Doggydaddy's Den: April 2021

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Well, that was really hard to take. Arizona's defense was excellent, UConn's offense struggled. And the Huskies didn't have an answer to Aari McDonald.

So, I'll be brief. Congrats to the Wildcats. They deserved this game. And good luck against Stanford, who beat them twice this year, once by a lot.

PAC 12 Final. Wow. The ratings just fell through the floor for the Championship game.

Just a few parting thoughts.

The UConn players never gave up.

Remember Diana Taurasi's final game of her freshman season? What happened the next three years?

A sad way to end it. But the future is incredibly bright.

And to all the fans out there that I'm sure will be bashing the players for losing. Screw you. Go root for another team.

I have a feeling you won't mind if I don't post any links about this game.

That's it for tonight!

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NEW: Paige Bueckers has been named a USBWA First Team All American and co-Freshman of the Year, alongside Iowa's Caitlin Clark
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 2, 2021

2020-21 USBWA WOMEN'S ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Pos.	First Team	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
F	Aliyah Boston, South Carolina	6-5	So.	St. Thomas, USVI
G	Paige Bueckers, UConn	5-11	Fr.	Hopkins, Minn.
G	Caitlin Clark, Iowa	6-0	Fr.	West Des Moines, Iowa
G	Dana Evans, Louisville	5-6	Sr.	Gary, Ind.
F	Naz Hillmon, Michigan	6-2	Jr.	Cleveland, Ohio
G	Rhyne Howard, Kentucky	6-2	Jr.	Cleveland, Tenn.
Pos.	Second Team	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
F/C	Charli Collier, Texas	6-5	Jr.	Mont Belvieu, Texas
C	Elissa Cunane, N.C. State	6-5	Jr.	Summerfield, N.C.
G	Aari McDonald, Arizona	5-6	Sr.	Fresno, Calif.
F	NaLyssa Smith, Baylor	6-2	Jr.	Converse, Texas
G	Kiana Williams, Stanford	5-8	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas
Pos.	Third Team	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
G	Chelsea Dungee, Arkansas	5-11	Sr.	Sapulpa, Okla.
G/F	Ashley Joens, Iowa State	6-0	Jr.	Iowa City, Iowa
F	Natasha Mack, Oklahoma State	6-4	Sr.	Lufkin, Texas
F	Michaela Onenywere, UCLA	6-0	Sr.	Aurora, Colo.
G	Ashley Owusu, Maryland	6-0	So.	Woodbridge, Va.
Honorable mention: Kierstan Bell, Florida Gulf Coast; Grace Berger, Indiana; Zia Cooke, South Carolina; Mia Davis, Temple; Rennia Davis, Tennessee; Arella Guirantes, Rutgers; Anastasia Hayes, Middle Tennessee; Haley Jones, Stanford; Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse; Nancy Mulkey, Rice; Olivia Nelson-Ododa, UConn; N’dea Jones, Texas A&M; Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State; DiDi Richards, Baylor; Maddy Siegrist, Villanova; Christyn Williams, UConn.

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What a great game to watch between Stanford and South Carolina. I thought several times that the Gamecocks were out of the game but they hung tough and had a great chance to win it at the end.

I think David would have a field day with some of the stats they had in this game. I'll give it a go.

* There were a total of 13 jump balls in the game, 3 of them were to start a quarter. That had to be a record.

* Both teams shot better on three pointers than from two pointers. South Carolina shot 31.9% on twos and 45% on threes. Stanford shot 38.4% on twos and 62.5% on threes. Crazy.

* Stanford might play 9 players but three of them were 0-5 from the field and scored only 1 point,

* South Carolina only went 6 deep.

* Talk about missed calls. South Carolina was down 3 points and had the ball. The Stanford player clearly kicked the ball but no call and it turned into a fast break layup.

* Stanford had 12 blocks against a tall South Carolina team. Brink had 6 of them. She just has that timing.

* South Carolina might have lost the game at the foul line. They were 8-12. Stanford was 11-12.

* The only bench player for South Carolina was Amihere. She was 0-9 on threes coming into the game. SO when did she take her only three in this game? With three minutes left and South Carolina down four points and 20 second left on the shot clock. It was an air ball. Huh??

Any way you look at it, it was a very entertaining game. I'll post a few links about the game.

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South Carolina 65 Stanford 66

South Carolina falls to Stanford in heartbreaking fashion

Stanford reached title game as South Carolina missed two final shots

Stanford top South Carolina to reach title game

Too Tired to post more links. Here is a link to more.

UConn 59 Arizona 69

By David in Naples

Late night. Hoping for some closing comments from David later.

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I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:

doggydaddy.UConn@gmail.com

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Here is my UConn/Arizona Pregame Report

UPDATE ON NIKA MUHL

From Geno - “She says she feels good. We’re getting ready to practice as soon as we finish with the with the media stuff so we’ll know more a little bit later. It was encouraging that our medical staff said that after doing a little bit yesterday, she looked pretty good, and I’m hoping that after she does a little bit more today, she’ll feel just as good tomorrow morning when she wakes up. But we probably won’t know for certain, 100%, until after shoot-around tomorrow.”

Sounds encouraging. Here she is at practice. A quick look, but she is there!

📍Alamodome pic.twitter.com/tt9inupDJG
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 1, 2021

Got to explore the San Antonio Zoo yesterday! pic.twitter.com/YYz02pBHQo
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 1, 2021

I want to give a shout out to my buddie Ken. He posts some great links, videos, and tweets and I get to use them in my blog. It wouldn't be as good without his contributions. Here is the latest tweet I borrowed.

Here's the results of our predictions for the #ncaaW #WFinalFour. Our model gives UConn a better than 50% chance to take home the trophy.

You can check out all our data and how our predictions have done at https://t.co/54nykc8qns pic.twitter.com/HSW940qfyZ
— Her Hoop Stats (@herhoopstats) April 1, 2021

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Geno's Pregame Availability

Aaliya Edwards Final Four Pregame Press Conference

Evina Westbook Final Four Pregame Press Conference

Christyn WIiliams Final Four Pregame Press Conference

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What a wonderful story!!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Team IMPACT (@goteamimpact)

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MORGAN WOOTTEN HS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Congrats to Azzi Fudd on winning this award. It's been a crazy year where many players didn't have a lot of games, but based on reputation, Azzi won this year's award.

Guess who won last year? I'd give you three guess but I think you all would get it in one guess.

Prior to each game since /2002 , a national player of the year has been chosen from the field of McDonald's All-Americans based on activity in the community, classroom and on the court. The award is named in honor of high school coach Morgan Wootten, one of the founders of the McDonald's game.

Here are the past winners.

Girls

2002: Nicole Wolff
2003: Ivory Latta
2004: Candace Parker
2005: Abby Waner
2006: Tina Charles
2007: Maya Moore
2008: Elena Delle Donne
2009: Kelsey Bone
2010: Chiney Ogwumike
2011: Elizabeth Williams
2012: Breanna Stewart
2013: Taya Reimer
2014: Ariel Atkins
2015: Katie Lou Samuelson
2016: Crystal Dangerfield
2017: Evina Westbrook
2018: Christyn Williams
2019: Haley Jones
2020: Paige Bueckers

UConn has three winners of this award in their starting lineup. And if you include Westbrook and Delle Donne, UConn players have now won 11 of the 20 times this has been given out.

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Congrats Caroline Ducharme! AMFAM Girls’ 3-Point Champ winner. Check it out Sunday on ⁦@CBS⁩ . Next up, she’s off to UConn! pic.twitter.com/Yl8C9WHVt7
— Jack Salzwedel (@AmFamJack) March 30, 2021

1:30 EST on CBS

Caroline won it in a shoot out with Azzi Fudd.

No worries about the boot on Azzi. Just a precaution from a turned ankle.

PERFECT RACK by @azzi_35 with the boot on. 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Impressive stuff at the @amfam Girls 3-Point Championship. #DreamFearlessly pic.twitter.com/4fR1Pa0S5p
— High School Slam (@HighSchoolSlam) March 30, 2021

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A real interesting video

Painful to watch the first 3-4 minutes as it's the end of the Mississippi State game from a few years ago.

So, this is for any Arizona fans that read my blog.

Are there any??

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12:30PM GAME II

TEAM KOBE
Coach Christina Camacho (Veterans Memorial HS)
Sara Puckett	6'2	F	Muscle Shoals	Tennessee

Caroline Ducharme	6'2	G	Noble and Greenough	Uconn

Azzi Fudd	5'11	G	St. John's	UConn

Jayda Curry	5'6	PG	Centennial	Cal

Rayah Marshall	6'4	SF	Lynwood	USC

Destiny Adams	6'2	F	Manchester Township	UNC

De'Mauri Flournoy	5'7	G	Carrollton	Vanderbilt

Rori Harmon	5'5	PG	Cypress Creek	Texas

Kierra Sanderlin	5'7	PG	Judson	Rutgers

Amari DeBerry	6'5	F	Williamsville South	Uconn

Aaliyah Moore	6'3	F	Moore	Texas

TEAM GIGI
Coach Annissa Jackson (Wagner HS)
Kendra Gillispie	6'2	F/P	Harding Charter	Marquette

Payton Verhulst	6'1	G	Bishop Miege	Louisville

Destiney McPhaul	5'8	PG	West Catholic	Virginia Tech

O'Mariah Gordon	5'5	PG	Braden River	Florida State

Saniya Rivers	6'0	G	Eugene Ashley	South Carolina

Reigan Richardson	5'11	SG	Cannon	Georgia

Jasmine Shavers	5'10	G	Mesquite Horn	Mississippi State

Bree Hall	6'1	G	Wayne	South Carolina

Teonni Key	6'4	W	Cary	UNC

Sania Feagin	6'4	F	Forest Park	South Carolina

Pass Tha Ball WHO's NXT? ALL AMERICAN game will be held on Friday, April 2, 2021 at the Antioch Sports Complex during the Women's Final Four weekend in San Antonio, TX. Games will be played at 10:45 AM CST & 12:30 PM CST.

Live streamed at this LINK. I believe it is a pay site. I'm hoping someone watches and posts about the games. UConn players are in the 12:30 CST game.

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Thanks to Connie on a UConn Message board for this great poem

Baylor At The Bat

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the UConn five that day;
Up 12 midway through Quarter 1, but plenty more to play.
When Olivia fouled not once but twice, amidst a bunny missed,
A sickly silence fell o’er a many household sorely pissed.

And so the Lady Bears roared back to take the lead by two,
And heading to the locker room, cruel Huskies’ fate did rue.
We thought if only Paige could lead us back from the abyss,
I’d put up even-money Mulkey’s jacket’d go amiss.

Midst traded blows, blocks, rebounds strong, and no-calls end-to-end,
The mighty teams did battle on, no lead could they extend.
When suddenly the tide did turn in the dark’ning Texas night,
As an 8-0 run put Baylor up, their victory flaming bright.

Then kismet kind now turning cruel possessed a hamstring taut,
With Didi out did Paige unleash her havoc coolly brought.
Oh! Points did rain from rafters high, and the defense gathered poise,
The lead reversed, then opened up 9 points amidst the noise.

Yet not so gentle ‘to the night did Baylor softly slink,
They raged on (on top of Paige), their season on the brink.
The Huskies cold now from the arc, the paint, the free-throw line,
The lead did shrink, to but a shot, as if all by design.

With 18 seconds on the clock, no time outs left, just will;
An in-bounds pass, 8 seconds ticked, yet time seemed standing still.
Above the arc did Carrington the fated sphere then grip,
She darted right, then leftward drove, Olivia on her hip.

Then flashing mighty Olivia cut off the base line strong,
And UConns’ fortress towers did converge amidst the throng.
The three then came together, mere seconds on the clock,
Midst arms and hands and elbows all, let go a final shot.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere Geno grins;
But there is no joy in Texas. No call. UConn wins.

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1 seed UConn vs 3 seed Arizona Friday 9:30 ET ESPN

1 seed South Carolina vs 1 seed Stanford Friday 6:00 ET ESPN

By David in Naples

The game against Arizona this Friday will be difficult. They are a good team that has over achieved this year. Their best player is Aari McDonald, a tiny guard who scores more than the next two players combined. (20.3 average vs 19.9 for the next 2 players) She shoots the ball a lot, 444 shots vs 227 for the next player. By contrast, Paige led UConn with 411 shots, but Christyn was just behind with 373 tries. Job #1 for UConn is to make McDonald take difficult, uncomfortable shots.

Job #2 is to rebound at both ends of the court. Arizona was out rebounded 925 to 921 this season. UConn had a positive difference of 1,211 to 872. As a team, Arizona shot 41.4% overall from the field, so there will be lots of misses. UConn hits shots at a 51.6% rate. McDonald took more threes (153) than the next two players combined. For the Huskies, Paige and Christyn shot 135 and 137 threes. McDonald hits 33% of her threes (62-153). Christyn made 34.3% of her threes and Paige made 45.9%. Advantage Huskies..!

In terms of scoring offense, Arizona averages 66.8 per game. That places them #129 in Division 1 hoops. UConn is #4 at 82.7 ppg. Job #3 for the Huskies is score 82 points.

Interestingly, Arizona played 25 games this season and four players started all 25 games and 1 started 22. UConn has started 8 different players and only two have started all 29 games. With Nika doubtful, Aaliyah should start and give UConn even more rebounded height and inside scoring punch. The first two subs for UConn, Aubrey and Anna, have started 5 and 6 games respectively. Quality minutes are needed from subs to give their teams a chance to win.

Go Huskies..!!

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By Phil

Upsets

60 of the 63 games are now in the books. Eleven of those games, 18% of the total were upsets.

No team in the NCAA Tournament wants to lose, but you REALLY don’t want to be on the losing end of an upset.

Let’s see how those upsets broke down by conference. One each for four conferences, one conference, the B10 with two, and … drum roll please… five upsets suffered by SEC teams. Almost half the upsets were attributable to SEC teams. One upset is happenstance, but five means the selection committee bought into the false narrative that the SEC is the best overall conference. Not even close.

There is an SEC team left, but there are twice as many Pac 12 teams left. I hope the selection committee will, when they get together next year, review how badly they managed to slot the SEC teams. Other than the inexplicable decision to match up UConn with Baylor, as if Baylor was the 7th best overall team, this SEC favoritism mars an overall decent job of selection and slotting.

WCC 1 Gonzaga

B12 1 West Virginia

ACC 1 NC State

Pac12 1 UCLA

B10 2 Rutgers Maryland

SEC 5 Tennessee TAMU Arkansas Kentucky Georgia

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UCONN LINKS

Sorry if some links need a subscription

Young Husky fan receives unforgettable surprise

Bueckers and McDonald propel their teams to Final Four

What Geno said about facing Arizona and McDonald