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GO UCONN!!!!!
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My buddie Link said - "I've noticed that teams tend to start games playing like they finished their last game so I won't be shocked if they miss some shots early."
They didn't start 1-8 but the Huskies really struggled for the first half. They grabbed an 8 point lead and then lost it, only up 1 point after the first quarter. Then they had a 6 points lead after a Paige Bueckers three pointer and then lost it. actually going down on point on a Lucy Olson basket. Aaliyah Edwards made two frre thows to give UConn the one point lead at the half.
Not exactly the start the Huskies wanted. It was definately a Notre Dame game hangover.
The second half started like the first half. Villanova hit the first basket of the half to take the lead on a Lucy Olson basket who ws foul on the shot. She made the free throw to give Villanova a two point lead. Bueckers hit a jumper and then KK Arnold hit a three point basket to give the Huskies a 3 point lead. Nova showed their fortitude by coming back with two baskets to take a one point lead with 5 minutes left in the quarter. Then it was UConn's turn and they went on a 17-5 run to finish the quarter with a 59-49 lead.
The hangover was over.
UConn and Nova exchanged baskets and with 7 minutes left in the game the Huskies went on a 19-8 run to end the game for the final 21 point margin 81-60. I predicted 30 points but the slow start did me in. I should have listened to Link.
A few comments -
The Huskies only went 6 1/2 deep. They played Brady for 14 minutes and Q for 7.
Nika had a double double with 12 points and 10 assists. She hit a big second half three pointer and her leadship in this game was obvious.
UConn held Big East leading scorer Lucy Olson to 15 points on 6-17 shooting. While Nike wasn't the only one guarding Olson due to switches, she was the main defender and only picked up 2 fouls.
Paige was the only player who looked ready to go from the start. She had 11 early points and ended up with 21 for the game. She added 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Edwards was great in this game. 22 points and 7 rebounds.
UConn took a long time to hit their first three pointer misisng their first 4. They were 5-12 to finish the game.
Brady played 14 minutes and only scored 2 points. So you might think she played poorly. Not exactly. She also had 4 assists and 2 blocks. So she certainly had a positive impact.
In the battle for BE FOY, KK had a good game and Shade did not.
Overall a good comeback game. Slow start, strong finish. The AP report shows it well - "The Huskies made 20 of 28 shots in the second half (71%) and held the Wildcats to 10 of 30 to turn a one-point halftime lead into a 21-point blowout. They had a 16-14 edge in points in the paint at the break and finished with a 44-22 advantage."
Up next? St. John's on Sunday at 3:00. UConn beat the Red Storm 92-49 just a couple of weeks ago on St. John's home court. This game will be at Gampel.
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Nika Mühl was everywhere vs. Villanova
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) February 1, 2024
- 12 points
- 10 assists
- 5 rebounds
- 2 steals pic.twitter.com/fwFqaIWVbj
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** Designates Upset
Games Wednesday January 31st, 2024
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Allie Ziebell Full Game
24 points (10-21 FG, 2-8 3-PT, 2-3 FT), 13 rebs, 4 steals
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Straight from the Dog
No. 4 Iowa beat up on a terrible Northwestern team 110-74. Most team, with a 23 point lead going into the fourth quarter, would run a little clock here and there, not put ups shots early in the shot clock. But not Iowa. They just keep scoring and scoring. They had 37 points in the fourth quarter and never slowed it down. Clark scored 8 of her 35 points in that quarter as she played 6 minutes before they took her out.
It just doesn't sit well with me. Clark played 32 minutes, 6 more than anyone else. From the box score it looks like they sat plenty of the other players, but Clark has to get that career scoring mark. For sure she it, but I'm starting not to respect how she is going about it.
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Well, the "No. 2 in the AP Poll" curse has struck again. Kansas State lost to Okalhoma on the Sooners home court 66-63 in a really tough battle. Oklahoma made enough fouls shots and enough defensive stops to hold on for the win.
If you think the "No. 2 in the AP Poll" curse is just a fantasy? Well, check this out.
Week 1 - UConn
Week 2 - Iowa
Week 3 - UCLA
Week 4 - UCLA
Week 5 - UCLA
Week 6 - UCLA
Week 7 - UCLA
Week 8 - UCLA
Week 9 - UCLA
Week 10 - UCLA
Week 11 - Iowa
Week 12 - UCLA
Week 13 - Kansas State
Week 14 ? Not Kansas State
Looks to me that UCLA has the mojo to counter the curse. But it finally caught up with them. Everyone else can only stay in that spot for one week.
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By PHIL
Alternative ranking
Some time ago, I proposed an alternative way to rank teams. Here is another one. Your task to figure out how these teams are ranked.
This time should be easier because I’m going to provide some hints.
• As before, this is a derivative ranking and requires access to some ranking system. The first list uses Massey
• While the prior example was motivated by the criteria used by the selection committee, that’s even more true of this one
• the metric doesn’t quite work for South Carolina but I don’t think anyone will quibble with my arbitrary placement
Frankly, my initial guess was that UConn would be a little higher on this list but 5th is pretty darn good. It’s not quite as high as their NET (3), or their Massey ranking (4), but it’s well above their AP ranking. I see this as good news as the selection committee doesn’t officially consider AP ranking but they will consider this metric.
1. South Carolina
2. Kansas State
3. Indiana
4. Iowa
5. UConn
6. Colorado
7. Stanford
8. Oregon State
9. Gonzaga
10. UCLA
11. Notre Dame
12. Texas
13. Virginia Tech
14. NC State
15. Ohio State
16. Louisville
17. Baylor
18. Utah
19. USC
20. LSU
21. Texas A&M
22. Washington State
23. TCU
24. Marquette
25. Auburn
For anyone I’m interested in looking at Massey rankings. I also did the same exercise with AP rankings.
1. South Carolina
2. Kansas State
3. Indiana
4. Iowa
5. UConn
6. Oregon State
7. Colorado
8. Stanford
9. Notre Dame
10. Gonzaga
11. UCLA
12. Texas
13. Virginia Tech
14. USC
15. NC State
16. Ohio State
17. Louisville
18. Baylor
19. Utah
20. LSU
21. Texas A&M
22. Washington State
23. TCU
24. Marquette
25. Auburn
If you haven’t memorized the selection criteria, shame on you (just kidding), here they are:
Criteria used by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee to evaluate a team includes (alphabetically):
• Bad losses
• Common opponents
• Competitive in losses
• Conference record
• Early performance versus late performance
• Head-to-head
• NET ranking
• Non-conference record
• Observable component
• Overall record
• Regional rankings
• Significant wins
• Strength of schedule
Milestone watch
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.
Charles Dickens tale of two cities: it was the best of times it was the worst of times.
Spider tale of two halves: it was the worst of halves it was the best of halves.
Second half defense swarmed and helped like in the streak of blowouts. Nika great, KK played well, Ice looked better. Shouldn’t Q play a bit more?
UConn 98 Villanova 42. Olsen 4.
Nika 23/39, Aaliyah 22/34, Paige 20/39, KK 12/29, Ice 5/14, Ashlynn 5/36, Amari 2/1, Qadence 2/7, Ines 1/1. All positive.
Late had to watch men’s game. UConn: must see tv!
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UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
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Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
UCONN Information
UConn 2023-2024 Statistics (updated after 1st game)
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:
