Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 2/10/2023

GO UCONN!!!!!

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Cousin Reunion. My Son taking the picture

Did you miss me? No, I didn't quit posting after Marquette beat UConn. It was a late night Wednesday. We went to a concert in Delray but I did follow the game on my phone. Oy!!! Hey, the concert was great. The drummer for Bruce Springsteen, Max Weinberg, played with a terrific band. A ton of great oldies.

And last night we had a cousin's reunion It was just amazing but another late night!

So, I won't do my usual post game report stuff. No stats. David had some for me. Geno put it best. The short bench just caught up to them.

I'm ready for the Georgetown game. And I'm hoping that Caroline is back for this one. It will really help. A big boost to the team.

Geno Pregame Availability

Nika Pregame Availability

Dorka Pregame Availability

Geno Auriemma talks about his team taking a mental health day:

"It's a spa day, short of manicures and pedicures. Which I was voting for, but I got turned down" 😂 pic.twitter.com/EuKPQBaBMx
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) February 10, 2023

UConn had one of the weaker offensive games in the first Georgetown match up, beatin the Hoyas 65-50. The Huskies only shot 41.3% from the field and 5-16 from the field. It was the first indication of fatigue as Fudd only played 12 minutes. Patterson wasn't available and the team seemed a little off after the Fudd injury. Thankfully their defense did the job.

Georgetown

Coach James Howard

Georgetown Starters

1 Kelsey Ransom

5'10" Junior Guard

10 Kennedy Faunteroy

5'7" Freshman Guard

14 Kristina Moore

6'1" Grad Student Guard

12 Jada Clause

6' Junior Guard

33 Graceann Bennett

6'3" Senior Forward

Georgetown Bench

15 Brianna Scott

6'4" Sophomore Forward

21 Arial Jenkins

6'3" Sophomore Forward

5 Modesti McConnell

5'7" Freshman Guard

Georgetown Stats

Game Analysis

The Hoyas are not a very good offensive team averaging 61.9 points per game, making only 4.7 threes per game. They have 202 assists on the season with 243 turnovers. Not good. Their strength is their defense as they hold their opponents to 60.7 PPG and create 17.7 turnovers per game. They also average 9.3 steals per game, a very good number.

Kelsey Ransom, a 5'10" junior guard, is Georgetown's best player. In 34.9 MPG she averages 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 steals. She is only 3-29 on threes for 10.3%. Of course that means she will match her yearly total in this game. She leads the team in assists with 55 but she doesn't have a good assist/turnover ratio with 50 turnovers. She had a terrible game in the first match up shooting 1-11 from the field. But she did have 5 steals to lead the Hoyas.

Only a freshman, 5'8" guard Kennedy Faunteroy is the second leading scorer for Georgetown. She is Georgetown's second leading scorer and the only other player with double digit points. Kennedy averages 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 three pointers, 3 assists and is quick on defense with 2 .4 steals per game. She doesn't take many threes but she shoots a very good 40%. Oddly, she shoots worse overall at 38%. In the first game Faunteroy had 9 points but she was 4-18 from the field. She did have 3 steals.

Originally from Australia and a transfer after four years at Florida, Kristina Moore is a tall guard at 6'1" and brings experience to the starting rotation as a Graduate Student. She averages 8.8 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She leads the team in three pointers taken with 62 but only hits them at 27.4%. Here is a little tidbit for you - She was ranked as high as No. 7 in the IAAF World U18 discus rankings and won a gold medal at the 2015 Youth Commonwealth Games.

Jada Claude, a 6' junior forward who averages 7.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She is another transfer, this time from Morehead State where she was OVC all newcomer in her junior season. She had transferred from Duke where she didn't get much time in her career with the Blue Devils. She only had 15 minutes in the first game but did score 7 points going 1-2 on threes.

Graceann Bennett is a 6'3" forward. She averages 7.2 points and 4 rebounds per game. She is the Hoyas' best big and the only player shooting over 50% from the field. She had 6 points in the first match up.

The bench doesn't get much in minutes and they are very young with two sophomores and one freshman.

Brianna Scott is a 6'4" sophomore forward averaging 5.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG. She has three point range and shoots them at solid 38.5%. She will rotato with Bennett on the front line. She led the Hoyas in scoring in the first game with 11 points hitting two three pointers.

Arrial Jenkins, a 6'3" sophomore forward will see some minutes off the bench. She averages 4.7 PPG and 3.1 RPG. Jenkins only played 16 minutes and was 1-5 from the field in the first contest.

Modesti McConnell is a 5'7" freshman guard. Her job is to give the two starting guards a few minutes rest each game. She only averages 1.5 PPG in 8 minutes. She might not even see time in this game. And she didn't. Never got off the bench in the first game.

Strategy for Georgetown? Survival. With the talent discrepancy, they obviously have no shot at an upset. They just won't want to be embarrassed. The will be difficult for them to accomplish.

There are only two questions for UConn. When will Ducharme be released from concussion protocol and when will Fudd come back after getting reinjured in the first match up.

Otherwise, the Huskies will dominate on both ends of the court. Only a bad shooting game. will keep them under 90 points. And it did in the first match up.

Final Prediction

Georgetown is still overmatched in this game. They are a poor shooting team going against a terrific defensive team. I can't see them scoring over 50 points. However, UConn has struggled offensively lately. Will they bounce back after that loss? Will Caroline be back?

Gonna temper my expectations. UConn by 20+.

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UConn is projected as the fourth overall seed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee’s first top-16 reveal. One seed in the Seattle regional.

Other 1 seeds (in order): South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford

Also in the Big East, Villanova is projected as a 4-seed.
— Lila Bromberg (@lilabbromberg) February 10, 2023

Well, I have to admit, I'm surprised. I figued after the loss to Marquette UConn would drop to a 2 seed. But they are still No. 2 in the NET rankings and maybe their injury situation plays into that.

Anyway you look at it, it's a great draw. While LSU is hight rated and probably the best No. 2 seed, they just haven't been tested. Sunday's game against South Carolina will tell us a lot about this team.

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Olivia Big”O” Vukosa

Olivia is a "big" target for the Huskies. Class of '26.

6 foot 5 @ctkwbball freshman @OVukosa giving off @breannastewart vibes @Ballislife pic.twitter.com/nnF6F6efSo
— NYGHoops (@NYGHoops) February 3, 2023

Morgan Cheli was at the UConn/South Carolina game. She has been offered by the Huskies.

6'2" 5 star guard in the class of 2024.

No. 12

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GAMES

Upset noted with red **

No. 7 Utah Washington

No. 18 UCLA 62 Oregon 54

No. 25 Colorado Washington State

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Straight from the Dog

Even SECreme still has UConn as a No. 1 seed. Everyone seems to understand why they lost this game. Yes, between the officiating and UConn's fatigue in trying to deal with it, it was a defeat that was easy to see coming.

I really like the bracket. I wouldn't be surprised if Michigan beat LSU. But with a full roster (Fudd and Ducharme back) UConn would beat either team.

Marquette looks to be in the tourney after beating UConn as an 11 seed.

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I missed a few games the last couple of days. Just a few comments.

No. 10 Notre Dame squeaked by 8-16 Pittsburgh 69-63. They haven't been the same since Mabrey was lost for the season. I can't see them going very far in the tournament.

Caitlin Clark did her best to carry No. 5 Iowa past No. 2 Indiana. She had 35 points and 10 assists, further cementing her player of the year credientials. But the Hoosiers won the game 87-78. Indiana looks like a sure thing for a No. 1 seed.

In the battle of the Sunshine State No. 19 Florida State was upset by unranked Miami 86-82. The Seminoles have been up and down all season.

No. 17 North Carolina, another up and down team, lost to unranked Syracuse 75-67. They lost four in a row, won 8 in a row and then now have lost 2 in a row. Forunately for them, they play a terrible Boston College team next.

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Speaking of Boston College, the Eagles made their bid for the UGGY game of the year.

Against No. 9 Duke, they were a clear contender for this award.

27 points

9-49 from the field 18.4%

2-16 on threes 12.5%

7-12 on FT's

25 Turnovers

2 assists.

Ding Ding Ding....we have a winner. And a definate leader in the UGGY of the Year!!!

Couldn't happen to a more miserable program.

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By David in Naples

According to Carl Adamec, Geno was not yet 39 years old the last time UConn lost two games in a row. Last night, the Huskies lost their 2nd game in row for the first time since March 17, 1993. That is just short of 30 years. UConn fans have a choice, blame the players & coaches OR celebrate the fact that Asst. Coach Jamelle Elliott was a freshman, playing for Geno, the last time there were two losses back to back. Consider the good stats from these two games and please understand these loses mean NOTHING in the long run and EVERYTHING for preparing the Huskies for BE tournament and the NCAA tournament. Learn and improve...

Consider:

1. Nika played 80 minutes out of 80 minutes in the two games and made a 3 pt basket in that 80th minute.
2. Aaliyah scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Oh, and she played 66 minutes in 2 games.
3. Aubrey, recovering from back surgery, played 77 minutes out of 80 and scored 29 pts & shot 53% from the field.
4. Dorka also played 77 minutes & had a total 20 pts, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks.
5. Lou endured a human pinball treatment during her 75 minutes and still scored 31 pts.
6. In the 2 games, opponents only shot 38% from the field and missed 79 shots.
7. UConn scored 74 points in the paint. Two talented 3 pt shooters are on their way to help.

Besides playing many minutes, these five have in common a tremendous heart and competitive fire. It pushed them beyond their physical & mental limits and should be recognized.

Congrats to the magnificent five..!!

Bring on Georgetown..!!