Saturday, March 28, 2015

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/29/15



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Here is my UConn/Texas Post Game Report
 
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What a great time I had at the Texas game. The drive up was full of great stories by my friends sTu and JD. Both really understand the game and we had plenty of pregame and postgame banter. sTu and I went to the same high school although he is significantly older. I'm looking forward to going back up on Monday for the Elite Eight game against Dayton. I'll be working on the Pregame report for that game Sunday.     
 
Danny K and DoggyDaddy
 
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Dayton played a great game to move into the Elite Eight game against UConn. I'm certain that the glass slippers for this Cinderella will shatter on Monday against UConn. One thing for sure, Dayton is a well coached team. I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle UConn's constant pressure.       
 
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I can't believe Tennessee won that game. Gonzaga did their part to give it to them, but I think Tennessee saw they were down by 17 with 6 minutes left and just put it all out there. It was a remarkable job by their defense, they hit the boards and hit their shots like their lives depended on it and at least their basketball lives for this season were on the line. I wonder how much they will have left for their Monday game with a formidable Maryland team. 
  
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SWEET SIXTEEN GAMES



  
1 UConn  105
 5 Texas     54
Texas women no match for UConn in 51-point loss Fox Sports
Analysis: UConn 105, Texas 54 ESPN
UConn steamrolls past Texas 105-54, reaches regional final Stamford Advocate
Connecticut women's basketball blasts Texas to reach Elite Eight Times Union
UConn has too much ammunition for Texas Hartford Courant
NCAA Women’s Tournament roundup: UConn steamrolls Texas Bangore Daily News
UConn wins in a rout; Dayton continues improbable run USA Today
UConn steamrolls past Texas to reach regional final Loud.com
UConn advances to Elite Eight with milestone win for Geno Auriemma ESPN
Sunday Gravy: UConn women take madness out of March Register Citizen
UConn steamrolls past Texas 105-54, reaches regional final Tulsa World
No. 1 UConn rolls into the Elite 8 with 105-54 win over No. 5 Texas Daily Campus
UConn women victory over Texas sends them to 10th straight Elite Eight The Day
UConn Dominates Texas ESPN
UConn routs Texas behind Stewart, Jefferson Carl Adamac
Star players live up to advanced billing for UConn, Dayton Jim Fuller

7 Dayton 82

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4 Duke         55 
1 Maryland 65  
      2 Tennessee 73    
Tennessee 73, Gonzaga 69 OT
No. 2 seed Tennessee beats No. 11 Gonzaga 73-69 in overtime
Lady Vols storm back to beat Gonzaga in OT
Tennessee women force OT and oust No. 11 Gonzaga
Tennessee mounts incredible comeback to eliminate Gonzaga
Tennessee rallies from 17 down


 
 
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UConn 105 Texas 54 Sweet Sixteen Post Game Report


UCONN 105 TEXAS 54 
 

 
Post game report 
 
 
Well, I sure picked a great game to go to for my first NCAA tournament game. No, it wasn't a close game that UConn won on a buzzer beater. It was another UConn beat down of an overmatched opponent. Only this time is was against a solid Texas team that had a 6'7" post and a 6'5" post for UConn to deal with.
 
UConn came out strong jumping out to a quick 17-6 lead five minutes into the game. Texas seemed to weather the storm outscoring UConn 13-9 over the next five minutes. With the score 26-19, UConn went on an incredible 24-2 run with Stewart scoring 12 of those points. It was 8 minutes of perfect basketball. Unbelievable.
 
The half ended with UConn ahead 52-24 and there was no doubt how this was going to end. UConn responded to Geno's challenge (see his quotes below) to be even better in the second half than they were in the first. They came out on an 18-4 run in the first 3:16. That made it 42-6 over 12 minutes. These numbers are staggering.
 
So, how did UConn do it? Fantastic shooting for one. In the second half 3:16 run, four different players hit three pointers. Geno's game plan to work the ball around and wear out the Texas posts was run to perfection. McGee-Stafford was held to 7 points and 7 rebounds in only 17 minutes. She was just ineffective against UConn. She was unsure of herself, turning the ball over 3 times. Their other post, Kelsey Lang, was held to 6 points on 2-8 shooting. Stokes sent one of her shots flying. 
 
Dayton is next. Looking forward to writing my Pregame report for that one.               
 
 Box Score Link
 
Game Quotes
 Coach Geno Auriemma
 
''That's lots of wins, 100 wins in the NCAA tournament. Some people don't get to play in the NCAA tournament ever or play a couple games. We've been pretty fortunate. We didn't win anything in the NCAA in our first couple years.''
 
''Like I said to the coaching staff at Texas, when you shoot the ball as well as we did, we're a really hard team to play against.''
 
''I can't say enough about these two guys (Jefferson and Stewart). It seemed like they were on a whole different level than anyone else who was playing. You almost come to expect that from Stewie at this time of year. To see Moriah do what she did today, she's come a long way in two years. I couldn't be happier for these guys.''   
 
"We're going to play even better than that. Whatever that is, we're going to find another gear in the second half."
 
"Those first five or six minutes of the second half? That's pretty good. I like that. That was as good as it's going to get. It really was."
 
"Stewie's not affected by pressure, generally. She doesn't let the moment get to her. She knows what the moment is and she embraces the moment. … She's just something else."

Coach  Karen Aston
 
''They are a tremendous basketball team, and I say that in every sense of the word,'' Aston said. ''They play the game at a high level on the offensive and defensive end. It was not a good day for us. We weren't patient enough to not let them have extra possessions. Our defense wasn't as connected as it needed to be.''
 
 
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Player evaluations
 
Player of the Game  
Breanna Stewart 

So, we have seen Stewie 2.0 earlier this season. Who knew we would see Stewart 3.0 so soon? I'm sure I'm a little biased but anyone who doesn't vote for Stewart as POY is an idiot. Sorry to be so blunt. Ok...no I'm not. She just DOMINATED the big Texas front line from the opening tip that she won from the 6'7' Stafford-McGee. Her stat line was just phenomenal. In 31 minutes she scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out 7 assists and blocked 3 shots. WOW! If this is the Stewie for the rest of this tournament, turn out the lights, the party's over!     


Morgan Tuck 
 
 The next time someone tells me UConn might have trouble because the opponent has a big front line, I'm going to smack them on the head. Morgan Tuck can play against ANY size player. Her post footwork is exemplary and she schooled the Texas front line several times. Tuck had her usual solid stat line with 14 points on 6-11 shooting. She added 2-4 on threes and five rebounds along with 2 assists. She helped bring the Texas posts away from the basket with her complete offensive game.
 
  
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
 
Despite them face-guarding KML for much of the game, she managed to make 2 three pointers. Her defense was terrific. She guarded players much quicker than her and she used her feet to stay in front of them. And her help defense was timely. She managed a couple of blocks as well. She only needs four more threes to tie the NCAA record. I'm hoping its Monday. 
  
Moriah Jefferson 
 
 I hope the voters of the Lieberman Award, and the voters for the All-American teams are watching. If this young lady isn't on the 10 player team, no one should be. Against Texas, she flat out controlled the entire game. In her 34 minutes, she scored 25 points on a remarkable 10-12 from the field. She added 6 assists and 3 steals. She is just special.    

Kiah Stokes

Stokes had a terrific game off the bench. She helped neutralize the Texas post players with her strength and quickness on defense. In 19 minutes she had 4 point, 7 rebounds and 4 very impactful block. I'm sure the Texas forward, Kelsey Lang, hasn't had many of her shot blocked.   
 
Kia Nurse
 
Kia is playing strong in the finish of her terrific freshman season. She made life miserable for the Texas guard with her "in your face" defense. She wasn't shy from beyond the arc taking eight but she also made three of them. With her 13 points, she hit double digits for the second time in the three NCAA games to date.
 
 
 Gabby Williams
 
Gabby had a decent game for the limited minutes that she saw. It's tough for her against really tall players at this stage in her career. Her jumping ability will only go so far. Geno decided to shrink his bench some for this game and it limited her game time. I think she will see more against Dayton.
 
    Saniya Chong
 
Same story for Chong. Her minutes were limited as Jefferson was going to play extended minutes and when Geno took out Nurse, he went big with Stokes off the bench. I thought she played well on defense. She certainly played hard.     
  
 
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Dunk? Nahhhh.....not yet!
 
 DoggyDaddy at the game!!!! 
 
Shea was nice enough to smile for me. I said to her that she waited on my
table at Willington Pizza when she was a waitress there years ago.
I told her she was a better coach than a waitress.   
 
Louisville coach Jeff Walz was watching the last few minutes of the UConn game looking at the scoreboard, shaking his head. I think he was dreading what might be coming next. I called his name and he turned around. You can see that he looks a little nauseous. Maybe he threw the Dayton game so UConn wouldn't beat him by 50?
 
(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)
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DoggyDaddy's Dailies - 3/28/15



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Here is my UConn/Texas Pregame Report
 
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I'm making the trip to Albany and I'm going to try something new. I'll be posting during the day, live. I little about the trip, pictures from outside the arena, pictures with fellow UConn fans, Game shots, observations and a few thoughts after the game.
 
Once I get home, I'll put together a full Post Game report on the game. I hope I don't bore you too much!!!  The blog entry is basically empty until the trip starts but I wanted to get something out there so I could create the link. DoggyDaddy's Excellent Adventure 
    
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It's not like UConn hasn't faced any height.
 
 Texas goes 6'7", 6'5", 5'11"
Duke goes 6'5", 6'4", 6'4", 6'4, 6'3"
South Carolina goes 6'5", 6'4", 6'4", 6'4" 
 
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Great games and performances tonight.
 
Baylor was able to handled Iowa State, 81-66, behind a career high 23 points from their center Sune Agbuke. Nina Davis added 20 points and Nya Johnson had a Double-Double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. For Iowa, Samantha Logic was amazing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assist for a rare NCAA tourney Triple-Double. Baylor looks like a team on a mission and will be a tough out for  Notre Dame in the Elite Eight rematch from last season.
 
The South Carolina / North Carolina rematch from last year was a great game. North Carolina had a late 3 point lead but for some strange reason took a few jumpers without running down the clock. South Carolina hit some clutch threes late to tie the score and Mitchell did was All-Americans are supposed to do, hit a layup with 5 seconds left for the winning margin. Neither team was very impressive. Interesting that two starters, PG Sessions and C Ibiam only player 11 minutes each and their star freshman only played 10 minutes. None of the three were effective and South Carolina was fortunate that Coates and Roy came off the bench for 30 points between them.
 
Stanford was game but Notre Dame is just too good. The Irish beat Stanford 81-60.  Lindsay Allen had a career first half with 24 points and Jewel Loyd did her thing in the second half. Once Thompson tweaked her knee for Stanford, it was all downhill for the Cardinal. Loyd finished with 21 points. Hannah Huffman shocked everyone with a few really productive minutes, scoring 4 points grabbing 5 rebound and handing out 3 assists. Notre Dame moves on to meet Baylor in what will be a really great game.
 
Florida State held on to beat Arizona State 66-65 in a game that looked like at time neither team wanted to win. There was one sequence where Florida State miss 4-5 consecutive putbacks after rebounding the miss and Arizona State, after securing the rebound, miss a bunny on the other end. A lot of ugly ball. FSU miss a 1-1 with 6 seconds left but ASU couldn't get a shot off. The matchup with South Carolina is going to be really ugly. Both teams defense well and both teams have offenses that go for long bad stretches of play.  
 
I'll post the links to the two later games as they come out. Time for some sleep before heading up to Albany Saturday morning.           
 
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SWEET SIXTEEN GAMES



  Saturday 12:00 ESPN
1 UConn  
 5 Texas
Texas' twin towers to test UConn ESPN
Texas Women Return To Spotlight, But UConn Casts Big Shadow Hartford Courant
Tuck, UConn women prepare to meet Texas in Sweet 16 Mike Dimauro
UConn women face tall task against Texas front line Middletown Press
Brian Koonz: Rebecca Lobo, the seemingly unflappable UConn great Connecticut Post
Women’s NCAA tournament preview capsule: Texas vs. No. 1 UConn New Haven Register
Texas ready for matchup with UConn in Sweet 16 Yahoo
Walk-on role at UConn suits Lawlor to a 'T' American-Republican
The Texas of women's basketball meets ... Texas Mike Dimauro
They Said It for Monday March 30 Connecticut Post
Texas big underdog, but loosey goosey REP-AM
Texas Ready For Sweet 16 Matchup With UConn CBS DFW
Geno Auriemma builds UConn into gold standard in women’s basketball Dailyfreeman
Texas assistant coach quite familiar with competitiveness of Moriah Jefferson NH Register
 UConn, Texas agree to home-and-home deal Carl Adamac
For UConn, winning attitudes start young Carl Adamac
What's Born In Texas Should Stay In Texas John Altavilla
UConn's Nurse not only Hamilton native in Albany Jim Fuller
Texas assistant big fan of UConn's Moriah Jefferson Jim Fuller

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Friday 9:30 ESPN2 
Friday 10:00 ESPN
4 Stanford  
1 Notre Dame
 

Friday 7:00 ESPN
4 North Carolina
1 South Carolina 
South Carolina holds off North Carolina 67-65 in NCAAs
South Carolina ends UNC's season in Sweet Sixteen
South Carolina women's basketball team beats North Carolina in Sweet 16
Thriller! USC Advances to Elite 8 with 67-65 Win
WBB: SC wins nailbiter
Gamecocks defeat North Carolina 67-65 advance to Elite Eight
Mitchell's late basket helps South Carolina hold off North Carolina 67-65 in NCAA Sweet 16
South Carolina holds off North Carolina 67-65 in NCAAs - WSET.com - ABC13
FROM SWEET TO ELITE: Mitchell's layup sends USC to round of eight
Mitchell hits winner as Gamecocks edge Tar Heels
NCAA Women: No. 1 Seed Holds On To Win

 
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 Saturday 4:30 ESPN
4 Duke  
Saturday 6:30 ESPN
11 Gonzaga
      2 Tennessee   
Gonzaga relishing improbable run
Gonzaga-Tennessee Preview
Tennessee women expect to be met by hostile crowd in Spokane
Gonzaga Looks To Move Past UCLA History And Into The Elite Eight
Lady Vols focusing on defensive principles heading into matchup with Gonzaga
Lady Vols to play Gonzaga in Sweet 16 on Saturday
Lady Vols face "road challenge" against Gonzaga
Tennessee leaves home, prepares for road-game tournament atmosphere
Lady Vols practice at Spokane Regional

 
 
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Friday, March 27, 2015

DoggyDaddy's Excellent Adventure


I'll be posting all day from the time we leave for Albany until I get home. Good thing I'm not driving!!!

Keep checking in starting sometime tomorrow. This may be interesting only to me!!!
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8:17 and almost ready to leave my house. Meeting sTu in Simsbury.

9:00 driving shotgun!!!

9:15 snow? Friggin' snow???? You have GOT to be kidding me.
   
10:08 picked up Meyers in Lee Mass. 45 minutes from Albany!!!!

Great stories from sTu and JD. A very interesting ride.

 Warm ups!!!!
Pregame. Nice place

Natalie Butler. Looking good!!

Texas cheerleaders.

Good start for uconn. Up 13-6 at the first timeout.

Next timeout at the 11:52 uconn up 19-12. Texas has settled down and the freshman McCarty hit a big three.

Texas called a timeout with 8:12 left after. KML three put uconn up 14, 33-19.

Sorry. I got into the game. Wow, it was the best I've seen them play. Incredible.

105-54. 
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Thursday, March 26, 2015

DoggyDaddy's Dailiies 3/27/15



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Here is my UConn/Texas Pregame Report
 
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Four games Friday highlighted by the Stanford/Notre Dame game matching up two of the best coached in WCBB. I'm curious to see what Tara has cooked up for Notre Dame. While I think Notre Dame is the better team, never count out Stanford in the tournament. That being said, Notre Dame is playing their best ball of the season and should win this one handily.   
 
A great rematch from last years NCAA tournament where the North beat the South in the battle of the Carolinas. Last season North Carolina beat South Carolina 65-58, led by Diamond Deshields 19 points. Sophomores Alisha Gray and Stephanie Mavunga have picked up the slack in her absence this season. UNC is the same team minus DD and McDaniel and South Carolina is the same team but added Wilson. I'll go with South Carolina in this game. 
 
Iowa State vs Bayor in a lot of ways are like two teams playing mirror images of each other. Both teams like to run, so a big difference maker could be transition defense. One of my favorite player, 5'11" Nina Davis, is usually the best player on the court and that is certainly possible in this matchup. The difference in the two teams can be found on their predominate way to score. Baylor is an inside team, rarely shooting the three pointer. Melissa Dixon is the nation's leader in made 3-pointers per game and the Hawkeyes are shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. Baylor's defense will be the real difference maker and The Bears will continue on to the Elite Eight after beating Iowa. 
 
Florida State is a very good team. I was very happy to see them in a different bracket than UConn. The are a tough minded team that loves the physical part of the game. Arizona State is one of those top teams that I just haven't seen a lot of. Just based on that, I'm going to go with Florida State.   
    
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SWEET SIXTEEN GAMES



  Saturday 12:00 ESPN
1 UConn  
 5 Texas
Banged-up Texas next for UConn in NCAAs New Haven Register
UConn’s Geno Auriemma on Texas: “We don’t know anything about them” Sportzedge
Poetry pulled Texas center McGee-Stafford from depression CTpost.com
No. 1 UConn Heads to Albany for NCAA Regional Semifinal Tilt with Texas UConnhuskies.com
UConn’s Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse back at full speed after hitting freshman wall New Haven Register
NCAA Women's Tournament: Albany Regional Breakdown Hartford Courant
KML shooting herself into the record books Carl Adamac
UConn freshmen making an impact in NCAA tournament Jim Fuller
UConn's Mosqueda-Lewis and Stewart Wade Trophy finalist Jim Fuller 
UConn's Jefferson admires fighting spirit of Texas Jim Fuller
LSU, UConn agree to home and home series Jim Fuller

Saturday 2:00 ESPN

7 Dayton 
3 Louisville
Freshman forward Hines-Allen leading the way for Louisville
Louisville headed to Albany
Dayton to meet No. 8/8 Louisville in NCAA Regional Semi Saturday
Hoover named regional finalist for WBCA All-American Team
    
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Friday 9:30 ESPN2 

Friday 10:00 ESPN
4 Stanford  
1 Notre Dame
 

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 Saturday 4:30 ESPN


Saturday 6:30 ESPN
11 Gonzaga
      2 Tennessee   
Five things to consider about Lady Vols vs. GonzagaGonzaga WBB Set For Sweet Sixteen Showdown With Tennessee
Lady Vols head west for Gonzaga
Lady Vols prepare for road-game atmosphere
Sweet 16 bound: Gonzaga women vs. Tennessee
Georgia Stirton makes big strides to lead Gonzaga women from the point
John Adams: Gonzaga comfortable, confident in underdog role
Zags enjoying home court advantage against Lady Vols
Heading to Spokane? It's a lonnnggg trip

 
 
 
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