7-3 Could be worse...remember?

[Travelman6]

We can easily be 7-6 after the next 3 games. Actually its looking very likely.

IF Uconn goes 7-6 and does not look good doing it, especially if they are blown out by WSU in that 3rd game of 3 I could easily imagine them dropping a road game at Tulsa, like they did last year. Bball is all about momentum, or lack of it, and that seems like the kind of (road) game that could easily continue a slide, in this case, a 4th loss in a row (if they were indeed to lose those first 3). I really think Uconn needs to find a way to steal one of those games...somehow.

 

[BFieldHusky]

IF Uconn goes 7-6 and does not look good doing it, especially if they are blown out by WSU in that 3rd game of 3 I could easily imagine them dropping a road game at Tulsa, like they did last year. Bball is all about momentum, or lack of it, and that seems like the kind of (road) game that could easily continue a slide, in this case, a 4th loss in a row (if they were indeed to lose those first 3). I really think Uconn needs to find a way to steal one of those games...somehow.

Agreed. Have to find a way to win one of the next 3. To me it's about Auburn. They are a decent team but they are missing some pieces and have played a soft schedule. They only good team they played was Temple on a neutral floor. And they lost by 14.

 

[Robertelamin]

IF Uconn goes 7-6 and does not look good doing it, especially if they are blown out by WSU I could easily imagine them dropping a road game at Tulsa like last year. Bball is all about momentum, or lack of it, and that seems like the kind of (road) game that could easily continue a slide, in this case, a 4th loss in a row. I really think Uconn needs to find a way to steal one of those games...somehow.

That was what made Columbia and Monmouth painful. After being embarrassed by Arkansas I was hoping to pick up some relatively easy wins. I'm not even talking blowouts, just a never in doubt types and that could help them gain some confidence going into the Syracuse game and build on that.

 

[cohenzone]

That's a great post. Certainly there are numbers there that bear out that we could and should be better.
However to this point we fail the eye test bigly.
But players playing to what they should be can fix some of that. And the rest as you point out is defense. The defense is just so wrong right now.

I have a hard time seeing it from the eye test failure to this point but if you want a crazy glass half full viewpoint I guess it could be that at least we are getting some W's while looking so terrible. It would be really nice if we can work some stuff out now.

Go 1-1 on the road trip and then see what happens with witchita.

One thing I'm pretty sure about. Jalen won't touch past years assist average this year. That was in great part because of the staple Brimah lob plays we ran for the last 3 years with Hamilton and then Adams. Probably worth 2 assits a game on its own.

The problem is that regardless of experience,the KO teams have been totally inconsistent and too often less inspired then my old Sunday morning games used to be. The eye test has changed little in his time. This team also has the disadvantage of not having a major shot blocker,putting more pressure on perimeter D.

The N.C run masks a great deal about the inconsistent play of even that year. I want the guy to succeed but I don’t see how they surprise any better team with intense,committed D only half or less the time. More chance of losing a game they don’t figure to lose. How many years of passing the eye test does a program get?

 

[willie99]

Yesterday was the only one that truly felt that way for me. As much as Columbia and Monmouth should never have gone to OT I felt like the team could at least learn something about itself in tight late game situations.

Yesterday we learned zero

the best thing that could be said about Coppin St is that Ollie was changing his rotations presumably searching for rotations that work best

 

[UConNation]

We can easily be 7-6 after the next 3 games. Actually its looking very likely.

I'm not sure why every one is thinking that Auburn is some mammoth that can't be taken down. Temple put them away by a big margin in the 2nd half of their matchup. I think our biggest hurdle in that game will be the fact that we just played AZ 2 days prior and then had to travel to UCLA (ugly corner of lower Alabama). I'm not saying that we will beat them, but that game is definitely winnable.

 

[Excalibur]

I'm not sure why every one is thinking that Auburn is some mammoth that can't be taken down. Temple put them away by a big margin in the 2nd half of their matchup. I think our biggest hurdle in that game will be the fact that we just played AZ 2 days prior and then had to travel to UCLA (ugly corner of lower Alabama). I'm not saying that we will beat them, but that game is definitely winnable.

It's less about Auburn than it its about us.

 

[CL82]

If you get rid of team cancers and add hungry guys that are rated around the same place or higher than what Columbia has, what is your remaining excuse?

"Virtually a new team. It takes time to gel."

 

[UConNation]

It's less about Auburn than it its about us.

Yeah, I 100% understand that... and I don't particularly agree. It's just that most people seem to here seem to think that it's all but certain that we're going to lose all 3. With AZ and WSU, at least it's somewhat founded since those are really great teams. I get that we're not playing as well as we should and that we have our own warts, but I'm not going to write us off against Auburn... yet.

 

[imno1]

Yeah, I 100% understand that... and I don't particularly agree. It's just that most people seem to here seem to think that it's all but certain that we're going to lose all 3. With AZ and WSU, at least it's somewhat founded since those are really great teams. I get that we're not playing as well as we should and that we have our own warts, but I'm not going to write us off against Auburn... yet.

many of us hope we win every game but we’ve watched enough bb to realize this team will struggle in every game. Especially away from home.

 

[UConNation]

many of us hope we win every game but we’ve watched enough bb to realize this team will struggle in every game. Especially away from home.

Yeah, I get it. I've watched every game this year as well and completely understand the frustration, but while I probably won't take the money line, I'm not convinced that Auburn is so head and shoulders better than us that we can't beat them.

 

[August_West]

Yeah, I get it. I've watched every game this year as well and completely understand the frustration, but while I probably won't take the money line, I'm not convinced that Auburn is so head and shoulders better than us that we can't beat them.

I actually think we have a better chance beating Arizona and/or Auburn on the road than we do WSU at home. WSU is a great, great road team. Best in country.

we need to go at minimum 1-1 on this trip. It would be really nice to play well and get some confidence coming home for WSU. We seem to have a bad vibes snowball thing happening where the team has trouble shaking off losses/beatings. We definitely get carry over. Some positive carry over would be nice for once. One game at a time I guess, lets not throw a stinker at Arizona and go from there.

 

[8893]

I actually think we have a better chance beating Arizona and/or Auburn on the road than we do WSU at home. WSU is a great, great road team. Best in country.

we need to go at minimum 1-1 on this trip. It would be really nice to play well and get some confidence coming home for WSU. We seem to have a bad vibes snowball thing happening where the team has trouble shaking off losses/beatings. We definitely get carry over. Some positive carry over would be nice for once. One game at a time I guess, lets not throw a stinker at Arizona and go from there.

The season is not static either measured in games or practices.

 

[SwingDog]

We are 0-3. Not a single one of those wins is worth a damn thing come selection Sunday. Cuse and Arkansas could be considered bad losses.

I don't see Syracuse or Arkansas as being bad losses. Right now Syracuse is 8-1 and Arkansas is 7-2 and they just knocked off #14 Minnesota. Time will tell how things play out though.

 

[Paesano]

"Virtually a new team. It takes time to gel."

Based on our trajectory, even given that Arkansas was the low point so far, I think this program has been injected with an anti-coagulant. I will be surprised to see any "gelling".

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yesterday was the only one that truly felt that way for me. As much as Columbia and Monmouth should never have gone to OT I felt like the team could at least learn something about itself in tight late game situations.

Yesterday we learned zero

That wasn't what bothered me about it. They learned something. Played well and hard, and were on the cusp of blowing Copping out, despite the bad start. Then they either forgot what they learned or were so cocky that they disregarded it, and reverted to the same approach they started with and gave away most of the lead.

It was a stark indication of where they are. Played hard for 10 minutes and outscored the other team by 20. Played soft and stupid for 30 minutes, and were outscored by 12.

This is, by my estimation, the lowest basketball IQ team I have ever seen wearing a UConn jersey.

 

[CL82]

Based on our trajectory, even given that Arkansas was the low point so far, I think this program has been injected with an anti-coagulant. I will be surprised to see any "gelling".

You asked for a remaining excuse and I gave it to you. Quit whining.

 

[businesslawyer]

The difference between 7-3 and 5-5 with 2 losses to inferior teams is a combined 7 points vs Columbia and Monmouth. Woohoo.

Well, since you said "Woohoo" is must have been a brilliant point.

You win or you lose, and once the game is done it really doesn't matter what the margin was. You can always win more by scoring more points or lose more by scoring less points. Nobody takes wins away because you didn't win be enough to please "them."

 

[businesslawyer]

That wasn't what bothered me about it. They learned something. Played well and hard, and were on the cusp of blowing Copping out, despite the bad start. Then they either forgot what they learned or were so cocky that they disregarded it, and reverted to the same approach they started with and gave away most of the lead.

It was a stark indication of where they are. Played hard for 10 minutes and outscored the other team by 20. Played soft and stupid for 30 minutes, and were outscored by 12.

This is, by my estimation, the lowest basketball IQ team I have ever seen wearing a UConn jersey.

I think the IQ may have been lower last year.

The single biggest problem with this team that I see is that the players we count on don't think they have to bring their best every minute they are in of every game. They seem to think that playing hard sometimes is sufficient. We had teams that could win almost all of their games even without everyone giving it their all every day. This is not one of those teams. That they don't see that is not just frustrating -- it's infuriating.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think the IQ may have been lower last year.

The single biggest problem with this team that I see is that the players we count on don't think they have to bring their best every minute they are in of every game. They seem to think that playing hard sometimes is sufficient. We had teams that could win almost all of their games even without everyone giving it their all every day. This is not one of those teams. That they don't see that is not just frustrating -- it's infuriating.

And that's part of what I'm including in "basketball IQ", understanding the level of effort required on each and every possession and overestimating their talent vs the opponent. They did it briefly against Coppin, then went back to playing at half speed, content to coast against a team they thought was inferior.

I said in the summer that what I wanted most to see from this team, was players drenched in sweat, who were raising their hands to be subbed out because they needed a rest. Haven't seen it once. From anyone. We have a deep enough bench that these guys should not be saving themselves, yet I get the sense that most of them are. Purvis, whatever his faults, did not play that way last year, even with a short bench.

 

[UCDaveD]

Well, since you said "Woohoo" is must have been a brilliant point.

You win or you lose, and once the game is done it really doesn't matter what the margin was. You can always win more by scoring more points or lose more by scoring less points. Nobody takes wins away because you didn't win be enough to please "them."

You either completely missed my point or willfully ignored it, but either way, I'll elaborate.

In the context of comparing this season to last, pointing to our current record and stating "it could be worse", while true, rings incredibly hollow as the difference between the two teams in nearly negligible.

We lost to a couple mid-majors last year. We won those games this year. That's great. But both the Columbia and Monmouth games could have easily gone the other way save for 1 call in our favor or lucky bounce our way. The variance swung in our favor this year.

Yes, it could be worse. But there's not exactly much to be proud of thus far.

I'd also argue against your assertion that the manner in which you win doesn't matter, especially if you're a bubble team. But we're not even that right now, so it's not even worth getting in to.

 

[businesslawyer]

You either completely missed my point or willfully ignored it, but either way, I'll elaborate.

In the context of comparing this season to last, pointing to our current record and stating "it could be worse", while true, rings incredibly hollow as the difference between the two teams in nearly negligible.

We lost to a couple mid-majors last year. We won those games this year. That's great. But both the Columbia and Monmouth games could have easily gone the other way save for 1 call in our favor or lucky bounce our way. The variance swung in our favor this year.

Yes, it could be worse. But there's not exactly much to be proud of thus far.

I'd also argue against your assertion that the manner in which you win doesn't matter, especially if you're a bubble team. But we're not even that right now, so it's not even worth getting in to.

I am not missing your point. I just think it's silly. The difference between losing by 3 and winning by 3 is huge. The difference between winning by 10 and winning by 30, while more as a matter of arithmetic, is just much less important.

 

[UCDaveD]

I am not missing your point. I just think it's silly. The difference between losing by 3 and winning by 3 is huge. The difference between winning by 10 and winning by 30, while more as a matter of arithmetic, is just much less important.

There's the disconnect. I don't see it as a huge margin at all, especially in a game that has gone back and forth. We'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[jibsey]

Can we agree on one thing? We see games where it’s back and forth virtually to the last 5-8 minutes. One team gets a lead then in the last 2 minutes with fouling the lead baloons to 10 or 12. Aside from being competitive for one half with MSU when they played very badly we have been manhandled. The 7-3 is fools gold and there ain’t many fools willing to buy in to it.

 

[businesslawyer]

Can we agree on one thing? We see games where it’s back and forth virtually to the last 5-8 minutes. One team gets a lead then in the last 2 minutes with fouling the lead baloons to 10 or 12. Aside from being competitive for one half with MSU when they played very badly we have been manhandled. The 7-3 is fools gold and there ain’t many fools willing to buy in to it.

Please don't get me wrong -- I don't think we are a good team at this point, and am not at all confident we will be.

That being said, I have no patience for people who don't think there is a huge difference between winning games and losing games just because the games are close. Doesn't mean I'm not afraid we won't start losing games more consistently when the schedule goes into conference.