Doggydaddy's Den: March 2017

Thursday, March 30, 2017

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/31/17

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Happy Anniversary to my son Jay and daughter-in-law Juliane!!

You have a wonderful family!!!

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400,000

Damn that is a big number!! Well, that is how many views of this blog has happened since I started it in October of 2014.

My daily views has risen from around 200 a day when I starter to consistently over 1000 a day.

Thank you all for motivating me to write this blog. I love doing it. It keeps this old brain working!!!

GO HUSKIES!!!!

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Standings in the DoggyDaddy's Dailies brackets going into the Final Four.

Rank	Bracket, OwnerBracket	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	NCG	ChampionChamp	PPR	TotalTot	PCT

1	MacbethJBB1985JBB1985	280	280	200	240	UConn	640	1000	96.1
2*	giwdulespn07994140	270	240	240	240	UConn	640	990	95.2
2*	espn41965188 1 connboy77espn41965188	290	300	240	160	UConn	480	990	95.2
4*	linkster1 1linkster1	280	240	280	160	UConn	480	960	91.2
4*	UConnChapette 2Chapinsfan	280	280	240	160	UConn	480	960	91.2
6	Romeo and JulietJBB1985JBB1985	270	280	240	160	South Carolina	480	950	89.5
7*	Husky1974espn74005316	260	280	240	160	UConn	640	940	87.4
7*	espn16111129 1espn16111129	280	260	240	160	UConn	480	940	87.4
7*	Chuck 7espn76827413	280	260	240	160	UConn	480	940	87.4
7*	Synfulsynful	300	280	200	160	UConn	480	940	87.4

WATCH: UConn’s Geno Auriemma drains half-court shot

Unbelievable.

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I posted this in the last blog - "More awards pouring in for the UConn players. Samuelson, Collier and Williams were all on the ten player U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-America Team. A great honor and if I'm not mistaken, this will get Williams on the Wall of Fame at UConn."

As a few people have pointed out, Gabby will not get on the wall with this honor. The WBCA All-American team is the criteria. It will be announced this weekend.

I'll be congratulating Gabby for sure!!!

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Yes, UConn is playing the late game. But there is a game before that, and I am guilty of not giving that game enough attention. I'm not alone. I did my usual google search for articles about South Carolina and Stanford. I could only find a few. However, there were maybe 30 articles about the South Carolina men's team. It's just the way it is. You, me and the rest of the WCBB fans are certainly a minority. But a really dedicated minority.

So, Stanford vs South Carolina. Tara vs Dawn. I really think this has a chance to be a very exciting game.

South Carolina has done a great job adjusting to the loss of Coates. In some ways, they are playing better. All-American A'ja Wilson is playing better than she has all season. And because there is more room in the paint, she can move from side to side to get post position where she has dominated. Her short jumper has been right on as well, making her close to impossible to defend. The other beneficiary of the absence of Coates is Kaela Davis. South Carolina has spread out the offense more and Davis has been able to get the ball on the outside and either take a jumper or drive by her defender and get to the basket. She really has a ton of talent and appears to be using it to her fullest.

Cuevas-Moore is now starting. She has her limitations (streaky shooter, bad decisions) but she does get the Gamecocks up the court fast. The freshman guard, Harris is playing her best ball of the season. South Carolina was fortunate that Gray's injury was minor. It sure didn't look that way when it happened. But she didn't play very well in the Florida State game, so I'm not sure what to expect from her in this game.

I have to admit, I haven't see much of Stanford this year, but I did watch them against Notre Dame. They have only lost to Oregon State twice, UCLA, Gonzaga, and Tennessee. I think I was as disappointed as Stanford with the Tennessee loss. Maybe more disappointed...lol.

But they have been running over every opponent since losing to Oregon State in February. Since that loss they are 8-0 beating Oregon twice, Oregon State, Texas and Notre Dame.

She is not the best player, but I'll start with Karlie Samuelson. Gotta love this young woman. She has that Samuelson smile and has that Samuelson three point shot. She hit a HUGE three pointer to give Stanford momentum against the Irish and has hit 9 of 16 three pointers in the last two games. In her senior season, she has really come thru for Stanford and is having a great tournament. Erica McCall has been terrific as well and really anchors the post both offensively and defensively. Brittany McPhee was outstanding against Notre Dame scoring a team high 27 points and is an excellent guard.

They don't go very deep. Two of their starters, Johnson and Roberson, don't get many minutes. It's really Alanna Smith and Marta Sniezak that get the starter minutes.

So, who wins this game? Well, I expect South Carolina to do what they have been doing. Feed the post to Wilson and try to get McCall in foul trouble. McCall is a terrific defender but Wilson is just a horse. Stanford will work the ball to the open shooter and McCall can really present problems for Wilson when she has the ball. It's a tough game to call.

I believe that a closely matched game like this will come down to coaching and Tara is a better coach than Stately. Oh, also the possibility of the Samuelson sisters playing against each other is too cool to not happen.

Stanford will win this one!

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Time for a Sophomore Scoring update.

1. Stewie 777 points in 2013-14
2. Maya 754 points in 2008-9
3. Napheesa 743 points in 2016-17
4. Samuelson 732 points in 2016-17

Katie Lou and Napheesa have moved up to 3rd and 4th place in UConn's all time scoring as a sophomore. The twist is that Collier is in 3rd place at 743 points and KLS slips to 4th with 732. The only two players ahead of these them are a couple of Husky legends, Maya and Stewie. Maya had 754 points and Pheesa can pass her with 12 points. Stewie really poured it on her sophomore year with 777 points. Collier would need 34 points to tie Stewie and 35 to pass her. With possibly two more games to play, that is certainly reachable.

Tierney Lawlor and Saniya Chong are 152-1 in their four seasons at UConn. That is an NCAA record, passing Stewie, MoJeff and Morgan last year. 8-)

Katie Lou has 116 three point baskets this season. The UConn record for threes in a single season is 121 by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis in 2014-15. She can tie KML with 5 and pass with 6.

Go Huskies..!!

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NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS/LINKS

No. 1 South Carolina vs No. 2 Stanford

South Carolina reinvents itself and it's paying off USA Today

South Carolina no stranger to Stanford women Monterey County

Staley gets another chance vs. VanDerveer in women’s Final Four Oakland Press

‘Code Red’ mentality finds Stanford dancing its way into Final Four Yahoo Sports

Natrona alumna Kaylee Johnson reaches Final Four with Stanford Casper Star-Tribune

Dawn Staley faces former mentor Tara VanDerveer in Final Four Post and Courier

McPhee finding her groove for Final Four-bound Stanford women Olympian

Stanford’s team approach suits point guard with eight siblings Washington Post

No. 1 UConn vs No. 2 Mississippi State

Video from Kobe Bryant fires up Huskies Carl Adamec
Nurse takes her game to another level Carl Adamec
UConn's Auriemma named AP Coach of the Year for ninth time Jim Fuller
Walker, Coombs team up for win at McDonald's All-American Game Jim Fuller

Malloy declares "Husky Weekend" as UConn heads to Final Four Herald Journal

UConn is dominant — can they be dethroned? SB Nation

UCONN star Napheesa Collier discusses Friday's match-up with Mississippi State Scout

Thibault, Big Name In Connecticut Women’s Basketball, Devising Plan To Derail UConn Courant

What a difference a year has made for UConn, Mississippi State The Day

You’re about to play U-Conn This is what you tell yourself Washington Post

College women: Mississippi State looks to end UConn’s run in Final Four Westerly Sun

Schaefer father-daughter duo leading Mississippi State to first Final Four ESPN

Geno Auriemma on decline of women's coaches: 'Not as many women want to coach' USA Today

Auriemma blasts ESPN over tournament schedule, contradicts prior opinion Awful Announcing

Will UConn have their 'butts kicked' in semifinal? SB Nation

Tears dry, Mississippi St guard still plays for late stepdad USA Today

Coast pair soaking in Mississippi State’s run to Women’s Final Four Sun Herald

UConn notebook: Husky hoedown at the Final Four Connecticut Post

Final Four notebook: Mississippi State out for unlikely revenge Big News Network

Stanford Cardinal's Karlie and Connecticut Huskies' Katie Lou Samuelson reunited ESPN

For the Samuelson sisters the Final Four is a family affair LA Times

Gamecock Women play Stanford Friday evening – game details Cola Daily

Richardson reaches pinnacle in trip to Final Four Newton Citizen

‘Queen Victoria’ on The Court WJTV

Thibault, Big Name In Ct Women’s Basketball, Devising Plan To Derail UConn Courant

Mississippi State turnaround is thanks to Geno American Republican

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Statistical Sites

National Statistics

Rankings and RPI Sites

Realtime Daily RPI

Massey Rankings and Matchups

Jeff Sagarin Basketball Ratings

NCAA D1Women's RPI

ESPN AP and Coaches Poll

ESPN Conference Standings

Warren Nolan RPI and SOS

Message Boards

UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!

College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred

Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board

CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board

ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board

Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else

Videos

BBallnut's Games from the 90's/00's

UConn Women replays

UCONN Information

2016-17 Online Media Guide

UConn 2016-2017 Roster

UConn 2016-2017 Statistics

UConn 2016-2017 Schedule

I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

doggydaddy.UConn@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/30/17

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Standings in the DoggyDaddy's Dailies brackets going into the Final Four.

Rank	Bracket, OwnerBracket	R64	R32	S16	E8	F4	NCG	ChampionChamp	PPR	TotalTot	PCT

1	MacbethJBB1985JBB1985	280	280	200	240	UConn	640	1000	96.1
2*	giwdulespn07994140	270	240	240	240	UConn	640	990	95.2
2*	espn41965188 1 connboy77espn41965188	290	300	240	160	UConn	480	990	95.2
4*	linkster1 1linkster1	280	240	280	160	UConn	480	960	91.2
4*	UConnChapette 2Chapinsfan	280	280	240	160	UConn	480	960	91.2
6	Romeo and JulietJBB1985JBB1985	270	280	240	160	South Carolina	480	950	89.5
7*	Husky1974espn74005316	260	280	240	160	UConn	640	940	87.4
7*	espn16111129 1espn16111129	280	260	240	160	UConn	480	940	87.4
7*	Chuck 7espn76827413	280	260	240	160	UConn	480	940	87.4
7*	Synfulsynful	300	280	200	160	UConn	480	940	87.4

Bracket

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Here is my UConn/Oregon Post Game Report.

Here is my UConn/Mississippi State Pre Game Report.
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There are quotes all over the place for us to read. Here is the link to the ASAP Sports transcripts from the four coaches as the final four. Some great quotes there.

But here is the one I like best from all the quotes I have seen. It's from Gabby Williams.

"I'm really proud of how we have matured," Williams said. "At the beginning of the year, we just made really tough plays at the right time. Now we've put ourselves in the position where we don't necessarily have to make those super, out-of-this-world plays that may or may not go well for us. We have grown up and stepped up and we're playing like a really mature team right now."

Wow. It's explains a lot about how this team has performance has improved over the season. This is NOT the same team that struggled with Florida State in the season opener. And we will see more of that mature play in the Final Four.

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More awards pouring in for the UConn players. Samuelson, Collier and Williams were all on the ten player U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-America Team.

A great honor and if I'm not mistaken, this will get Williams on the Wall of Fame at UConn.

Congrats to them all!!!

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Fun with Numbers presents the most unusual/interesting stats from UConn's season so far:

1. Kia and Saniya are the only two players who score more baskets from outside the 3 pt arc than inside. Combined, they have 120 threes and 110 other baskets. Lou has 116 threes, but 138 inside the arc.
2. Crystal has made 15 free throws. So has Kyla.
3. Napheesa, Kia and Saniya average 30.0, 30.4 and 30.6 minutes per game. Katie Lou is at 31.7 per game. Gabby is lowest with 28.9 per game.
4. With 2 more steals and 12 more assists, Gabby will have 100 steals and 200 assists, to go with her 301 rebounds and 507 points.
5. Opponents of UConn have 652 turnovers and only 376 assists.
6. UConn's team assist to turnover ratio is 1.99065 (852 to 428).
7. Napheesa is making 42.9% of her three point attempts. Lou is making 41.9%.
8. UConn has tried 7 more three point shots than opponents, but made 95 more baskets. UConn (295-731), opponents (200-724)
9. Katie Lou has 115 defensive rebounds, 116 threes and 117 assists.
10. Saniya's assist to turnover ratio is 3.375 (135 to 40).

On to the Final Four with Friday's game against MSU..!

Go Huskies..!!