Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 1/10/20 Includes a brief Houston Pregame Analysis

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Well, well, well, so maybe UConn losing to No. 6 Baylor was not such a bad loss?

Friday night, unranked Arizona State beat No. 2 Oregon, 72-66, closing the game out late with free throws after taking the lead.

I'm so glad I added the PAC12 network to my cable channels.

I have a better feeling that UConn can beat this Oregon team. They looked real mortal in this game.

So, No. 3 Oregon State plays next and they go against No. 18 Arizona. If they win they are No. 1. If not, my guess is South Carolina is No. 1, Baylor is No. 2 and who knows who is No. 3, You'd think UConn, but well, it's crazy out there!!! Upsets all over the place!

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Ok, I'm past it. It was one game and one game only. UConn still has three more OOC games that will test them in various ways. They will have their chance to improve on that performance.

In the meantime, they have several games until their next OOC games and UConn will have a chance to work on things against four conference opponents.

Next up is Houston. UConn is 8-0 against the Cougars beating them twice last season by almost identical scores, 83-61 and 81-61.

The Cougars are 8-8 on the season. They opened with a 69--38 loss to Georgia Tech. Only because they have played several REALLY weak teams have they won 8 games. They beat SE Louisiana, Houston Baptist, California Baptist, (Sounds like a couple of church league games), La Tech, Southern Miss, Hofstra, and fellow conference mate Memphis.

They did beat Oklahoma, but we know how poorly the Sooners can play. However, this has not been a good season for Houston in any way. They not only lost big to Georgia Tech, they lost big to Syracuse (23 points), San Francisco (23 points) and Texas A&M (29 points).

Houston has the trifecta when it comes to their offensive play. They can't shoot from deep, they can't shoot from the paint, and they can't make foul shots. Overall they shoot 39.8% from the field, 26.9% on threes and 63% on free throws. They also don't do a good job passing the ball. They average 12.3 assists each game and 17.7 turnovers. Their rebounding margin is a -.3.

They are also in the red in scoring margin at 65.0 ppg for them and 66.3 ppg for their opponents.

Houston starts -

5'10" Senior forward No. 3 Dorian Branch

6'2" Sophomore forward No. 30 Tatyana Hill

5'3" Sophomore guard No. 5 Dymond Gladney

5'10" Junior guard No. 23 Julia Blackshell-Fair

6' Freshman forward No. 1 Bria Patterson.

Off the bench -

6'3" Senior forward No. 22 Keasja Peace

6'2" Junior forward No. 24 Maya Jones

They are both a young team and a small team in the starting lineup. They do bring some size in off the bench.

This should be an easy win for the Huskies. But you never know hot much of a hangover UConn will have after the Baylor game. I'm guess not much. UConn by 40+ and all is good in the world.

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Baylor/UConn Post game Interviews

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Sometimes I just can't tell of the people that post on message boards are kidding or insane or maybe both.

"UConn & Patriots teams - feels like their 20+ year dynasties are coming to an end. Teams are no longer afraid of them. Teams are catching up in terms of coaching and talent development. I know we're supposed to have a good recruiting class coming in next year, but we all know that is a crapshoot. This team is far behind in terms of physical players with size. That doesnt get fixed in a year. Look at South Carolina. That team is stacked with young, gifted physical players, including Boston who is a generational talent. The days of dominance are over I'm afraid.."

It's almost comical. Can this really be a UConn fans? or just a Russian Bot??

Can't be a fan. He trashed the coaching staff in as he said "in terms of coaching and talent development".

And Boston is a generational talent in South Carolina? She's good but really?

Sigh...I could go on. But you can read it for yourself.

Overall, I'd like to commend many of the posters on the message boards and of course my loyal readers on FaceBook. Most have taken this loss with great perspective and love for UConn. Way to go!!

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By David in Naples!!!!

It is hard to argue that Olivia didn’t have a very bad game against Baylor. She obviously wasn’t quite ready for prime time. But, remember she is a sophomore playing in her 12th game, not a senior All-American finishing her career, like Lauren Cox. The comparison between Cox now and Liv now is unfair.

So, let’s compare Liv to Cox of November of 2016. The game was played at UConn in front of a huge crowd & prime time tv. Was Cox a star that early in her career. Not quite. 0-4 shooting, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists and 1 personal foul. She played only 7 minutes. At least Olivia had 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 assist.

The point is simple. Liv would not be playing against Cox if there was a junior or senior center at UConn. There isn’t, so Liv is starting now, not waiting to mature and get even better. So maybe cut her some slack and stop the sophomore ONO vs SENIOR Cox comparisons!!!

Go Huskies..!!

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Postgame notes: Long night for UConn offense, Nelson-Ododa
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Upsets in Red

No. 2 Oregon 66 Arizona State 72
No. 3 Oregon State at No. 18 Arizona
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