Doggydaddy's Den: Doggys Doghouse 12/5/18

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Happy Fourth Day of Hanukkah!!!

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I went to the UConn men's game with some bowling league buddies. From left to right, me, Dan, Rich and Mark.

Coach Hurley is doing an amazing job. They hammered LaSalle 90-63. He has basically the same team playing with heart and enthusiasm. They hustle the entire game. They hit three point shots. They pass without dribbling. They run every chance they get. On defense, they put pressure on the ball and do a great job switching off screens.

Sound familiar. Their defensive scheme, other than the fact that the men can protect the basket, is very similar to how the UConn women's team plays.

I suggest you get to a game if you can. Just watch and listen to Coach Hurley. It's a show all on it's own.

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Can you tell me which one???

No. 9 Tennessee 65 Stetson 55

No. 10 NC State 83 Hampton 51

No. 14 Minnesota 75 Incarnate Word 39

No. 15 Syracuse 96 Maryland Eastern-Shore 51

No. 22 South Carolina 80 Appalachian State 50

I'll give you a hint. One team had indigestion from their cupcakes. The others had second helpings.

Yes, the Lady Vols gave me one more reason to make fun of them. Stetson was 1-6 coming in. 0-3 on the road. They are just not a very good team. Yet, they were up 23-15 after one quarter and 38-22 at the half. At one point they had a 20 point lead. What a total embarrassment for the No. 9 team in the country. But as I said to my friend Dan at the UConn men's game (I was checking scores on my phone), Tennessee will come back and win. And they did.

However, you just can't downplay a performance like they had in the first half. And their game stats are not very good either. They shot 38% from the field and 2-15 on threes. They also had 17 turnovers and only 9 assists. What a terrible A/TO ration. If it wasn't for them getting to the foul line 30 times and making 25, they might have lost this game. I did not watch it (I might just watch the first half on ESPN3 for fun), but maybe they got a little home cooking?

Tennessee next plays No. 12 Texas on the road and No. 11 Stanford at home. This should tell us more about this team. Texas is hurting from injuries so I expect Tennessee to win that one an they do have a shot against Stanford as well, especially at home.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Double digits in any statistic in basketball is considered a good thing. The most common double-digit stat is points. Three 3's and a free throw will get you there. (For you Duke grads, 3x3 =9, add 1 and you get 10) Last night, against St. Louis, there were doubles, double-doubles and negative doubles. Consider:

1. Double digit scoring - UConn usually has several players who score 10 or more points. In the St. Louis game, they had five including Pheesa (22), Lou (20), Danger (18), Squeaks (17) and Olivia (12).

2. Rebounds - For the first time this season, there were three Huskies with 10 or more rebounds. Napheesa (11) led the team and Kyla Irwin and Olivia had 10 each.

3. Field goals - Collier had 10 field goals as the team fed their hometown hero in the first three quarters.

4. Assists - Crystal droped 10 dimes while directing the UConn offense for her 30 minutes on the court.

5. Double-doubles - Pheesa had yet another double-double with her 22 points & 11 boards. Crystal joined her with those 10 assists & 18 points. Olivia came off the bench to grab her 10 rebounds and 12 points. That is the first time this season three players have booked a double-double.

6. Negative doubles - St. Louis had 14 turnovers, 16 fouls, missed 17 threes and overall, missed 46 shots.

St. Louis took this game to accommodate Napheesa Collier give her a game in front of her hometown crowd. They were overmatched but played hard. Still, it was good to see UConn not let up after the big Notre Dame victory.

Go Huskies..!!