Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 1/1/2024

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

Even my daughter (mother to Logan and Barrett)

is looking for my Blog!!!

GO UCONN!!!!!

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you and the players!

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

UConn 95 Marquette 64

Remember when Geno said this in his pregame presser?

"I don't think that break came at the perfect time for us. It's a lot of days and it's going to take some time to get back into the swing of things."

If by "some time" he meant 2 minutes he would have been right. Marquette jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first 2 minutes of the game. I can tell you was was concerned that the great play we had seen the last few games was just fool's gold. I even turned off the volume and hoped that would help.

UConn put their finger in the damn to stop the leaking and the next few minutes were 7-7 so it was 17-7 halfway through the first quarter. A few more trading of baskets and it was 21-13 with a little under 3 minutes left in the quarter. Then it happened. UConn went on a 13-0 run to end the quarter and took a 26-21 lead. It was quick and like a hammer. Marquette had no answer for the Huskies pressure defense and precision offense. And no answer for Paige. It was after Geno took her out when the score was 10-0 that Paige just took over. I have a video below where Paige explains she is still trying to figure out when to take over a game. I think Geno wants that to happen when she wakes up on game day.

The second quarter was all UConn. They outscored Marquette 27-15 to take a 53-36 lead at the half. You could see on the faces of the Marquette players that they knew this game was over. UConn was hustling all over the court and on one play had three, yes three players diving for a ball that they recovered and scored on.

Now, sometimes a team will come out in the second half and cut a big lead down to a reasonable amout. UConn was not about the let that happen. They slowly but surely (please don't call me shirley) increased the lead and at one point it was 35 points. A typical slow fourth quarter when Geno takes off the pressure and the end of the bench comes in had the lead end up a 29 point victory. A great win against a good Marquette team that is much better than what we saw in this game. That was all because of the Huskies.

The post game Geno presser was just awesome. At one point he used FOUR "really"s to describing how proud he was of the team. They are really really really really coming together.

On to the players!!!!

Move over Caitlen Clark. Paige is back. Yeah, she doesn't have the gaudy stats that Clark has but no one can convince me she isn't the best player in women's college basketball. The Marquette coach called her a pro and she is right.

Paige was taken out after a turnover on her first play. She passed the ball instead of shooting. After the

10-0 Marquette run, Geno took her out and explained the facts of life to her. Boy did she respond. She played 31 terrific minutes. She was 10-16 from the field, 4-6 on threes, 5 assists, 3 steals and of course one block. 25 points and only 1 turnover. 25 points on 16 shots. Fantastic.

Another double double for Aaliyah. She really dominatd the paint. In 30 minutes she scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She also added 4 assists. Just a complete player. She was 8-13 from the field. So efficient. It looks to me she is settling in to being the main post on the team and the only big in the starting lineup. Boy, she had some slick post moved in this game.

Nika was just great in this game. She just gives UConn what they need. Intense defense, great passing, terrific rebounding from the guard position and one really nice three point shot. Geno had her playing the most minutes at 34 and she filled the box score again. 5 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and only 1 turnover. Great ball handling!! I'm not sure who had the most floor burns in this game but I'm thinking it was Nika. She is loving just moving the ball to the right player, whether it's her assists or a pass leading to an assist.

Not her best game statistically, Aubrey contributed in many ways. She played so hard. In only 19 minutes she had 9 points and 9 rebounds. But it was her defense that was so amazing. She was so quick to double team the ball and then so quick to recover to her player. It would have been a double digit scoring game if the usually reliable free throw shooter didn't go 1-5 from the line.

More and more, KK is getting her gameto where Geno wants it to be. You can see her pulling back when there isn't an opening and attacking shen she should. And her defense is all-american level. It was great to see her have trust in her three point shot as well. UConn needs her to take them. In here 25 minutes, she scored 13 points on 5-12 shooting, 2-5 on threes as well. She added 2 assists and 3 steals and a few dives for loose balls as well.

The refs really impacted her game, calling 4 fouls on her in only 9 minutes. Some her fault but a couple were really bad calls. She did look more comfortable in the offense and even grabbed a slick pass from Paige, one that she has fumbled out of bounds in previous games. She scored 5 points in those 9 minutes. It's hard to believe she didn't have even one rebound. More improvement to go!!

The law of averages bit Ashlynn as did her rushing her shots early. She show though that she doesn't have to hit three pointers to contribute to the team. She played 33 minutes and scored 12 points and had 2 assists. She was 0-4 on threes. She also had almost half of UConn's turnovers with 3. Yet Geno kept her in the game. She is perpetual motion on the court and plays so hard. Geno just loves that.

Who was that strange player wearing No. 4 and where are her Minnie Mouse ears?? I like the new look! She looks quicker and sleaker! Yes, you can look quicker form a picture. Geno used her for 14 minutes and she scored 5 points, hit a three pointer (only 1-4) and added 3 rebounds. Plays like the one in the picture will keep her getting playing time.

It was just a great team effort. Eveyone contributed. Even DeBerry, who looked really aggressive on her one post move and blocked a shot as well.

The team only turned the ball over 7 times. They shot the ball at 52% and even with a lull in the middle shot 35% on threes. Marquette hasn't been outrebounded in a game until this one. The Huskies had 47 behind Nika's career high 10 and Marquette only had 32. That led to a 27-6 advantage in second chance points and a 14-5 advantage in fast break points. A 52-28 advantage in point in the paint tells the story.

Up next is Creighton. A very similar team to Marquette. I've been working on the pregame report for that game and size wise, the teams are very similar. Geno said in a post game thaty they play a very similar game. I used similar three times. I need some synonyms!

Go HUSKIES!!!!

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

Full Game Replay

Geno Courtside Postgame Interview

Paige, Aaliyah and Nika Postgame Interviews Audio Only

Geno Post Game Presser

Game Highlights

Paige on when to take over offensively

Game Stats

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

** Designates Upset

Friday December 29th, 2023

No. 3 NC State 72 Virginia 61

No. 9 Stanford 98 Morgan State 38

No. 13 Notre Dame 81 Syracuse 86 **

No. 14 Virginia Tech 91 Pittsburgh 41

No. 16 Indiana 77 Illinois 71

No. 19 Louisville 77 Miami 72

No. 22 Florida State 73 Wake Forest 61

No. 24 North Carolina 82 Clemson 76

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

Leah Macy, the No. 8 recruit in the class of 2025, is sitting behind UConn's bench today. She's a 6-3 wing out of Kentucky
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) December 31, 2023

Leah is a terrific player. Daniel had her listed at 6'2" but she is really 6'3" so I changed it. She is big and strong. Really strong. Really big. And can take it out to the three point line. I can't remember a player like her on the Huskies.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Courtside WBB (@courtsidewbb)

She would be a great addition to the Kelis Fisher and Gandy Malou-Mamel class. Being at that game had to have an impact on her decision. What a great atmosphere!!

I could be wrong but I get a feeling that the Huskies get commitment soon from her.

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

Straight from the Dog

--------------------------------------------------------------------

When is an upset not really an upset?

No. 13 Notre Dame lost to unranked Syracuse 86-81 on the Orange home court. Some might call that an upset. I'm not so sure.

Notre Dame started the season, without their star player Olivia Miles, lost by29 points to No. 1 South Carolina. It wasn't that close. But then they reeled off 9 straight wins. But only one was against a decent team, if that is what you want to call Tennessee. I don't.

Notre Dame is also without another star player in Sonia Citron. The Irish are playing only a 6 player rotation. We UConn fans know how that feels. It's not easy.

So, on the road against a decent Syracuse team playing short handed once again. I'd be hard pressed to call this an upset. If this is the rotation that UConn has to play on 1/27 at home, I'm feeling pretty good about the outcome.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So, what did UConn work on during the break? My guess is defense. They really looked in sync in this game. Their switches were spot on. And their double teams were extremely effective. This will only get better and better with time. And success brings more success. Pressure defense is FUN. The players love it. So do the fans. Well, this fan for sure!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So where will UConn end up in the latest Top 25 poll after blowing out a Top 25 team?Two teams lost who are ahead of UConn in No. 12 Utah and No. 13 Notre Dame. No. 14 Virginia Tech won their games. So I would think that Va Tech moves to No. 12, UConn lucky No. 13 and that Notre Dame and Utah both drop below the Huskies.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

I usually only look at the Top 25 scores, but this game caught my attention.

The Big Bad SEC's Alabama team beat up on poor ole Mississippi Valley State by the score of 91-26. And the Devilettes had to hit a late three pointer (their only one) to get to 26.

Just the score of 26 is a good start to win an UGGY. But the rest of the stats made this an easy decision.

MVS was 10-59 from the field for 16.9% and 1-13 on threes. They had 21 turnovers and only 4 assists. And they were outrebounded 59-32.

Oh yeah...this was UGGY. So congrats to the Devilettes on your winning this UGGY award! Well deserved!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

It's not exactly numbers from David but my friend Charles put this together and I thought I would borrow it. I hope he doesn't mind!! I don't really agree with his matchups but the numbers tell the story.

Comparing match-ups in this game with players' seasonal averages...is somewhat useful in determining how individual players performed.

Aliyah Edwards vs Liz Karlen - Aliyah was able to score two points and got 3.5 more rebounds than her average while Liz was held to 4.2 points and .6 rebounds below her average.

Paige Bueckers vs Fannie Hottinger - Paige was 5.8 points above her average but she was 3.1 rebounds below their average. Fannie didn't have that good of a game she was pretty much ineffective today only scoring 4 points and not getting any rebounds...5.4 points and 9 rebounds below her average.

Ashlynn Shade vs Jordan King - Ashlynn was 2.5 points above her average and 1.2 rebounds above. Even though she didn't hit any of her threes she still found a way to score. Meanwhile, Jordan King was .7 points above her average and 1.1 rebounds above hers but she did hit her average of 2 threes per game.

KK Arnold vs Rose Nkumu - KK was 4.1 points above her average but was 1.1 rebounds below her average. KK also hit on 2 threes which was 1.3 threes above her average. Rose was .6 points below her average and was unable to corral any rebounds putting her 2.0 rebounds below her average. On the other hand, Rose was able to get 7 assists to KK's 2.

Nika Muhl vs Mackenzi Hare - Nika did not have a good scoring game only 5 points (1.5 below her average) on 2/4 shooting and hitting on one three but, she made up for that in other categories...she had a career-high 10 rebounds (6 above her average) and was 2 assists above her average with 7.

Skylar Forbes had a good game hitting 4.2 points above her average and 1.6 rebounds above her average.

Aubrey Griffin was .8 below her scoring average and 2.8 rebounds above her average.

UCONN was 12.2 points above their average; 7 three-pointers above their average; 9.1 rebounds above their average; 3 assists above their average; 1.3 steals below their average and 6.8 turnovers below their average.

MARQUETTE was 15.6 points below their average; 1.5 three-pointers below their average; 6.8 rebounds below their average; 7.4 assists below their average; 4.2 steals below their average and 5.2 turnovers below their average.

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

By PHIL

Undefeated Watch – and then there were seven (12/31/23)

The undefeated are dropping like flies but some of that’s a consequence of undefeated teams playing one another.

TCU wasn’t really challenged by BYU and extended their Division I leading winning streak to 14 games.

Undefeated Texas and Baylor met Saturday and Baylor walked away with their undefeated streak intact at 12 games.

Undefeated UCLA and USC met Saturday. UCLA started out like this was going to be a blowout, then USC came on strong and looked good, although even when they were leading ESPN had the UCLA win probability at 60+ percent. UCLA pulled out to a double-digit lead USC cut it close, but UCLA ended up with the win and the retention of a 12-game winning streak.

The South Carolina game looked interesting for maybe three minutes, but one of East Carolina’s player went out with an injury, and their biggest player got her third foul early in the first quarter, and South Carolina coasted to their 12th consecutive win of the season.

Despite being picked to lose against Kansas, West Virginia rolled to a 25-point victory and kept their undefeated streak alive at 12 games.

Marquette scored the first 10 points in the game against UConn, but the Huskies ended up with a 31-point win and Marquette’s streak is pining for the fjords.

Oregon is having an odd season. They have suffered some abysmal losses, then take on Oregon State, hold them to two points over an 11-minute stretch, but barely take advantage, and only scored 12 minutes in the last 13 minutes of the game, to let undefeated Oregon State extend their undefeated string to 12 games.

Virginia led NC State at the half, but the third quarter looked like a different game with NC State outscoring Virginia 23 – 8. The fourth quarter is going to be close to a push but the damage has been done and NC State joined several other teams for second place in the undefeated streak with 12 consecutive wins.

Milestone watch

• Aaliyah Edwards had 1400 career points after the Toronto Metropolitan game. She scored 19 in the Marquette game to reach 1419. This moves her past Tamika Williams, Chris Gedney, and Peggy Walsh. She now needs 25 points to tie Kalana Greene.

• Nika Mühl had 492 assists after the Toronto Metropolitan game. She had 7 assists in the Marquette game to reach 499 assists. She is now in 14th place. She needs 32 to catch Laura Lishness in 13th place.

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

SPIDER STATS

Plus one for every assist block point rebound and steal. I don’t add extra for offensive rebounds as it already seems to favor the bigs. Minus one for every missed shot (2, 3 or foul), turnover or foul committed.

UConn 112 Marquette 43.

Great crowd! Paige is incredible!!

Net positives/minutes: Aaliyah 29/30, Paige 27/31, Nika 17/34, Aubrey 11/19, KK 7/25, Ashlynn 7/33, Qadence 5/14, Amari 2/3, Ines 1/2, Ice -1/9.

Aubrey uncharacteristically poor foul shooting, Ice 0 rebounds 4 fouls, Nika 10 rebounds.

Super aggressive defense after the opening 0-10 debacle. Play fast and win.

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

UCONN LINKS

Several links are pay sites. Sorry!

UConn destroys Marquette 95-64

UConn ends Marquettes winning streak

UConn leaders give the Huskies a happy new year

UConn routs Marquette 95-64