“It’s a collision course. This is how it’s always had to be”

[Palatine]

I'm curious how Johnson will do in the game. Edey should eat him up but he probably doesn't play when Edey is in.

 

[aceboon]

Gary Parrish just got done saying Braden Smith had a stinker tonight, but won't have another one on Monday. He's about to see hell from Castle/Diarra and he doesn't have the shotmaking arsenal of Sears, let's see how that prediction works out.

 

[aceboon]

I'm curious how Johnson will do in the game. Edey should eat him up but he probably doesn't play when Edey is in.

Edey has been playing basically 40 minutes, Johnson will have to see him

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Hoping DC doesn’t try to do too much, because he shouldn’t have to. Just nutralize Edey a little bit, cause some tough shots and get rebounds. Then it’s our 4 vs their 4. I’ll take that

This is huge. The game is five on five but someone Clingan's age can believe he needs to beat the one guy who can physically matchup with him. The way I see it, Edey can outscore DC by eight to ten points and we still win easily as the remainder of their team won't be able to get within sixteen to eighteen points of us if things flow normally. The only way they cannot flow normally would be if DC is on the bench due to fouls.

This will be interesting in that I imagine this will be the first time DC has had to matchup with someone more physically imposing than he is. DC is tremendously more mobile but ZE does some things that DC hasn't mastered. DC stays out of foul trouble, we win.

 

[giddyup]

We need to play our signature intense D for 40 and we will win this thing.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Going to be a hell of a game. Looking forward to it.

 

[IndyLives]

Danny will speed up the game and turn over Purdue. Purdue have not seen a team with the athleticism and size blend UConn has.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

curious how we attack them on offense. I assume we get Edey into the pnr and get him moving to take advantage if Clingan’s mobility.

hoping we do not see any Clingan post ups.

 

[DVD#12]

Monster Mash!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I'm curious how Johnson will do in the game. Edey should eat him up but he probably doesn't play when Edey is in.

Edey's always in.

 

[OceanDoggie]

I'm curious how Johnson will do in the game. Edey should eat him up but he probably doesn't play when Edey is i

We need to play our signature intense D for 40 and we will win this thing.

He needs to continue Rim running, and moving down hill from the Key to the Block in the half court sets. He needs to tire Edey so that they sit Him. Either Edey is forced to keep up, or we have the overwhelming advantage on the break.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Everyone wanted to see this game and now they get it.

It's very Occam's Razor simple.

 

[BFieldHusky]

curious how we attack them on offense. I assume we get Edey into the pnr and get him moving to take advantage if Clingan’s mobility.

hoping we do not see any Clingan post ups.

ZE doesn't have the mobility to play that consistently. He likes to play drop coverage. That is where we get Tristan, Cam, and Steph in the midgame.

ZE is a better offensive player than DC, but he doesn't have the mobility to play defense like him.

 

[aceboon]

ESPN just put up the stat this is the first title game between teams that were ranked #1 at least 5 weeks since 99...

 

[bfs3]

If Clingan plays smart and stays vertical, I like our chances. He doesn’t need to block a shot of Edey’s and he shouldn’t jump to contest anything. Hand in the face to contest the hook and stay on the court.

That’s going to be a huge factor in this game. Edey is their #1 offensive player and will have the ball in his hands often and will likely take the most shots. Clingan has definitely improved quite a bit at keeping the fouls down but anyone guarding Edey is in danger of fouling out early. He averages 32 minutes a game but just played 40 we are going to need our big guy to play more minutes than he has all year.

 

[gsmooth]

We have the size advantage at every perimeter position. They have no depth to speak of.

If DC stays out of foul trouble, we win.

That's a big if. Edey gets such a favorable whistle- it annoys the hell out me. Edey is the best player in the country, he doesn't need the zebras helping him.

 

[caw]

We have the size advantage at every perimeter position. They have no depth to speak of.

If DC stays out of foul trouble, we win.

Gillis is pretty good for a bench player but nothing after him.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Now we can talk about this matchup we need to play our A game for 40 minutes.

Our B game is 10 points better than their A game. If we show up with our A game its over by halftime. Sorry, not sorry but Purdue didnt scare me coming into this F4 and after the way we handled an explosive backcourt like Bamas who was the best and most explosive 3 shooting team in the tourney im even less concerned. I mean am i seriously supposed to be scared of a team that need 40 point from their big to beat Gonzaga and could only put up 63 against NC state? Oh yeah Loyer and Smith are real scary. lol!

 

[Drame]

First plan is to pressure their guards as much as possible to prevent entry to Edey. With guard pressure Samson fronting might work for a bit as well. But Clingan should wall up and not foul and let our guards try to rip..

 

[caw]

First plan is to pressure their guards as much as possible to prevent entry to Edey. With guard pressure Samson fronting might work for a bit as well. But Clingan should wall up and not foul and let our guards try to rip..

That works for the simple post defense it’s when Edey screens high then rolls that is a bit problematic. Edey can get a decent seal on the roll, get a lob, Smith gets a mid range shot (which he is good at) or he gets to the rim. Ideally he gets the midrange jumper with pressure coming from behind. Edey is still a problem on the boards when he rolls.

Overall though I say let him get his and try and stop everyone else.

 

[jibsey]

NC State turned Edey over a number of times by having their guards cheat back, double him and dig at the ball when he brought it down low. The problem with that is Edey can kick out for open 3’s.
Not sure how Hurley approaches that. The other power forward also did some low post work and Karaban will have to contain him. If foul trouble for Alex, does Stewart come in to play him?
NC State with Burns off the floor and very small had some good offense for a time against Purdue and I was surprised that Edey just flung the ball up there a bunch of times too. It’s going to be a tough game, but they didn’t look impressive except for Edey.
ESPN guys said that pressure bothered their guards and Karaban is an unsung MVP.

 

[Hamms30]

If he's got position, let him get the easy bucket. Otherwise, more important that DC puts a body on him and box him out. Edey gets a lot of second hand points on put backs. I said it in the game chat, but Edey better put his running shoes on because once that rebound is ours, Clingan and Johnson are rim running and Edey, respectfully to a 7'4 guy, is very slow.

 

[AllHusky]

Thought Bamas athleticism would be troublesome, and it was. Had no idea that Sears was capable of doing what he did though. Edey scores 40, they win, scores 30, tight game, scores 20, we win. Go Huskies!!

 

[husky429]

I'm curious how Johnson will do in the game. Edey should eat him up but he probably doesn't play when Edey is in.

Edey is likely playing 40 minutes unless he fouls.

We will need to double hard to help SJ.

I want to see SJ running HARD down the floor no matter what when he's in, regardless of how fast the possession is playing out.

He probably won't score or rebound much. He probably will defend poorly. But what we need is for him to do everything he possibly can to take the wind out of Edey.

 

[DennieEddy]

I think the difference will come down to Castle penitrating off the dribble and rolling off screens. The same for Karaban who quietly does it when the defense gets preoccupied with everyone else.

....and staying out of foul trouble for Castle...

Last night he had 4?