Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 11/21/2022

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GO UCONN!!!!!

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Well, that game was interesting. I predicted a 12 point win for the Huskies. And after hearing that Juhasz would be out with a broken bone in her hand I probably would have lowered that to single digits. Then Coach Dailey leaves the court in a stretcher and the players are all shook up. Now it's maybe a 5 point gap. And maybe even on the losing side.

Well this team showed me something. And I will not doubt them all season. It doesn't mean they go undefeated and win the championship, although that would be ok with me. But the 22 point beatdown was a total surprise.

The picture I posted tells a lot of the story but a few more words on the player performances.

Azzi Fudd was just spectacular again, tying her career high from just a game ago with 32 point, 22 in the first half. Faceguard her and she backdoors you. Put a hand in her face at the three point line and she will drive by you for a pull up jumper or a layup. There is no one in the country has as quick and accurate release from three point land as Fudd. Men or women. She is quicker than ever with the ball. Just the best player in the country. Period.

Her running mate, Nika Muhl, was only 1-3 from the field for her 3 points. Terrible, right? Well, she set a UConn single game record for assists with 15. Some say that all she has to do is pass it to Fudd, but it's so much more than that. She leads the break making the right pass every time. She finds the open player in the half court as well. And there is no doubt she is the floor leader for this team. She added 6 rebounds and 2 steals.

I've been saying this since the summer. Aubry Griffin is going to be a big part of this team if she is 100% healthy. And she clearly is. Between her and Nika, opposing teams are going to go crazy dealing with their defense. Griffin's post game was outstanding even against bigger players. She is so quick with her footwork. She ended up with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals and those steals really put NCST on their heels. What an athlete.

Wow, talking about taking the next step in a career, Aaliyah Edwards is now the the double-double machine Geno was hoping she would turn into. In this game she had 20 points and 12 rebounds. But it wasn't just the stats. Her post moves were so good. Strong and quick. She played a lot bigger than last year. With Juhasz out, her ability to play the middle is even more important.

Fudd had 22 in the first half. Has there been a game where a different player had 20 points in a half as well? That is exactly what Lou did. After being shut out in the first half she scored 20 points in the last 20 minutes. Amazing. Those rainbow three pointers are so much fun to watch. And like Geno says, Lou is just a scorer.

More to come for Patterson and Ducharme. Not much in this game although Patterson played some good post defense and grabbed 5 rebounds in her 11 minutes. Caroline just needs more time on the court.

This was a really fun game to watch and the way this team plays, I can't wait until the next game. Duke on Friday.

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Videos

Geno Postgame

Edwards, Muhl and Griffin Postgame

Wes Moore Postgame

Game Highlights

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With all the injuries the past two season, what else could happen to this team? How about Coach Chris Dailey fainting before the game started?

Thankfully, she was alert and gave the thumbs up on her way out on the stretcher. The word is she was released from the hospital and is doing well. I'm sure everyone will be saying their prayers for her. I know I will be.

The teams were sent to their lockers for 10 minutes before starting the game. The UConn players were crying and looked like they didn't want to play. But did they ever. What a strong team to deal with all this adversity.

But did they ever. What a strong team to deal with all this adversity.

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GAMES

No. 1 South Carolina 76 No. 2 Stanford 71 OT

No. 3 Texas 63 No. 6 Louisville 71

No. 4 Iowa 73 Belmont 62

No. 7 Iowa State 99 Columbia 76

No. 8 Ohio State 99 McNeese 43

No. 9 Notre Dame 95 Ball State 60

No. 11 Tennessee 63 UCLA 80

No. 12 Indiana 92 Quinipiac 55

No. 13 North Carolina 76 James Madison 65

No. 15 LSU 100 Northwestern State 45

No. 16 Oklahoma 89 UT Arlington 80

No. 17 Baylor 68 No. 19 Maryland 73

No. 18 Arizona 86 Long Beach State 64

No. 20 Creighton 85 Northern Iowa 66

No. 23 Michigan 69 Fairfield 53

No. 24 Villanova 74 Temple 71

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Straight from the Dog

I watched the South Carolina at Stanford game and to tell you the truth, I wasn't that impressed with either team. Neither team shot well, and Stanford had 22 turnovers. And the Cardinal blew their second half lead and screwed up a time out at the end, calling for one they didn't have for a technical foul.

Cameron Brink was really good, but once again she fouled out. Boston had another double-double but was ineffective due to foul trouble in the first half.

It was either great defense of bad offense. Probably a little bit of both.

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Ahhhh....back to my favorite punching bag, the Tennessee Lady Vols. Now 2-3 on the season after starting out No. 4 in the country, the Orange Idiots are killing each other on their message board.

In today's episode of "How poorly can we play", Tennessee lost to unranked UCLA 80-63 in a game that wasn't even that close. Their perimeter defense was non-existent as the Bruins hit 16-30 from deep. Wow. You'd think they would maybe defend it better? Their offense was not much better shooting only 38.5% from the field and 3-10 on threes. And once again this season they were outrebounded after being the best rebounding team in the country last year.

Their 6'6" center Tamiri Key had only 3 rebounds in 18 minutes. She is getting killed by the fans. So much so that they are trashing her for her eyelashes. Really.

They play Gonazaga on Sunday and it could be another loss.

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Well, lets hear it for LSU and their coach Kim Mulkey. They just scored 100 points for the fifth consecutive game. It is believed to be the third such five-game streak in NCAA women’s history. The 1998-99 UConn team had five in a row, as did Oregon in 2013-14.

You'd think that would be pretty impressive but LSU is playing some really bad teams.

Bellimine, Miss Valley State, Western Carolina, Houston Christian, and Northwestern State. And they will obliterate the record of consecutive 100 point games as their next games are against George Mason, SE Louisiana, Tulane, New Orleans, Lamar and Montana State.

Come on Kim. Play somebody!

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By PHIL

Number one seeds - the too early analysis

(Several Game finished by the time this was written)

Yes, it's too early to be talking about who's going to be the number one seeds for the tournament, and while it's very possible this post won’t age well, I'm going to do it anyway.

In Creme's latest bracketology, he has the top two seeds as South Carolina and Stanford, with Connecticut and Iowa filling in the next two spots.

I don't think there's a fan in the country who would disagree with the top two selections or even the order. We'll get to see how those two fare on Sunday. (This is being written on Friday befor the game but may not be posted until after the game.)

In many circumstances, a game between the top two seeds would have seeding implications, but I don't think that's going to be the case this time. I think South Carolina's more likely to prevail, but a loss by Stanford to the number one team in the country, unless it's a blowout, is unlikely to move Stanford down beyond the present spot. If Stanford were to surprise me and beat South Carolina, that would give Stanford bragging rights and likely would move Stanford to the top of the AP and coaches poll, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's not enough to move them to the top of the Massey ranking. For seeding purposes, it doesn't matter which one is number one and which one is number two — South Carolina's going to Greenville, Stanford's going to Seattle.

I don't know whether Creme had UConn ahead or behind Iowa but that's obviously moot now. With Iowa's loss, they are out of the running, at least for the moment, for a number one seed.

Who is waiting in the wings for the coveted number one seed?

Massey currently has NC State in fourth place, making the Sunday game between Connecticut and NC State important for seeding purposes.

If NC State prevails, I see them as the front runner for one of the top seeds. If that happens, again discounting a blowout, I would understand dropping UConn behind NC State. I personally would not move them down to a two seed but I would predict that Creme would use is an excuse to move them down. I think the Massey rating of UConn is high enough that a loss would keep them ahead of the other contenders, but I suspect that the poll voters and especially Creme would see it differently.

If Connecticut wins, they solidify a hold on the third number one seed and we have to start talking about who gets the fourth number one seed. While I argue that a loss by Connecticut could still justify keeping them as a top seed I don't think that's the case for NC State. If they lose, even a close game, I think they will drop down to at least the two line.

So who else is in line for a number one seed if the Connecticut NC State loser drops off the line?

Massey has the next three teams bunched closely: Notre Dame, Indiana and Louisville. Arguably, the next three aren't far behind: Ohio State, Creighton, and Oregon, but I don't think the powers that be are quite ready for Creighton to move up this far. Creme already has Indiana, Notre Dame and Louisville as two seeds, so I think those are the most likely candidates. (Creme's other number two seed is Iowa State but I Think they need a signature win to justify earning a number one seed and I don't have anybody on their upcoming schedule the qualifies).

We know that Notre Dame fans are probably pulling for anyone to beat Connecticut, but I wonder if that's in their best interest if they want a number one seed. I think an argument can be made that if Connecticut beats NC State, Notre Dame might have a good shot at the fourth number one seed, but I'm not convinced they will get it if NC State wins. Notre Dame is going to the Bahamas but they are not in the Battle for Atlantis, where a game and win against Louisville might put them in the driver seat for a number one seed. They are taking on American university which should be an easy win but won't be a signature win.

Louisville may have the best shot at the fourth number one seed, with a game against in saga and if they win a probable game against Texas which could give them two solid wins. (Doggy says Louisville lost to Gonzoga)

The other candidate Indiana, will be hampered by playing Quinnipiac on Sunday, a virtual certain win but not one that justifies a move from two seed to one seed. (Doggy says Indiana hammered Quinnipiac)