Doggy's UConn/Villanova BE Championship Postgame Report

   

UCONN 70 VILLANOVA 40

What a great three days!!! UConn put the icing on the cake with a 70-40 win over Villanova in the Big East Championship Final. 

It was really never in doubt. 

The Huskies allowed 38 points to Georgetown, 51 to Marquette and in this game 40 to a very talented Villanova team. 

David texted me with these two interesting stats from the game.

The UConn point differential by quarter was +7, +8, +8, +7. So consistent.

In 120 minutes of tournament play, UConn trailed for 51 seconds TOTAL. Talk about domination.

And more along that line - UConn shot by quarter 7-13, 53.8%, 7-12, 58.3%, 7-13, 53.8% and 8-14, 57.1%.

No let up in this game. 

UConn held Villanova to 32% from the field, 30.4% on threes and the Wildcats only got to the line 2 times. A tribute to the aggressive but smart defense the Huskies played.        

The also Huskies shot 55.8% overall. Very efficient. 

Replay and Highlights

Full Game Replay

Fox 61 Game Highlights

Final Ceremony and Post Game

WE WANT UCONN!!!

More Highlights

Game Stats and Box Score

******************************************************************************
Post Game Interviews

GENO

Westbrook, Edwards and Williams

Villanova Post Game Presser 


******************************************************************************

Game Quotes from Geno 

“This one was a lot of fun. And we beat a team that was really hard to play against. People don’t realize how hard it is to play against Villanova. I’ve known that for 37 years. They’re much harder to play now than when Harry [Perretta] was coaching. And Maddie Siegrist is probably one of the top 10 players in the country.”

“I just know that wherever [the analysts] had us three weeks ago, I don’t think they’d have us there anymore. I don’t know where they’re changing us to, but I don’t think we’re where they thought we were going to be three weeks ago or a month ago.”

“There was this perception early on at one point that without Paige we’re not very good, you know? An ex-coach [Muffet McGraw] who doesn’t know [much] about anything said that recently. And I think we proved her wrong.”

“When you have this many young players and you have all of the stuff that’s going on — the COVID and the injuries, everybody missing games — to have everybody there at one time to be able to participate and to celebrate, this one was a lot of fun."

“Paige has her good days mentally, she has her bad days mentally. We’ve got to get her physically feeling better, but I think she has to get her mind right now because she hasn’t been in that mode in three months. That is job No. 1.”

******************************************************************************

UConn Player Evaluations

Player of the Game

Aaliyah Edwards

I watched the first half again while on the treadmill this morning and I focused on Aaliyah Edwards. She set the tone with UConn's first basket, an offensive rebound and put back. But where she really set the tone was her defense on Big East Player of the Year Maddy Siegrist in the first quarter. 

The Huskies came out in their usual Man-to-Man defense and right from the git-go. Edwards was all over Siegrist. She followed Maddy all over the court, fought through screens and didn't let her get the ball in many occasions. She stuck to her like glue. The only basket Edwards allowed Siegrist was a long, and I mean long three pointer. It had to be 25-30 feet out.

But it wasn't just her defense.  

UConn had a 49-26 after three quarters using a 15-3 run over the last 8 minutes, 4 seconds, during which Edwards played a huge role. During those minutes, Edwards had a hand in five of seven UConn field goals, scoring three. She was the first Huskie to double figures, and assisting on two. Edwards checked out of the game for the final time with 1:45 to play to a well deserved standing ovation. Geno pulled her aside and had plenty to say to her while Aaliyah had a big smile on her face as she talked to her.  

I've said for two years that she reminds me of the great Nalyssa Smith from Baylor. She is finally playing the part.  

She played 31 minutes, was 5-9 from the field for 12 points and added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. 

“It was a great feeling being on that stage together [after the game]. It was great to have the crowd embrace us, to feel the energy.”

Christyn Williams

Williams was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player and well deserved. Not to take anything away from her, but my own opinion is that this should have been the first team MOP award.

Christyn though was the tone setter on offense every game. Most of her points were in the first quarter of each game. Her fitness showed again in this game. No one on the team can drive to the basket and obsorbe contact like she can. I think she now enjoys the physical part of her game and that wasn't always true. And of course, she was a big part of the excellent UConn defense.  

She played 29 minutes and while she only had 9 points, she added 1 steal, 1 block and 3 rebounds. Her stats in this game don't tell the entire story.  

"When they beat us, that one hurt. Obviously, we were coming out with a chip on our shoulder. We didn't want to lose again to them. So we just came out hard and played our best. We just had our foot on the gas the entire game and we didn't take it off. I think all of us knew in the locker room before the game."

“This one is my favorite one, this championship. This team has gone through so much through the course of this season, on and off the court. We had to work so hard to get to where we are right now. “We just stuck together. We never gave up.”

Evina Westbrook

Westbrook  is really feeling it. She hit a couple of midrange jumpers and a couple of drives to the basket that were just so smooth and confident. She will be a big part of the success in the NCAA tournament. 

Her demeanor on the court is so settling for the Huskies. Everything just calms down when she is out there. And that is a big factor in UConn's success.

In this game she played 20 minutes off the bench and led the Huskies with 13 points. She added 3 rebounds and 3 assists.  

“I think all of us knew in the locker room it was going to be a totally different game than the first time. I think what else that drove us was their band saying [Sunday], they wanted UConn. So we were just like, ‘Y’all going to get UConn.’”

“To be able to adjust and sacrifice things for your team, especially this team is kind of easy because we all love each other. It’s kind of easy in that aspect. I think it’s pretty special. And honestly, it’s kind of fun to play like that, when you have whatever five are out there, and then subs are coming in. They can’t relax on who we’ve got coming in, because everyone is really dangerous.”

Azzi Fudd

Geno must have seen something he liked about the way Fudd played in this game. She led the team with 36 minutes. It's funny, but most of the critisism of her game was on the defensive side, but if you watched her in this game, you would find the answer to the question of why she played so many minutes. If you didn't look carefully at her face, you would think it was Nika playing on the ball defense. She is that good. She had 9 points on 4-5 shooting, missing her only three point shot. But she added 3 steals and 2 assists. Including one slick pass to Ducharme under the basket. 

Olivia Nelson-Ododa

It's been great to see Olivia play so well. You can see how much she was missed in the UConn loss to the Wildcats. In this game she played 23 minutes and scored 11 points on 4-4 shooting and 3-3 on free throws. Her early passing in this game was just wonderful and motivating for the team. She added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block and 1 steal.   

Nika Muhl

Nika's stats don't blow you away. She only scored 1 point and had 1 assist in her 19 minutes, But as usual, her on the ball defense was excellent and she added 3 steals. 

Dorka Juhasz

Here is another player with average stats but big impact. Dorka only played 17 minutes but her switching defense helped get Villanova out of their offense possesion after possesion. She was big on the boards with 5 and her 2 assists were just old school UConn backdoor plays. Gotta love it! 

 

Caroline Ducharme

I think she is getting there. Caroline's play was much better in this game. She only played 16 minutes, but was very effective when on the court. She was 4-6 from the field, a recipient of some nice passes and hit her only three pointer on a nice pass from Bueckers. She was big on the boards with 5 rebounds. Nice game for her. 

Paige Bueckers 

When I saw the clip of her on the treadmill before the game started, my heart was in my throat. And when the announcer said that she might not play due to knee soreness, my shoulders slumped. But she did get on the court for 9 minutes and I didn't see anything in her play to worry about. She is just not there yet and after missing 19 games, it should be expected. Plenty of time before the tournament to get her going. Like Geno said, it's his No. 1 priority. Oh yeah, she scored 2 points and had 1 rebound and 1 assist.

Final Thoughts

Seton Hall coach Anthony Bozzella said it best -  “If you think UConn is the eighth or ninth best team in the country, you’re a fool.”

Right now SECreme has the Huskies the sixth best team and the 2 seed in Bridgeport. But he's still a fool. However, that works for me! UConn will have 11 or 12 days before playing again.  2 games in Storrs, 2 games in Bridgeport and hopefully 2 games in the final four!!

If you want to feel good about this teams chances, just watch the post game celebration video and listen to the post game interview with Geno. Watch Geno as they celebrate. He is so proud of this team and has this serene look on his face.  I think the last time I saw this was Stewart's senior season when they went undefeated and won it all.  

Here are a few pictures that really capture the game and atmosphere.

 

A little Mr. Miagi healing????