Thursday, December 31, 2020

Doggy's Doghouse 1/1/2021 HAPPY NEW YEAR

         








                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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Hi everyone!! I first want to thank the posters that emailed me and asked if I was going to blog this season. I have to say that I wasn't sure I would. Every year it's always hard to get started after a long spring and summer. This year was even harder with COVID disrupting life. I didn't know if there would be a season. And then games were cancelled. It just didn't feel right.

But after 6 games, I just felt it was time. I'm hopeful the team can get in the remaining games on the schedule. We will see what havoc the holidays bring. 

So as you might have seen, I posted a DePaul pregame report  and will follow that up with a Baylor pregame report. 
 
My "Dailies" might not be every day, but as always I'll do my best to keep you up to date in the world of UConn Huskies and WCBB in general. I'll share UConn links and Top 25 scores and links as well. You know the drill.  

I hope everyone has had a good holiday season and looking forward to a much better 2021.     
                     
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My two Granddaughers Mya and Noa. 
Since I last posted Mya is now taller than her big sister!!!


 And Logan is now 5 years old and in Kindergarten!!!

And Barrett? 2 1/2 and adorable!!!

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I hope you all have enjoyed the season for the Huskies as much as I have so far. 6 games in and this team is really fun to watch. With 6 freshman and a RS junior transfer, it's like a a brand new team!! With no seniors, this is the youngest team I can remember. And one of the most talented!!

Over the next couple of weeks I'll give you my thoughts on every player. I'm sure it won't be news on how good I think they all are! 

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FROM GENO

I saw this on spreadsheet another board. Geno has been saying it's the worst shooting team in his 37 years of coaching at UConn. However the stats don't agree. While three point and free throw shooting is in the lower third, their overall field goal percentage is 8th. 

While not a great shooting team in some ways, I prefer to look at the assists. They are fourth and at their highest level in 7 seasons.

One more caveat. It's only 6 games.  


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So, a few weeks into the season and the Top 25 has had only a few changes.

Preseason No. 1 South Carolina lost to North Carolina State.
Preseason No. 4 Baylor lost to Arkansas
Preseason No. 6 Mississippi State lost to South Florida
Preseason No. 11 Kentucky lost to DePaul in a big win for the Big East 
 
 I think there will be plenty more upsets and great games to talk about. As long as they can play them. 

Night after Night there are games that had to be cancelled.

On New Years eve there were some fun games to watch and a couple of upsets.

No. 3 NC State was able to hold off Georgia Tech 84-75.  They move to 9-0 and 4-0 in the ACC and will retain their spot in the rankings with this nice win. Jada Boyd led them to the win with a 26 point and 10 rebound double-double. There is a Lotta to love with the performance of Lotta-Maj Lahtinen who had her own double-double of 30 points and 11 rebounds for Georgia Tech.

No. 5 South Carolina used a big first half to beat a game Florida team 75-59. The first quarter was really really ugly. Florida was 3/19 from the field, 0-3 on threes, 7 turnovers and South Carolina was 6/23 from the field, 0-3 on threes, 4 turnovers. The score was 14-6 after that 10 minutes. UGLY! Aliyah Boston finally had a big game this season with 28 points and 16 rebounds. She even hit two three pointers. Zia Cooke added 26 points. Yeah, that's 54 of the 75 points for two players. It was a good win but I was not impressed with this South Carolina team. Only 6 points off the bench and no other players than Boston and Cooke in double figures.

In one upset, No. 10 Arkansas lost to No. 13 Kentucky 75-64 in a game that was closer than the final score. Rhyne Howard turned it on in the second half for the Wildcats scoring 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. They looked out of sorts in the first half but behind former Tennessee player Jazmine Massengill playing the point the final 10 minutes, they pulled away from the previously undefeated Razorbacks.

No. 12 Mississippi State was able to hold off Georgia 69-62 in another tough SEC contest. To tell you the truth I wasn't too impressed with either team. I always wonder if it's the good SEC defenses or the bad SEC offenses that make these games look like a shit show. I'll go with a little of both in this contest.      

On to the Big Ten where No. 14 Maryland hammered Penn State 96-82. Ashley Owusu was terrific with 34 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Terps. Another former  Tennessee Lady Vol, Mimi Collins had a nice line with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Yeah, just a fair line, but I do like rubbing it in to Tennessee...lol. 

In the second Top 25 upset, No. 15 Northwestern lost to a pretty mediocre Nebraska team 65-63. I wasn't calling for this upset, but it was no surprise to me. I think Northwestern was a little overrated. Look for more losses and a trip out of the Top 25 in the next few weeks.

That's enough for the New Years Eve schedule.      
 
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What blog would be complete without my UGGY award for the ugliest game of the day.

In sticking with the SEC theme of the evening two terrible teams hooked up in Auburn and LSU. In this particular game, LSU was able to win this semblance of a basketball game 56-43 over Auburn.

The Tigers were just terrible in this game. They only scored 43 points. You can see why. They were 17-60 from the field for 28.3% and 3-18 for 16.7% on threes. They also had only 7 assists and a whopping 24 turnovers. 

This UGGY award was well deserved!!

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The team I love to hate, Tennessee, is off with COVID issues for the next couple of weeks. I have no details on if any players contracted this disease, but I do know they all went home for the holidays. Maybe a really dumb decision to let them do that? UConn had their players stay on campus where I read that the entire campus of 700 students were COVID free. 

They have the usual delusions of grandeur on the Tennessee message board. I'm sure I'll have more to say on that unranked and undisciplined team in future blogs. It's just fun to do.  

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UCONN LINKS
Sorry if some links need a subscription

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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
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else

Videos


UCONN Information


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Saturday, December 26, 2020

DoggyDaddy's UConn/DePaul Pregame Report

 




UCONN vs DePaul
Day: Tuesday
Date: December 29h, 2020
Time: 6:30  
Location: Storrs, Ct
TV: SNY
                                         



No. 3 UConn Huskies                                        No. 16 DePaul 
                                                                             Blue Demons                 5-0                                                                             5-2


Prior Meetings

DEPAUL | UCONN LEADS 17-1 H: 6-0 | A: 7-0 | N: 4-1

12/28/83 DePaul 70, UConn 64 Coral Gables, Fla.
01/28/06 #5 UConn 84, #12 DePaul 75 Chicago, Ill.
03/06/06 #8 UConn 69, #15 DePaul 57 Hartford, Conn.
01/24/07 #7 UConn 88, DePaul 76 Storrs, Conn.
03/01/08 #1 UConn 77, DePaul 76 Chicago, Ill.
03/09/08 #1 UConn 86, DePaul 67 Hartford, Conn.
01/13/09 #1 UConn 77, DePaul 62 Storrs, Conn.
02/10/10 #1 UConn 95, DePaul 62 Chicago, Ill.
02/05/11 #2 UConn 89, #9 DePaul 66 Storrs, Conn.
01/21/12 #3 UConn 88, #21 DePaul 44 Chicago, Ill.
02/10/13 #3 UConn 91, DePaul 44 Storrs, Conn.
03/10/13 #3 UConn 94, DePaul 61 Hartford, Conn.
12/19/14 #2 UConn 98, #29 DePaul 64 Bridgeport, Conn.
12/02/15 #1 UConn 86, #18 DePaul 70 Chicago, Ill.
12/01/16 #2 UConn 91, #15 DePaul 46 Storrs, Conn.
12/08/17 #1 UConn 103, DePaul 69 Chicago, Ill.
11/28/18 #2 UConn 99 #16 Depaul 63 Hartford, Conn.
12/16/19 #2 UConn 84 #16 DePaul 74 Chicago, Ill.


LAST YEARS HIGHLIGHTS



Last years game was a tale of two halves. UConn dominated this game from the tip and ran out to a 26-13 leaad after one quarter. After another great quarter UConn led 55-29 at the half. I remember this game well. I was stunned to see Depaul go crazy and outscore the Huskies 27-14 in the third quarter to cut the lest to 13.  The Blue Demons then went on a 10-1 tear in the first 3 minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 70-66. I will admit I was worried. UConn pushed the lead back out to 8 points and it never got any closer with the Huskies winning 84-74.

UConn was led by Megan Walker wih 22 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists. One of her best all-around game last year. Crystal Dangerfield also scored 22 points and had 4 assists and 3 steals. ONO had 19 points and Christyn Williams added 13. Anna Makurat added 8 points off the bench. 

Chante Stonewall led DePaul with 21 points. Sonya Morris had 20 points, Dee Bekelja has 12 and Lexi Held added 11 for the Blue Demons.

The Huskies were really sloppy with the ball (21 turnovers) and DePaul  used that to get back into the game. Overall a stressful but fun game to watch.   
  
Team Overviews
(game scores are clickable for more detail)

DePaul

DePaul comes into this match up with a 5-2 record. After a slow 1-2 start, they are now on a 4 game winning streak. Their two losses were to ranked teams, losing 93-91 in their opener to No. 13 Texas A&M and in an embarrassing loss, No. 5 Louisville ran the Blue Demons off the court 116-75. In their third game against a ranked team DePaul beat No. 9 Kentucky 86-82. In the only comparable game, DePaul beat Creighton in their last outing 90-81 while UConn beat them 80-47. 
    
UConn

The Huskies come into this game at 5-0 on the season. It's been crazy just trying to get games played with a COVID delay. The team has done well considering. They picked up a game against UMass Lowell coached by Shea Ralph's husband winning 79-23. They went right into Big East conference games beating Seton Hall 92-65, Creighton 80-47, Xavier 106-59, and in their last game against Villanova 90-52.    

Comparative Team Statistics
Leader in bold

                                                UConn                                       DePaul

                                              89.4              PPG                       88.3
                                              49.2        Defensive PPG            79.9
                                              40.2        Scoring Margin            8.4
                                              56.6        Field Goal %               45.0
                                              28.8        Defensive FG%          48.8 
                                              35.2        Three Point %             33.5
                                              18.2        Defensive 3PT%     35,5
                                              71.0        Free Throw %             69.9
                                              44.0        Rebounds/game           35.1
                                              10.0        Rebounding Margin      8.1 
                                              23.0        Assists per game           19.1
                                              16.0        Turnover per game       15.4
                                                1.4        Assists/TO ratio            1.2
                                              10.6        Steals per game            12.3
                                                5.8        Blocks per game           2.4



             


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DEPAUL


Coach Doug Bruno

Doug Bruno’s powerful impact on the game he loves resonates across the entire spectrum of women’s basketball as not only a highly successful college coach and staunch advocate of academics, but a passionate and undaunted promoter of the sport itself.

The former DePaul basketball player who is forever grateful to the athletic scholarship he received from legendary Blue Demon coach Ray Meyer is heading into his 33rd season as the head coach at his alma mater. Born and raised in Chicago and a product of Quigley South High School, Bruno has transformed DePaul women’s basketball into a steadfast national power.

He has guided the Blue Demons to 17 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (18 if they had one last year) ---a feat only the NCAA elite of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tennessee and Oklahoma can also claim.  

DePaul Starters

2018-19 DePaul Women's Basketball Team

DePaul Bench

Jorie Allen

 Game Analysis

DePaul is doing what they usually do in scoring a lot of points averaging almost 90 points per game. I'm sure Coach Bruno realizes his teams only chance to make a game of it is to make a lot of threes. The good news for DePaul is they take a lot of threes, averaging 28 takes per game. The bad news is they are not shooting their usual high percentage. Every player in the regular rotation has hit a three pointer except one. 

As usual, DePaul is also one of the best passing teams in the country. Coach Bruno is an excellent offensive coach and his players usually do a great job valuing the ball.  But this season they have turned the ball over 15.4 times per game. More than usual. 

The question for DePaul is twofold. Can they hit their three point shots at a high percentage against UConn? Can they find a way to play enough defense to keep UConn under 80? It's the same question I asked the last three years and DePaul failed in both aspects.

DePaul lost their only inside player to graduation in 6'1" Chante Stonewall. This season every starter is under  6' tall in their rotation. They do bring Jone Allen, a 6'1" sophomore transfer from Indiana off the bench. She was effective in her only game since becoming eligible. She should see plenty of playing time in this game. There is a 6'2" player and another 6'1" that could see some playing time, but they don't appear to be very skilled.  

Look for Sonya Morris, Dee Bekeilja and Lexi Held to take a lot of three point shots. All three average around 6 taken per game. That being said, every player on the court for DePaul will fire away.

DePaul is able to create turnovers against most teams, and UConn can't afford to be sloppy with the ball like last season. It could be a problem with all a week off between games for the Huskies. UConn has the good ball handlers so I don't expect DePaul to have much success in doing that although they will press to try to disrupt the UConn offense. Their defense has been pretty shoddy this year so far. Opponents are shooting 48.8% from the field and 35% on threes. Not good. And with the big loss to Louisville, DePaul is allowing 79.9 PPG. A very ugly number.  

It almost goes with saying but UConn's defense will have to work hard in preventing open threes. DePaul seems to find that open player. UConn is the best at closing in on the open shooter with their amazing switching defense and their advantage with their length. However, it's certain that DePaul will get some open looks. If they hit them at a high rate, DePaul can certainly make it close but I don't see how they can slow down the UConn offense. 

UConn likes a fast pace, so it will be interesting to see if they still want to do that with a team that scores so quickly like DePaul.  The Huskies have a size advantage and I believe a speed advantage as well. UConn will run off DePaul misses and I expect there to be enough of those to allow UConn so score plenty of points.   

Games for the Huskie offense seem to go the same every game. Paige Bueckers and Evina Westbrook find Olivia Nelson-Ododa down low for easy buckets or Bueckers slithers her way in the lane for her now perfected pull up jumper. Westbrook and Williams are getting hot from the outside so we should see more of that as well. And I would look for a big scoring game from Anna Makurat. She is due for a hot game. 

Good news on the injury front. I've heard that both Edwards and Muhl are cleared to practice. They should both see minutes in this game.
 
Final Prediction

After a loss in their first meeting ever in 1983, UConn has won the last 17 game in a rivalry that started in 2006. In their first 4 meeting since 2006 UConn won by an average of 8 PPG with one really close game won in the last second by the Huskies. Sine then UConn has won the last 12 games by an average of 30 PPG. I really don't expect this to be too different. Then again, DePaul I didn't think so last year and it was only a 10 point margin. To replicate that it will take them making 40% of the 40+ threes they will have to take and for UConn to struggle on offense. I just don't see both of those happening. 

UConn is so difficult to defend this year, mainly because this is maybe the best passing UConn team I have seen in a long time. I would go as far to say that Bueckers, Williams and Westbrook are the best back court in the country. If they take care of the ball, my prediction could be LOW.......  

UConn by 25+.
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