I hope Vegas Insider is not on target with the line, UCF -5. UConn beat UCF pretty easily at UConn and they won down there last year big- so we will need to see what happens. I hope Enoch has another strong game but Tacko Fall is 7'6" and can block some shots.
UConn a 5 Point Underdog at UCF
- Thread starter TripleDribbleMan
- Start date
The first half looked pretty good. Not sure why Enoch did not play more. There was a carryover of the 3 point shooting of the last game by Purvis. He is really stroking the ball now, as compared to earlier in the season when he could not make a shot. He looks like he has more bounce out there. The last game and the first half were Rodney's 3 best halves of basketball this year.
Purvis's 3 point FG% has gone from 28% about 3 weeks ago to 34.8% after that 5-6 on 3s in the first half.
The thing about Rodney is he has to be shooting well to help you win. I wish he adopted a little of gabby Williams game. I realize she is usually the best athlete on the floor, but 10 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, three steals and better court awareness works for me.
He's a good athlete and a strong kid.
They are already in the bonus. Oh boy.
He's a good athlete and a strong kid.
They are already in the bonus. Oh boy.
UCF is definitely a different team when Tacko Fall is on the floor. He is a major presence in the middle and a good athlete for 7'6". You can see why this team leads the nation in defensive FG%.
The last 10 minutes were not a masterpiece of basketball, but it is a needed road win over a decent team. UCF showed in the second half when Fall was back in the game why they lead the nation in FG defense%.
Jalen Adams looked gassed the entire second half.
Jalen Adams looked gassed the entire second half.
Dicey, but a good road win. Jalens' take up only 5 was easily the play of the game. Rodney showing some growth finding Vital for a late 3, instead of forcing another lead floater.
Keep on climbing.
Keep on climbing.
Rodney finding Vital open for the late 3 instead of the usual TO/charging foul, and Adams' left handed jumoer over Fall the two key baskets of the second half and sealed the win. Honorable mention goes to Vital's all hustle O-board and putback after which I heard him screaming "I want the ball!!!!!!"
WTF was Brimah doing inbounding the ball against a full court press????????????/ What kind of insanity was that?
WTF was Brimah doing inbounding the ball against a full court press????????????/ What kind of insanity was that?
UConn 9-13 on 3s the game after going 16-24 on 3s. That would be 25-37 or 67.5% on 3s the last two games. The game of basketball becomes much easier when open 3s get stroked.
Well gotta love the tough win.... UCF was bumping/fouling all over the court on D once they got down (with no calls) to get back into it. I was sure Uconn would give it away when they were playing away from hoop( giving each other no passing lanes) instead of trying to beat the pressure off the dribble......Terrible coaching regarding the above Brimah situations...... you can't communicate it to your team that under no circumstances should Brimah have the ball ?... and even more so with UCF jacking 3 's... why does KO even have AB on the floor in the last few minutes?
But this is this Uconn team .....they can play great for about 30-35 minutes but need about a 15 point lead not to blow it against anyone with a pulse in the last 5. Anyway take the W and move on.
Box score
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Great win! Never easy to win a road conference game, and UCF is a team that gave Nova all it could handle.
Ending was ugly, but lessons to be learned when they watch the tape, and hopefully it won't be repeated during AAC tournament!
Also Florida should just adopt the huskies as their team. We have 5 wins against teams from FL just this year alone. We wine the AAC tournament last year in Orlando, and who can forget the 2 wins against UF in our 2014 championship season!
Ending was ugly, but lessons to be learned when they watch the tape, and hopefully it won't be repeated during AAC tournament!
Also Florida should just adopt the huskies as their team. We have 5 wins against teams from FL just this year alone. We wine the AAC tournament last year in Orlando, and who can forget the 2 wins against UF in our 2014 championship season!
If UConn can beat Memphis Thursday at home they will move into a tie with Memphis for 4th in the AAC. In order to move past Houston for 3rd place they will need to beat Houston on the road. They have to stay in the top 5, but even finishing in 3rd will not avoid having to beat both Cincy and SMU to win AAC Tournament. Daunting tasks are ahead.
True about daunting tasks... it's time to see what the boys are made of and if they've improved at all. This is the toughest part of their AAC schedule with 5 of the final 6 games vs. teams ranked above the top 100 of the RPI....( which Uconn's record is 2-9 so far .... Temple @ #93 RPI on the road is the weakest of those 5 ) ECU is the only cupcake @ #233 but that's a road game which is never easy.
AAC Expanded Standings
AAC Expanded Standings
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Very scary in the last ten minutes of the game but luckily we were able to hold on and get the W. We are slowly progressing each game and there is more chemistry being developed. Rodney Purvis is finally hitting his stride and has been a hot streak these past few games helping us in so many ways. Not to sound negative in any fashion and not to discredit UCF, but this team still needs a quality win against a top team. Whether it was against SMU or Cincinnati, as soon as we get down early, it seems like we just give up and throw away the game. They are clearly more experienced and have more talent at their disposal (unlike us with the multiple injuries), we still need to solidify a quality win. I like the direction we are heading in, but when it comes down to playing the top teams within our conference we still need to prove ourselves. It will all come down to the AAC tournament in Hartford where we can maximize the home court advantage and hopefully pull off a miracle.
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Hartford Courant Game Report by Don Amore:
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-men-game-ucf-0212-20170211-story.html
Injury report:
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/hc-uconn-men-game-ucf-0212-20170211-story.html
Injury report:
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens-basketball/
They looked great until they were gassed. Unfortunately there is a blueprint here, extend pressure to tire them out. Not the first time we've seen it.
Andersonfro,
Fatigue was definitely a factor, the entire second half Jalen looked gassed and he had cramps at the end. He is really being asked to do a lot and responding well. The blueprint you mentioned is going to be followed by other teams. I should note that the UConn press offense was awful last year with a full healthy roster. Does anyone remember when Colorado pressed UConn at the end of their 1st round NCAA tournament game and we saw the same issues, they could not get the ball inbounds at times and it took like 5 TOs against the Colorado press, which was nothing special, until the coaching staff figured it out in time to save the game. Now UConn is playing with 8 guys and none of them are really pure point guards. Had Gilbert not gotten injured he would have the ball in his hands in these situations and Jalen would just be a secondary ballhandler. Instead Jalen is forced to really handle most of the press breaking chores because nobody else can be trusted. UConn looked very shaky against that press yesterday and some of it was fatigue, some of it was a lack of naturally gifted ballhandlers like Gilbert, and some is on the coaching staff, especially that Brimah inbounds pass which was the worst inbounds play of all time. KO needs to sit down and tell AB he is never inbounding the ball again and like Blades said he shouldn't have even been out there, they should have had Jackson and Facey out there as bigs and Vital, Purv and Adams manning the perimeter. Facey can be the defensive 5 in that situation plus Facey can really run the court and can certainly pass better than Brimah.
Fatigue was definitely a factor, the entire second half Jalen looked gassed and he had cramps at the end. He is really being asked to do a lot and responding well. The blueprint you mentioned is going to be followed by other teams. I should note that the UConn press offense was awful last year with a full healthy roster. Does anyone remember when Colorado pressed UConn at the end of their 1st round NCAA tournament game and we saw the same issues, they could not get the ball inbounds at times and it took like 5 TOs against the Colorado press, which was nothing special, until the coaching staff figured it out in time to save the game. Now UConn is playing with 8 guys and none of them are really pure point guards. Had Gilbert not gotten injured he would have the ball in his hands in these situations and Jalen would just be a secondary ballhandler. Instead Jalen is forced to really handle most of the press breaking chores because nobody else can be trusted. UConn looked very shaky against that press yesterday and some of it was fatigue, some of it was a lack of naturally gifted ballhandlers like Gilbert, and some is on the coaching staff, especially that Brimah inbounds pass which was the worst inbounds play of all time. KO needs to sit down and tell AB he is never inbounding the ball again and like Blades said he shouldn't have even been out there, they should have had Jackson and Facey out there as bigs and Vital, Purv and Adams manning the perimeter. Facey can be the defensive 5 in that situation plus Facey can really run the court and can certainly pass better than Brimah.
Rodney and Jalen are averaging 36 minutes a game. That's a lot. However, Memphis has three guys over 34 minutes and a fourth that plays 33.
That being said, Our leadership can't get mentally tired and have Brimah involved with crunchtime out of bounds plays going forward.
That being said, Our leadership can't get mentally tired and have Brimah involved with crunchtime out of bounds plays going forward.