GT: UConn Huskies vs Iowa Hawkeyes April 5th 9:30PM TSN Caitlin Clark vs Paige Buekers

[tecumseh18]

Amazing game, but disappointing call at the end. It was like the second last Super Bowl, with that holding call in the last minute or so. It didn't even look like a moving screen in the up close shot, but from a distance Aaliyah did step into the defender, and her arm was out a little beyond her body. But the defender really (over)sold the call, too. The point is, it didn't have to be called. Why decide such a great game by making calling a foul on a non-decisive play, 20 feet from the basket?

But women's basketball has arrived. There was more talent out there than just Caitlin, Paige and Aaliyah. I can remember men's college games where guys couldn't shoot or make FTs. The 2011 Final comes to mind. These girls, especially Caitlin, can just drill them.

I'm trying to think of an NBA comparison for Caitlin, someone who shoots like Curry but passes like Ricky Rubio. What a complete player she is.

[mdenny]

Everyone is watching the wrong replay from the wrong angle. Watch the game feed. It is CLEARLY an illegal screen and Gabby and her teammates knew it right away. I mean....it's blatant.

If anything....that play is on paige. Who made a bunch of mental mistakes to end the game. She started curling before the screen was set which always sets up your screener to take the foul. She went into the action way too early to take that angle. She left her screener in nomansland. It was either gonna be an illegal screen or Gabby would've easily went around it.

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[Reeko]

Everyone is watching the wrong replay from the wrong angle. Watch the game feed. It is CLEARLY an illegal screen and Gabby and her teammates knew it right away. I mean....it's blatant.

If anything....that play is on paige. Who made a bunch of mental mistakes to end the game. She started curling before the screen was set which always sets up your screener to take the foul. She went into the action way too early to take

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Much better angle of what happened. In the replay when it initially happened they didn't show her moving, just the contact.

[mdenny]

What a weak call. Atleast we can see Caitlin win the championship but they gotta face a team that hasn't even lost 1 game this year

I'd love to see Caitlin win but it's probably not going to be close. South Carolina probably has 8 of the best 10 players on both sides.

[mdenny]

Everyone is watching the wrong replay from the wrong angle. Watch the game feed. It is CLEARLY an illegal screen and Gabby and her teammates knew it right away. I mean....it's blatant.

If anything....that play is on paige. Who made a bunch of mental mistakes to end the game. She started curling before the screen was set which always sets up your screener to take the foul. She went into the action way too early to take

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Much better angle of what happened. In the replay when it initially happened they didn't show her moving, just the contact.

It's an illegal screen and they have to call that. The coach even yelled at paige as soon as the play ended because it was clearly her fault.

Plus the game wasn't even over. They were still gonna have a chance to tie or win with 3 seconds left (with an offensive zone inbound) if they just rebounded the missed free throw by Clark.

I'd prefer to see paige take that shot too....but she has to run the play properly in order to get that opportunity. She didn't.

Another thing....if the illegal screen WASN'T SET.....Gabby would've easily gone overtop and there would've been two Iowa players right in Buecker's mug when she got the ball. So she probably doesn't even get the shot off.

[ill-Will03]

Why was that game more entertaining then the mens NCAA games lol

[Fairview4Life]

Everyone is watching the wrong replay from the wrong angle. Watch the game feed. It is CLEARLY an illegal screen and Gabby and her teammates knew it right away. I mean....it's blatant.

If anything....that play is on paige. Who made a bunch of mental mistakes to end the game. She started curling before the screen was set which always sets up your screener to take the foul. She went into the action way too early to take

Read on Twitter

?t=gXSfWm4XWvSuklcHUhQmaA&s=19

Much better angle of what happened. In the replay when it initially happened they didn't show her moving, just the contact.

It's an illegal screen and they have to call that. The coach even yelled at paige as soon as the play ended because it was clearly her fault.

Plus the game wasn't even over. They were still gonna have a chance to tie or win with 3 seconds left (with an offensive zone inbound) if they just rebounded the missed free throw by Clark.

I'd prefer to see paige take that shot too....but she has to run the play properly in order to get that opportunity. She didn't.

Another thing....if the illegal screen WASN'T SET.....Gabby would've easily gone overtop and there would've been two Iowa players right in Buecker's mug when she got the ball. So she probably doesn't even get the shot off.

Edwards has a wide open lane to the rim if Marshall goes over and two players are on Buecker. Look at the replay showing the illegal screen, that’s a gigantic Jose-esque red carpet. Edwards wins the game there, assuming Buecker gets her the ball.

[mihaic]

Why was that game more entertaining then the mens NCAA games lol

There were a lot of entertaining, close games including OT in men's ncaa.

What probably skewed the perception, is Uconn is too dominant on their bracket, same for Purdue to some degree.

The other 2 brackets were pretty good

[mdenny]

Much better angle of what happened. In the replay when it initially happened they didn't show her moving, just the contact.

It's an illegal screen and they have to call that. The coach even yelled at paige as soon as the play ended because it was clearly her fault.

Plus the game wasn't even over. They were still gonna have a chance to tie or win with 3 seconds left (with an offensive zone inbound) if they just rebounded the missed free throw by Clark.

I'd prefer to see paige take that shot too....but she has to run the play properly in order to get that opportunity. She didn't.

Another thing....if the illegal screen WASN'T SET.....Gabby would've easily gone overtop and there would've been two Iowa players right in Buecker's mug when she got the ball. So she probably doesn't even get the shot off.

Edwards has a wide open lane to the rim if Marshall goes over and two players are on Buecker. Look at the replay showing the illegal screen, that’s a gigantic Jose-esque red carpet. Edwards wins the game there, assuming Buecker gets her the ball.

You have a point. Except Bueker's did not make such a read the entire game before.

And buekers was keen on taking the shot that she started the curl way too early and way too wide.

She simply doesn't exhibit the IQ to assume the play-read you stated (which is 100% legit) with 4 seconds left.

That's the kind of read that we can fairly assume Clark would make. Not Bueckers. If she could make that read she would've made reads throughout the game. And she didn't. How many assists did paige have? I didn't notice any.

If Edwards didn't set the illegal slide screen than Bueckers would have gotten the ball with two defenders in her face. She was gonna force up the shot no matter what. She was one-track minded that whole sequence. That's why she ran the action before the screen was set and 5 feet too wide.

If bueckers was making good reads she could've started the action TOWARDS the screen (inside the arc) and popped back outside the arc to her right. But she didn't make that read either. She curled around a screen that wasn't set yet and was around 5 feet away from her.

Paige needed to run the play properly to get the shot. She didn't. The refs arent obliged to ENSURE she gets the shot regardless of how she runs the play because ppl want to see a shot. If she messes the play up...she doesn't get to shoot. Simple.

'I want to see paige shoot". Well then paige needs to run the play properly. I don't even know what ppl are talking about with this "let the players decide the game". It's like ppl just want to see the players exchange shots. Go watch darts then.

There's some sort of weird backlash against Caitlin Clark and I don't know what to make of it. But it's palpable. Angel Reese saying the screen was legal on twitter? Man....what is that? Smh

Clark was BY FAR the best player on either side in this game and it was not close. I bet she had more than 25 potential assists. Why does everyone seem to hate her? She's not an unlikable person.

I worked in sports media a long time and I have to say....this whole dynamic reminds me of tiger woods. And that's not necessarily a race-based claim. It just feels the same. There seems to be so much resentment regarding Clark's success. Just like Tiger. Alot of jealousy from the old guard....and certain media agendas hoping that they say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. Just waiting to pounce. Someone wanna tell me that Tiger was the only golf pro cheating on his wife or having family problems lol?

Man...Caitlin Clark is dealing with all this crap with alot of grace in my opinion. Alot more grace than her haters. Some of who are her direct competitors. Clark gets big respect from me for how she just keeps on keeping on in every way.

Imagine a scenario where LSU beat Iowa before the final four.....and Caitlin Clark was tweeting about ref bias in the following LSU game? Man...every sportsperson knows that kinda thing is bad sportsmanship. Clark would get rightfully villainized for that behavior. But get this....she would never DO THAT.

[brownbobcat]

It's an illegal screen and they have to call that. The coach even yelled at paige as soon as the play ended because it was clearly her fault.

Plus the game wasn't even over. They were still gonna have a chance to tie or win with 3 seconds left (with an offensive zone inbound) if they just rebounded the missed free throw by Clark.

I'd prefer to see paige take that shot too....but she has to run the play properly in order to get that opportunity. She didn't.

Another thing....if the illegal screen WASN'T SET.....Gabby would've easily gone overtop and there would've been two Iowa players right in Buecker's mug when she got the ball. So she probably doesn't even get the shot off.

Edwards has a wide open lane to the rim if Marshall goes over and two players are on Buecker. Look at the replay showing the illegal screen, that’s a gigantic Jose-esque red carpet. Edwards wins the game there, assuming Buecker gets her the ball.

You have a point. Except Bueker's did not make such a read the entire game before.

And buekers was keen on taking the shot that she started the curl way too early and way too wide.

She simply doesn't exhibit the IQ to assume the play-read you stated (which is 100% legit) with 4 seconds left.

That's the kind of read that we can fairly assume Clark would make. Not Bueckers. If she could make that read she would've made reads throughout the game. And she didn't. How many assists did paige have? I didn't notice any.

If Edwards didn't set the illegal slide screen than Bueckers would have gotten the ball with two defenders in her face. She was gonna force up the shot no matter what. She was one-track minded that whole sequence. That's why she ran the action before the screen was set and 5 feet too wide.

If bueckers was making good reads she could've started the action TOWARDS the screen (inside the arc) and popped back outside the arc to her right. But she didn't make that read either. She curled around a screen that wasn't set yet and was around 5 feet away from her.

Paige needed to run the play properly to get the shot. She didn't. The refs arent obliged to ENSURE she gets the shot regardless of how she runs the play because ppl want to see a shot. If she messes the play up...she doesn't get to shoot. Simple.

'I want to see paige shoot". Well then paige needs to run the play properly. I don't even know what ppl are talking about with this "let the players decide the game". It's like ppl just want to see the players exchange shots. Go watch darts then.

There's some sort of weird backlash against Caitlin Clark and I don't know what to make of it. But it's palpable. Angel Reese saying the screen was legal on twitter? Man....what is that? Smh

Clark was BY FAR the best player on either side in this game and it was not close. I bet she had more than 25 potential assists. Why does everyone seem to hate her? She's not an unlikable person.

I worked in sports media a long time and I have to say....this whole dynamic reminds me of tiger woods. And that's not necessarily a race-based claim. It just feels the same. There seems to be so much resentment regarding Clark's success. Just like Tiger. Alot of jealousy from the old guard....and certain media agendas hoping that they say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. Just waiting to pounce. Someone wanna tell me that Tiger was the only golf pro cheating on his wife or having family problems lol?

Man...Caitlin Clark is dealing with all this crap with alot of grace in my opinion. Alot more grace than her haters. Some of who are her direct competitors. Clark gets big respect from me for how she just keeps on keeping on in every way.

Yeah, the pass is there but the window is small and Bueckers would've had to make that read before she even got the ball or else be immediately swarmed (assuming her defender wasn't screened).

I dunno, yes it's an illegal screen but that kind of physicality happens all the time. I would've let that go at the end of the game, it's off-ball.

[mdenny]

Edwards has a wide open lane to the rim if Marshall goes over and two players are on Buecker. Look at the replay showing the illegal screen, that’s a gigantic Jose-esque red carpet. Edwards wins the game there, assuming Buecker gets her the ball.

You have a point. Except Bueker's did not make such a read the entire game before.

And buekers was keen on taking the shot that she started the curl way too early and way too wide.

She simply doesn't exhibit the IQ to assume the play-read you stated (which is 100% legit) with 4 seconds left.

That's the kind of read that we can fairly assume Clark would make. Not Bueckers. If she could make that read she would've made reads throughout the game. And she didn't. How many assists did paige have? I didn't notice any.

If Edwards didn't set the illegal slide screen than Bueckers would have gotten the ball with two defenders in her face. She was gonna force up the shot no matter what. She was one-track minded that whole sequence. That's why she ran the action before the screen was set and 5 feet too wide.

If bueckers was making good reads she could've started the action TOWARDS the screen (inside the arc) and popped back outside the arc to her right. But she didn't make that read either. She curled around a screen that wasn't set yet and was around 5 feet away from her.

Paige needed to run the play properly to get the shot. She didn't. The refs arent obliged to ENSURE she gets the shot regardless of how she runs the play because ppl want to see a shot. If she messes the play up...she doesn't get to shoot. Simple.

'I want to see paige shoot". Well then paige needs to run the play properly. I don't even know what ppl are talking about with this "let the players decide the game". It's like ppl just want to see the players exchange shots. Go watch darts then.

There's some sort of weird backlash against Caitlin Clark and I don't know what to make of it. But it's palpable. Angel Reese saying the screen was legal on twitter? Man....what is that? Smh

Clark was BY FAR the best player on either side in this game and it was not close. I bet she had more than 25 potential assists. Why does everyone seem to hate her? She's not an unlikable person.

I worked in sports media a long time and I have to say....this whole dynamic reminds me of tiger woods. And that's not necessarily a race-based claim. It just feels the same. There seems to be so much resentment regarding Clark's success. Just like Tiger. Alot of jealousy from the old guard....and certain media agendas hoping that they say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. Just waiting to pounce. Someone wanna tell me that Tiger was the only golf pro cheating on his wife or having family problems lol?

Man...Caitlin Clark is dealing with all this crap with alot of grace in my opinion. Alot more grace than her haters. Some of who are her direct competitors. Clark gets big respect from me for how she just keeps on keeping on in every way.

Yeah, the pass is there but the window is small and Bueckers would've had to make that read before she even got the ball or else be immediately swarmed (assuming her defender wasn't screened).

I dunno, yes it's an illegal screen but that kind of physicality happens all the time. I would've let that go at the end of the game, it's off-ball.

Like I said...I didn't check the boxscore. Someone tell me how many assists Paige had in the game. Because I did not get the sense that she had court vision like that in this game.

[ATLTimekeeper]

I think if UConn had the first ever bankable woman's basketball player there is just no way that call is made. Refs may as well work for CBS.

[Dread-Eye]

Great game, UConn had 2 chances, the offensive foul and then Clark's missed free throw rebound.

[lobosloboslobos]

you usually have to brutalize someone off ball to get that call with the game on the line. was definitely a foul though so waddyagonna do. clark delivered and paige didn't. she deserved to win. liked that nika muhl though.

[aminiaturebuddha]

You have a point. Except Bueker's did not make such a read the entire game before.

That's the kind of read that we can fairly assume Clark would make. Not Bueckers. If she could make that read she would've made reads throughout the game. And she didn't. How many assists did paige have? I didn't notice any.


Like I said...I didn't check the boxscore. Someone tell me how many assists Paige had in the game. Because I did not get the sense that she had court vision like that in this game.

I'm really surprised that you watched the game, or other games in the tournament and would say this. Paige and Edwards often work a two-person game off a pick and roll or pick and pop. Just in this game, Paige had already made two excellent pocket passes to Edwards on screen-and-rolls for buckets in the second half.

[ruckus]

The ref made the correct call but I don't think they made the right call if that makes any sense. Noone wants to see a game decided by a whistle even though Marshall really sold the contact. If they're going to call those illegal screens then set a precedent and call them all game.

Other than that, really good game. It didn't really devolve into a Bueckers vs Clark hardcarry although they each had their moments. The teammates on both sides really stepped up and made big plays on both side of the ball.

[Beerpapi]

If they're going to call those illegal screens then set a precedent and call them all game.

This is where I’m at with the call. Lots of times when people complain about the favouritism for Iowa we see clips on slow mo showing there’s illegal contact. No one disputes that. It’s just with Iowa it’s only called on end. Same thing happened to WVA earlier in the tournament. Rugby scrum under one net, ticky tack fouls then called on the other end.

I hope SC runs them out of the gym.

[PushDaRock]

I think the play call wasn't great either, the spacing was really bad to be running that kind of action there plus they got the ball into Bueckers' hands with 7 seconds already, let her just create don't have her give it up in hopes of getting it back.