Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 11/11/ 18

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Today is Barrett day

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UConn opened it's regular season schedule with an 85-53 win over a revamped Ohio State team. UConn did what it usually does against teams not as talented as them. They ran out to a quick lead, extended it and basically put the game away in the first half.

As expected, the starting 5 for the Huskies is a dominant group. I think as good as any starting team in the country. Yes, even Notre Dame.

UConn was led by Katie Lou Samuelson with 19 points on 5-12 shooting. She was 3-8 on threes and hit 6-7 from the free throw line. They had her at 7 rebounds, but it seemed like more. She has come a ling way since Geno made fun of her for having as many rebounds as a dead person.

This looked to be a coming out party for Megan Walker. She looked like a different player from last season. She was aggressive to the basket, strong in her rebounding and was a terror on defense. She ended up with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. The steals were early in the game and really helped set the tone for the Huskies. She still put some shots up in traffic that were a little weak and were easily defended. It's ok.....more to work on!

Napheesa Collier was a little quiet in this game but still managed 17 points. I'm sure Geno was disappointed with her grabbing only 4 rebounds. She seemed a little off.

Crystal Dangerfield played like she is feeling 100% this season. I'm hoping Geno can manage her minutes some so her shins won't act up. When healthy she has to be a top 3 point guard in the country. She scored 18 points on 8-12 shoot and hit two long threes. She added 5 rebounds and 4 assists. It doesn't show in the box score but she made several "holy crap" moves. She did have 4 turnovers that looks a lot like "oh crap" moves.

As the announcer said, Christyn Williams let the game come to her. She rarely forced anything and just played a solid game. I thought her defense was better than advertised. I'd like to see her more aggressive on offense but then maybe she would be playing out of control. She did score 7 points and had 3 steals. A good start and she looked like she belonged.

Surprisingly, as least to me, was the fact that Mikayla Coombs was the first player off the bench. She made a really nice drive to the basket for her first points of the season and added two nice assists in her 17 minutes. I liked how she played and obviously so did Geno.

The only other real contribution from the bench was Kyla Irwin, who put in a solid 13 minutes. She scored 5 points and hit a really nice three pointer from the corner. I bet she gets more minutes going forward, but still not athletic enough against some of the better teams. We shall see.

The rest of the bench was there to give the others a break at the end of the game. I was disappointed that we didn't see more of Nelson-Ododa and Camara. ONO was clearly not ready for prime time. Watching her in practice, I thought she looked like she would contribute like she did in the exhibition game. Same with Camara. Geno sees things we don't. I'm hoping they both will build to more time. UConn will need them against the bigger teams, although there are not that many on the schedule.

Overall, I enjoyed watching UConn start the season with a big win. I hope to get to the exhibition game on Thursday. I'm thinking of bringing Logan!!!!

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An upset in the Top 25 Sunday! Unranked Northwestern beat No. 21 Duke like a rented mule in an 84-58 win at home. Now either Duke was wildly overrated and overranked or Northwestern is a top 25 team. I'll go with the former and not the latter. I would guess that Duke will be out of the Top 25 next week and it could be a while before they find their way back.

No. 23 Arizona State gave No. 4 Baylor a tough game before finally losing 65-59. The Bears were just too tough on the boards and down low with Cox and Brown, and the freshman Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds. She is a terrific player. The Baylor guards are their weak spot as the only contributed 17 points going 5-17 from the field.

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No. 3 Oregon hosted No. 18 Syracuse Saturday and the Orange gave the Ducks all they could handle with Oregon pulling out a 75-73 win. David in Naples had some interesting stats about that game.

"Oregon won 33 games last year and averaged 82.4 pts per game. This season, the Ducks are ranked #3 in the country and return the heart of their line up, including Sabrina Ionesco and Ruth Hebard. Yet at home against Syracuse, Oregon could only muster 14 points in each of the 2nd & 3rd quarters. That is a point below the “Mendoza line” minimum of 15 pts per quarter. Hardly impressive for the #3 team in the country.The Ducks improved to 27 pts in the 4th quarter to edge Cuse by 2 pts. However, the NISE or Naples Index of Scoring Efficiency shows Oregon to 88 combined shots & free throws to score their 75 points. That is a NISE of -13. Not very efficient..!!"

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Statistics often do not tell the whole story about which team played well and won the game. The Ohio State vs UConn stats, however, present a clear picture. Consider:

1. UConn had 19 assists while OSU had 5. (Five..!!)
2. OSU turned the ball over 21 times..!!
3. Different Huskies scored 19, 18, 17 and 15 points. Balanced..!
4. OSU’s starting point guard shot 1-12 from the field for only 2 points.
5. Megan Walker has 15 pts, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and a three. And, no turnovers..!!
6. The Husky defense held Ohio State to 19 first half points & 12 in the final period against the subs.

That tells you all you need to know..!!
Go Huskies..!!

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UCONN LINKS

Jeff Jacobs: Megan Walker’s stellar start bodes well for UConn

UConn women cruise to season-opening win over Ohio State

Easy opener as No. 2 UConn women's basketball routs Ohio State

Daniela Ciriello from Team IMPACT is our Newest Husky

UConn vs. Ohio State Post Game Quotes

WCBB LINKS