2004 UConn vs. Gonzaga | The Boneyard

2004 UConn vs. Gonzaga

superjohn

superjohn

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This came up in the game thread. How do you see the teams matching up and who wins?
 
NDakotaHusky said:
This is probably the best point and maybe the only thing that matters. Bad match up for Timme and Zags struggle significantly if Timme doesn't play well.
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Very true. Plus he was great at defending the pick and roll, too. That team was able to defend the 5 out teams as well (I.e Vandy in Sweet 16). Gordon could break anyone down off the dribble and they shot 40% from 3 To complement their inside out offense and their outside in offense.

I really like this Gonzaga team though and tonight is their moment.
 
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metsfan2323 said:
99 was our best team.
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Hard to say, both UConn teams were great and had great seasons to be proud of. That 1999 team had really good talent (3 NBA players and high level college players), but the sum was greater than their individual parts as their skill sets complemented each other so well. Hamilton, Mouring, and El-Amin running off those bruising screens set by Voshkul, Freeman, and Wane wore down other teams guards and left them with less energy for their own offense. And boy could both those teams run their opponents out of the gym in fast paced track meet game (1999 BET final is a good example).
 
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Please, 2004 UConn no doubt. Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Charlie Villanueva, Rashad Anderson, Taliek, Denham Brown, Boone, Armstrong... While I also agree 99’ was our best team, our 2004 team is way better than this Gonzaga team.

College basketball in general doesn’t have near the talent it did then. The first three guys above wouldn’t even have been in school anymore if that team were assembled today.
 
Travelman32 said:
Guys, we are UConn fans

Of course 2004 UConn wins.
just like 1999, 2011, 2014, and even 2006.
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And 2009, which would beat the brakes off this Zags team. This isn’t even the best Zags team they’ve had, I don’t understand how people think that this team is considered the best all time.
 
It would be a good game. I'm a UConn fan so I think UConn wins, but that team wasn't unbeatable. We can talk all we want about how that team wouldn't lose to another team, but they lost to a 19-13 Notre Dame that lost in the Quarters of the NIT.

The talent level is certainly lower in general, but this Zags team has multiple pros. Each team had an equal amount of Top 100 talent, too.
 
The 2004 team went through a few rough patches but the talent level just isn’t the same now.
 
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There was a play towards the end of regulation where Suggs drove and the UCLA big had a monster block. 2004 UConn would be doing that all game. Our frontline was brutal and would never let Gonzaga score close to 50 or even 40 points in the paint. As others have noted the game has changed so it’s to tough to compare. Zags has a lot of great offensive players who are active and they all seem like +passers. They would definitely get their share somehow. That being said: It’s the yard- UConn in a blowout.
 
UConn in 2004 wins easily. If UConn in 2004 had Gonzags schedule of Pacific, UC Irvine, St Marys and whoever else they play UConn would also be undefeated.
 
G0UCONN said:
I asked Jim Calhoun in a charity thing once at Foxwoods who wins...99 vs 04.

He actually gave a real answer with some analysis behind it...

Bottom line he said in 1 game....99
In a 7 game series...04
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Makes sense. 99 mentally tougher. 04 more overall talent.
 
I know its a long time ago, but the Big East Champion 89-90 roster would compete as well. Smitty and Tate (6'5" PG) along with Nadav and Toraino along with the Microwave would have wrecked havoc. Hell Lyman and Scotty would have shut down duty. Cyrulik, Sellers and even Murray would bring some value to the court.

Their defense was the best ever at UConn. The team could also score a bunch, especially with Smitty. They averaged almost 80 points a game, and held opponents to 66.

I just wanted to remind the young'uns of this often overlooked juggernaut.
 
The 2004 UConn team at its best probably beats Gonzaga 6 or 7 times out of 10, but I think it would be a fun matchup.

Okafor would make life miserable for Timme. He may still get his 20, but he’d probably be a lot less efficient than he normally is. I also think UConn’s length would give Gonzaga problems and hurt their ball movement quite a bit.

The closest thing the 2004 team had to a weakness - aside from losing focus at times - was its lack of backcourt depth. If the Gonzaga guards go off, then they’d have a chance to beat that UConn squad.
 
UConn990411 said:
The 2004 UConn team at its best probably beats Gonzaga 6 or 7 times out of 10, but I think it would be a fun matchup.

Okafor would make life miserable for Timme. He may still get his 20, but he’d probably be a lot less efficient than he normally is. I also think UConn’s length would give Gonzaga problems and hurt their ball movement quite a bit.

The closest thing the 2004 team had to a weakness - aside from losing focus at times - was its lack of backcourt depth. If the Gonzaga guards go off, then they’d have a chance to beat that UConn squad.
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Timme would foul out for sure. No way he could defend Okafor and Boone without fouling and still have energy on the offensive end.
 
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The level of talent across college basketball was so much better 16 years ago that you have to assume UConn wins.
Gonzaga stands out now because of the weak state of the game.
 
Kitaman said:
I know its a long time ago, but the Big East Champion 89-90 roster would compete as well. Smitty and Tate (6'5" PG) along with Nadav and Toraino along with the Microwave would have wrecked havoc. Hell Lyman and Scotty would have shut down duty. Cyrulik, Sellers and even Murray would bring some value to the court.

Their defense was the best ever at UConn. The team could also score a bunch, especially with Smitty. They averaged almost 80 points a game, and held opponents to 66.

I just wanted to remind the young'uns of this often overlooked juggernaut.
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Agreed. Our best defensive team ever. Great press back when presses worked.

Ray Allen's last 2 teams were great too. I thought best in country both years just didnt win it. That UCLA loss was soul crushing....great game but tough as I think UCLA playing that way was only team that could beat us that year.
 
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tzznandrew said:
It would be a good game. I'm a UConn fan so I think UConn wins, but that team wasn't unbeatable. We can talk all we want about how that team wouldn't lose to another team, but they lost to a 19-13 Notre Dame that lost in the Quarters of the NIT.

The talent level is certainly lower in general, but this Zags team has multiple pros. Each team had an equal amount of Top 100 talent, too.
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They might have tried to lose that game. They were playing in the old big east trying to save their wad.
 
UofCT said:
UConn in 2004 wins easily. If UConn in 2004 had Gonzags schedule of Pacific, UC Irvine, St Marys and whoever else they play UConn would also be undefeated.
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Outside of the WCC they played a number of excellent teams, including 3 seeds Kansas and West Virginia.

Given the 2004 UConn team didn't go undefeated out of conference themselves, I'm not convinced they'd have gone undefeated.
 
tzznandrew said:
Outside of the WCC they played a number of excellent teams, including 3 seeds Kansas and West Virginia.

Given the 2004 UConn team didn't go undefeated out of conference themselves, I'm not convinced they'd have gone undefeated.
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KU and WVU were not really that good..especially compared to past KU teams. Gonzaga is obviously a great team, but quite a few championship teams from the 2000s would run these guys out of the gym. Talent stuck around longer back then
 
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