Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 2/24/2021

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Let by Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn put a hurtin' on the Creighton Blue Jays 80-47 in Storrs.

When you look at the box score you can see how much the team has changed since then. How you might ask???

- Anna Makurat started and played 32 minutes. She had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. 2-5 on threes.

- Buckers only took 10 shots and scored 11 points. She did have 5 assists but also 5 turnovers.

- Nika Muhl didn't get off the bench. I don't remember if she was injured or just not ready to play up to Geno's standards.

- Edwards played only 12 minutes and scored 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds.

I believe that all four of those things will look very different in this game.

Creighton is coming off two games that couldn't be more different. They first played DePaul, No. 3 in the Big East conference and then Marquette, No. 2 in the Big East conference.

Against DePaul, they played their best game of the season, beating the Blue Demons 83-72. The 83 points are the second most they have scored all season, only the 88 points against Butler being more. I did watch some of this game and much of this was DePaul's poor defense. The Blue Jays shot 58% from the field and 53% on threes. And they were an amazing 17-18 on free throws. DePaul was as bad offensively as they were defensively. Just a bad game for Bruno's team.

The Marquette game couldn't have been more different. Playing against the solid defense of the Golden Eagles, Creighton struggled to find the bottom of the net. They only scored 41 points, more than half of what they scored against DePaul, and shot 29% from the field, 28% on threes, and 5-9 on free throws. They also had 22 turnovers.

Creighton put up 29 three pointers in the first game against UConn. I expect them to do at least this many in this game. But the UConn defense is really on a roll. Like David says in his stats, the Huskies have only given up 35 PPG the last three game. I expect that average to continue. And UConn should be able to get into the high 70's or more.

Look for a UConn 40+ point win.

UConn vs Creighton Box Score

12/17/2021

UConn vs Creighton Game Replay

12/17/20

UConn vs Creighton Game Highlights

12/17/20

Creighton coach Jim Flanery on his UConn nightmare

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I saw this information on a UConn message board and thought I would share it with you. It's so interesting to see how Geno distributes minutes for his freshman.

The conventional wisdom has always been that Geno doesn't start freshman but that is just not true. There are several freshmen that actually started every game and take a look at 2010-2011. Geno started two freshmen the majority of their games.

Paige is far and away the freshman with the most minutes per game. And this year they have three freshmen averaging 20+ minutes per game.

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From a UConn fan well connected in the recruiting world - "One of UConn's incoming freshman for 2021, Caroline Ducharme's game from a week ago. Two things stand out. She is so much better than the competition it's ridiculous. Also, she has a chance to be an incredible player. She pulls off three Paigeish highlight-reel passes, shows post-up skills, the ability to hit off the bounce, and great IQ and anticipation."

Final stats: 38 points (17-29 FG, 4-11 3-PT), 13 rebounds, 11 steals, 5 assists in 22 minutes.

#13 in Blue

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That is one heck of a picture.

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I know how frustrating it can be to click on one of the links I post and it's a subscription site. In fact, I don't read a those articles as I only have a subscription to The Courant. Well, my wife does.

But I just found out that there is a site you can copy the article URL into and it will show you the article. Now, you didn't hear this from me!!! I'm not sure how kosher this is.

Just tested a few. It didn't work every time.

The Secret Link!!! I'll add this to where I post my links so it's there for future blogs.

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By David in Naples

UConn's defense has improved dramatically over the season. In the last three games, opponents have scored 104 points or 35 pts per game. Were those opponents better or worse than Creighton, the next Huskies' foe? Well, those three wins were over Georgetown, St. John's and Xavier. Here's Creighton's record vs those three:

1. Georgetown - They beat G'town twice by scores of 65-57 and then recently 42-41. UConn won by 24 pts two weeks ago.
2. Creighton has not played St. John's yet.
3. Xavier lost to Creighton 53-50. We beat Xavier by 47 pts and 51 pts.

This game should not be close due to UConn's defense. Consider the following stats:
1. UConn opponents shot 25%, 29% and 31% in those last 3 games.
2. For the season, UConn has 107 blocked shots and forced 282 turnovers.
3. Creighton's top 3 players are 5'9", 5'9" and 6'1".
4. Creighton has 232 turnovers in 16 games. That is 15 per game.
5. Creighton just lost to Marquette on Monday and scored only 41 points.

Defense is the key to this win. the 2nd time a team plays Geno & company in a season is when scouting makes the biggest difference. UConn by 30+.

Go Huskies..!!

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The link on Geno talking about Upsets is quite appropriate

3 upsets!!!!

No. 7 Baylor 70 Oklahoma State 51 - NaLyssa Smith scored 20 points, DiJonai Carrington had a double-double and No. 7 Baylor won its 10th game in a row, 70-51 over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night to move the Lady Bears closer to their 11th Big 12 regular-season title in a row. The Lady Bears took control by scoring the last 17 points before halftime. But that came after a miserable stretch of nearly 9 1/2 minutes when they blew all of an early 14-point lead with nine turnovers while missing 11 of 12 shots. Carrington had 12 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor, which can clinch at least a share of the Big 12 title with a home win Saturday over Kansas State. Queen Egbo had 13 points and Moon Ursin 11, while Egbo and Smith both had nine rebounds.

No. 11 Indiana 77 Wisconsin 49 - Mackenzie Holmes scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and No. 11 Indiana rolled past Wisconsin on Wednesday. Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardano-Hillary added 14 points apiece for Indiana. The Hoosiers have won six straight to reach their highest ranking in school history. Julie Pospisilova led Wisconsin with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The rest of the Badgers were 13 of 47.

Holmes also had five blocks She was 8 of 14 against the Badgers and made all seven of her free throws for her seventh 20-point game of the season. Cardano-Hillary and Grace Berger had eight rebounds each to help Indiana to a 50-22 rebounding advantage.

No. 13 South Florida 56 Temple 47 - Bethy Mununga scored 10 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and the No. 13 USF beat Temple 56-47 on Wednesday to extend a program record with 13 straight victories. USF pulled away in the fourth quarter, opening on a 17-2 run with scoring from five different players. Temple made just 3 of 14 field goals in the final 10 minutes. Shae Leverett also had nine rebounds and Elisa Pinzan had six assists. Pinzan made all six of her free throws and Sydni Harvey was perfect on five as USF made 19 of 23. Mia Davis and Jasha Clinton combined for 43 points for Temple Davis had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Clinton made four 3-pointers. The duo shot 15 for 42 from the field.

No. 15 Ohio State 67 Penn State 69 - Penn State took down No. 15 Ohio State Wednesday afternoon in the Bryce Jordan Center. After trailing 15-2 early in the first quarter, the Lady Lions exploded in the half’s final 15 minutes to take a slim 31-30 advantage entering the locker room. Guard Niya Beverley had a career scoring day for the Lady Lions, as the senior exploded for 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Additionally, floor-general Makenna Marisa added 17 points of her own, coupled with eight assists. Ohio State controlled the game early using an 8-0 run just over two minutes into the contest. Ohio State continued to push the pace and extended the lead to a 15-2 mark. However In the final two minutes of play, Penn State forced a flurry of turnovers, which led to an array of scoring opportunities to close out the opening 10 minutes. They hit a three-pointer to cut the Buckeye advantage to 18-13. Penn State's Tova Sabel buried a deep three-ball from the left wing to tie the game at 20-a-piece. Some back and forth scoring had Penn State up 31-30 at the half. The remainder of the game was both teams battling hard. Not one had more than a couple of point lead throughout the second half. The huge takeaway led to a Beverley three-pointer, which helped Penn State re-take a 67-65 lead with 3:17 left. Penn State forced a turnover of the season

No. 18 West Virginia 68 Iowa State 85 - Ashley Joens scored 20 points, Lexi Donarski and Kristin Scott added 18 each, and Iowa State pulled away from No. 18 West Virginia for a 85-68 victory on Wednesday night. The Cyclones went 13 of 27 from 3-point range and 14 of 14 from the foul line. Ryan added nine assists, giving her an ISU freshman record of 137 this year. Kysre Gondrezick scored 19 points for West Virginia, who were without starting point guard Madison Smith because of a hamstring injury that will keep her out at least until the postseason. Kirsten Deans added 14 points and Jayla Hemingway 12. The teams combined to go 13 of 25 from 3-point range in the first half when the Cyclones jumped out to a 46-38 lead. West Virginia shot 56%, making 6 of 10 from 3-point range, but had 10 turnovers. The Mountaineers ran out of gas midway through the third quarter when Iowa State broke the game open with a 15-2 run for a 66-47 lead. West Virginia, which is starting a season-ending four-game road trip, never got closer than 16 points in the fourth quarter.

No. 23 Missouri State 67 Southern Illinois 55 - Jasmine Franklin led a balanced attack with 14 points and nine rebounds and No. 23 Missouri State beat Southern Illinois 67-55 on Wednesday night to claim the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title for the 14th time since 1990. Total domination of the conference. Brice Calip added 13 points and Abby Hipp scored 12 for the Lady Bears. They are 12-0 in Valley play for the first time since 1996. Gabby Walker scored 18 points for Southern Illinois and Makenzie Silvey added 14. The Salukis were without leading scorer and rebounder Abby Brockmeyer, averaging 14.2 points and 9.3 rebounds, for the fifth straight game with an ankle injury.

No. 24 DePaul 70 Marquette 85 - Marquette defeated No. 24 DePaul Wednesday afternoon at Wintrust Arena. Selena Lott scored 20 of her game-high 25 points in the second half to lead the Golden Eagles to the win. Camryn Taylor scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting with 11 rebounds. MU started quickly, beginning the game on a 8-2 run. Defense played a key role in neither team leading by more than four points in the first 10 minutes. The Golden Eagles kept an 18-15 lead after one quarter. The Blue Demons heated up in the second quarter grabbing a 33-31 lead with 30 seconds left in the half butVan Kleunen scored with just five seconds left in the half to tie the game at 33. DePaul cut the MU lead to five points with 8:03 left in the game, but would get no closer as the Golden Eagles outscored the Blue Demons 18-9 the rest of the way. MU won the battle on the glass by a wide margin at 50-27. Lexi Held led DePaul with 23 points while Sonya Morris had 18 and Deja Church had 10.

No. 25 Rutgers 63 Michigan State 53 - No. 25 Rutgers used a big fourth quarter comeback to beat Michigan State Wednesday afternoon at the Breslin Center. Taiyier Parks led MSU with 12 points and five rebounds, while Tory Ozment added 10 points, three assists and two steals. It was a back and forth game for much of the first quarter with the teams trading baskets and defensive stops. With no breaks in the action, MSU took a 13-9 lead after a Joiner trey. The media timeout in the quarter didn't come until under a minute remaining in the quarter. Behind six first-quarter points for Smith, the Spartans led 15-13 at the end of the period. In the second quarter, the Spartans jumped out to a 27-20 lead after a Clouden jumper. Michigan State kept the lead for the second quarter due in part to the strong play of Joiner. The Spartans took as big a lead as nine points after a Smith fast-break layup. Rutgers came out sharp in the second half, scoring the quarter's first eight points to take a 36-35 lead. It got ugly when MSU missed five-straight shots, while Rutgers had a nearly four-minute scoring drought.The Scarlet Knights used a 12-0 run to start the fourth quarter to take a 51-46 lead with 7:56 remaining. The Scarlet Knights went on to out-score the Spartans 24-7 in the final period.

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UCONN LINKS

The Secret Link!!!

UConn travels to Creighton

Bluejay Women's Basketball hosts No. 1 UConn

Chasing Perfection - Which Nika Muhl are you?

Geno weighs in: Why all the upsets this year?

UConn women getting a taste of history on the road

Playing for him now. Edwards reflects on her brother

UConn women visit historic Hinkle

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