Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 2/2/2016

******************************************************************************

More great pictures of my granddaughter from yesterday's competition. Sassy and Athletic.

******************************************************************************

Here is my UConn/Tulane Pre Game report.

******************************************************************************

Fun game Monday Night between No. 3 Notre Dame and Duke in Cameron. Notre Dame had an early big lead in the first quarter 22-14 lead. Duke did their best to hold on and it was the same eight point lead at the half.

Duke did a great job after the half, taking a two point lead, 47-45 outscoring Duke in the quarter 20-10. Duke continued their fine play, eventually taking a 55-50 lead with around 6 minutes left in the game.

And then it was over. Notre Dame played tougher defense, Duke got sloppy and the Irish parlayed that into a 61-55 lead with three minutes left on a steal and breakaway layup by Madison Cable.

Duke was not able to close to more than four points before finally losing 68-61. One more tough outing for Coach McCallie, dropping Duke to 16-7. Gee....isn't that a better record than No. 23 Tennessee?

****************************************************************************

From David in Naples

At his post game press conference, Geno said he wouldn't mind Natalie Butler being a bit more aggressive going to the basket, or protecting the lane. So far this season, Natalie has played 157 minutes in 10 games and has 12 fouls. The good news is she already has 22 offensive rebounds & 56 overall. A little more aggression would make her even better.

It is no coincidence that the two top offensive rebounders, Collier and Williams, also have the most fouls. Napheesa has 37 fouls and 49 offensive rebounds. Gabby is close behind at 46 offensive boards and 35 fouls. Those two are 2nd and 3rd in total rebounds with 123 & 124. Stewie leads the team with 158 total boards, but 118 of those were defensive. By the way, she is 4th on the Huskies in fouls w/ 31.

For the most part, UConn plays aggressive, but smart basketball. They have committed 232 personal fouls, but those have led to only 126 foul shots. In sharp contrast, the Huskies have taken 299 free throw attempts while being fouled 308 times.

Geno's call for a bit more physical play in the lane makes sense, given how careful UConn has been to avoid fouling shooters. To date, opponents are averaging just over 6 free throws a game & no Huskies has come close to fouling out.

*******************************************************************************

This is a true "what the ???".

Last week Tennessee was No. 19 with a 12-6 record. Many felt that if they lost to both Kentucky and Mississippi State that this would be the ticket to out of the top 25. Even if they beat Alabama after losing the two games.

So, how many spots did Tennessee drop with a 13-8 record? Four spots to No. 23. Are you freaking kidding me?

Here is Tennessee with eight losses. And don't give me the close loss to a ranked team. They friggin' lost. How many losses does the teams behind them have? Well, Washington is 16-4 and Oklahoma State is 16-5. Only Texas A&M has as many as 6 loses. The rest have 5 or less. So who should be added to the top twenty-five if Tennessee drops out? I would have kept West Virginia in, as they lost to No. 4 Baylor.

Did I mention that Tennessee has eight losses? I read where with eight losses, the Lady Vols have the most defeats for a ranked team at this point since the 1999-2000 season. Amazing.

And who have they beaten that is currently ranked? No. 21 Missouri (another team that should be out of the top 25), No. 9 Oregon State. That's it. Who have they lost to that is ranked? No. 6 Texas, No. 15 Stanford, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 20 Florida, No. 11 Mississippi State.

2-6 against top 25 teams.

They also lost to a crappy Virginia Tech and a lousy Arkansas team as well.

Next week they play that mediocre Arkansas team again and a ranked Texas A&M team. Will they stay in the top twenty-five with nine loses? I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Of course, beating both teams would probably put them back in the top ten....lol.

*****************************************************************************

So, without further ado!!!

Ladies and Gents, DD looks at the news........