Matt Norlander on the game

[tzznandrew]

2. UConn-Iowa State will be in doubt with a minute to go.

If Niang was playing, I would probably take ISU by double digits as well. But without him, and with Napier, I have to think it's going to be close. I CANNOT WAIT for this game. I think the crowd's going to be incredible. I think UConn's bigs have come along far enough that ISU's no guarantee to own the paint. Melvin Ejim will likely need a 16-point, 10-rebound performance, too. Just give me Napier vs. Kane, back and forth for 40 minutes, 72-71 with 45 seconds to go. Is that too much to ask?

Not to belabor the one negative thing he's saying (because it really doesn't matter, Niang isn't playing), but I think people are still underselling how good this team has been playing.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ew-plenty-split-on-virginia-or-michigan-state

 

[coachcap]

UConn has payback on their minds from 2 years ago. That & heady play will put them over the top.

 

[cohenzone]

Not to belabor the one negative thing he's saying (because it really doesn't matter, Niang isn't playing), but I think people are still underselling how good this team has been playing.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ew-plenty-split-on-virginia-or-michigan-state

UConn played really well against Nova, but I'm not getting too carried away just yet. We didn't exactly blow out St.Joe's, in fact we were fortunate to get to OT. The game before that we got hosed by Ville. We're into competition now where none of our critical parts can go MIA. What is encouraging is that our depth has been pretty productive.

 

[tzznandrew]

UConn played really well against Nova, but I'm not getting too carried away just yet. We didn't exactly blow out St.Joe's, in fact we were fortunate to get to OT. The game before that we got hosed by Ville. We're into competition now where none of our critical parts can go MIA. What is encouraging is that our depth has been pretty productive.

Indeed, we got hosed by Louisville. But before that, we treated Memphis roughly like Virginia did, and we beat Cincy.

And the St. Joe's game was them playing their minds out for a half.

But, I take your point. I think we can win or lose this game--but I'd wager either way it would be single-digits.

 

[Uconnrick]

Mr. Kane, meet Mr. Kromah.

LK's going to need a good day to keep Kane out of the lane and drawing fouls on our bigs. I like our chances.

 

[tzznandrew]

Mr. Kane, meet Mr. Kromah.

LK's going to need a good day to keep Kane out of the lane and drawing fouls on our bigs. I like our chances.

This is going to be a game where I think Giffey and Kromah are going to be seeing a lot of minutes, and Daniels/Giffey will be seeing some time at the 5. I hope no more than 10 minute total. But I just don't think Brimah or Nolan can keep up around the perimeter, and they are too dangerous a team to zone.

Maybe some sort of roaming zone, where we keep Brimah and Daniels down low (to keep rim protectors in), and have Gif/Nap/Boat run people off the 3-pt line...but that's gimmicky and Hoiberg is too good a coach for that to work too long.

 

[upstater]

Lock down Kane and Ejim. Lock'em down. Kromah, Giffey, Samuel.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Going small could work, as they have 5 guys who can shoot it from deep and nobody whose game is confined to the paint.

Iowa State is a strangely-constructed roster, with most of their minutes going to solid-built guys between 6'4 and 6'8. Morris is their only really "small" guy at 6'2, 170, and Boat can probably check him. But who does Bazz guard?

Their other starters are Kane (6'4, 200), Hogue (6'6, 215), Ejim (6'6, 220), and Edozie (6'8, 245).

We could put Kromah or Giff on Kane, but then is Bazz going to check one of the 6'6 guys? I doubt it. One way or another, we will be stuck in a really bad defensive matchup at one of the guard positions. The medium-sized guys we can mix and match with Kromah, Giff, and DD. I don't trust Nolan and, especially, Brimah, to be able to keep up with them.

Against UNC, Edozie got fewer minutes than the two guards off the bench, Long (6'4, 205) and Thomas (6'3, 200), so maybe they'll go small and let Bazz have a somewhat easier time defending one of those bench guys (and make us going small to match an even more obvious move)? On the other hand, Long hit 4 threes the other day, and will have no trouble shooting over Bazz.

Unfortunately, we don't have a reliable offensive threat at C who can exploit their lack of size up front. This may be yet another game where we take the first punch, see how they're running things, find a combination that works, and try to make up ground from behind. Fortunately, we've gotten very good at that, and we've been able to lock down on D in the second half more often than not, once we find the right matchups.

 

[James]

Bazz guards Kane . Honestly that st joes team played so well vs us, im surprised you guys undersell that win. They would have beat nova , a lot if other round of 32 teams also .

 

[businesslawyer]

However St Joes played earlier in the year, winning the A-Ten with consecutive neutral court victories over Dayton, St Louis and VCU is nothing to take lightly. St Joes was playing very good ball coming into their game with us, and played very well against us.

It's been a while since we've played a bad game against anyone other than Louisville.

 

[jibsey]

Defense has been a hallmark of our team and aside from the Louisville games it has been there. I see Kromah and TSam as a factor in this one, disrupting and locking down Kane. I don't want Bazz in foul trouble, I don't think he should guard Kane.

 

[August_West]

However St Joes played earlier in the year, winning the A-Ten with consecutive neutral court victories over Dayton, St Louis and VCU is nothing to take lightly. St Joes was playing very good ball coming into their game with us, and played very well against us.

It's been a while since we've played a bad game against anyone other than Louisville.

SMU and Rutgers games late season home games were both pretty putrid. It seems that something clicked in AAC tourney though with Daniels and Brimah, even in the 'Ville loss in the AAC final. I really like the way we are playing right now. Iowa State is going to be tough. We really need Villanova Bazz for this one.

 

[businesslawyer]

Defense has been a hallmark of our team and aside from the Louisville games it has been there. I see Kromah and TSam as a factor in this one, disrupting and locking down Kane. I don't want Bazz in foul trouble, I don't think he should guard Kane.

I would not be surprised if Boat's minutes are limited in this game due to match ups. I don't know how many minutes we can get away playing two small guards against them, instead of having either Kromah or TSam guarding Kane.

 

[iam76]

always wished we got niang....

 

[EricLA]

UConn played really well against Nova, but I'm not getting too carried away just yet. We didn't exactly blow out St.Joe's, in fact we were fortunate to get to OT. The game before that we got hosed by Ville. We're into competition now where none of our critical parts can go MIA. What is encouraging is that our depth has been pretty productive.

We got hosed by 'ville in 3 of the last 4 halves . First time we met in January, it was a normal 12 point loss. 2nd time we played, we were blown out in both halves. 3rd time, we were blown out in the first half, but outplayed them in the 2nd half. Either we figured out how to play against them finally, or they just had a poor 2nd half performance in the AAC finals.

Either way, I agree - we pulled out a squeaker against SJU. And we came out super slow against 'nova. I'm not convinced we are firing on all cylinders. Still, I like our chances. And our bench contributions have been stellar. And we have the best player in the nation leading our team...

 

[intlzncster]

Grantland on the UConn:

9. Shabazz Napier isn’t Kemba Walker, but he might be close enough.

I’m convinced there’s a sect of UConn fans who constantly search for tweets containing the words “Shabazz” and “Kemba” just so they can rip anyone who suggests Napier and Walker are equals. I won’t go that far, but the parallels between Walker in 2011 and Napier in 2014 shouldn’t be ignored.2 If there’s such a thing as single-handedly winning a national title for your team, Walker did it in 2011. Meanwhile, Napier is a first-ballot Hero Ball Hall of Famer who does so much for UConn that when I picked the Huskies to win games in my bracket, I wrote “Shabazz” instead of “UConn.” In the Huskies’ first-round win over Saint Joseph’s, he scored nine of his 24 points in overtime. Saturday, he scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half against Villanova. Maybe Napier won’t be able to lead UConn to a national title like Walker did, but it’ll be fun to watch him try.

2. Strengthening this point: UConn was ranked no. 21 in the final AP poll of the regular season this year. In the final AP poll of the 2011 regular season, UConn was also ranked no. 21.​

On Iowa State:

13. Iowa State has broken the curse.

The referees got together to discuss a call at the end of an NCAA tournament game between Iowa State and North Carolina. Even with the benefit of replay and plenty of time to think about the decision, the call could have gone either way. And ultimately, as is the tradition, the call went against Iowwwhhhhaaat? The call wentfor Iowa State? Are we sure? Can we double-check with the refs? First they don’t call the carry they could’ve called on DeAndre Kane as he drove for the game winner, and then they decide the game is over because of a clock malfunction? Georges Niang’s broken foot must be the sacrifice that was needed to lift the Cyclone Curse.

14. Georges Niang is this year’s Kevin Ware.

I really thought Arizona’s Brandon Ashley was going to get the Ware treatment from CBS, but Niang’s broken foot has changed that. Ashley has a great case — his team is a 1-seed, it’s gunning for its first national title in more than 15 years, and he was a starter before he got hurt. Hell, the announcers already compared him to Ware in Arizona’s Sunday night win over Gonzaga. But Niang’s injury occurred during the tournament, which means it’s fresher in our minds and creates a bigger challenge for Iowa State than Ashley’s creates for Arizona, which has had time to figure out how to play without him. Whatever the case, Niang has emerged as the obvious Ware choice, so prepare to see his face a few hundred more times before the tournament ends.