****************************************************
GO UCONN!!!!!
*************************************************
No. 8 UConn Huskies Villanova Wildcats
69 72
No Ducharme again in this game. And Olivia Nelson-Ododa did not play in this game. She sat on the bench not feeling well. A last minute scratch.
This team just can't get a break.
As much as I wanted to write and write and write about the UConn win over Tennessee, there is not much to say about this game.
Maybe the worse defensive effort is several years. I can't remember a UConn team giving up 59% shooting from the field.
It reminded me about the Georgia Tech game, where they just seemed shell shocked by a player not available. It's not an excuse for a poor performance, but it is what it is.
UConn was outrebounded by the smaller Wildcats 37-21 and the Huskies were outrebounded by Siegrist and Herlihy who had 12 and 10.
Even with a great comeback try outscoring Villanova 24-10 in the fourth quarter, they couldn't make up for all the bad play earlier in the game.
The Huskies actually cut a 16 point lead with 5:50 left in the game to 3 points but with 2.1 second left and the ball, UConn should not get shot off to tie the game.
Fudd was terrific again with a career high 29 points in this game and Williams added 24 points. But the rest of the team was really disappointing.
The 2 seed will now be at best a 3 seed. They definately will be punished for this bad loss.
The only good news is maybe Villanova will find a way to make the NCAA tournament. They are a very good team.
One more comment. Anyone that wants to trash Olivia Nelson-Ododa in the future should just remember this game and see how this team looks without her.
**************************************************
GAMES
MOST SCORES HAVE CLICKABLE LINKS TO A GAME STORY
UPSETS IN RED
No. 7 Indiana 93 Illinois 61
No. 10 Baylor 95 Kansas State 50
No. 16 Texas 61 Texas Tech 56
**************************************************
Straight from the Dog
I've been reading questions/comments from fans on two issues.
1. What will be the rotation (starters/bench) when Paige comes back.
2. UConn will be great but how well they intigrate the injured players into the lineup.
I can only offer my opinion.
In regards to the rotation, Geno MIGHT start Paige off the bench. Maybe for one game. He has a flair for the dramatic. Let's say she is ok to play by 2/20 against Georgetown or 2/23 in the makeup game against Marquette or 2/25 against St. Johns all at the XL Center. Or at worst, 2/27 against Providence on Senior day at Gampel.
Just imagine 7 minutes into the game, Paige gets off the bench and heads to the scoere's table to check in. The crowd get's louder and louder as the buzzer sounds and she heads into the game for Muhl. The fans explode into the loudest ovation you can imagine chanting "Paige, Paige, Paige, Paige"........
Damn, i just got goosebumps writting that!
But after that, she will be in the starting lineup. Here is my best guess on what that will be.
Starters
Paige PG
Williams SG
Nelson-Ododa C
Edwards PF
Ducharme SF
Bench
Muhl PG
Fudd SG
Juhasz C/PF
Westbrook SF/SG
I'm sure that others can come up with a different configuration. And there is no wrong answer.
My reasoning is pretty simple. Paige is Paige. Wiliams has starterd every game. Same for ONO. I think Edwards is working her way back into the starting lineup AND I think Geno would like Dorka to come off the bench to spell ONO. Westbrook is comfortable off the bench and Ducharme has earned the starting position.
But, my god, look at that nine player rotation and tell me they aren't a championship roster when healthy. You could also come up with 5 or 6 different starting lineups and they would all be great.
I'll say it now. IF they all stay healthy and Paige is close to 100%, they win it all. National Championship. Period.
Now, the other issue is how will they integrate the injured players into the lineup?
Hopefully Caroline will be back in the Villanova game and they will have everyone but Paige back. With those 8 players they will have 7 regular season games, 3 BE tournament games and 2 NCAA games before the tough NCAA games start. That's 12 games. If Bueckers can play in 8 of those, there is plenty of time to get everyone on the same page, so to speak.
We saw how smoothly Fudd fit in. Bueckers is so unselfish, I don't think it will take more than a few minutes of game time for the same to happen with her.
Once everyone is back, it's going to be a great final bunch of games to watch.
______________________________________________
A player I hated to see go, Mir McLean, is doing great in her new home in Virginia. They have a really bad team, losing Tuesday to Syracuse 77-70 to drop to 3-18 on the season. But McLean had a nice game with 20 points and 4 rebounds in only 23 minutes.
On the season, she is averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
______________________________________________
She's a shooter.@ladylynn22_ has been named a Top 10 finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which recognizes the nation's top shooting guard.
— Lady Vol Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) February 8, 2022
Details » https://t.co/nYaTOuBIfi pic.twitter.com/Uz7DMoO71Y
She is a talented player. And her scoring-rebounding numbers are very good at 16.2 and 9.3.
But SHOOTING guard? She might play that position in the Tennessee scheme of things, but her numbers just scream "NON-SHOOTING" guard.
121-323 from the field for 37.3%
11-49 on threes for 22.4%
Unless they changed the definition of "shooting guard", I don't see how she qualifies. Maybe because she TAKES so many shots? 16 per game?
Talk about a Tennessee love fest...lol.
______________________________________________
One of my favorite Orange Idiots, Mudcat posted this piece of brilliance.....
"tenn done good for injurys. just saying if tenn does not win tital its no bad year."
It was so bad, another posted offered a translation.....hahahaha.
And speaking of Horston, here is Mudcat's take on Jordan.
"she said shoter is going shot or score. but she said she was not the best shoter. it was on one of tenn post game interview. anybody can see not shoter in women college basketball. you can not say she best in college basketball. she is our best player but not on parker leval."
Reading that, it makes me want to take a shot!
********************************************************
THE MISSING LINK
We might have another contributor to this blog. My friend, who goes by the message board name Linkster, send me some info on the Selection Committee that some of you might find interesting. Here goes -
I decided to look up the "policies and Procedures" of the Selection Committee
This is a new document 11/21 and is interesting. In "bracketing", under the heading Other Considerations" is
"After examining the previous two years’ brackets, the committee shall attempt to avoid moving teams or conferences out of its natural region or geographic area an inordinate number of times.
What the hell caused this to be inserted?
This is one example of something that begs questions that our media won't ask.
They have a long list of "factors" in seeding but the only analytic listed is NET. There is pretty good general description of it too. Much better than RPI.
My first question is who approved these new rules? I mean did Emhart or whatever his name find them engraved on gold tablets under his bed? The bracket is a slave to the P&P's and no one knows who decides? And read the section about voting for the at-large teams. I don't think the Blood & Bonesmen have more convoluted voting rules.
With a month till the NCAA's I'll look for a few stories about the whole process so we can understand why they send teams to locations that don't make sense.
This is a new document 11/21 and is interesting. In "bracketing", under the heading Other Considerations" is
"After examining the previous two years’ brackets, the committee shall attempt to avoid moving teams or conferences out of its natural region or geographic area an inordinate number of times.
What the hell caused this to be inserted?
This is one example of something that begs questions that our media won't ask.
They have a long list of "factors" in seeding but the only analytic listed is NET. There is pretty good general description of it too. Much better than RPI.
My first question is who approved these new rules? I mean did Emhart or whatever his name find them engraved on gold tablets under his bed? The bracket is a slave to the P&P's and no one knows who decides? And read the section about voting for the at-large teams. I don't think the Blood & Bonesmen have more convoluted voting rules.
With a month till the NCAA's I'll look for a few stories about the whole process so we can understand why they send teams to locations that don't make sense.
********************************************************
My second reveal prediction
1. South Carolina
2. Stanford
3. NC State
4. Louisville
5. Michigan
6. Arizona
7. UConn
8. Iowa State
9. Indiana
10. Oklahoma
11. Baylor
12. Texas
13. Tennessee
14. Oregon
15. LSU
16. Maryland
Number one is easy, South Carolina was number one at the last reveal, hasn’t lost or even been threatened since . Their next game is against Kentucky on Thursday, but presumably the reveal will be completed before those games start, so South Carolina is a lock for number one.
Number two is easy, Stanford was number two at the last reveal, and hasn’t lost since then. Arizona played them tough, but the Cardinal still won by 6. They do have a game Wednesday against Oregon State, but at home and expected to win by 15 so barring a colossal upset, they will be solidly in second place.
Number three starts to get a little more complicated. NC State was in third but got upset by Notre Dame. They bounced back with a 20-point victory over Florida State, then a 10 point victory over 11th -ranked Georgia Tech. The AP punished them by moving them down to fifth. That was before the win over Georgia Tech. Massey has them in third position so I’m going to leave them at third.
The last of the number one seeds is tricky. At the first reveal that was Tennessee, but we knew that was not going to last before the night was out. The reveal had Louisville in the next spot down, and Massey has Louisville as fourth overall. Louisville has won all five of their games, although the three-point victory over Miami was close enough to raise some eyebrows. The AP has Michigan in fourth but that still behind Louisville. I’m going to put Louisville in fourth.
Michigan was all the way down in ninth at the first reveal, but has arguably had the best run since then, with wins over three ranked teams, Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa. While Iowa’s stay in the top 25 is looking very shaky, each of these wins qualifies as a quality win. The AP has them up at fourth, but as discussed above, while I understand NC State getting knocked down a bit, I think they recovered, so I’m going to sl0t Michigan in the fifth spot. Michigan is seven in the Massey rankings, so four is arguably a little bit too high. I think the selection committee will reward them for their three solid wins.
The next three spots are likely to be UConn, Arizona, and Iowa State in some order. I suspect anyone of the six possible orders is justifiable. UConn is fifth in Massey, which places them ahead of Arizona and Iowa State. Arizona has one loss since the last reveal, but that was only a six-point loss to number two Stanford, so shouldn’t ding them too much. Iowa State had two wins, one over Kansas State just outside the top 25, but I think that gets trumped by Connecticut’s win over Tennessee. Despite Arizona’s loss, I’m guessing that Arizona still gets the slight edge over UConn, with a slight edge over Iowa State.
The first reveal had Indiana in sixth place, but they lost by 15 points to Michigan. They bounced back with wins over Minnesota and Purdue, but the seven-point win over Purdue at home wasn’t exactly a barnburner. They have a game against Illinois on Wednesday that they are highly likely to win easily. The AP still has Indiana at seven, but Massey has them all away down at 15. I think the committee will factor the large loss to Michigan more than the AP voters and move them down to ninth. They probably deserve to drop a little further, but I think the three spots dropped is about as far as the committee will move them.
And now we pause to consider the curious case of North Carolina. Crème’s latest bracketology has them as a six seed, which is perfectly in sync with the AP ranking number 23, but those are way out of line with Massey’s number 9 overall, and the NCAA’s NET ranking number 5! I confess I haven’t paid much attention to the NET rankings, but I should. If I understand correctly, they are replacing the RPI and may be an important tool for the selection committee. North Carolina has four losses but all are to ranked teams and two of them are to a one seed. The problem is there win resume is slim, with only wins over Duke and Georgia Tech among teams that are likely to be at-large bids to the tournament. I’m going to presume that the selection committee is not going to move them up to the top 16 but they are a team to keep our eye on.
We have three more three seeds to go, and if we exclude North Carolina the candidates are Baylor Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia Tech and Tennessee. Texas is on the list because they were a two seed, but three consecutive losses, albeit to strong teams, probably knocks them down a fair amount. Crème has Texas on the four-line and that seems about right, but Massey has them ranked ahead of Tennessee, and NCAA NET has them all away up at number eight, so I’m only going to drop them one seed line. Oklahoma is won 3 consecutive games, although they just barely beat unranked West Virginia, so I think they make the three line even though they weren’t even in the top 16 last time. They are ranked 11th in Massey which qualifies as a three, so my main caveat is they are only 28 in NET which will hurt them if that’s important to the committee.
Baylor was just outside the 3 seed line at number 13 last time, and while they lost a one-point game to Oklahoma, they had a win against West Virginia and two solid wins against Texas, so I think they move up.
Georgia Tech has been a hot team, but while they can be forgiven for their loss to NC state, their wins aren’t strong enough to argue for a significant move up. They were not in the top 16 last time, and they are only ranked number 20 in Massey, so I think they slide into the four seed line, but not up to three.
Tennessee is going through a bad stretch which you all know. Crème has them as a three seed, but Massey has them at number 13, and the NCAA NET has them at number 17, so I’m going to put them in as a four seed. I’m running out of steam so I’m just going to slot Oregon, LSU and Maryland in the final three slots, and we can debate whether BYU or North Carolina or Notre Dame deserves one of those slots with Maryland being the most likely candidate to bump down.
********************************************************
By David in Naples
Hard to get many positive stats from this loss to Villanova. Mostly, from two players, Azzi & Christyn. But first, UConn won the 4th quarter 24-10. I’m told that matters by people “over yonder.” Maybe just when UConn doesn’t win that quarter...
Good stats:
1. Azzi scored 29 points on 20 shots & 3 free throws.
2. Christyn scored 24 points on 15 shots.
3. Together, those two were 8-13 from three range.
4. Free throw defense was excellent, holding Nova to 4-12 from the charity stripe. 😎
Bad stats:
1. The rest of the team scored 16 points on 7-21 shooting.
2. Down 17 in the 4th period is too big a hole to climb out of...
On to the next game...
Good stats:
1. Azzi scored 29 points on 20 shots & 3 free throws.
2. Christyn scored 24 points on 15 shots.
3. Together, those two were 8-13 from three range.
4. Free throw defense was excellent, holding Nova to 4-12 from the charity stripe. 😎
Bad stats:
1. The rest of the team scored 16 points on 7-21 shooting.
2. Down 17 in the 4th period is too big a hole to climb out of...
On to the next game...
**************************************************
Here is an option for any contributions for my time in putting together this blog.
I'm not requiring the contribution in order to read the blog. It's totally voluntary. And I'm not recommending how much to donate or how often.
Thanks to all my loyal readers!!!
If you don't have Venmo, you can sign up here
or add the app to your iPhone or iPad.
And here is another option
********************************************************
UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
UConn loses first conference game since 2013 Yahoo Sports
UConn conference winning streak ends at 169 CT Insider
********************************************************
Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:
No comments:
Post a Comment