16-11

[Uconn92387]

We are now 16-11 the first time we are 5 games over .500 all year. We are 2 buzzer beaters away from 18-9. A Boatright injury away from maybe beating Temple. Purvis took awhile to get in a flow from the first game suspension and injury vs WV. Considering this team was basically brand new learning to play together it's not like it's a horrible year. The way people react on this board you would think we are 12-15. So just enjoy the rest of the season. Give credit to this team. They continue to fight.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I hate to beat a dead horse and bring up the Big East again. But if they were in a vintage Big East and had that record I'd agree. Any win you got was good. But in the AAC I'm not sure how much it means to beat teams like Tulane and ECU.

I mean UConn has won 5 out of their last 7 games now which is good, but I don't think they're playing particularly well.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

It's definitely been a year of both bad play and bad luck. But given how far Texas has fallen, we'd still be fighting for our tournament lives even if we had won those 2 buzzer beater games.

 

[Jerry1714]

I hate to beat a dead horse and bring up the Big East again. But if they were in a vintage Big East and had that record I'd agree. Any win you got was good. But in the AAC I'm not sure how much it means to beat teams like Tulane and ECU.

I mean UConn has won 5 out of their last 7 games now which is good, but I don't think they're playing particularly well.

There is no vintage BE anymore in CBB, so just give that up.

The game and the landscape has changed, it is no where near what it was.

I agree with the OP, we have had a year where every 50/50 break has gone against us, it happens, we have had our fair share of breaks over the last 5 years.

I will be disappointed if we are not playing in the NCAAT, but there is a lot of things to build on.

 

[johnhuskies95]

There is no vintage BE anymore in CBB, so just give that up.

The game and the landscape has changed, it is no where near what it was.

I agree with the OP, we have had a year where every 50/50 break has gone against us, it happens, we have had our fair share of breaks over the last 5 years.

I will be disappointed if we are not playing in the NCAAT, but there is a lot of things to build on.

I know that. I didn't say there's still a vintage Big East.

 

[joober jones]

Going over the AAC/Big East is beyond beating a dead horse by this point. It's gotten to the point of beating the powdered remnants of the horse's long-decayed bones.

 

[scrappy2.0]

We are now 16-11 the first time we are 5 games over .500 all year. We are 2 buzzer beaters away from 18-9. A Boatright injury away from maybe beating Temple. Purvis took awhile to get in a flow from the first game suspension and injury vs WV. Considering this team was basically brand new learning to play together it's not like it's a horrible year. The way people react on this board you would think we are 12-15. So just enjoy the rest of the season. Give credit to this team. They continue to fight.

Dead on
I think at 18-9 we are in. I was fearful after those losses.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Dead on
I think at 18-9 we are in. I was fearful after those losses.

I love the way you keep talking about those losses as if they were freakish occurrences. A freakish occurrence would be an 85 foot desperation shot at the buzzer, not a well-run, not particularly complicated play that led to a wide open corner three. That's just good basketball and bad defense.

And I know you're probably the most optimistic poster on the board, but this team's best win is still, what, Dayton? It's not like the losses to Texas and Yale are all that's standing between this team and the NCAA tournament. They have no profile whatsoever.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

There is no vintage BE anymore in CBB, so just give that up.

The game and the landscape has changed, it is no where near what it was.

I agree with the OP, we have had a year where every 50/50 break has gone against us, it happens, we have had our fair share of breaks over the last 5 years.

I will be disappointed if we are not playing in the NCAAT, but there is a lot of things to build on.

You guys sound like Mark Few after another early exit in the tourney as it relates to not catching the desired "breaks" necessary to win. UConn has seriously underperformed if they are locked out of the tourney. Player development played a huge factor. You have to pretty much give a complete pass to the ineptness coming off a title though. Then build on what you have as you mention.

 

[Matrim55]

I love the way you keep talking about those losses as if they were freakish occurrences. A freakish occurrence would be an 85 foot desperation shot at the buzzer, not a well-run, not particularly complicated play that led to a wide open corner three. That's just good basketball and bad defense.

And I know you're probably the most optimistic poster on the board, but this team's best win is still, what, Dayton? It's not like the losses to Texas and Yale are all that's standing between this team and the NCAA tournament. They have no profile whatsoever.

I generally disagree with you, but yeah... this is all correct. The Texas, Yale, Temple and Houston losses weren't freak occurrences by any stretch - they were entirely emblematic of an inexperienced team that struggles with some basic, correctable problems.

The easiest one to point to in those four losses: free throw shooting. We all remember Boat's misses in the first two; we shot 8-for-19 vs. Temple, and two points at the line was literally the difference between losing to Houston and taking it to overtime.

We could easily be 20-7, at which point we'd have a decent (but still not rock-solid) argument for an at-large bid. We are not 20-7 because we shat the bed from the line.

Oh well. It'll get better in the years to come.