DoggyDaddy's UConn/South Carolina post game report

UConn-Memphis Post game report 

(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)

Welcome to the big time, South Carolina. Monday night, UConn showed the entire world of WCBB that, right now, there is Connecticut and then everybody else. And it's not even close.

I'm not sure anyone but UConn fans understood the talent gap between the two teams. Watching the game, it was startling how much quicker UConn was. There is no better shooting team as well. And they pass the ball so much better than anyone else. Add that to the pressure they put on the other team's offense, and the combination of advantages are deadly. They showed it all in this game.

The game started out with the two teams feeling each other out. It was a little sloppy with both teams. Stewart had a couple of turnovers and UConn missed a couple of easy shots. South Carolina had a brief three point lead, 18-15,  after a quick 5-0 run punctuated by a three point play by Mitchell. Ten second later, Jefferson answered with her own 3 point play and at the 12 minute mark it was tied 18-18.

Interestingly enough, the game was close and it was mostly done with the starting lineup. My thoughts had been that UConn had a huge advantage with both Coates and Wilson on the bench. South Carolina did not have a size advantage with them on the bench, and they really had only one scorer. But the Senior Welsh came through with her determination, scoring six points and Mitchell showed her AA ability with six of her own. At this point in the game there were seven lead changes and six ties. It was the game that ESPN was hoping for. And then it was over. Done.   

What happened over the next seven minutes was just textbook UConn. They hit their open threes, and some not so open three's including a banked three by Tuck. UConn defended the hell out of the ball. South Carolina shot 1-11 over this timeframe and they turned the ball over four times. What UConn did is what they do to every team. They made their run and South Carolina, like every other team, had no answer. Before it was over, UConn had gone on a 21-2 explosion and they led 36-20 with 5 minutes left in the half.

South Carolina was able to stem the tide somewhat, playing UConn evenly for the final 5 minutes thanks to A'ja Wilson's six points and a big three pointer by Mitchell. The score at the half was 47-31 and I'm sure that the South Carolina players were shell shocked. Looked like it to me......

 

 

In the second half South Carolina started with a 6-0 run cutting the lead to 10 points. In the huddle, Breanna Stewart said “that’s it…they are done, that’s their run,” and it was.That was as close as it got as UConn methodically pulled away, finally winning by 25, their largest margin of the game.

UConn shot 55.4% from the field against a top ten defense and the were on fire from the outside, making 8-11 on three's. They had 18 assists and only 11 turnovers. In the battle of the boards, South Carolina was dominant on the offense boards, but UConn was only three worse than South Carolina and that is a big victory against a great rebounding team like the Gamecocks. 

South Carolina was only able to shoot 39% from the field, well below their average for the season but still better than most teams do against UConn. But the UConn defense forced them into 18 turnovers. And let me tell you, they were GASSED during UConn's 21-2 run that shell shocked them. All that depth and they still were run off the court by the Huskies. I was amazed at how many times the South Carolina point guard had to turn to the bench to get a play to run. You rarely see that with UConn. They just react.    
 

 

Game Quotes

Geno on Jefferson - “I think one of the hardest things to do is be the point guard, a guard, with the ball on a team with a lot of scorers because your natural instinct is to keep everyone happy…get them the ball and you kind of overlook your own abilities a lot of times. It is walking a fine line. You want to be able to make sure that the right guys get the right shots at the right times. At the same time you’ve got to provide some stuff to keep the whole thing working. I thought tonight she had the perfect balance, it was unbelievable. When to shoot, when to drive, when to pass it. She was really spectacular tonight at both ends of the floor. Her defense was great, her pushing the pace, I don’t think anybody can push the pace of the game the way she can. Tonight was a perfect example of that.”

Geno on the team's performance - “I don’t know that the game played out exactly as I thought. I didn’t think that we would be able to keep them off the back board, obviously we didn’t, and they had twenty-one offensive rebounds. At the same time we seemed to get every loose ball and made a bunch of shots. Again, the game played out at the pace that I wanted it to play. I didn’t want, necessarily, for it to be a half court game. That part of the game played out exactly the way I wanted it to play out. The rest, you know, you don’t go in to any game thinking that four of your starters are going to play their “A” game…if you’ve got two that’s a lot, and we had four. When we have that, I don’t know, that is a tough task for anybody. South Carolina is a great team, they are hard to play against, really hard to play against, but when you get four guys playing the way those guys played…it’s hard to play against us…really hard, especially in the atmosphere we were able to feed off. We fed off our crowd a lot. In the second half, we came out up sixteen and they cut it to ten right away. I remember going to the bench at one point and Breanna Stewart said “that’s it…they are done, that’s their run,” and that’s the way it played out…usually Stewart doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t say anything."

Jefferson - “We were really hungry, we were really excited to come out and play. I think our atmosphere was amazing with the fans coming out and supporting us. They were excited and fed off our energy. It’s so much fun anytime we’re in an atmosphere like this.. Our students were so loud I could barely hear myself think half the time. It was exciting and I’m glad I was able to be part of that game. We played well, and the game showed that.. Everybody was on good cyclinders, we were passing the ball, and chemistry was great. Kaleena was knocking down three’s and getting me the assists… I’ll take it.”
 

 

Stewart - “We want to play the best team in the country. If we could have a schedule where we could play the top 25, we would love to have that. We all have our own conferences, and we have to do as best we can within those conferences. They hung with us for awhile in the first half, and we knew they were going to do that. They’re a good team, obviously they’ve been number one for a reason… But we knew that we had more deciding factors to win the game than they did. When Mo is confident, and in that groove like she was tonight, it makes our team gel even more than we already do just because she has the ball in her hands…She’s unselfish, but at the same time able to be selfish if she can get by somebody and get an easy basket. We just have a lot of people who can score in different ways.”

 

Here are the coach and player evaluations  

 

         

Player of the Game

THE FANS!!!!

Yes, KML hit threes, Stewart blocked shots, Jefferson drove the lane......

 

But the fans were amazing for this game. The old timers trekked to the game through one more snow storm. The student were as loud as I have ever heard.

 

Students arrived more than two hours before the game started to get in their seats, where T-shirts awaited with the phrase "Basketball Capital of the World". 600 fans who couldn't make it turned in their tickets so students on campus could attend to make this game a sellout.

 

"I can't say enough about all the fans that braved the elements to come out here. That's pretty special," Auriemma said.

   

Coach Geno Auriemma

I believe Geno is just pointing to the exit for South Carolina. What more proof do you need that this man is a genius. All you had to see Stewart and Tuck respond to his benching and know that the message was sent and received. Geno had his team ready.

 

His switch to have someone face-guarding Mitchell helped fuel the 21-2 run. It was right after Mitchell blew by KML and then Tuck didn't leave her man on the baseline to help defend her. Burke pointed out how KML is not a good 1-1 defender but there was no way she was going to stop Mitchell. No mention of the missed help by Tuck even though Geno clearly yelled Tucks name when the should him on upset on the sidelines.  The "and one" basket gave South Carolina the three point lead, 18-15. The next time down the court, Geno had Jefferson face guard her. Up to that point, Mitchell had eight points in the first eight minutes. Over the next eight minutes, she missed two jumpers. No points, no assists. Genius.  

 

It was fun to see his true joy with his players as they came out. It was the performance he's been waiting for all season.  

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

 

The Rock. Again. I don't think I have ever seen her this emotional. She was the true senior leader and Geno didn't have to bench her to get this out of her. She really filled the box score with her team leading 23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals. Her 5-6 three point shooting increased her overall percentage to 51.8%. Right now there isn't a better shooter in the country. But clearly, there was much more to her game Monday night. She played 37 minutes and seemed as fresh as if the game was just starting. She posted when she had the mismatch and screened to open teammates for clean looks. This just about locks up a 1st team all-American slot in my opinion.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Breanna Stewart

 

 Is that all it took? A benching and a game against the No. 1 team? Stewart had her best game since the championship game against Notre Dame last year. I think this was the next step in her development. I was taken aback by how physical she was. For a change she was dishing it out as much as she was taking. And she didn't let how physical South Carolina was impact her game negatively. She played pissed off. It will be hard to carry this forward in the blowout wins that will be coming soon. But that is what Geno is talking about. Playing a certain way all the time no matter the opponent or the score.

 

I was happy to see she only took one three pointer. While I do think she needs to take and make some, this game was about her being a force in the post for UConn. And she was all about that!!!  A great stat line as well. 37 minutes, 22 points 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Big blocks. Impactful blocks. Player of the year blocks.

 

Moriah Jefferson

Dawn Staley award? Nancy Lieberman award. 1st team AA? She has my vote for all three. There can't be a better point guard in the country. We have seen some fancy moves in the past. I've mentioned them in past blogs. But to see her perform like this against what is supposedly one of the best defenses in the country was just stunning.

There were two plays that just stood out among the many she made. One was the step back dribble and drive to the basket past Cuevas. It was something that no one else in WCBB can do. At least I haven't seen anyone do it. She can dribble like she doesn't even have a ball in her hands. The other play was then she grabbed a long rebound and power dribbled to the basket for a layup. She was side by side with Cuevas and she dribbled to the basket faster than Cuevas could run to keep up with her. Unbelievable.

Of course, her hustle and leadership were outstanding. Geno went nuts over her jumping over the media's table trying to save a ball. Incredible hustle considering UConn was up 20 with only a few minutes left at the time she did this. Best PG in the country, hands down.




   

 

 

Morgan Tuck

 

I have to admit I was surprise that Geno benched her along with Stewart in the Memphis game. But her reaction was to just play hard, play smart and defend the hell out of the ball. She accomplished all three.

 

Yes, her first three pointer was an unintentional back shot, but as one who has asked her to keep on shooting the three, even though she was under 20%. The second three was great to see. She started in the post calling for the ball. When she didn't get it, she circled around a screen at the top of the key and received a pass just beyond the arc. No hesitation and swish. It looked like one of her three's in the McD's three point contest that she won.

 

Her defense in the post was great and she was a big part of negating the South Carolina size advantage. She plays bigger than her listed 6'2". There were occasions that she just wasn't tall enough to keep South Carolina off the offensive boards, but her hard work in the paint helped keep the damage to a minimum.

 

    

Kia Nurse

 

Her box score numbers weren't up to snuff, but she played a solid 19 minutes. Yes, she went only 1-5 from the field, but I though a few of those misses were just bad luck. She was aggressive and didn't let the game overwhelm her in the least. This was just a great game to prepare her for the NCAA's.     

 

 

  Kiah Stokes

 

I have to admit. I was surprised she didn't see more time. But Geno's strategy was to play the best offensive players. I don't think he felt he needed Stoke's skills to win this game. I thought she played very well while in the game, with 3 rebounds, 2 points, 1 block and 1 steal. 

 

 

Saniya Chong

I was so happy to see her get solid minutes in this game. I loved her cut to the basket and finish despite the hard hit from Mitchell. Her numbers, 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal doesn't represent the quality minutes she game UConn allowing the guards to get rest.  

Gabby Williams

 

I really believe that Geno not playing her more than four minutes was more that he was going to play his best players as much as possible and the ones he trusts in this environment. I'm sure he will explain to her that she needs more time. Personally I think she would have been fine with more minutes, but it's hard to criticize Geno. She did put in a productive 4 minutes. She grabbed a rebound and was strong in going tot he basket.        

 

   

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So, what can we take away from this UConn win? Well, we know that UConn is the best team in the country right now. And the gap is huge. Grand Canyon huge. 

We also learned that size really doesn't matter. UConn gave up a load of offensive rebounds, but it didn't matter. South Carolina had this supposed depth advantage. It didn't matter.

What matters is talent and UConn has the most talent. What matters is coaching, and UConn has the best coaching. What matters is conditioning and UConn doesn't tire. What matters is hustle and effort. And in that regard UConn doesn't take a back seat to anyone.

Put it all together and you have a team that is the odds on favorite to win it all for the third consecutive season.   
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Here are some pictures you don't see that often for UConn when they are winning by 50.

Note Sue Bird Smiling on the right

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Next game is Saturday against Tulane Saturday in Storrs at 4:00 on CBS Sports. Thankfully a few days between games to allow the team to come down from the high of the South Carolina game and settle back into their regular routine.