Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 2/9/2021

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No games for me to wait for to add to the blog so you get an early version and I get to rest!

The Hartford Courant has a great article about the other players on the team not named Buecker. If you have a subscription, make sure you read it. I'll paraphrase it here -

They went on to mention that the three upper class-men struggled in this game and there is no doubt about that. Although I still like the game Olivia Nelson-Ododa played. In a game where offense was hard to find, she scored 6 points and handed out 6 big assists and she set numerous screens freeing up Paige to do her thing.

But the big point of the articles was how the two other freshman and the one sophomore helped UConn win this game. It was a lot of Bueckers, but it wasn't all Bueckers.

"The box score can’t truly encapsulate the effort that sophomore Aubrey Griffin and freshmen Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edwards brought to the floor on Monday. Their grittiness on defense. Their scrappiness to come up with loose balls and rebounds, to dive all over the floor. Their fearlessness at times to take, and make, tough shots (they combined for 20 points, combining with Bueckers to account for 80 percent of UConn’s scoring). UConn coach Geno Auriemma leaned heavily on those three in the second half and overtime, Muhl and Edwards in particular playing north of 35 minutes."

“All you have to do is watch the game,” Auriemma said. “There’s something about what Nika’s doing out there that just adds to what we’re doing. There’s something that Aaliyah’s giving you that just adds. Aubrey comes in, and Aubrey will do ten things in the first 15 seconds that she’s out there — five of them will make you think, ‘why’d you put her out there?’ And the other five will make you think, ‘why doesn’t she start and play 40 minutes?’ When those guys get in the game, something’s going to happen. And that’s what you want. You want players to impact the game.”

Nika Mühl with the steal and score! pic.twitter.com/frl9rMqfQl
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 9, 2021

UConn has seven regular season games left and three Big East tournament games as well.

That's ten games for Geno and his team to keep improving, keep working on things. The seven player rotation he has includes 3 freshmen and 1 sophomore. If Makarat comes back she will be part of that. A young and incredibly talented team. And a National Championship is a good possibility.

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Ok....that great win is behind them. It's been building up for several days if not longer. I know I am breathing a sigh of relief after that incredibly stressful game.

Now the Huskies get a rematch with the Seton Hall Pirates, a team they beat 92-65 way back on December 15th after the game was postponed from December 6th.

In that game we were introduced to the mighty-mite, Lauren Park-Lane. She was just impossible to defend. Driving by UConn players like a hot knife through butter, she either scored or was fouled. She didn't hit many threes, going 2-8 on long range shots, but she was 7-12 on twos and was 9-10 on free throws for her total of 29 points. Her exploits kept Seton Hall close in the first half, only down by 8 points after outscoring the Huskies in the second quarter by 2 points. The second half was a different story. UConn's offense exploded for 31 points for a 24 point lead and eased into the 27 point win.

In this game, Paige Bueckers showed us what the UConn fans were in store for. She played 32 minutes, was 11-14 from the field, 2-3 on threes, 5 assists and 2 steals for her 24 points. Christyn Williams had a nice game with 21 points and Olivia Nelson-Ododa with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Edwards have one of her best games with 17 points and 8 rebounds. But Griffin and Muhl were basically invisible in their combined 27 minutes.

So what will be different this game? Well, Seton Hall has a new weapon in former UConn player Andra Espinoza-Hunter. She transferred in from Mississippi State after transferring there from UConn in her freshman year. And in her 8 games, she has done what she has always done....shoot the ball from deep. In her 8 games she is averaging 21 points and 5 rebounds hitting 45% of her threes. And she has done what she always has done, average only 1.5 assists per game. Now quite a black hole when the ball comes to her, you can almost rely on her take the shot.

UConn is different team since that December game as well. The freshmen are growing up. They are coming off a great win over the former No. 1 team in the country. And Paige? Not enough words to describe her right now.

This game is at home and I expect them to come out slow as usual but after that? A similar result to the first match up.

UConn by 20+.

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Dawn Staley Post Game Interview

Here is the direct quote- "I will say this: there are no excuses, but playing with the Nike ball is a lot different than playing with a Wilson ball. Our guards never made the adjustment of playing with it. You have to dribble less or pound it on the floor a lot more"
— Amanda Keane (@AmandaKeaneTV) February 9, 2021

Hmmmm......take a look at the pictures below.....

South Carolina has played 8 road games this year. Including last night against UConn, they have used the Nike ball 6 times. Below are photos taken, all from this year, of SC using the Nike ball. Dec 6 at Iowa St., Jan 4 at Alabama, Jan 10 at Kentucky, Jan 14 at Vanderbilt, and Jan 24 at LSU.

What a bullshit excuse. I mean really....You lost Dawn and you are the coach. Take some responsibility.

And someone should take Michelle Voeple's nose out of Dawns butt. Here was her take.

UConn's Paige Bueckers played incredible -- but she wouldn't have been the story of the night if not for South Carolina's missed layups (which ruined the Gamecocks' normally lethal transition game), missed free throws (8 of 15) and turnovers (21). https://t.co/mNN9SyXhtq
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) February 9, 2021

Seriously? They supposed expert on women's basketball is doing the "what if" game?

That works both ways, Michelle.

IF NOT FOR ..........

If Paige, who shoots almost 60% on threes didn't go 0-5 before that last one.....

If Cooke doesn't hit a half court shot to end the first half.....

If UConn shoots their normal FT shooting instead of going 3-8......

If Westbrook doesn't go scoreless and assistless............

Come on. The game is what it is. A big UConn win. Time for a new banner!!

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And just a few more tidbits from Monday night's game.

First about Paige

These percentages for people keeping track at home:

61% shooting from Paige Bueckers over the last five games, 65% on 3s

That includes three games vs. ranked teams https://t.co/f8Y9RoWC2B
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 9, 2021

And next one about the team

Another incredible stat from last night. South Carolina typically averages 20 fast-break points per @CBBAnalytics. They thrive off their transition game.

Against UConn? They finished with 0. Credit to UConn's stellar defense.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 9, 2021

And about Paige again

Broke down @paigebueckers1 @UConnWBB 31pts/5A @SynergySST vs SC
Moves w/out ball, reads screens & 2nd level. SC lock n trial w/ multiple defenders, little help off single actions. 2-man gm, backdoors, DHOs, flip action let her play aggressively Movement = open shots
Special!
— Debbie Antonelli (@debbieantonelli) February 9, 2021

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No Top 25 Games impacted by Covid Tuesday

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By David in Naples

One of the most interesting stats from last night's fabulous victory over South Carolina was the play of the bench. Geno only went 7 players deep in his rotation, so the only subs were Aaliyah and Aubrey. Check out how much they played.... Aaliyah was in for 35+ minutes and Aubrey for 22+ minutes. Did they contribute? How about a combined 12 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 3 steals, 2 assists and very good defense. Better than any other two starters not named Paige.

It was not all positive. They missed 10 of 16 shots and went 0-3 from the charity stripe. But, the energy and defense made the offensive contributions frosting on the cake. Their 6 fouls during 57 minutes of tough play are reasonable, and kept Olivia's time down to 29 minutes & Evina down to 24. During the first quarter, Geno needed rebounding help, tougher defense and energy. The two super subs gave him just that. Edwards more than held her won against Aliyah Boston from SC. A great effort by both under tough circumstances.

Go Huskies..!!

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By Phil

Suppose, by some weird twist of fate, you didn’t watch the game against South Carolina or even know the result. You asked, with some trepidation, what happened.

I start by pointing out that:

UConn shot 39.7% from the field, the lowest percentage this season
UConn shot 13.3% from beyond the arc, the lowest percentage this season
UConn shot 37.5% from the free throw line, the lowest percentage this season
UConn had only one player in double digits, the lowest number this season (the previous low was three)
UConn would get outrebounded by 13, the worst result this season (the previous low was -4)
UConn would record 15 assists, the lowest number this season
UConn would score 63 points, the lowest total in any game this season

Then I throw in:

Oh, by the way, UConn won.

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