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UConn just destroyed Butler in their first match up on January 19th, 5 weeks ago. The team is a lot different now than they were then. Here was some of my thoughts about that first game.
- Makarat played and was scoreless. And didn't take a shot. She ended up with 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. I posted this "Something tells you it will be the last game this year she doesn't take a shot." I was pretty close. She took one shot against Tennessee in 12 minutes, and hasn't played since then.
- Nika Muhl finally scored her first points in a UConn uniform. But it didn't come without a price. Geno was not happy with her, got in her face and then sat her down and did what Geno does best. He teaches. I wish he didn't have his mask on so I could read his lips. But through the tears in her eye, Mulh just listened most of the time looking Geno in the eyes, soaking it up. And when she got back in the game, she play a solid and effective game. She will be just fine and better off because of it. Here is a screen shot I took.
Amazing how things have changed in these five week.
For one, as I mentioned, we haven't seen Anna in a game other than the Tennessee game. That is 12 games that she has missed. I see her moving OK on the bench but I haven't noticed her doing anything in warm ups. Well, I haven't really seen warm ups either. I am not basing this on anything I have inside info on, but I have a feeling we will see her before the NCAA tournament starts.
And how about Nika and how she reacted to Geno's tough love. She didn't get off the bench against Tennessee but played 36 minutes in the next game and has shot the ball better over those 12 games going 40% from the field and 35% on threes since the last Butler game. She averaged 3.42 assists per game and only 1.58 turnovers per game. And her defense? Fantastic. She averaged 2.33 steals per game. More steals than turnovers is amazing.
Ok, so how will this game play out? Well, even with out fans, the road and home margin of victory has been different. I don't expect this to be a 68 point win. But Butler is just not good and UConn has been playing better than when they first met. To add to the probable outcome, this is UConn's 5 straight road game in two weeks. They looked tired in the second half of the Creighton game. Will that carry over with only one day between games?
So, based on those factors, the direction of the wind, the indoor barometric pressure and Geno's blood pressure....
UConn by 45+.
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Charlie Creme has a new Bracketology out. I usually preface his predictions with, while he usually does a good job on who is going to make the tournament, getting around 95% correct, he doesn't get that high a percentage correct on who is matching up with who and even in what regions.
That being said, he works hard at it and it's something for me to write about, so I like it!!
He still has UConn as the overall No. 1, and as you might guess, I'm ok with that. If they can win their next 5 games before the NCAA tournament, they will stay the No. 1 overall seed.
He moved Texas A&M to a No. 1 seed replacing Louisville. That's a fair exchange, but both teams, while only having only 1 loss for the Aggies and 2 losses for the Cardinals, have been pretty unimpressive in my opinion.
Texas A&M had several close calls on top of their loss to unranked LSU 65-61. They also beat DePaul 93-91, Rice 57-53, Texas 66-61, Missouri 70-66, and just recently 73-67 against Alabama. These games and the two down to the wire wins over Arkansas tells me they easily could be ripe for an upset. They seem to find a way to win the close ones, but that is walking on a tightrope.
Louisville, to me, has been unimpressive all season. They scared everyone with that 116-75 win over DePaul, but clearly with how the Blue Demons have been playing of late, that win was just a lot of points against a really bad defensive team. The Cards had close calls against unranked Virginia Tech 71-67, Wake Forest 65-63, Miami 79-76, Notre Dame 71-65, and lost to Florida State.
UConn, if his brackets end up accurate (not happening) and the seedings hold up, would play Utah Valley, Iowa State, Arkansas, Arizona, Texas A&M and Stanford.
Conference tournaments have to be played yet, so these seeding are way premature.
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By David in Naples
Looking at the various places UConn fans post, some are not happy with the victory over Creighton. One called the 32 point win "a move backward" for the team. What game did he watch? Instead, let's consider the positives & progress of this victory.
1. UConn went on the road, to play a conference opponent and won by 32.
2. After some slow starts, the Huskies blitzed the Blue Jays for 27 points in the 1st period.
3. Five different players blocked a total of 9 shots, many on great "help defense."
4. Nika Muhl had a long awaited great scoring game. This was a breakthrough game for Nika.
5. More steals (12) than turnovers (11).
6. More blocked shots (9) than turnovers (8).
7. UConn had 22 assists on 33 baskets.
8. The Huskies scored 81 points, on 51% shooting, despite Creighton milking the shot clock on their possessions.
This was a good, solid win on the road. No one is calling it a masterpiece, but how anyone can call it a step backward. Some people are never happy.
Go Huskies..!!
1. UConn went on the road, to play a conference opponent and won by 32.
2. After some slow starts, the Huskies blitzed the Blue Jays for 27 points in the 1st period.
3. Five different players blocked a total of 9 shots, many on great "help defense."
4. Nika Muhl had a long awaited great scoring game. This was a breakthrough game for Nika.
5. More steals (12) than turnovers (11).
6. More blocked shots (9) than turnovers (8).
7. UConn had 22 assists on 33 baskets.
8. The Huskies scored 81 points, on 51% shooting, despite Creighton milking the shot clock on their possessions.
This was a good, solid win on the road. No one is calling it a masterpiece, but how anyone can call it a step backward. Some people are never happy.
Go Huskies..!!
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No. 10 UCLA 91 USC 51 - late game
No. 22 South Dakota State 73 UM Kansas City 53 - Led by Tylee Irwin with 19, South Dakota State ran past UM Kansas City. This has been a weird year for SDSU. They have played the teams in their conference in all back to back, home and away games. So that means they play UM Kansas City again on Saturday. One more win in that game and the Jackrabbits go undefeated in their conference. Clearly the cream of the crop in the Summit league.
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