Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 12/9/2021

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GO UCONN!!!!!

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Logan LOVES snow!!!!

Waiting for the school bus he is so happy!

The car is on the way to Florida.

Can DoggyDaddy be far behind??

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No. 2 UCONN No. 30 Georgia Tech

44 57

Everything has changed. Nothing is the same. I feel horrible for these players. The pressure on them to perform under these circumstances was enormous. If you watched the pre game vidoe of Williams and Westbrook, you could kind of feel this coming. They were what I would call morose. It's hard to bounce back from several punches to the face. And I'm sure that is what this feels like.

Even the big optimists like me have to look at the reality of the situation.

The timing was really really bad for a road game on national TV against a solid defensive team like Georgia Tech. As I saw in several articles and comments by UConn fans, this is the perfect storm.

The team had no time to figure out how to play without Paige. You can lose Muhl, not have Aubrey, and even lose Fudd. But without Paige, it's like a rudderless ship.

Now, even under the tough circumstances, the play of a few players were totally disappointing.

What has happened to Aaliyah Edwards? 0-5 from the field and zero points? So much more has been expected from her.

Big Ten 1st team two years? It's hard to believe that UConn got that version of Dorka Juhasz. At least she made one basket. ONE.

When your freshman big, DeBerry outscores both of those players combined, you know UConn is in trouble.

And it looks like the 14 point explosion from Ducharme might have been a mirage. Or a product of Paige setting her up and that wasn't there this game.

The Seniors did their best but the outside shots weren't there and that had a huge impact on the lack of scoring.

The turnaround to go to New Jersey to play UCLA is way too short for this team to figure anything out. The consecutive games without losing two in a row is certainly in jeopardy. This loss broke the streak of 240 straight wins against unranked teams. Will more unbelievable streaks by UConn be snapped this year? It is possible.

It's going to be a tough 6-8 weeks. Keep your chin up and root hard. They need it.

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UPSETS IN RED

MOST SCORES HAVE CLICKABLE LINKS TO A GAME STORY

No. 6 Arizona North Dakota State - Late Game

No. 10 Indiana 91 Fairfield 58

No. 13 Michigan Wisconsin - Late Game

No. 14 Kentucky 83 DePaul 94

No. 18 Texas A&M 88 Texas Southern 43

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Straight from the Dog

I have some good news and bad news for you. The good news is that DePaul could move into the Top 25 rankings with their 94-85 win over SEC's No. 14 Kentucky on their home court. A huge upset. Good for Doug Bruno. The bad news is UConn plays them in 3 weeks on their home court in Chicago on New Years eve. It is very possible that the Huskies get back Fudd, Muhl and even Griffin before that game. And more games will help this team figure some things out. I hope.

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I almost deleted this next little blurb. It now seems a little off putting after the UConn performance. But I gotta do what I gotta do.

This beauty of a comment is from a South Carolina fan that lives like a troll on the Volnation.com site.

Geno was a young and hungry coach when he began his dynasty. He lived and breathed coaching. After 11 National championships, it is understandable his universe has expanded. The man is beginning to reap some of the rewards of his achievements as he gets older. He has several interests now, including his own Label wine business. I don't judge anyone living their life, and he is included especially because of his success. It was hard earned.

But yes, he is different now than when he was in the middle of that run of excellence and just lately, maybe the past 2-3 years now, we can see some of the effects of that which when coupled with the expansion of the sport and deeper talent pools has brought some parity to the game.

A UConn fan that posts on that site responded.

UConn won 4 out of 5 championships from 1999-2004. Then didn't win for 4 years.They went Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Elite Eight and Final Four. Then they won four straight during the Stewart years.

Now they haven't won in four years but they went to the final four every time.
He keeps recruiting at the highest level. I wouldn't count on that championship drought lasting.

Gotta agree with this guy. Wishful thinking opposing fans and spoiled UConn fans think if UConn doesn't win more often then Geno is finished. Ridiculous.

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This was the hardest decision in handing out an UGGY award in the 7 years I've been writting this blog. But facts are facts, and I gotta do what I gotta do. Didn't I say that already?

However, UConn earned their first ever UGGY. How did they do that?

Well, they scored 44 points. That is as low as I can remember them scoring. I'm sure I missing games but this one was just particularly bad.

They were 31% from the field and 2-15 on threes. And only 11 assists and 16 turnovers.

Not much more to say. I just hope it's the last one they earn.

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By PHIL

Iowa – Iowa State

I thoroughly enjoyed the Iowa – Iowa State game on Wednesday.

First, some stats:

Clark, for Iowa is a great scorer and has a tremendous range on a three-point shot so I was lulled into thinking that Iowa relied on the three. However, the stats tell a different story. Iowa has attempted 167 threes for the season so far which ranks them as number 125, very much middle of the pack. The decision not to emphasize threes is warranted, as there shooting percentage is 31%. Not terrible but ranked number 155 in the country so understandably not a point of emphasis.

In contrast, Iowa State loves the three. They taken almost twice as many as Iowa, putting up 314 of them so far which puts them in first place in terms of volume. They are not close to the top of the pack in terms of percentage (that would be Texas A & M) but they hit 37% of their threes which is roughly the same is hitting 56% of your twos so the volume is justified.

Despite that disparity in emphasis, last night's game ended up with virtually identical results from beyond the arc, with Iowa going nine for 27, and Iowa State nine for 28.

Overall, Iowa is a much better shooting team than Iowa State, hitting 47% of their field goal attempts which ranks them 17th of the nation while Iowa State only hits 43% which places them at number 110. That's a little misleading, as Iowa States overall field-goal percentage is dragged down due to their emphasis on threes. Last night, neither team lived up to their season averages, probably because both were playing a tougher opponent than the earlier games with Iowa just breaking about 40% and Iowa state not quite reaching the top average 39%.

For the season, the two teams had similar average in terms of block shots per game, Iowa at 3.6 and Iowa State at 3.1, but last night Iowa had a distinct edge with eight blocks to Iowa State's 3.

The two teams came into the game with similar blocks per game but ended up with very different actual results; the two teams came into the game with very different shooting percentages and three point emphasis and ended up with almost identical results.

The game flow was quite interesting. Even though Iowa State had an 8-0 run in the first quarter, the largest lead by either team was four points with multiple ties and lead changes; Iowa State ended the first quarter with a slim two point margin.

Iowa State then pulled out to a double-digit lead, and seemed in command, although Iowa cut the halftime margin to five. In the second half Iowa came alive and took the lead. They seemed to have momentum but just as you thought Iowa was going to extend the lead, Iowa State woke up and retook the lead although only in single digits.

The box score was interesting with A. Joens recorded a double, double double. I know, if you have to explain the joke it's not funny but Aubrey Joens had 12 points and 11 rebounds for a double double and Ashley Joens had 26 points and 11 rebounds so she also recorded a double double, therefore … Well you get it.

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