#10 Maryland Scouting Report

[ucawn]

MD will not want to go to their bench, hence the slow pace. Not only are we a better team when we play fast but MD obviously plays slow for a reason. Use our depth to our advantage and exploit their lack of depth. Also MD is good at fouling but I know a guy named James B who’s pretty darn good at getting to wherever he wants on the court.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Worried about how the refs will call this

 

[ucawn]

This is a big Polley game. Need him to be effective (so basically hit your shots). He will have such a height advantage over the MD defenders he shouldn’t reallly have an issue. Again, we always feed Sanogo early to control the paint and we should continue that on Saturday. I’m hoping that he can draw a foul or 2 on Scott.

 

[Excalibur]

5 out is a stupid offensive approach and it is easier to fastbreak against than more traditional offenses. Every 5 out set ends with one or two offensive players in the corners. The corner is as far away from being back on defense as one can get and still be on the court. Also, by not having a contested rebound, the defense's outlet pass is that much faster and can be more aggressive up the court.

The Heat making the NBA finals last year should have been the final nail in the coffin of 5 out small ball, but too many coaches are too stuck in their ways to understand that 5 out basketball represents a gross misunderstanding of the underlying probabilities.

Maryland plays with one guy in the paint and makes the conscious decision to not contest offensive boards in order to dictate tempo. It has little to do with 5 out.

 

[superjohn]

Feed Sanogo and try to push pace. Don't overthink it and don't let Maryland dictate how we play.

 

[auror]

The flip side to Maryland’s lack of a true big is that there isn’t a single player on that team that should be able to defend Sanogo well in the post. We have to keep pounding it with the big boy. Scott is the only person with the size to hold his ground, but really can’t afford to get into foul trouble (which he rarely does). I’d be all for cuts to the rim too, but teams can sag off of the perimeter against UConn, that hasn’t been much of a factor this year. Bouknight making 3s would really open things up, but that hasn’t happened most of the season.

We need to pound it in to Sanogo early and get them to bring in Galin Smith to deal with him. Unlike Nova, they actually have a traditional big to bring in to try and stop Sanogo, but it's probably actually a trap (it'll weaken them more than stop us). This should crowd the paint more when they are on offense as our bigs can sag off him and play more of our traditional defense and prevent easy drives by Wiggins, Ayala, and Morsell, leading to more jumpers from their mediocre shooters.

Agreed if Bouk and Cole make 3s we win easily.

X Factors:
1) Can Polley guard Hart/Wiggins? Good offensive matchup if he can stay on the court defensively

Hart - Yes.
Wiggins - Dubious.

 

[UConnStats]

We need to pound it in to Sanogo early and get them to bring in Galin Smith to deal with him. Unlike Nova, they actually have a traditional big to bring in to try and stop Sanogo, but it's probably actually a trap (it'll weaken them more than stop us). This should crowd the paint more when they are on offense as our bigs can sag off him and play more of our traditional defense and prevent easy drives by Wiggins, Ayala, and Morsell, leading to more jumpers from their mediocre shooters.

Agreed if Bouk and Cole make 3s we win easily.


Hart - Yes.
Wiggins - Dubious.

Yeah I agree too. But like you said, Hart is typically a decoy (although he’s had a couple big games), so you hope Polley can stick to him at least. Polley hasn’t exactly been lighting it up himself either though.

 

[Umami Zen]

Yeah Nova with worse shooting but bigger guards..

I'll take that comp any day!

 

[Bonehead]

you talking about the heat team that played significant playoff minutes with andre iguodala and solomon hill at center??

in the nba, corner threes are probably the most valued shot outside of a layup/dunk. they are closer than a wing or top-of-the-key three on the nba court and certain players (e.g. pj tucker) practice them religiously and can hit open ones at a rate of 50-percent or better. it's obviously not the same in college (it's a different court and overall skill level) but having shooters in the corners isn't going away any time soon...

He predicted the Lakers wouldn't make that playoffs last year.

 

[superjohn]

you talking about the heat team that played significant playoff minutes with andre iguodala and solomon hill at center??

in the nba, corner threes are probably the most valued shot outside of a layup/dunk. they are closer than a wing or top-of-the-key three on the nba court and certain players (e.g. pj tucker) practice them religiously and can hit open ones at a rate of 50-percent or better. it's obviously not the same in college (it's a different court and overall skill level) but having shooters in the corners isn't going away any time soon...

Something will be done about all the three point shooting though, it's hurting the game.

 

[gsmooth]

Dare I say it...would this be a good game to mix in some zone/match-up zone?

As long as it doesn't confuse the Husky players and they are able to execute it in practice well, sure. Maryland would be caught off guard. Kind of like what Boeheim did to Pitino in 1996 final when he started out playing man-to-man.

 

[Excalibur]

The big guards are my biggest worry. Teams have had success spreading out the floor and backing our guards down. Not really in their wheelhouse, but will they try it against us?

Bump.