is not true.

In spite of losing to Georgia, Tennessee moved into to the top 25 at No. 24. I suppose it was because the other teams suck so bad.

It should be interesting the rest of the regular season to see how this tough loss effects this team.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Tulsa scored 11 points in the 1st period against UConn's defense. They had 5 baskets versus 6 turnovers, only 2 assists and 0 offensive rebounds. Tulsa also had two shot clock violations and an airball shot. In what alternative universe is that a "bad quarter" for UConn ?

Well, what about the offense ? UConn had 6 assists on 7 baskets, 14 rebounds including 7 on offense, and only 2 turnovers. Kia, Pheesa and Saniya went 5-10 and scored 11 points. How is that "bad" ? Yes, but UConn shot poorly only making 33% of their shots. No, Katie Lou shot poorly, going 2-10. Be specific..!!

There is a huge difference between a player having a tough shooting game and "UConn having a bad period"..!!! Not being specific in criticism is lazy and stupid. For example, Napheesa had 17 points at the half, UConn shot 42% and the lead was 17 points. How is similar play going to result in a loss at South Carolina ? One critic claimed UConn has only had one good half in the last five games. Does he mean the last five games where the Huskies scored 100, 91, 91, 97 and 96 points ? So UConn averaged 95 points per game, in just one good half ? Amazing what passes for intelligent analysis...

Katie Lou went 0-7 from beyond the three point arc against Tulsa and UConn won by 46 points. Her tough shooting from three point range did NOT result in a UConn loss. She shot 8-13 or 61.5% from inside the arc and scored 16 points in 26 minutes. For the season, KLS is still hitting 44% from 3 point range and has 74 threes. What are the odds she goes 0-7 in a game again ? Before answering, remember she has 21 games where she scored a three and one where she didn't. Also remember, she made 7 three point baskets against Tulsa, the first time UConn played them.

UConn is 22-0. They have played some great quarters, and some good quarters. They have not scored less than 82 points in 13 straight games. The average margin of victory is now 32 points per game. Any critic that labels the Huskies as having played "bad" or "poorly" should be ignored.

Go Huskies..!!

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