UConn-East Carolina

[TripleDribbleMan]

The line is UConn -16.5 per Las Vegas. East Carolina is 10-12 but some of their recent games have had good results- they beat Temple and won at Memphis, and also had a competitive loss at California which was ranked #15 at the time.

The stats show them to be an average team in all categories.

I kind of envision a letdown and a failure to cover the spread. However I hope UConn continues to build off the momentum of the last two games in which the defense was at times remarkable.

 

[dbaum_]

UConn cannot overlook anybody and must execute just like they did a few days ago against Memphis. Just continue to play aggressive defense and create turnovers for transition buckets on the other end. We should be able to pull out the W and move up in the conference standings. GO HUSKIES!

 

[the Blades]

First look from William on the homepage:
Preview: UConn Men's Basketball vs. East Carolina
“We prepare like it’s a national championship every practice,” Ollie said Saturday in a conference call with reporters. “That’s who we are.” Also ECU as mentioned above has been playing better of late. " The Pirates might be near the cellar in the conference, but have won two of their last three contests, with the loss coming in their last game, a double overtime setback to Houston, 97-93, on Jan. 30."

 

[UConnFamily]

Should be a fairly easy victory today but I wouldn't be surprised if it was closer than Vegas thinks.

Noon game on superbowl Sunday vs a team that the team may not look at as seriously as they did Memphis

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

UConn Family,

That is kind of how I am seeing this game too, but I hope I am wrong. The team needs to start playing more consistently on the offensive end, or at least be consistent in using the defense to generate offense which until the Memphis game I had not really seen as much as I would like for a team playing such good D. The last game vs. Memphis was a vintage UConn performance which brought back memories of how the team played in the late 1990s.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

CBS Sports Network says one of the keys to the game is UConn defending the 3.ECU shooting just over 34% on 3s which is nothing special although that lefty guard has a sweet stroke.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

I liked the ball movement in UConn's first half court sets. It looks like ECU was playing zone. Not sure why. If UConn rotates the ball and gets it to Gibbs he will shred that zone.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

What did Nolan do to get a technical?????? I didn't see anything so he must have said something.

I agree with Ozzie that the half court O looks better with Jalen running the show, but against a zone he has to learn he can't penetrate and leave his feet and expect his passes not to get picked.

 

[CaNOLEE]

Defense needs to be a lot better. But this is game that we'd be down by 4-5 points earlier in the year.

Good too see officiating is consistently abysmal. Ecu almost ended the half with a 7 point possession and no one was fouled.

 

[UConnFamily]

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Officiating has been really bad. I still don't understand why Nolan was called for a technical foul. It was just a routine play and a 2 shot foul, from what I could see.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Very solid win by UConn; half court offense was better, but they need to knock down a few more 3s than they did. Otherwise no complaints. UConn covered the spread.

 

[Ozzie3178]

Trending up up and up... Jalen Jalen Jalen Jalen... That boy up to somethin!!

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Final stats: UConn 56% FGs ECU 37% FGs; UConn wins boards 35-30 (Hamilton 16 boards to go along with 12 points, 5 assists and 3 steals); UConn 18 assists and 6 TOs (I like this stat a lot but Jalen had 4 of the TOs); Purvis 16 off the bench and Gibbs 4-8 on 3s. All good stuff. But someone other than Gibbs has to hit some 3s. ECU was in a zone defense the whole game and some 3s were left on the floor. 7-19 not terrible but against a zone a good team should try and make 10 or more.

 

[dbaum_]

Very solid play in the second half. Hamilton is looking like his old self again and we are making plays when we need to. I feel we need to isolate the high pick and roll more with Brimah/Miller and feed them more alley oops. Once we attack the paint and crowd up the middle, it is almost impossible to stop once the defense collapses. On to a very important game @ Temple this Thursday where we need to get back revenge after blowing the game at home against them.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

This was the 10th consecutive game in which the UConn opponent shot under 40% FGs. East Carolina finished at 37.1% FGs, just under the average of what UConn has been allowing on the season.

 

[the Blades]

Love the teaching moments that KO still continues with when guys are making bad plays/rushed shots...again today he was quick with the hook even though it wasn't a tight game....this should help overall as the season moves on...... ..... And another thing...I don't know if you could see it on TV but Enoch almost took the basket down with his alley-oop dunk from JA !

 

[CaNOLEE]

I took a look at our FTs #s in comparison to duke. They are +180 for the year. Which would make you think they have taken less 3s. Ummmmm, not the case. They are +120 from behind the arc. Maybe we should schedule GTown 30 times a year.

Enough whining, when the focus should be on winning. I think when this team fires on all cylinders it's going to be scary. Hopefully it's happens 6 times in late March and early April.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

CaNOLEE,

Before today's game UConn had moved up to #2 in the nation in FG% defense and #9 in the nation in FT shooting and bettered their season norms in both departments by holding ECU to 37% FGs and shooting 8-10 FTs. When I noticed only 10 FT attempts I thought something is wrong. UConn should have 20 FTAs every game. Ollie even said after the game he didn't want 30 3s attempted. However, UConn nevertheless got the job done and made 56% of their FGs so good shots were being taken.

But Duke is a drive and kick team which is why they have a lot of foul shots taken and 3s taken. Their whole offense is predicated on having the point guard drive to the hole and if he doesn't have a shot, then he kicks it out to someone behind the 3 point line. Of course Duke does get generous calls, but the offense they run partially explains those stats.

This year their defense hasn't always been very good. Plus they just are not as talented as they were last year with those 3 freshmen who were all prime time players.

 

[the Blades]

CaNOLEE,
Before today's game UConn had moved up to #2 in the nation in FG% defense and #9 in the nation in FT shooting and bettered their season norms in both departments by holding ECU to 37% FGs and shooting 8-10 FTs. When I noticed only 10 FT attempts I thought something is wrong. UConn should have 20 FTAs every game. Ollie even said after the game he didn't want 30 3s attempted. However, UConn nevertheless got the job done and made 56% of their FGs so good shots were being taken.

Final Stats

Here's a little more from Hamilton on sharing the rock ( he was pulled twice by KO for jacking up bad shots, but I love KO using the teaching moments with him). I don't want to jinx him but Purvis seems to be someone lately who is starting to pick his spots better and actually has pulled it out instead of making bonehead drives into traffic( especially on the break) like he was earlier in the year. So I have to give a big shot out to the coaching staff on working at eliminating bad possessions and getting through to the players. Also Shonn talks about the same. Only 6 TO's was an fantastic number and though Jalen made 4 they're the type he can clean up and I can live with because he gets a few like Bazz used to....by trying to make to tough a pass at times/ when sharing the ball with his team mates......Also regarding FT's it seemed like the Refs put the whistles away.... late in the 2nd half I remember both teams only had 4 fouls.

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

The boneheaded plays were definitely kept to a minimum against ECU. When UConn plays smart like this with the very good to excellent defense and unselfish play they will be tough to beat. However they will need to make a few more 3s. I know KO doesn't really favor the 3 point shot but when a team plays a zone defense and is trying to limit dribble penetration when the shot clock winds down usually someone will have an open look at a 3. Hamilton is a nice option to have as far as getting into the middle of the zone but when he does that and the defense converges someone will have a look at a 3 and that is when that shot needs to be made. Otherwise teams will not be so discouraged from playing zone defense. Obviously ECU didn't think UConn could hurt them as much with the 3 as with dribble penetration based on how they defended UConn almost the whole game.