Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 12/29/17

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What a great couple of days with two of my grandchildren.

We took Noa to the movies and saw Perfect Pitch 3 and going to see Jumanji Friday. Then we took both grandkids to Launch, a trampoline place. So much fun. No, I didn't join them, I just watched. They both had a great time. Logan slept over Tuesday AND Wednesday night. He is such a good boy!!!!

Noa and Logan really bonded this week. Plenty of nachas and kvelling on my part!!

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In my last blog I predicted three close games for top 25 teams that the ranked team would win, but it would be a challenge.

No. 2 Notre Dame takes on visiting Syracuse, still in the USA Today Coaches poll at No. 23. The Orange always play a difficult style of play to defend. Syracuse has only played one team of distinction in No. 5 Mississippi State and they put up a good battle losing 76-65. This should be a good game.

Well, it was a good game for the first three quarters before Notre Dame pulled away and won coasting to an 87-72 win. Not a perfect prediction, but not bad.

No. 19 Green Bay is visiting Wright State. The Raiders came close to beating ranked Missouri early in the season, only losing in the last minute on free throws 82-80. They beat up on a decent Richmond team as well. Green Bay should win, but it won't be easy.

The game was close with Wright State actually having a lead in the fourth quarter. Green Bay was up only 55-51 with 25 seconds in the game. I'd say I nailed this one.

No. 8 Texas is visiting UConn's previous opponent Oklahoma. Now, the Sooners are only 5-6 for the season but they are home and coming off a good effort against the Huskies. They seem to be on an upward trend and Texas is a confusing team. They should have back Joyner Holmes after sitting her for the first semester. I just have a feeling this will be a close game.

Texas did have Joyner Holmes back but she was totally ineffective in limited minutes. She will need a little time to get in game shape and the flow of the game. I had a feeling it would be a close game. Well....it wasn't early. Texas jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead. They had a 26-13 lead after one quarter. They had a 41-21 point lead late in the second quarter. No, not close. But maybe my crystal ball was just a little cloudy and it cleared up in the last 20 minutes or so. Oklahoma outscored Texas 57-47 after that first half 20 point lead for the Longhorns. Yeah, not a close game.

I also predicted this game, although it was a real easy one to get right.

On the other end of the spectrum, undefeated No. 5 Mississippi State is welcoming unwinning and unranked Mississippi Valley State. Yeah, I'm sure there is a local connection, or a coach that is a friend to another coach, or some money changing hands (legally of course) but this game stinks. It's such a mismatch, there should be a mercy rule. Mississippi Valley State is 0-11. It's RPI Ranking is 333. Yes, 333 out of 349. They lost by 39 to Western Kentucky and UMass.

Nailed this one. Mississippi State hammered Mississippi Valley State 112-36 behind Teaira McCowan, who cored a career-high 41 points. It was the second most points in MSU history. MSVS had a game worthy of my UGGY award with their offense effort. They scored only 36 points on 24.5% shooting. They were 0-5 on threes. They were 10-16 on free throws and they had 25 turnovers and only three assists. This game should have never happened.

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We did have a big upset with Undefeated No. 18 Villanova losing it's first game of the season, dropping a 69-54 game to unranked Creighton. Harry has to be really disappointed with this loss. It was their opener in their Big East schedule. Never want to lose a conference game.

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Butler Named A-10 Player of the Week for Fifth Time

Natalie Butler had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the 60-41 George Mason win over Longwood.

She was also named A10 Player of the Week for the 5th time this season. She is well on her way to becoming the A10 player of the year.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

A year can make a whole lot of difference in player performance. For example, two years ago, Kia Nurse was 5th in scoring with 354 points. Last year, she moved up to 4th at 420 points. This season..? #1 so far, even though the three players who finished ahead of her are still on the team. Her per game average is up from 12.7 ppg last season to 16.4 this year.

Crystal leads the team in assists with 52, after finishing 5th last season. Gabby, last year's leader in assists with 190, is 2nd at 45. Crystal has also reversed her 3 pt shooting accuracy. From 31.7% last season, Crystal is currently making 51%. Some stats go the other way. After finishing 2nd in blocked shots last season with 52, Gabby has only 5 this year. The two leaders, Pheesa and Z have 18 each. Gabby's scoring average is also lower at 10.1 from 14.3 ppg.

Although the season is young at only 10 games, the most noticeable change is in UConn's free throw shooting. For the full season last year, the Huskies made 78% of their 642 tries. This year, they are down to 72.5% of 153 tries. It hasn't hurt scoring, however, as this year's Huskies are averaging 2 full points more a game with the easier part of the schedule coming up.

Still, lots of basketball to play..!

Go Huskies..!!

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UCONN LINKS

Looking At The Conference As Huskies Move To League Play Courant
Geno Auriemma On The Cusp Of Another Milestone Courant

WCBB Top 25 Results