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Logan celebrated the UConn win with a little haircut.
And then to bed. The game really tired him out!
Ok....message sent. LOUD AND CLEAR. Even though Coach Q tried to suck up to Geno in the post game handshake line, Geno played his 7 player rotation well into the fourth quarter before bringing in the bottom of the bench.
I will have time to put together a full post game report. A few comments to start -
This was a fantastic first half demonstrating the best passing team in in recent memory. They assisted on 27 of their first 28 baskets. Crazy good. That just doesn't happen. But it did.
So, you have three AA's, three players getting great kudos and all well deserved. So what does Kia Nurse do? Outplay everyone. 9-12 on threes? Are you kidding me? 26 points in the first half? Insane.
Two other players with 23 points each? Lou and Gabby were terrific as well.
The offense that SU used in the fourth quarter was curious to say the least. They looked like they were playing as if they had the lead, milking the clock before initiating the offense. Weird.
On to the Sweet Sixteen and hopefully they keep playing like this and get to what I think will be a hell of a game against Baylor. No blowout there.
It's kinda appropriate to use this Jimmy Breslin best seller as a lead in to this piece. RIP Jimmy.
So, what is as much fun as a UConn blowout? Yeah....you all know the answer! Tennessee losing 75-64 to Louisville and ending their season.
Louisville and Tennessee were in a tough, physical game. Both teams had small leads on and off in the game. But Louisville, behind 47-44, went on an 10-0 run that started with a minute left in the third quarter and continued into the fourth quarter to give them a 54-47 lead with 6:28 left in the game. A lead they would never lose.
Tennessee showed their horrendous offense in the fourth quarter. They went from 1:18 left in the third quarter until 2:39 remained in the game without making a field goal. That's 8 minutes and 39 seconds. Who does that? Oh yeah, the Lady Vols and the great offensive scheme put together by Holly Warlick.
I'm sure you are all wondering about DDD. David gave me two great numbers. She had more fouls than baskets. And she miss more free throws than she had assists. She also took two really tough falls. And because of how I view her, I thought she pulled her best diva act on both of them. She looked to me like she milked those falls for all it was worth. Hey, maybe I'm just tainted in my view of her. Whatever. It's how I saw it. And her mother filming the entire game, focusing on just Diamond? How about rooting for the team? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree......
So, their season ends with a 22-12 record and a second round exit from the NCAA tournament. For anyone to look at this program for what it is, a middle of the pack Power 5 team, is just living in the past. Great history. But not even close to that now.
Big questions now. Does Deshields come back? How about Russell? How about Warlick? Do they keep her? Can she actually teach an offense to the No. 1 recruiting class in 2017?
Who knows. If you want some fun, click on the link I have at the bottom of this blog for the Tennessee board.
Standings in the DoggyDaddy's Dailies brackets will be out on Tuesday after the second round games are complete.
RK Name rd1 rd2 Winner PP TP PCT
| 1 | 290 | 300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1280 | 590 | 100 | |
| 2 | 300 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1240 | 580 | 99.9 | |
| 3* | 290 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1280 | 570 | 99.6 | |
| 3* | 290 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1240 | 570 | 99.6 | |
| 3* | 310 | 260 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1240 | 570 | 99.6 | |
| 6* | 280 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1280 | 560 | 98.7 | |
| 6* | 280 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Baylor | 1280 | 560 | 98.7 | |
| 6* | 280 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Notre Dame | 1280 | 560 | 98.7 | |
| 6* | 280 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1280 | 560 | 98.7 | |
| 6* | 280 | 280 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UConn | 1240 | 560 | 98.7 |
Looks to me that if either Baylor or Notre Dame win this, JBB is going to be the winner. But being a UConn fan....how can he live with himself????
I posted in my prior blog that South Carolina was lucky to face 12th seed Quinnipiac in the next round considering the injuries to Coates and now Gray. One of my loyal readers pointed out that I must be prognosticating because Quinnipiac was meeting Miami and the winner would face South Carolina.
Well, let me say this about that.
Quinnipiac beat Miami 85-78 in a game that was SO fun to watch. These Bobcats play a great brand of basketball, play with great passion and you can see the great comradery between all the players. They led for almost the entire game and when Miami got close, they would find an open shooter.
Now for the truth. I screwed up in my prior blog and the proof is that I didn't have Quinnipiac in the Sweet Sixteen in any of my brackets. But I'm thrilled for them.
Two teams from Connecticut in the Sweeet Sixteen? Crazy!!
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Well, let me say this about that.
Quinnipiac beat Miami 85-78 in a game that was SO fun to watch. These Bobcats play a great brand of basketball, play with great passion and you can see the great comradery between all the players. They led for almost the entire game and when Miami got close, they would find an open shooter.
Now for the truth. I screwed up in my prior blog and the proof is that I didn't have Quinnipiac in the Sweet Sixteen in any of my brackets. But I'm thrilled for them.
Two teams from Connecticut in the Sweeet Sixteen? Crazy!!
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The SEC has underachieved this entire tournament. Only 2 of the 8 teams that were in the tournament made the Sweet Sixteen meaning SIX of their teams were eliminated in the first two rounds.
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By David in Naples!!!!!
With everyone focused on the rematch of last year's Championship Game, Syracuse forgot to bring their defense from home. Playing without that important part of their team helped UConn score 57 points in the half and open a 28 point lead. UConn made 9 threes, went 6-6 from the free throw line, only turned the ball over 4 times and shot 64% from the field. They had an amazing 20 assists on 21 baskets. It was as if the Orangemen were not even trying to play defense.
At their defensive end, the Huskies were all business. UConn blocked 2 shots, forced 8 turnovers and held Cuse to 13 baskets in 20 minutes. For the half, UConn kept Syracuse off the foul line completely. Halftime score 57-29. Game over...
Go Huskies..!!
For the 2nd half:
1. The Syracuse defense was still missing. UConn scoring any way they wanted.
2. Less Kia Nurse, more Pheesa down low, 8-9.
3. Katie Lou from the free throw line, 11-13.
4. The Huskies w/ 30 assists in 33 baskets.
5. UConn with 94 points in 53 shots & 20 free throws.
Go home coach Q, your season is done.
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UCONN LINKS
Nurse leads UConn to Sweet 16 with second-round win over Syracuse Carl Adamec
Kia Nurse hits nine 3-pointers to lead UConn over Syracuse 94-64 Time Free Press
UConn leaves Syracuse, and a calendar, far behind Connecticut Post
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS/LINKS
Bridgeport Region
Storrs, CT
1 Connecticut vs 9 Syracuse (Links in UConn Section)
Los Angeles, CA
5 Texas A&M vs 4 UCLA Monday 10:05
College Park, MD
Durham, NC
2 Duke vs 10 Oregon
2 Duke vs 10 Oregon
Stockton Region
Columbia, SC
1 South Carolina vs 8 Arizona State
Coral Gables, FL
4 Miami vs 12 Quinnipiac Monday 9:10
Tallahassee, FL
Corvallis, Oregon
2 Oregon State vs 7 Creighton
Oregon State Beavers top Creighton, advance to Sweet 16 Oregon Live
2 Oregon State vs 7 Creighton
Oregon State Beavers top Creighton, advance to Sweet 16 Oregon Live
Oklahoma City Region
Waco, TX
Louisville, KY
Seattle, WA
3 Washington vs 6 Oklahoma Monday 9:05
Starkville, MS
Lexington Region
Notre Dame, IN
1 Notre Dame vs 9 Purdue
Lexington, KY
Mabrey scores 21 as Notre Dame survives Purdue 88-82 in OT Washington Times
Lexington, KY
Manhattan, KS
2 Stanford vs 7 Kansas State
2 Stanford vs 7 Kansas State
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
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:
With 25 brackets and a chance to win $3K from ESPN, I don't have to have 25 UConn NCs. That would replicate thousands of other high pick brackets w/ UConn picked to win. So as to spread the odds better, one should have some BU, ND, even MD, TX, SC and Stanford solo brackets in case one of them gets lucky or gets real hot.
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