Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 1/4/18

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No full post game report again with this game. But I'll post what I can about the game in this blog.

First let me toot my own horn on the prediction from my pre game report. I posted this -

"UConn has won their games against ECU by 50, 45, 50, 46, 43, 41, 45 and 47. Incredibly consistent margins. But this year could buck that trend. ECU is a very young team, and most of these players didn't see much action in the two games last year. UConn can be a big shock to the system of an inexperienced team like the Pirates have. Between the weak offense of the Pirates, and the tough defense of UConn, I just can't see ECU scoring more than 40 points. And with the end of the UConn bench getting better and better, I don't see this UConn team giving away any of the lead.

Here is my unusually large margin. UConn by 60+."

Yeah, it was a 61 point margin of victory. Not too shabby. And my comments were right on.

Game Highlights

Brief Geno Post Game Comments

Here is the box score for you to look at.

Some impressive team stats in this game. UConn shot 60% in the second half and 54% for the game. They had 13 blocks, 8 over their average for the season. I think their most impressive stat was the 31 assists on 40 baskets. This team is truly unselfish.

Another great stat is their low number of turnovers. Seven is a GREAT number.

As someone (Geno? CD?) said, they look to set up their teammates shots, not their own shots. It's a very special team when everyone buys into that.

I loved the minutes distribution. The starters played 29, 27, 26, 25, 23 minutes. Off the bench, the players had 20, 18, 12, 9, 5, 3, 3.

Incredibly, East Carolina had 11 players with double digit minutes.

Defensively, UConn was TOUGH. Their press was disruptive and sometimes devastating. They held ECU to 25% shooting overall and 13.4% on threes. And even the shots they made were all contested tightly. They allowed less points each quarter with 11,10,8 and 6.

Some great individual stats in this game. And some great performances as well!!

Katie Lou had a terrific game. She tied her career high in assists with 9 and scored a team leading 19 points. She also added 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Her defense keeps getting better and better. With her 6'3" frame and long arms, she really is disrupting the opponents offense before they even get close to setting up their offense.

Gabby continued her hot streak, going 8-9 from the field after going 10-10 in the previous game. It raised her shooting percentage for the season to 61.6%. She was at 50% just a few games ago! She finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Oddly, and I mean REALLY oddly, she didn't have a single assists. I'll have to look to see when was the last time that happened.

Walker had another nice game off the bench in her 18 minutes. She had 10 points including some really athletic plays. You can see what she will bring to the table as she gets more comfortable at this level.

The starting backcourt had 9 assists. Nurse had 5 along with 9 points and Dangerfield had 6 with her 10 points.

The two "centers" had 8 blocks. Collier had 3 with her 14 points and Stevens had 5 with her 8 points and SIXTEEN rebounds.

It was just a good game for everyone. Another oddity, UConn went several minutes in the second quarter without a basket, missing at one point 11 consecutive shots and 13 of 14. And they still scored 96 points.

UConn takes on South Florida on Saturday. I would love to make the 4 hour drive to Tampa to see the game, especially with David from Naples offering me a ticket and a room for the night. Next time!!

Here is my UConn/South Florida Pre Game Report.

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My longtime friend, Jeff Jacobs is leaving the Hartford Courant and joining CT Media Group as a columnist. I'll be still looking for any of his articles that he writes regarding UConn women's basketball. You can find his articles in the New Haven Register, Connecticut Post, The News-Times based in Danbury, Stamford Advocate, Norwalk Hour, Greenwich Time, The Middletown Press and The Register-Citizen based in Torrington.

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It's Natalie Butler Update Day!!!!!

Nat had a great game her last time out. She scored 19 points and grabbed 28 rebounds in George Mason's 74-61 win over Davidson. On the minus ledger, she had 8 turnovers. Looks like the hands of stone that she showed at UConn reared it's ugly head for some of this game. She is up to 18.7 PPG and 14.9 RPG. That is impressive in any league.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

The debate about a glass being 1/2 full or 1/2 empty can be applied to UConn basketball. Against East Carolina, the Huskies opened up a 47-21 lead at the half. Is that half full or empty.,??

The full part is the defense holding ECU to 21 points in 20 minutes, 33% shooting and forcing 11 turnovers. The Pirates only made 9 baskets and 1 of 3 on threes. UConn also blocked 4 shots A good defensive effort all around..!

The half empty part is 2-10 from three point arc & 21 missed shots. Throw in 3 missed free throws and a case can be made that they could have played better. The 6-7 minute scoring drought stands out as an example. Still, the game is in hand and in one humble opinion, the glass is always 1/2 full and rising..!

Go Huskies..!!

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