Providence Post Game Thread

[REB1094]

Random note again - credit to Providence in the same way I credited DePaul after our game against them. Easy to lay down and just wait for the clock to run out and get out of there when you go down that big. Providence toughened up and came back with haymakers (and some help from friendly whistles).

Hopkins came alive. By my count 13 of his 16 points were in the second half, although he did miss some timely free throws. My heart stopped when CFJ got the steal and layup and I saw PC's bench flexing. They were having fun, on a roll, within 5. Most teams in the country do not make that comeback plain and simple

But also credit to the good guys. For all the collapsing, they put the game away. PC never got closer than 5, not because we clamped up but because we finally executed on offense - Hawkins and AK threes as well as the beautiful dish from Newton to Sanogo for the layup put it away for us

 

[willie99]

Arrogant and spoiled and proud and WINNERS

 

[Huskydog45]

Yeah, I’m not seeing much in personnel changes from now till the end of the season, so why bitch about it?

Crawl back in your hole Fishy….we are playing the best basketball than any other team in the country now since your ridiculous post…

 

[AdamaNation]

What is the spread for tomorrow?

 

[Jimdish255]

Happy that we can play at a very high level for an entire half.
Unhappy that when faced with persistent opposition and horrific officiating in the second half, we seemed to lose a little pace and focus leading to unforced turnovers. It's the difference between winning and losing against better competition and needs to be cleaned up if we hope to win this Tournament or sniff an Elite 8.

 

[UCan3]

AJ also threw the ball away A LOT!

I really like Andre and have been vocal supporter these last few weeks. But he must learn different parts of the game demand different care when handling the ball. Up by 20 and you want to try to squeeze pass into Sanogo where perhaps it’s 50/50 If he gets it and dunks, that’s fine. But when the game tightens up, ADJUST please.

 

[PNolanFan]

One issue, I had is I felt like we passed up some good shots in the second half. There were times when we would have a wide open look in the second half and we made a decision to run clock rather than take good shots. Need to keep the foot on the gas better

 

[UCan3]

Survive and advance

Yeah honestly it might not be a bad thing to have breakdown like this - a wake up call and they won’t got into tomorrow’s game with overconfident as they might have if they won by 30 today.

 

[uconnfan68]

It was strange he didn't take a TO right before the Calcaterra turnover when he wasn't looking and the pass just went off him. I think Calcaterra wasn't paying attention because he thought it was such a good time to take a TO that Hurley actually was taking one.

That’s what I was yelling, and even worse after the blocking foul.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

It’s difficult to maintain a 26 point lead. Your psyche goes to sleep. It has to. It’s genetics. The killer instinct disappears when the opponent is symbolically “dead,”. You see this phenomena again and again in sports.

You have to game manage though, and we did the opposite. Learning opportunity and we won. Hurley and Co will stress it and iron it out, passing will be much crisper, bet on it.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Andre walked the end of the handshake line sayin …efff…efff,

 

[hayman522]

AD Dave should have this game under protest with a review from the league office. Actually it should have been done with the first meeting when PC got to the line nearly 30 times. PC was pushing, shoving and elbowing on every posession and is doing it because they know they can get away with it.

But they won't get away with it in the Ncaa tournament. That will be their payback.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

I really like Andre and have been vocal supporter these last few weeks. But he must learn different parts of the game demand different care when handling the ball. Up by 20 and you want to try to squeeze pass into Sanogo where perhaps it’s 50/50 If he gets it and dunks, that’s fine. But when the game tightens up, ADJUST please.

After a 7-9-4 first half, Andre had 2-2-2 in the second with 3 (I think) turnovers. Need closer to the first.

 

[uconnfan68]

That's one way to look at it. The team was far too lax with the ball once they went up by 26 and we got too much into prevent mode draining the clock but Hawkins and Karaban looked pretty darn confident knocking down those threes and Newton looked pretty darn confident knocking down those ft's to seal the win.

Newton’s play on the offensive rebound and scramble sealed the game. Thought he was mugged about 3x.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Cooley knows how to work the refs for sure. He has a pretty good rep with them. You can even see when he was talking with one at the end of the game.

He bitched and whined at every rare call against him team when they committed 3x that number. How is isn’t the most hated coach in the Big East I don‘t understand. It’s absurd.

We survived the team that gets the most insane whistle I’ve ever seen. Hopkins did some brillIant, NBA level things out there as well. So quick and agile for a big dude.

Survive and advance. That’s the game. On to Marquette.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yep, he can't wait for the TV timeouts any longer. When things start going bad call the TO immediately, don't hope you can get an extra possession or two before the scheduled break. That's when things spiral.

Not calling a TO when Newton was hurt was an issue too. What the hell was that?

 

[InTheMix4#6]

Andre walked the end of the handshake line sayin …efff…efff,

I noticed that and loved it.

 

[temery]

Andre walked the end of the handshake line sayin …efff…efff,

What?

 

[caw]

Newton’s play on the offensive rebound and scramble sealed the game. Thought he was mugged about 3x.

He was, but he also fouled to get that rebound. The refs swallowed their whistle completely on that play, so I can't complain.

EDIT: More egregious was what PC did to Sanogo and Clingan, the grabbing/hacking down low was absurd.

 

[Scottobot]

What?

He was pissed off at the way they played I think … not happy with himself.

 

[HuskyWarrior611]

He bitched and whined at every rare call against him team when they committed 3x that number. How is isn’t the most hated coach in the Big East I don‘t understand. It’s absurd.

We survived the team that gets the most insane whistle I’ve ever seen. Hopkins did some brillIant, NBA level things out there as well. So quick and agile for a big dude.

Survive and advance. That’s the game. On to Marquette.

He did but he did it in a respectful way towards the refs. You can tell they have a mutual respect for each other which helps him the opposite of early season Hurley where he called them a clown and b*tch. Hurley has came a long way. I don’t know if he’ll ever have it in him to try and be friends with refs though lol.

 

[WNConn]

Providence would shoot twelve more free throws than UConn, and UConn would commit twice as many turnovers as Providence. I don't think anybody would hear that and predict a win. We beat PC by 7 in spite of both of those stats. I know it wasn't our best game wire to wire, but it is objectively impressive to win by a decent margin with a FT and turnover margin like that.

 

[WheelerD92]

This narrative that “UConn Survived” is bogus. While it was nice to have a big lead against a team like Providence, in the second half they were bound to make adjustments. Yes, there were some sloppy moments but those did not occur in a vacuum. They hit some shots that were not falling in the first and they were playing not to lose. While it was a little nerve wracking to see the lead dwindle down, the momentum of the gam was clear after 5 minutes. UConn dominated Providence again. If this level of play and balanced production/defense keeps up, we have a great shot at a BEC.

 

[87Xfer]

Arrogant and spoiled and proud and WINNERS

There were at least two times where dudes sporting the arrogant and spoiled t-shirts were featured on the jumbo screen. Loved it

 

[87Xfer]

Andre walked the end of the handshake line sayin …efff…efff,

Are you sure?