UConn back to Big East?

JOBU

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Good win. Georgetown played out of their minds. Probably got their A game and it wasn’t enough. This is the reality of conference play that UConn will be facing this year. They have a target on their back and every team will be trying to take them down. Still won by 10 plus but plenty there for Hurley to work on and keep them focused.
 

Dan Murfman

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Great Christmas presents. Tickets to the PC game on 1/4 and MSG against St John’s 2/25. My favorite part about being back in the Big East is being able to go to these games on the road.
 

Dan Murfman

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Toughest Big East stretch for UConn starts tonight against an Nova team that hasn't lost since Cam Whitmore returned from his injury. . Followed by at Xavier and PC. Home to Creighton and then at Marquette. Would love all 5 but could live with 3-2 I think.
 

JOBU

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Toughest Big East stretch for UConn starts tonight against an Nova team that hasn't lost since Cam Whitmore returned from his injury. . Followed by at Xavier and PC. Home to Creighton and then at Marquette. Would love all 5 but could live with 3-2 I think.
Looking a bit rusty tonight coming out of the long lay-off
 

bosox188

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I'll take an 8 point win with Sanogo and Newton spending most of the game in foul trouble. Hawkins and Karaban were absolute nails, and Diarra stepped up when they needed him to play a lot of minutes, especially on the defensive end. The team kept Whitemore quiet all night long, I don't expect there are many teams who will be able to do that.
 

bosox188

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Another great matchup and big test against Xavier on the road in a few minutes. May end up being the toughest conference game of the season, depending on how Villanova shapes up and if Marquette keeps rolling (though the Marquette road game is coming up soon).
 

JOBU

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Tough game. Not surprised they lost this one. Hurley getting a T with 2 minutes left in a 2 pt game… yeah not ideal. Team collapsed after that. The free throw discrepancy was quite alarming. Very one sided whistle. This teams Achilles heel is over reliance on the 3 pt shot and just getting out coached in close and late situations. Reoccurring theme under Hurley. How many times have they come out on the losing end in winnable games in the last few years? More than they’ve come out on top. On to Providence.
 

bosox188

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They probably needed to have a game like this anyway. Their number of three attempts has started to grow quite large in the last few games, they do need to be careful not to buy too much into their own hype there. Andre in particular. But I have no problem with a lot of them taking the shot if they're open.
 

StuckOnYouk

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Second half I was at the hockey game so I was only watching off an on on the phone.

What led to his technical late?

Our shooting was horrible both from the field and at the line (the few times we had foul shots).
When you are able to take 15 more shots but lose by 10? Yeah that’s on you more than the refs. or even the opponent.

Probably a good loss headed into providence and will make them get back to basics.
 

StuckOnYouk

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Alright I just saw the foul that led to the technical. Horrible call late in the game and after the fouls were 21-9 on UConn at that point I can see why that would have lit Hurleys ass on fire. But still we needed to shoot better and I would have liked to see more Diarra and Clingan.
Anyway on to Providence.
 

JOBU

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Dan Hurley is not a good coach. You’re not going to win conference games on talent alone. They steamrolled teams earlier in the season on talent discrepancy. Now that teams have seen video and game planned for UConn the coach just gets beat every time. Hell Ewing found a way to stifle this team. At this point I don’t see them making it out of the first weekend.
 

bosox188

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Dan Hurley is not a good coach. You’re not going to win conference games on talent alone. They steamrolled teams earlier in the season on talent discrepancy. Now that teams have seen video and game planned for UConn the coach just gets beat every time. Hell Ewing found a way to stifle this team. At this point I don’t see them making it out of the first weekend.
This feels like an overreaction, they've had two rough games in very difficult places to play on the road (Providence is now 27-1 in their last 28 games at home, so pretty much nobody else has been able to do it either). Other teams adjusted to the first 14 games they saw from UConn, now it's on the coaches to adjust back after these last two. And when UConn beat Alabama handily on a neutral court, that was not on talent discrepancy, Alabama is one of the best teams in the country. If Hurley wasn't a good coach UConn wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now, especially with the way Ollie left them.

The 2011 UConn team went undefeated in non-conference play and then proceeded to go .500 in conference play for the regular season. Was Calhoun not a good coach because they stumbled in conference play? I know, it's not a perfect comparison because Calhoun had much more on his resume then, but the point of a great team having a less than perfect ride through conference play remains.
 

JOBU

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This feels like an overreaction, they've had two rough games in very difficult places to play on the road (Providence is now 27-1 in their last 28 games at home, so pretty much nobody else has been able to do it either). Other teams adjusted to the first 14 games they saw from UConn, now it's on the coaches to adjust back after these last two. And when UConn beat Alabama handily on a neutral court, that was not on talent discrepancy, Alabama is one of the best teams in the country. If Hurley wasn't a good coach UConn wouldn't be nearly as good as they are now, especially with the way Ollie left them.

The 2011 UConn team went undefeated in non-conference play and then proceeded to go .500 in conference play for the regular season. Was Calhoun not a good coach because they stumbled in conference play? I know, it's not a perfect comparison because Calhoun had much more on his resume then, but the point of a great team having a less than perfect ride through conference play remains.
It might be an overreaction. It might not be. I think Hurley is a great recruiter and the kids like him and like playing for him. But his game planning stinks. His in game adjustments stinks. I’m not an X’s and O’s guy. I don’t have the ability to watch a game or a film study and say “well if only Hurley stopped doing (x) and started doing (y) the would have been better”. Yes Alabama is a great team. How do you think the game would go if the two teams meet again in March? I’m quite certain Bama would have a plan to attack this UConn squad. Hurley I’m less confident in. This isn’t an overreaction based on the last 2 games. This is me watching Hurley coach the team the last 5 seasons. Too often he loses to teams of lesser talent. So many times in his tenure here the team has been in a coin flip game in the last few minutes. Now I don’t have the stats to back me up on this but I’d say Hurley comes out on the losing end about 75% of the time in these types of games. Again… this is just to my eyes. I don’t have a X’s and O’s brain but my eyes have been watching college basketball for over 30 years now.
 
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Humphrey

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Geno's not feeling well, either.

Wouldn't think Ducharme will be out very long (concussion protocol) and Fudd's almost ready to come back.
 

bosox188

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Geno's had a very rough month or so with his mom dying recently, I thought this team went through some shit last season, just doesn't compare to how bad it is now. I hope Ducharme will be alright, I'm pretty sure she's already had a concussion or two in her UConn playing career.

Very fun day for UConn sports today elsewhere, the men about to tip off against Creighton (thankfully back at home), and the men's hockey team taking on Northeastern at Fenway in a couple hours. One thing I'm looking out for in this basketball game at the risk of sounding crazy: a quicker hook for Sanogo if he comes out struggling offensively, and more minutes for Clingan.
 

bosox188

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Apparently Adama heard you because he was great today.
Yup, I am an idiot. Adama Sanogo put me in a box and toss me in the river.

Defense looked much better today, kept the assists low on the Creighton end and while they did start the game off with more of the excessive fouling, they managed to reign themselves in and keep it much more even for the rest of the game. Nice to finally get over that weird hump they've had against Creighton.

I also quite enjoyed seeing Sanogo and Clingan comletely neutralize Kalkbrenner all day, after this little tidbit leading up to the game:


@John_Fanta
Ryan Kalkbrenner has extra motivation heading into Creighton’s game at UConn. The Jays big man told me in the preseason he knows Adama Sanogo is a great player, but that he’s felt disrespected at times that he hasn’t gotten more attention. Tomorrow in Storrs, the two meet again.
 

Dan Murfman

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Yup, I am an idiot. Adama Sanogo put me in a box and toss me in the river.

Defense looked much better today, kept the assists low on the Creighton end and while they did start the game off with more of the excessive fouling, they managed to reign themselves in and keep it much more even for the rest of the game. Nice to finally get over that weird hump they've had against Creighton.

I also quite enjoyed seeing Sanogo and Clingan comletely neutralize Kalkbrenner all day, after this little tidbit leading up to the game:
And then tonight you couldn’t be more right so far.
 

JOBU

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Losing at home to St Johns will not be a good look. Where the fuck is the defense? Went from hot shit to dog shit in record time. Losing by double digits to a mediocre team. Awesome. Can’t believe I was a believer in this team.
 
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bosox188

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Meanwhile, in the women's game Azzi Fudd (who's only just come back from injury) appears to have gotten hurt again. She went to the locker room with a trainer shortly before the end of the first half, and she's sitting on the bench with ice on her knee and UConn announced she won't return in today's game. I swear, I'm starting to believe in curses again the way things have gone for the women's program lately.
 

BaseballJones

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I really hope she's ok. It's unbelievable how many injuries this team has had this year, but even the last few years.
 

Humphrey

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The men's game was ugly, UConn didn't handle being down a couple of possessions very well at all. Game got quickly out of hand.
 

JOBU

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Seriously. Fuck this team. Blew a 15 piint lead at seton hall. They are broken.
 
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Spud

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Last night was beyond painful to watch. I am far from a basketball genius, but I don't understand a plan that seems to consist of Sanogo trying to fight through a triple team while the best shooter on the floor (Hawkins) stands around and watches.
 

bosox188

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Sanogo just refuses to ever pass out of the post, even when he's double, triple teamed. Clingan has shown pretty damn good post passing skills and the offense just runs smoother with him, it's time to give him more minutes. Defensively, they're better with Clingan too, because the guards have done a shit job at stopping opponents from driving into the lane, so at least having the 7 footer waiting for them at the rim is a mitigation.

I know Hurley and Kimani Young were out with covid last night, but man the personnel for the last play of the game was baffling. How is Clingan not on the floor when all you need is one stop and a rebound? That should have been obvious to Murray and Moore. As for the players, I think they're just in their own heads at this point. The coaching staff needs to find a way to pull them out of this self-defeating spiral they seem to be in. The first half of the game they looked great, then as soon as Seton Hall came out in the with a little momentum in the second half, you could just see the demeanor change.
 

bosox188

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The men have been slowly figuring things out over the last week or two, Newton has worked through his yips and been an absolute force. Tonight's stomping of Marquette might be the "all the way back" moment.
 

JOBU

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The men have been slowly figuring things out over the last week or two, Newton has worked through his yips and been an absolute force. Tonight's stomping of Marquette might be the "all the way back" moment.
Agreed. Last night was the same team that started the season 14-0. Let’s hope that team sticks around for the last couple months of the season.
 

RedOctober3829

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The men have been slowly figuring things out over the last week or two, Newton has worked through his yips and been an absolute force. Tonight's stomping of Marquette might be the "all the way back" moment.
Great performance last night, but let's see what they do coming off of it. Saturday at Creighton is going to be a great test.
 

bosox188

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Unfortunately the women didn't fare as well against Marquette. Just lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 1993. Hell of a streak though.
 

BaseballJones

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This team needs like two weeks off. Geno is frazzled. The team is exhausted and beat up. A veritable all America team on the bench with injuries.
 

Plantiers Wart

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Senior night vs. Providence at Gampel. To "reward" the loyal fans, there is a $2 beer special tonight - get them drunk and try and match the recent rowdiness of PC home fans. Hoping for a big effort and a win to move toward BE tourney bye. I'm heading to MSG saturday for the St. John's game, which used to be an annual tradition back in the day. First time back since return to the BE.
 

bosox188

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I've still had a lot of faith in this UConn team and they've completely shaken off their bad January. Absolutely fantastic performance tonight, they're going to make a lot of noise in March. Alleyne figuring out how to give us some scoring could be a big development too.
 

JOBU

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I've still had a lot of faith in this UConn team and they've completely shaken off their bad January. Absolutely fantastic performance tonight, they're going to make a lot of noise in March. Alleyne figuring out how to give us some scoring could be a big development too.
God I hope you’re right. I could see this team playing in April. I can also see them getting bounced on Thursday afternoon. Still not sold on Hurley’s ability to win a big game on a neutral/away court. Fingers crossed.
 

Doug Beerabelli

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Makes a ton of sense for UConn to seek to get into a P5 conference, even one that may be partially left out in the cold in the future by a SuperPower2 conference (SEC and Big 10 go it alone, with continued strategic additions from the other P5 schools).

They'd help the quality of the football, too!

(ducks)
 

InstaFace

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Meanwhile, in the women's game Azzi Fudd (who's only just come back from injury) appears to have gotten hurt again. She went to the locker room with a trainer shortly before the end of the first half, and she's sitting on the bench with ice on her knee and UConn announced she won't return in today's game. I swear, I'm starting to believe in curses again the way things have gone for the women's program lately.
Even Dr. Faust had to pay up eventually. The terms of Geno's deal included 4 straight championships, surely there's a bill coming due there. Hell, the first installment was probably Bueckers' ACL.

At least they get one more year of Bueckers. She dragged a pretty mediocre roster to the Final Four as a freshman while winning everything in sight, before Fudd even arrived, somehow on one foot and not long after surgery dragged the team again to the national title game as a sophomore, and her junior year has been a total wash. Kinda amazing after the last 24 months of injury that she's had, that she even wants to come back rather than at least starting to draw a pro paycheck. Although...
 

BaseballJones

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Bueckers is a multi-millionaire already. She doesn't "need" a WNBA paycheck, and she really, really wants to win a title at UConn. I'm not surprised that she wants to come back. At all.