See you February 18th.
Sincerely, UConn
Connecticut walked in to Maples and stomped all over the Cardinal. After an opening few minutes that tempted us with the possibility of an interesting game between the #1 and #2 in the country, UConn’s defense (In particular, Stef Dolson on Chiney– take note, Adams & Courtney) simply shut Stanford down.
The beauty of the Stanford women’s offense is rhythm and preparation. When it works it looks as in sync as the San Antonio Spurs and the Radio City Rockettes. On those days, the Cardinal could be sponsored by Arthur Murray Dance Studios.
When it doesn’t work, when Tara VanDerveer’s team does not connect, does not adjust much on the fly, the result can be as ugly as it is repetitive. And on this Saturday, when UConn executed its defensive game plan as well as Geno Auriemma could ever remember and when Stefanie Dolson demonstrated that to arrive in Storrs means to leave as a smarter, fitter, more determined athlete, the results can be epic.
As showdowns go, Saturday’s Connecticut-Stanford game at Maples Pavilion was a failure. As a fact-finding mission, it was illuminating.
Geno Auriemma now knows that for as much offensive talent as he has assembled, that for as many nights as his team dances around triple digits, he can lean on defense to win some big games. And he can lean on Stefanie Dolson as hard as he ever has.
He also surely understands, after a shocking 61-35 shellacking of No. 1 Stanford — ending the Cardinal’s 82-game home winning streak and handing Tara VanDerveer the worst home loss of her 26-year tenure on The Farm — that his team is a legitimate challenger, perhaps even the favorite over Baylor, to win the national championship in April.
It wasn’t a particularly elegant offensive display by the Huskies, but it was beautifully balanced, with the home state kid, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis returning to make a statement, in spite of partaking of an IV.
“At halftime we talked about getting her the ball,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “She’s been sick since she left Connecticut, she was in the hospital, she was getting IVs, I don’t know if it was the flu or whatever she (had), but I thought in the second half she really responded.
“That just goes to show you how much she changed in one year, how many more things she can do now than she could last year.”
Other ranked teams were also involved in routs: Baylor over SE Louisiana, Maryland over Hartford, Notre Dame over Hartford, South Carolina over Western Carolina (how much more attention should we be paying to S.C.?). Oklahoma over Cal-Northridge, and Colorado over New Mexico.
BTW, I see you, Toledo.
In other news, Illinois’ defeat of previously unbeaten Georgia gets them some attention: Matt Bollant out to turn around Illini
…when Illinois offered Bollant the coaching job in Champaign after last season, he felt he couldn’t turn it down. At the moment, Green Bay is a better basketball program than Illinois. It wins more games, plays better basketball and draws more fans. But like many coaches who move from successful mid-majors to middling majors — Indiana’s Curt Miller, Texas’ Karen Aston also among the most recent class — Bollant made his move based on a calculation about the future. No matter how close to perfection Green Bay comes on the court, it is rarely, if ever, going to beat majors off the court.
