Doggydaddy's Den: January 2019

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 1/31/19

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Well, that was awful. I was hoping that the Baylor game was an anomaly and the UConn we saw against Notre Dame would return against Louisville. Alas, that was not to be. Certainly there was some good in this game. But it's hard to focus on that, even for the eternal optimist known as DoggyDaddy!

Let me say that Louisville did what they needed to do. They played terrific defense and had a ton of clutch shooting. Their All-American played more like an AA than UConn's two AA's. Durr was terrific in this game and while Collier and Samuelson did fill up the scoreboard, sometimes it's when you score and not how much you score.

I was worried about Dana Evans before the game started. She is one Super Sophomore. She outshined the No. 1 HS player of her class, Megan Walker, in this game for sure. I believe she was the difference maker here.

So, where does UConn go on from here? Well, for one, I still believe they will run the table in the AAC. Losing to Louisville on the road doesn't change that. Does the South Carolina game become more of a problem than before? It sure does. Dawn has them playing great ball and even at home, THIS version of the Huskies will struggle in that game.

Where does UConn end up in Monday's poll? I might drop them to 6 after this loss. We shall see.

Up next is a three game run against weak AAC teams, Cincinnati, East Carolina and Temple. Looks like UConn's streak of not losing more than one in a row will continue.

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It's tough when UConn losses and to add insult to injury, in Mississippi State's win, former UConn player Andre Espinosa-Hunter scored 16 points on 4-7 shooting from three point land. Think UConn could have used her against Louisville.

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Two games were cancelled and both were in Michigan. It was too cold to have fans come out.

Crazy!!!

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Speaking of South Carolina, the Gamecocks were able to hold on against Kentucky, beating the Wildcats on their home court 74-70. The game was really not as close as the final score.

South Carolina is looking better with the play of a few players that were struggling early. Alexa Jennings is starting to recover a little from her leg injury. She is posting stronger in the paint and that is her game. She had 18 points and 12 rebounds and will be a handful against UConn. Bianca Cuevas-Moore is in the starting lineup and had 13 points and was 2-2 on threes.

They have a strong starting five that can give anyone fits. Including UConn.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

There is no Fun in the Numbers when UConn loses. But, four numbers pretty much explain the loss.

1. L’ville substitute Dana Evans came off the bench to score 20 points. She had taken 45 threes in 20 games, but took 10 against UConn. She made 5 and added 5 free throws.
2. Walker, Williams and the whole UConn bench scored 14 points total the entire game. You can’t win playing 3 against 5. They were 6-22.
3. Louisville got twice the free throws UConn did, 24 to 12. They made 10 more tries than the Huskies. They won by 9.
4. UConn shot 38% from the field. They missed 44 of 71 shots. That will not win many games.

This was a winnable game. The numbers above explain the loss.

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UCONN LINKS

Louisville Knocks Off UConn in a Showdown Between No. 2 and No. 3
No. 3 Louisville women beat No. 2 UConn 78-69
No. 3 Louisville downs No. 2 UConn
UConn’s Napheesa Collier reaches 1,000 rebounds vs. Louisville

WCBB LINKS

Top 25

Thursday's Games

No. 5 Notre Dame 101 Clemson 63
No. 6 Mississippi State 68 LSU 35
Leslie helps No. 7 NC State beat Wake, stay unbeaten

No. 8 Stanford California (Late Game)
Kaila Charles scores 22, No. 11 Maryland women win fourth in row, 75-57 over Wisconsin
No. 13 Iowa @ Michigan (Postponed)
No. 15 Gonzaga @ Pacific (Late Game)
South Carolina women overcome No. 19 Kentucky, improve to 7-1 SEC
Cryor Helps No. 17 Rutgers Rally Past Indiana 69-64
No. 18 Syracuse sneaks past Virginia, 72-68, in back-and-forth affair
No. 20 Texas A&M vs Vanderbilt (Late Game)
No. 22 Michigan State vs Penn State (Postponed)
Strong defensive showing leads No. 24 Florida State past Miami
No. 25 BYU 58 Loyola Marymount 61

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Statistical Sites

National Statistics

Rankings and RPI Sites

Realtime Daily RPI

Massey Rankings and Matchups

Jeff Sagarin Basketball Ratings

NCAA D1Women's RPI

ESPN AP and Coaches Poll

ESPN Conference Standings

Warren Nolan RPI and SOS

Message Boards

UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!

College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred

Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
CockyTalk - The upstart South Carolina women's basketball board

ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board

Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else

Videos

UConn Women replays (New Link)

UCONN Information

2018-19 Online Media Guide

UConn 2018-2019 Roster

UConn 2018-2019 Statistics

UConn 2018-2019 Schedule

I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

doggydaddy.UConn@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 1/30/19

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Baby it's cold outside!!!!

So stay indoors if you can. Wear layers if you go out. Lots of layers. Cover your face!

It's just a couple of days, so hang in there! Pitchers and catchers in 2 weeks!

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If you haven't seen it yet, here is my UConn/Louisville Pre Game report.

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Only one Top 25 game Wednesday and it was the No. 1 team in the country. Baylor was on the road and played conference opponent Oklahoma State.

Yes, Oklahoma State, a team that lost to that powerhouse Tennessee by 13 points. Yes, Oklahoma State, who lost to unranked UCLA by 12. By 9 to unranked West Virginia. By 11 to unranked Kansas State.

A 12-6 team coming in, but 3-4 in a pretty weak Big 12 conference. Just not a very good team.

Now, the upset didn't happen. Baylor was able to pull this game out in the fourth quarter to win 66-58. But it was not the way a No. 1 team should play after getting that honor this week. I didn't see the game, but following the game cast, it was Oklahoma State that led for most of the game and even by 2 points going into the fourth quarter. Did they get the refs whistle in their favor? Yes, but with their size, that is no surprise. It took a 25-29 outing from the free throw line to beat OSU.

Baylor missed a ton of shots, but was able to clean up the misses and get to the line on those chances. The Bears only took 52 shots and had only 19 field goals. 36%. But 14 offensive rebounds made up for some of that.

BTW, the Baylor bench was basically ineffective in the few minutes they played. Three players split 18 minutes and had 3 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.

Hey, they won. They deserve the ranking right now. I don't think there is a team in their conference that can beat them so look for a strong No. 1 going into the NCAA tournament.

I'd love UConn to face them again. I believe!!

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By David in Naples!!!!!

PART I

South Carolina played Vanderbilt the other day and beat them 80-69. SC was down 2 at the half but pulled away to lead by 19 with 4 minutes left in the game. Then SC went cold. They did not score for the rest of the game, while Vanderbilt scored 8. The final margin of victory was 11. Vanderbilt's record is 6-14.

UConn also played Vanderbilt early in the season. The Huskies also scored 80 points, but only gave up 42. The halftime score was 44-21 and the final margin was 38 points. In their game, South Carolina had 14 turnovers and only 11 assists. They shot 3-11 from the three-point arc. Vanderbilt shot 45% from the field and 55% from beyond the three-point line. The rebounding margin was only +2 for SC.

This is not the South Carolina powerhouse UConn is used to seeing. Keep that in mind when they meet in February.

PART II

Currently, Christyn Williams has made 22 of her 62 three-point shots. That works out to 35.5%. Fair weather fans worry and criticize her lack of production. But, how do her current numbers compare to the freshman season of other recent Huskies? Consider:

1. Saniya Chong went 30-93 for 32.3% her freshman season.

2. Breanna Stewart was 28-84 her rookie year. That is 33.3%.

3. Moriah Jefferson was 17-64 or 26.6% as a freshman.

4. Crystal Dangerfield was not much better at 26-82 or 31.7% her first year.

At this halfway point in the season, Christyn is struggling a bit with her shot. Apparently, most of the recent greats had exactly the same issue as rookies. How did those four players listed above end up? All improved nicely over the course of their UConn careers. This is something all freshman go through, and Christyn will be fine. Just watch...

PART III

All-time UConn scoring list update. Both Katie Lou and Napheesa are moving on up..!!

7. Diana Taurasi (2,156)

8. Kara Wolters (2,141)
9. Rebecca Lobo (2,133)
10. Katie Lou Samuelson (2,069)
11. Bria Hartley (1,994)
12. Renee Montgomery (1,990)
13. Napheesa Collier (1,963)

Both KLS and Pheesa are not going to pass anyone in their next game. Pheesa is 37 points away from Renee. With luck, that is 2 games away. Lou is 64 points from Rebecca Lobo. After Louisville, UConn plays Cincinnati, East Carolina and Temple. Should be easier to score against thse teams. For Samuelson, after Lobo, Kara Wolters is only another 8 points away. For Napheesa, after, she only needs 5 points to lap Bria Hartley.

Good luck Lou & Pheesa..!!

Go Huskies..!!

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UCONN LINKS