Sunday, March 31, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 3/31/19













                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
*******************************************************

Image result for condo for rent sign

Ok, a little personal plea!!! My daughter is renting out her condo in New Britain. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath townhouse. 2 car attached garage and access to a community pool! It's a really nice place.

If you know anyone looking for a place I've provided the link on Zillow.  

177A Brittany Farms Road 

***************************************************

Image result for underdog

There's no need to fear, UNDERDOG is here!!!  And this will be the case again in the final four. I like it!!! 

UConn was just terrific against Louisville, especially Katie Lou!!! She came up big with a few timely three pointers from the parking lot! So many fans had dismissed any chance of her contributing in this game but she proved them all wrong. I saw a player with confidence and she moved around so much better than she did in the UCLA game. With a few days off, she should be even better in the Final Four.

Christyn Williams showed she is not a freshman anymore. She was dynamic in her play and made some key contributions in that fourth quarter. A tough three point play late and a couple of key offensive rebounds. I love when the guards contribute on the boards. 

What more can we say about Megan Walker. Her first half shooting really led the way for the Huskies. I believe she was 4-5 on threes for 12 first half points and her rebounding was outstanding. She is going to be a handful next season as an upperclassman. 

I don't know what happened to Colliers inside play. She is usually so deadly around the rim. But she contributed in other ways. Great rebounding and she led the team with six assists. And TWO great blocks. I don't think we will see another poor shooting game from her in the Final Four.

Dangerfield didn't need her best game in this win but she really had a couple of key plays to help UConn win. She only scored 10 points but hit a couple of big three pointers to help spark the win. 

Nelson-Ododa was the only other player to play for UConn and she only played 8 minutes. She missed her only FG and had one block. But she allowed Katie Lou to sit for 8 minutes after she picked up her fourth foul and UConn actually extended their lead in her time on the court.

I provided a ton of links so you can find plenty of analysis of the game there. Here are the post game interviews that are always so much fun to listen to.

             
Fast forward to 7:40 for Start of Louisville. 
Fast forward to 28:10 for start of UConn










   
********************************************************

12 straight final fours.
12 straight final fours.
12 straight final fours.


Let that sink in for a minute. 

To put that in some perspective, the great Pat Summitt's was only to have 4 consecutive final fouls as her best and she did that three times. But there was always a season that prevented her from doing more. 

This program has surpassed anything that even Pat was able to do. And it's not done yet. Will they win No. 12? It's not going to be easy, but you have seen this team grow by leaps and bounds after Katie Lou was injured and they had to win the AAC tournament without her. The youngsters have made that leap that they needed, Collier took on the big load and the team is playing more like a team. Yes, it's only a six player rotation but it's a group that has become real tight. 

I'm pretty sure that Notre Dame will beat Stanford and UConn will be playing an Irish team looking for revenge as UConn was looking for revenge against Louisville. It's a great motivator.

I'll have more on the Final Four match up after Monday nights game. I'll be rooting for Stanford...lol.            
********************************************************

Image result for megan gustafson

I'm really looking forward to the Baylor/Iowa game. The Bears are a big team, but I don't know it they have played against a player like Megan Gustavson. She leads the country in scoring at 27.9 PPG shooting an incredible 70.1% and she is also a defensive presence with almost 2 blocks per game. She seems to always get hers! How will the 6'3" Gustavson do going against the duo of 6'7"  Brown and the 6'4" Cox? I'm really looking forward to that matchup! 

********************************************************

Ok....here is one of the worst calls of the year. SO obvious. What the hell was the ref looking at?

No photo description available.

The ref called Napheesa out of bounds. That was as close as her foot game to the end line.

Unbelievable. Thankfully UConn still won!!

********************************************************

          Image result for one is the loneliest number 

Well, at least today is as both 1 seeds went down to the 2 seeds. Is that parity in WCBB? Not really. 

UConn was clearly a 1 seed in 2 seed's clothing. I called the game correctly and it wasn't a surprise to me.

2 seed Oregon beat 1 seed Mississippi State 88-84 in a mild surprise, but Oregon is an extremely talented team what will give the winner of the Baylor-Iowa game all they can handle.

The Ducks had their offense really clicking behind Sabrina Ionescu's 31 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds. She is just a dynamic player that is close to impossible to stop. 

MSU just had no answer for her and the outside shooting of Oregon, The Ducks were 13-26 on threes and it's tough to beat a team when they shoot that well from deep. Just ask Louisville. 

A tough way to end their careers for Holmes, Danberry, Howard and McGowan, who all played hard in this game. The Bulldogs take another big hit with these four graduating. The Top Team landscape is going to change next season.

So that's one PAC 12 team in the final four. Can Stanford join them as a 2 seed with an upset over 1 seed  Notre Dame?    

********************************************************


By David in Naples!!!!!

How Fun was that game..!! Here are the Numbers..!

1. L’ville missed 40 shots, including 12 misses by Asia Durr.
2. Durr took 19 shots & had 10 free throws for 21 pts. NISE is -8.
3. Katie Lou went 7-12 from three range. Durr and Carter went 2-15.
4. Christyn had 16 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and just 1 turnover.
5. In the 4th quarter, UConn made 11-14 free throws. That is 79%.
6. Also in the 4th period, L-Ville went 2-7 from the field in the last 5 minutes.
7. UConn’s shot distribution was 13, 13, 13, 10 and 8. Every starter was in double figures scoring.
8. The Huskies shot 54% from three range. L’Ville only 18%.
9. Pheesa led the Huskies in assists with 6. She did not shoot in the 4th period, but made 3-4 free throws.
10. Squeaks outscored Fuehring 16-15, Lou outscored Durr 29-21 and Megan had as many threes(4) as all of L’Ville.

On the the Final Four..!! 

Go Huskies..!!

******************************************************
   
Sunday's Games

Albany Region

UConn 80 Louisville 73

NCAA Albany Regional Women's Championship


Portland Region

Oregon 88 Mississippi State 84

Oregon celebrates going to the Final Four


Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu named Most Outstanding Player of Portland regional


Monday's Games

Greensboro Region

Baylor vs Iowa 7:00 ESPN2



Chicago Region

Notre Dame vs Stanford 9:00 ESPN2



It's hard to believe the are no more articles for this game. Crazy! 


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

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 3/30/19













                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
*******************************************************

In case you haven't seen it, here is my UConn/Louisville Pregame Report

I did mention that a big impact on the game will be Katie Lou's health. It's clear she is not moving around as well as before the back injury. It's amazing that she is out there for 40 minutes, even if she can't perform to her usual standards. Can she still help UConn win? I believe so!  She is one tough cookie!

********************************************************

Well, while there is more parity in WCBB, the Elite Eight participants are all the 1 and 2 seeds. Not an upset among them.

2 seed Iowa had an easy time with 3 seed NC state winning 79-61 behind another terrific game by Megan Gustafson. She had 27 points and 12 rebounds. The more I see of her the more impressed I am. 

2 seed Stanford had the toughest game on Saturday, getting by a game Missouri State team 55-46. In the "it's hard to believe" column, Stanford shot 25% from the field and a ridiculously horrendous 3-29 on threes. Really. They take on Notre Dame next and I just can't see them keeping that game close.

1 seed Notre Dame was put to the test by 4 seed Texas A&M winning 87-80 behind high scoring guard Arike Ogunbowale's 34 points. She did her usual volume shooting with 26 attempts. To her credit she hit 14 of them. And she still is a jerk on the court, getting a technical for taunting the opponent. On the other hand, the Aggies Chennedy Carter should have trouble lifting her right arm after putting up 35 shots to just dominate the opportunities for A&M. She hit only 13 of them. Carter put up half of all the A&M shots. As usual, she kept them in the game early but took them out of it late.

And finally, 1 seed Baylor took 4 seed South Carolina behind the woodshed for a good old fashion butt whooping winning 93-68. Baylor is really looking like the team to beat in this tournament  They have been dominating both ends of the court. Dee Dee Richards led them with 25 points and Lauren Cox had a great line in the box score with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks.             


********************************************************


By David in Naples!!!!!

No numbers....Sorry!!! 

******************************************************
   
UCONN LINKS

Megan Walker and Christyn Williams X Factors


WCBB LINKS


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