Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 12/16/2022

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

GO UCONN!!!!!

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

Geno Auriemma says Nika Mühl practiced the whole time and is good to go for Sunday vs Florida State. He says as of today Dorka Juhász is planning to play. https://t.co/TCnqlL7FyG
— Lila Bromberg (@lilabbromberg) December 16, 2022

This is about the best news UConn could get going into the Florida State game. While Ines Bettencourt did a pretty darn good job starting at point guard for the Huskies, getting Nika back is just so important to the funtioning of the team.

And if Dorka can play like she was when she left? This team gets so much better.

Just need Fudd back. It's almost two weeks so the timeline is now 1-3 weeks. Can't come soon enough!

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

Geno: “There are no bad teams on our schedule. Maybe we could play a schedule that’s 300th. But we don't do that. Our fans deserve better than that. Our players deserve better than that. So that's the price you gotta pay for who we are.”
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) December 16, 2022

Take notes Mulkey! Gotta love Geno!

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

Geno Availability

Lou Lopez Senechal Availability

Caroline Ducharme Availability

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

GAMES

UPSETS IN RED

No. 3 Ohio State 82 Albany 57

No. 7 North Carolina 89 South Carolina Upstate 47

No. 22 Kansas 81 Tulsa 62

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

Straight from the Dog

Geno said he would never play a 300 SOS schedule. Not fair to the fans or the players. So true. That is why games like tonight annoy me so much.

Yesterday had few games like that and tonight, No. 3 Ohio State played Albany and won

82-57. And No. 7 North Carolina played South Carolina.......No, not that South Carolina. South Carolina Upstate. UNC beat them 89-47. Sad.

_________________________________________

Saturday there are more Top 25 teams playing way below their weight class.

No. 19 Michigan hosts Appalachian State.

No. 13 Utah takes on UC Riverside.

No. 10 UCLA plays Cal State Bakersfield.

And of course No. 11 LSU visits Montana State.

I'd bet the average margin of victory is 40+.

One really good game though. No. 21 Arkansas is visiting No. 16 Creighton. GO BLUE JAYS!!!

_________________________________________

I always check the scores outside the Top 25 to see if anything interesting is happening. Sometimes I find an UGGY candidate. Tonight I spotted an SEC team that seems to be really struggling.

The Kentucky Wildcats lost to Murray State 51-44. Not good. The SEC is down this season and Kentucky is one of the reasons why.

Under Mathew Mitchell, the Wildcats made 3 elite eights and 2 sweet sixteens. They won 20+ games 10 out of 13 season. Since his retirement and two seasons under Kyra Elzy, Kentucky has not won 20 games and lost in the first and second rounds.

This loss could mean an even worse season for the Wildcats.