Saturday, November 30, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 11/30/19








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                
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It's not gonna be pretty, but it's got to be gritty!

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Another full schedule Saturday for so many top 25 teams, and there were a few upsets so far.

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The big one, and I do mean BIG ONE was No. 8 Louisville taking down No. 1 Oregon 72-62 in a game that was dominated by the Louisville defense. I would bet you don't see another shooting night for the Ducks for the rest of the season.

The Cards held Oregon to 34.2% shooting and the Ducks couldn't find the range from deep shooting 6-35 from long range. It's clear that with 35 attempts, Oregon had a game plan. It didn't work. They do average 30+ three point attempts per game so it was nothing unusual, other than they shot so poorly.

Louisville also did a great job holding Oregon's AA center Ruth Ebard to only 10 points. Individually, Louisville was just too quick and strong getting out to the shooters for force that low percentage. Ionescu was 1-9 on threes, Sabally was 2-11. Louisville Senior Kylee Shook was just outstanding in this game on both ends of the floor. She scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds along with two blocks. She even guarded Ionescu at times.

There was so much talk about the great Oregon Ducks, some fans comparing them to great Uconn teams of the past. Some said it was Oregon at the top and everyone else below them. But when a team relies on the three point shot so much, there will be games they don't fall and you have to find other ways to score enough points. Great teams do that.

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The second biggest upset was No. 5 South Carolina taking down No. 2 Baylor, 74-59. It was a great game for the Gamecocks. They were just better in the clutch than the Bears and continued to score while Baylor struggled from the field and with handling the ball.

I think everyone needs to remember that Baylor is without Lauren Cox, a pre-season AA and a fantastic player. She is a difference maker. I've love to see these teams meet again in the NCAA tournament with everyone healthy.

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The another upset Notre Dame beat No. 21 South Florida 67-51. The game was actually close until the Irish pulled away in the third quarter. South Florida took 41 threes in this game, something that is a big part of their offense. Like Oregon, they were really off in this game, only making 8 of their 41 attempts. Notre Dame was better than USF but really, not very good.

The Bulls lost all three games in the tournament and Notre Dame was 1-2. Both are now 5-4 on the season. Not exactly a distinguished record. I can't see much good happening for either team the rest of the season. Harsh, huh.

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In maybe one of the craziest finishes I've ever heard of, Green Bay was able to tie No. 18 Syracuse in the fourth quarter to take the Orange into overtime before winning 79-73. Just check out the play by play.

Syracuse was up 55-50 from the 4:36 mark until the :52 mark. That is almost four minutes of no scoring. I'm sure you would not believe what happened the next 52 seconds.

Syracuse makes a free throw. 56-50. 52 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a three point shot. 56-53. 43 seconds left.
Syracuse make a free throw. 57-53. 33 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a three point shot. 57-56. 31 seconds left.
Syracuse makes two free throws. 59-56. 23 seconds left.
Green Bay makes two free throws. 59-58. 22 seconds left.
Syracuse makes two free throws. 61-58. 21 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a free throw. 61-59. 10 seconds left
Syracuse makes two free throws. 63-59. 10 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a layup. 63-61. 3 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a free throw. 63-62. 3 seconds left.
Syracuse makes two free throws. 65-62. 2 seconds left.
Green Bay makes a hail mary three pointer with no time left. The officials reviewed and basket was good. 65-65 at the buzzer!!!!       

I can't wait to see the video on this finish.


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I just wanted to point out the minutes disbursement for both Louisville and Oregon in their game Saturday night.

As has been talked about so many times this season for UConn, most teams only go so deep into the bench in games that are against the better teams or are close or both.

Louisville, who won the game, really went only 6 deep with players logging 40, 40, 35, 34, 23, and 17 minutes.

Oregon only went 6 deep with players logging 38,37, 37, 32, 30 and 19 minutes.

Baylor, in their loss to South Carolina only went 6 deep as well with players logging 39, 38, 35, 34, 25, 14.  Three other players split 15 minutes.


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So, with No. 1 Oregon losing to No. 8 Louisville, No. 2 Baylor losing to No. 5 South Carolina and No. 3 Stanford playing a tough No. 10 Mississippi State it's possible that every team ahead of UConn in the poll could lose and UConn might move up to No. 1?? Crazy???

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Even with a record of 6-0, the Huskies can improve in a number of ways. For example, UConn already has 75 turnovers versus just 109 assists. Other areas needing improvement are:
1. Christyn is hitting only 32% of her three-Point shots. (9-28) Last year she was over 35%.
2. Megan has 15 turnovers to match her 15 assists.
3. Crystal has only taken 7 free throws. She has made 6, which is good, but Megan has 21 tries and Christyn, Liv and Aubrey all have 14.
4. Speaking of Aubrey, her free throw % is just 43%.
5. Megan is 2nd on the team in total rebounds, but only 2 are offensive boards. That is fewer than Crystal..!
6. Finally, as a team, UConn is only making 69% of their free throws. They are free, take advantage.

Go Huskies..!!
UCONN LINKS

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Friday, November 29, 2019

Doggy's Doghouse 11/29/19








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                
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Image result for not pretty has to be  gritty

It's not gonna be pretty, but it's got to be gritty!

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Image result for holiday tournaments

Eighteen of the top 25 teams played Friday in one holiday tournament or the other.

With a few games left, there were two upsets so far. Well, one was an upset in ranking only, not based on the two teams relative strength.

Unranked LSU beat No. 15 Michigan 58-56 in a very SEC-like game. In fact, with a few less total points between them, this would have been a true UGGY award winner. LSU shot 33.9% from the field, went 0-8 on threes, 62% from the foul line and had 21 turnovers and 23 personal fouls. So how did they win? Well, Michigan shot 32% from the field, 5-21 on threes, 67.9% from the FT line and had 21 turnovers and 31 personal fouls.

In the upset that really wasn't an upset, No. 21 South Florida lost their 3rd game of the season, getting beat by maybe soon to be ranked Florida Gulf Coast 81-77.   

Round 2 of the Notre Dame losing tour continued with South Dakota State 65-59. Another really poor shooting game for the Irish. They shot 36.8% from the field and 1-17 on threes. Transfer Destinee Walker was 0-9 on threes all by herself. South Florida is coming off a loss as well. First team to 60 wins!!! 

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So, I'd like to make a case for No. 4 UConn moving ahead of No. 3 Stanford in the polls. Yes, I know, who really cares. Polls mean nothing, especially this time of year. But it's Thanksgiving weekend and I need something to write about and hopefully you will find it interesting.

First let's look at RPI and SOS numbers.

UConn is rated No. 3 RPI with the No. 10 SOS.
Stanford is rated No. 12 with the No. 61 SOS.

You also have the eye test. Stanford struggled with Gonzaga, only winning by 6 where they were down much of the game. And they snuck past California Baptist 83-78. Yes THAT California Baptist. Let's see how they do with No. 18 Syracuse late Friday night.

I usually ignore comparing scores to get an idea who is better, and certainly when there isn't a team that has played both teams I am comparing. But there is a couple of games that might give us a clue.

Stanford barely beat Gonzaga by 6 who beat Dayton by 11.
UConn beat Dayton by 38.

Case closed.  

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Image result for stats don't lie
By David in Naples!!!!!

David taking the night off. I'm cutting his pay in half.

UCONN LINKS

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Top Twenty-Five Scores and Links
Upsets in Red



Rankings and RPI Sites


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


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