Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 1/14/2024

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GO UCONN!!!!!

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92 49

And the hits just keep rolling along!! The Huskies had another terrific game, beating up on an overmatched St. John's team 92-49. All nine players got minutes and everyone contributed. The team just keeps getting better and better. And there is room for more improvement.

Geno has said several times recently how much he likes this team. How proud he is with how they have handled adversity. The freshmen are a big part of it.

The Huskies started out on fire making 5 of their first 6 three point shots. They jumped out to a 22-6 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. It sure looked like a UConn runaway. St. John's had other ideas. They outscored UConn 12-2, hitting a three pointer at the buzzer.

That hope didn't last long for the Johnnies. UConn scored the first 11 points of the second quarter to take a 35-17 lead and the rout was on. St. John's was outscored 30-14 in the third quarter and 18-10 in the fourth quarter. There was no letdown no matter who was in the game.

On to the next game, at Seton Hall on Wednesday 1/17 at 8:30. I'll put together a Pregame report but my initial look at the Pirates and I only have one thing to say. The Huskies will have them walk the plank!! Arrgggggg!!!!!

The players -

Paige was as efficient as a player can be. She only played 25 minutes but scored 22 points, going 8-9 from the field, 2-2 on threes and 4-4 from the free throw line. She added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Sorry Caitlin. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Paige Bueckers is the best player in the country. Period. You can shoot the ball from half court for all I care. Paige shoots a hight percentage from the field and from three point land. By a lot!

What a difference in Ice Brady's play recently. She was just terrific in this game. Yes, she had too many turnovers, but she was aggressive, confident and looks to have turned the corner in her freshman season.

Short jumpers, fadeaways, layups with both hands, she had it all going. In her 24 minutes, she was 7-11 from the field, 3-4 from the free throw lines, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. I loved her finishing her shots for three point plays. I think she had 2 of those. And she is not close to being the player she can be and will be by the end of the regular season.

It seems like every game Nika hits her first shot and sometimes UConn's first shot, and it's always a three pointer. I just love it. She played 27 minutes and had another double digit scoring effort with 11 points. 3-4 on threes and her percentage keeps going up and up. She added 4 rebounds, 6 assists and only 1 turnover. Her defense on St. John's best player, Unique Drake was just outstanding. They say the best way to stop a player from scoring is to not let them have the ball. Nika denied Drake the ball possession after possession holding her to only 3 shots. It's just what she does.

Really really nice game for Aaliyah Edwards. In her 26 minutes she was 8-12 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 7th double double in her last 10 games. It was just a solid game as Edwards controled the paint. She worked really well with Brady. Gotta love the two bigs on the floor at the same time. I'd love to see a lot more of that!

Once again Ashlynn Shade played the most minutes on the team, the only player with 30+ minutes with 35. Another great three point shooting game going 3-4. Look at the form in the picture I posted. Perfection. After 2 double digit scoring games in her first nine games, she now has had seven consecutive double digit efforts averaging 16.9 PPG over that time frame. Wow! She had 3 assists and zero turnovers. Nice.

KK had a great floor game. She did struggle to finish at the basket only going 2-7 from the field for 4 points in her 27 minutes. But she had seven assists and ZERO turnovers. Her game is so much more under control and she will have more games than not in making those shots she missed. Only 1 steal in this game. Slacker!

It looks like Geno got through to Q. Or did she get through to herself. Maybe she looked at her own stats? The last two games she was 3-19 from the field, 0-10 on threes and 0-2 on free throws. You really can't shoot much than that. Against St. John's she was smart and efficient. She only took 3 shots in her 15 minutes, but none were rushed or out of the offensive flow and she made all of them. She also hit her only three pointer. She added 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. This is the type of play that Geno needs from her off the bench. She is too good a shooter not to be able to build on this game.

I really like Ina Bettencourt. She always adds something to the team when she gets in the game. Geno rewarded her with 12 minutes. She didn't take a shot but she had 3 rebounds 3 assists and 1 steal. A solid contribution once again. And was she on a trampoline for this rebound? Crazy ups!

I don't care what ended up happening on this play. I love the aggressive move to the basket. She only played and went 1-2 from the field. And somehow she managed 4 turnovers. When I was at the Providence game, a fan behind me kept asking (loudly) why DeBerry is not in the game, why isn't she in more. Four turnovers in seven minutes might be the reason.

I love the look that Paige is giving Geno with the side-eye. Once again Geno is showing the armchair quarterbacks that he knows how to get the best out of players. Ice Brady is a great example. She will continue to grow under Geno's (and Coach D) and gecome a huge part of this teams success. Geno said how proud he was in how the team is handling the adversity. Geno gets plenty of that credit. He was clearly upset after Aubrey's injury but he has a lot to do with how the team handled.

Geno Post Game Interview

Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady

Post Game Interview

St. John's Coach Joe Tartamella

Post Game Interview

Geno Post game sideline inteview

Paige only misses ONE shot!!

Game Highlights

Hamilton Neil on Ice Brady

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** Designates Upset

Games Friday January 12th, 2024

No. 3 Iowa 84 No. 14 Indiana 57

No. 4 Baylor 63 Iowa State 66 **

No. 10 Texas 58 No. 12 Kansas State 61 **

No. 16 Gonzaga 85 San Diego 67

No. 23 Marquette DePaul

No. 24 West Virginia 76 UCF 59

No. 25 UNLV 76 Air Force 64

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.@UConnWBB commit Morgan Cheli scoring 1000 points in her career at Archbishop Mitty HS and celebration! pic.twitter.com/wqw9xSr6T8
— World Exposure Report Women’s Basketball (@WorldExposureWB) January 13, 2024
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Straight from the Dog

We couldn’t say it better, KK

😂 pic.twitter.com/yckAjfqW5K
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 14, 2024

Everyone wants to meet Paige Bueckers 😳💙 pic.twitter.com/Z9UCVKtbrC
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) January 13, 2024

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Some UConn fans just love other team's players. This one is in love with Caitlin Clark. So much so that he feels he has to overstate her numbers compared to Paige.

"She makes ridiculous shots look routine. Often shooting logo 3's while off balance and still nailing them. It's rare to see a great shooter who doesn't set her feet first. She often goes up almost sideways and still converts. Ridiculous passing as well. She has over twice as many 3 pointers as Paige and is still shooting them at a 40% rate. She is clearly the #1 pick."

Yes, she is an amazing long range shooter. But some of that is because she takes them. Does anyone think Paige couldn't make those shots. But team players don't take them. And while Clark shoots them at 39%, Paige shoots them at 49%. The only reason Clark has so many more threes is that she takes so many more threes. It's simple math. Clark averages 13 three point shots taken per game. Paige averages 5.

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No. 4 Baylor lost for a second time this week losing to unranked Kansas and now Iowa State. I would guess they plummet down the rankings out of the top ten.

No. 10 Texas lost their second game of the season too, losing to No. 12 Kansas State.

Does this mean UConn will jump back into the top ten? Posslbly, But I would bet that Virginia Tech and Kansas State stay ahead of the Huskies and UConn moves up but only to No. 10 or 11.

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Per the release, confirmed players returning for the celebration include:

Ashley Battle, Maria Conlon, Diana Taurasi, Stefanie Dolson, Caroline Doty, Kelly Faris, Bria Hartley, Moriah Jefferson, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Kiah Stokes, Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck and more https://t.co/8hRJJXB7fc
— Maggie Vanoni (@maggie_vanoni) January 13, 2024

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By PHIL

Milestone watch

• Aaliyah Edwards reached 1465 career points with her 12 points in the Providence game. She needs 15 to tie Crystal Dangerfield at 1480.

• Nika Mühl had 527 assists after the Providence game. She recorded 7 assists in the St. John's game for a career total of 534 so far. She passed Laura Lishness into 13th place.

• Geno Auriemma now has 1194 wins and needs Six more to reach the 1200 plateau.

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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 113, St. John’s 14.

Tamika said jubilation, this team says domination!

Net positives/minutes played: Paige 31/25, Aaliyah 21/26, Nika 17/29, Ashlynn 15/35, Qadence 9/15, Ice 9/24, Ines 7/12, KK 5/27, Amari -4/7.

Paige all-world; Ines +7 without taking a shot! Ice improves, hurt by 6 turnovers; Q showing some Aubrey moves.

At halftime Megan commented on Nika’s defense on the red storm star, so in the second half I watched Nika on defense instead of the ball. Her player couldn’t even touch the ball, Nika was on her like Elmer’s glue.

Final four in Cleveland. To paraphrase the late great Robbie Robertson again: Look out Cleveland, Huskies coming through, and we’re running right up on youuuuu.