Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 1/29/18

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Ok, don't hate me. In three weeks, my wife and I leave for Florida for SIX weeks. I can't wait to get there and spend some time with my son and his family. And to just sit around the pool at the condo we rented. And to go to the beach. And to golf twice a week (or more).

Don't worry, I'm bringing my laptop so hopefully I can still blog every day. Maybe.

I'll try not to count it down here every day. No promises.

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In case you haven't seen it, here is my UConn/Tulane Post Game Report.

And here is my newly minted UConn/South Carolina Pre Game Report.

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So, here are my thoughts from yesterday's blog about a few games that were played Sunday. Let's see how I did!!!!

"The Mississippi's are meeting with No. 2 Mississippi State visiting Ole Miss. It's always a great rivalry game, but it really shouldn't be much of a contest. MSU is REALLY good this year and Ole Miss is just a middle of the pack SEC team. My guess is MSU by 30, even on the road."

Mississippi State won this one 69-49. My prediction was not bad at all. I didn't see the game, but doing a little scoreboard analysis, MSU was not as dominating as the score my tell you. Vivians had 25 points for the Tigers but no one else had double digit scoring. And they shot 40% from the field and 28% from the foul line. They were also outrebounded by Ole Miss. The stat that stood out the most was the 24 fouls they had with one player fouling out and two with four fouls.

"In another SEC contest, No. 10 Tennessee is visiting LSU in what used to be a great rivalry. I loved the Candace Parker vs Sylvia Fowles matchups and I'm glad I get to see those battles continue in the WNBA. Sadly, both schools have seen better times. Tennessee has been struggling in their last 5 games going 2-3 with a weak performance in a win against Ole Miss. LSU has been tough this season even though their record doesn't show it. Four of the six losses have been in close games to ranked teams. Tennessee should win this one, but I just love picking against them. Geaux TIGERS!!!"

Well, thank you Nikki and the LSU Tigers!!! My pick came true! What a fun game to watch. Tennessee once again went out to a double digit lead against a team, leading 29-19 before taking a 31-26 lead. The Lady Vols looked very much like the double digit loss team from last season, blowing that lead and losing by 11, the final being 70-59. LSU played an inspired game and it was obvious that they were playing with much more energy and smarts.

I don't think I have seen a team stand around as much as Tennessee does on both offense and defense. Early in the game they used a standard weave offense to move the ball around. But once things don't go their way, they revert to their 1-1 ways with the other 4 players watching the one with the ball.

The supposed Tennessee strong bench? Check these stats out. 39 minutes, no field goals, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 turnovers. Blech.

Tennessee is now 2-4 over their last six game and they were averaging over 80 PPG before that streak. Over those six games they are scoring only 69 PPG. Please don't tell me it's the tough SEC defense. More likely the really weak early season schedule. They have 8 more SEC games left in their regular season. Can they do better than 4-4? Gee, I hope not.

"No. 3 Baylor, coming off a great win over No. 6 Texas, is visiting No. 21 West Virginia. This has occasionally been a tough game for Baylor and last year was no different. After WV was clobbered at home 91-56, the second matchup at Baylor was a great game with the Bears winning 79-73. Baylor won both games the year before but both were close. West Virginia last won in the 2014-15 season 71-69. Can this be the year they do it again? Maybe a Baylor letdown? Nahh....."

Yeah, got this one right too. A close game with West Virginia even leading at the half. But Baylor is too talented for the Mountaineers. The Baylor defense took over in the second half holding WV to 25 total points. Tough to win any games scoring like that. I think that Baylor will get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney in spite of their early season weak schedule. I can't see them losing more than one more game. Maybe at Texas. The Bears look like a title contender to me.

"No. 5 Notre Dame is visiting No. 8 Florida State in a battle for the ACC regular season title. Both teams have only one loss in the league tied with Louisville and Virginia. The Seminoles are coming off a big win over at the time No. 3 Louisville 50-49. Yeah, one more point scored in total than what UConn scored Saturday against Tulane. Weird game. Can FSU hold down the potent Notre Dame offense? I don't think so. But Florida State can score even if they didn't in that game. If the Irish can keep their starters out of foul trouble I think they pull this out, even on the road. But an upset here wouldn't shock me."

Wow, was I wrong. Not in who would win. While I did hedge my bet with the last sentence, I thought that ND would win the game. I just didn't think they would win by 31 points. The final was 100-69. There have been some crazy big numbers put up against top 25 teams. Notre Dame gave up 100 to Louisville earlier this month. Nuts! The Irish really only go 6 deep and all 6 had double digit scoring. It's just the way they will have to roll the rest of the season. Can they continue this without foul trouble or fatigue causing a defeat? Doubtful. But then they are on, they are a tough team to beat.

"I'm saving the best game for last. No. 9 South Carolina "welcomes" No. 11 Missouri to their probable close to a sellout game in the lively Colonial Life Arena for a revenge game. If you remember, Missouri beat South Carolina in their first matchup this season 83-74 and a lot went on in that game. South Carolina coach, Dawn Staley was tossed from this game and her second technical was because she didn't replace a player who had fouled out in a timely manner. The player that fouled out was SC star A'ja Wilson, who really played some dumb basketball in this game. Her last foul was really stupid. On top of all that, these two teams really hate each other. Missouri is known for their physical play. By physical some would call it thuggery. The fans REALLY hate each other too, which always makes the message boards more lively. I have to believe that Wilson will be on a mission, the refs will want to take control and South Carolina will win this one going away. A tough three game run for the Gamecocks with No. 1 UConn next and No. 2 Mississippi State after that."

Well, this game was everything I expected. Just before the second quarter ended, there was a scrum with two Missouri players getting ejected for stepping on the court from the bench. I thought that was pretty bogus since they didn't have a camera on the South Carolina bench and you know that someone had to have taken a step on the court for the Gamecocks.

The game was 29-29 at the half and it was maybe the most physical game I've seen all season. With all the tough play it was surprising how few fouls were called. South Carolina used that foul shooting advantage to pull away from the Tigers winning 64-54.

Next for South Carolina is UConn. I'm more confident in that result for the Huskies than I was before watching this game. The Gamecocks hit several threes by players that don't usually hit them. I'm not sure they can do that two games in a row. And it's really one of the few ways they can beat UConn.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

You can tell a lot about a player by comparing assists they have to the number of shots they have taken. For example, Katie Lou has 47 assists versus 169 shots. She takes 3.6 shots for every assist. That makes sense since she is a higher volume shooter and often on the receiving end of great passes. At the other end of that discussion is Gabby and her 97 assists. Compared to her 159 shots, she has a shot-to-assist of 1.63, best on the team.

Here is each player's shot-to-assist average:

Gabby = 1.69
Crystal = 1.98
Kia = 3.13
Katie Lou = 3.59
Pheesa = 3.91
Azura = 4.53
Megan = 4.65

Crystal and Gabby are not reluctant shooters, but they have a tendency to look for teammates rather than shoot first. Z and Pheesa are not selfish players, but they tend to get the ball down low and go for their shot. As a team, UConn has 448 assists in 20 games or 22.4 per game. That is #1 in the nation. So how do other college players compare in the shot-to-assist category?

A'ja Wilson = 8.24
Kelsey Mitchell = 4.37
Kalani Brown = 6.27
Arike Ogunbowale = 6.08
Victoria Vivians = 6.88

The comparison shows the Huskies to be a very unselfish bunch. Pass until you get a good shot and then take it. 8-)