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**** NOTE ****
If you are on a phone the videos I post don't appear to work.
As a workaround I made any video descriptions link-able.
Just click on it.
Sorry about that!!!
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UCONN 94 ST. JOHN'S 62
The starting lineup was different in this game. Christyn Williams was on the bench with an ankle injury and Aubrey Griffin was moved to the bench. So two freshmen started instead, Nika Muhl and Aliyah Edwards.
Once again UConn started a little slow. back to back threes by St. John's made it 13-12 with XX into the game. But from that point on, UConn outscored the Johnnies 31-12 to finish the half up 44-24.
Paige Bueckers had 18 points in the half hitting 7-9 shots and 3-4 on threes. She also had 4 assists. Muhl added 4 assists and 3 steals. She was all over the court. And Edwards had a nice half as well with 8 points and 4 rebounds.
It was great to see three freshmen starting and playing so well.
UConn's defense let up a little but the offense was solid outscoring St. John's 29-23 to take a 73-47 lead after three quarters. At one point late in the quarter Saylor Poffenbarger came in for Evina Westbrook. I really didn't make too much of it. I was glad to see Poffenbarger come in so early in the game. Someone said to me the other day that she would see only mop up time. The third quarter is NOT mop up time. So, play continued and all of a sudden I realized that there were five freshmen on the court for UConn. FIVE. That is just so amazing to me. I don't think I've seen Geno trust freshmen like he trusts these kids.
Geno in his post game conversation said "4 freshman and a high school kid"...lol. And he couldn't say enough about Edwards and Muhl. He loves their toughness. I guess Muhl sprained her ankle the other day and Geno said "She taped it up a bunch and played anyway. She's a gutsy kid, a real gutsy kid".
More from Geno. He complimented Mir McLean as well. She loved how she took charges and grabbed offensive rebounds. But his comment about her offensive rebounds was hysterical.
"A couple of sumpim' sumpim towards the rim or at least where she imagine the rim would be.....she has a vague recollection of where the rim is and tries to put the ball in that direction...it works with hand grenades, I don't know if shots work well that way..."
On the team being banged up......
"Well, Anna has a ways to go, Christyn said she couldn't go, Aubrey banged her knee yesterday, it's sore....we got what we got. Hopefully everybody will be ready for Friday and Monday. We will know more when we get to Marquette on Friday."
It doesn't sound great but I expect everyone to be ready for the game Friday. It's a big one. UConn is 10--0 in the conference and Marquette is 9-1. They could tie UConn if they win and UConn could stretch the lead to 2 games if they win. More on that game hopefully tomorrow.
Final stats? Well, Paige had 32 points on 13-20 shooting. She was a remarkable 5-6 on threes and had 7 assists. If there is a better player in the country I haven't seen her.
Edwards showed she needs to keep getting a lot of time on the court. She had 22 points and 9 rebounds.
Muhl is showing how ready she is to contribute. She was outstanding in this game. Much more under control. She had 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. And she was 3-4 on threes.
Westbrook was (turn you head away) 1-9 from the field and 0-6 on threes. She clearly is better when no one is guarding her as she was 6-6 on free throws. So 8 points but she added 7 assists and 3 steals.
McLean had 7 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. A really solid game for the freshman.
UConn shot 53.8% from the field and 45% on threes. And they had 27 assists and only 11 turnovers. Much better.
So, get ready for another game in two days against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are 12-2 and 9-1 in the conference. They beat Georgetown 55-48 where Marquette shot a sparkling 33% from the field, 4-18 on threes and 56% from the free throw line. I'm sure they will shoot better at home against UConn. A comparative game? They beat this St. John's team 66-62.
More on Marquette later. And Monday against South Carolina? Win or Lose....we will know a lot more about this team after that game.
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In one of his interviews recently Geno said he would be OK if they didn't hold the Big East tournament due to Covid concerns.
That issue is moot now as the Big East Conference voted to have the tournament.
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Here are the final ten, along with those that were cut from the pre-season 25.
| Aari McDonald | Arizona |
| Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas |
| Christyn Williams | Connecticut |
| Sonya Morris | DePaul |
| Nicole Cardaño-Hillary | Indiana |
| Dana Evans | Louisville |
| Ashley Owusu | Maryland |
| Zia Cooke | South Carolina |
| Kiana Williams | Stanford |
| Charisma Osborne | UCLA |
| CUT: | |
| DiJonai Carrington | Baylor |
| Jill Townsend | Gonzaga |
| Jakia Brown-Turner | NC State |
| Lindsey Pulliam | Northwestern |
| Taylor Robertson | Oklahoma |
| Taylor Mikesell | Oregon |
| Arella Guirantes | Rutgers |
| Kiara Lewis | Syracuse |
| Destiny Pitts | Texas A&M |
| Brynna Maxwell | Utah |
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No, 14 South Florida at SMU - Cancelled
The Tennessee women's basketball program has paused team activities following one positive COVID-19 test result and subsequent contact tracing among its Tier 1 personnel, which consists of coaches, student-athletes, team managers and support staff. The Lady Vol basketball program is following SEC, local and university public health guidelines to prioritize the health and safety of all student-athletes and staff as well as the campus and local community.
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Once again we have another big Thursday of games. Of course there were a few postponed games. I'll list them in the Thursday blog.
No. 1 Louisville at Boston College - Louisville will play like a team possessed and BC is weak. Should be a blowout.
No. 2 South Carolina at Auburn - South Carolina will be too strong for Auburn. Another easy win for the Gamecocks.
No. 7 Texas A&M vs LSU - LSU has been a big surprise with a couple of upsets and some close games. A&M will win but it will be a tight game.
No. 8 Baylor vs Kansas - Kim and Baylor will get to do what they do best. Run up the score on the weaker teams. Take the fourth quarter for Baylor's highest scoring quarter in the game.
No. 10 Maryland vs Wisconsin - Brenda and the Terps like to score points. They will get their chance in this game to break 100!
No. 11 Ohio State vs Iowa - Another Top 25 team coming off a loss looking for retribution. They should win at home but their last match up went to OT. Look for a big game from freshman Clark.
No. 15 Kentucky at Ole Miss - Another tough SEC game. Kentucky is a good but Ole Miss will make a game of it.
No. 16 Arkansas at Missouri - Can Arkansas keep up their momentum coming of the UConn win and another win after that? Missouri is another tough SEC team but too much firepower for the Razorbacks.
No. 17 Indiana vs Rutgers - Wait, does Rutgers still have a team? They haven't played since 1/3 and had to postpone seven games. Indiana will win but it will be close as RU runs on adrenaline before falling apart.
No. 25 Georgia at Alabama - I feel an upset coming on here. Alabama to win sending Georgia out of the Top 25.
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By David in Naples
UConn goes into tonight's game scoring 86.5 points per game. So far, freshman Paige Bueckers leads the team with 203 points in 11 games. Christyn is right behind with 201 points, but in 12 games. Olivia, Evina and Aubrey are 3rd, 4th and 5th with 170, 143 and 111 points respectively. Aaliyah isn't in the 100 point club, but is very close at 91 points. The per game averages are perhaps a better measure of scoring. Here they are prior to the St. John's game.
Paige scores 18.5 per game.
Christyn puts up 16.8 per game.
Olivia is at 14.2 per game.
Evina is good for 11.9 each game.
Good balanced, double figure scoring by 4 starters. Aubrey is close at 9.3 per game. Aaliyah is just behind her at 8.3 per game. Tight games are won by someone stepping up and scoring when needed. The Huskies feature at least 6 players who could lead the team in scoring any night. Let's see who does for UConn against St. John's.
Paige scores 18.5 per game.
Christyn puts up 16.8 per game.
Olivia is at 14.2 per game.
Evina is good for 11.9 each game.
Good balanced, double figure scoring by 4 starters. Aubrey is close at 9.3 per game. Aaliyah is just behind her at 8.3 per game. Tight games are won by someone stepping up and scoring when needed. The Huskies feature at least 6 players who could lead the team in scoring any night. Let's see who does for UConn against St. John's.
And after the game Part II -
What do you do when your #2 and #5 scorers are injured? If you are UConn, you have the #6 and #9 scorers step up. With Christyn and Aubrey ailing, the Huskies started Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl in their place. Edwards responded with 22 points and 9 rebounds. Muhl had 11 points, six assists and 4 steals. She also made 3 of 4 threes to cover for Evian, who went 0-6.
I guess the only thing better than balance is depth & balance.
Go Huskies..!
I guess the only thing better than balance is depth & balance.
Go Huskies..!
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No. 21 West Virginia 65 Iowa State 56 - West Virginia pulled away in the second half for an 8 point win over Iowa State in a tough Big 12 game. Iowa State ended the first quarter down 15-13, shooting 36 percent from the field and 38 percent from the 3-point line. West Virginia shot 43 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter, with the Cyclones shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the second quarter and the Mountaineers shooting 25 percent. West Virginia closed out the quarter leading 27-26 heading into halftime. West Virginia got off to a hot start in the second half, going on an 8-0 run to force Iowa State to call a timeout. Iowa State was able to bring it within two, but the Mountaineers wouldn’t allow the Cyclones to get a run going to tie up the game. West Virginia led Iowa State 48-41 with one quarter remaining. Iowa State shot 33 percent from the field with West Virginia not shooting much better with 37 percent. Iowa State was able to cut the lead down to six twice, forcing West Virginia to call a timeout, but with under a minute left, Iowa State was forced to foul to stop the clock and the Mountaineers extended their lead. Kysre Gondrezick had another great game for the Mountaineers with 24 points on 8-15 shooting and 4 assists. Ashley Joens once again led Iowa State with 17 points and 9 rebounds.
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