Arizona Post Game Thread | Page 13 | The Boneyard
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Arizona Post Game Thread

FfldCntyFan said:
I really don't get why some are so worried about what seed we'll land in the dance.

Don't get me wrong, if we get a one seed I won't be upset, but i don't believe we need to be a one seed to win the tournament.

We've won twice as many titles when we weren't the one seed as we have when we were. We wount be counted out if we are a seed line or two lower than ideal.
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Exactly. If we’re the best team we’re the best team. Seeding won't matter and is trivial.
 
Dove said:
What a fight!!! Eric Reibe was the Husky star of the game. We have a playa!!!

We're a team of really good parts.
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Except for his missed FTs to tie at the end. Otherwise his was a valliant effort.
 
Mr. French said:
I didn't ask a question.

He's struggling from 3, it wasn't the BEST look he could get ... which I said. But I want my best shooter to want to take a big shot in a big moment.
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That’s true but, he’s not the best three-point shooter this year. Demary should’ve taken the shot or Karaban.
 
superjohn said:
Frustrating on so many levels because we would've rolled that team if we were at full strength. Refs were bad and then Eric who was our player of the game has the ball roll off the rim in what should've been an and 1 to tie the game and then missed his ft's. Everyone needs to rally around Eric and let him know he's the reason we were in position to win that one.

The loss means nothing because we are nowhere near healthy but a missed opportunity to let everyone know we're the best team in the country. So bullish on this team, now get healthy and no more injuries.
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He should have dunked that ball, along with several others. Dunking when that close to the rim is a must to avoid what happened on that play.
 
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The disparity in rebounding was very disappointing, including a killer in the last minute that put them in front for good. Yes, no Reed, but often rebounding is as much team effort and execution than anything else.

AK a no-show in a big games and clutch moments. Becoming a pattern from last year.

Oh, did anyone mention yet Solo's bad 3 with a minute left yet?? LoL.

This loss definitely will hurt with rankings come Tourney time. It would have been a very nice win for the resume.
 
Hunt for 7 said:
Never been a big proponent of moral victories but this game will help us down the road. Obviously Reibe is going to benefit the most.

But on the flip side Ball and AK having bad games is not ideal.

We almost beat them and we played poorly with two starters out of the game and two of our major role players having bad games. You see the difference between role players and go to star players.

I think we will see Reibe for two years but by the end of next year I think he is a monster and going to the NBA. But pairing him now as Reed’s back up is going to give us a big edge on most teams at the center position.

I guess we won’t be seeing much from Furphy this year, I liked what I saw of him during the FIFA games but he must not be practicing too well. Has to be defense as the player I have seen has a high BBIQ offensively.

This game reinforced two things to me is that we are better defensively and we will be very good this year if we can get and stay healthy.
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Furphy is out with an ankle injury along with Mullins and Reed.
 
HW611 said:
Exactly. If we’re the best team we’re the best team. Seeding won't matter and is trivial.
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If you think that’s how it works, god bless. It’s a single game elimination, matchups matter. Every advantage matters. How often has the best team not won it?
 
Gurleyman said:
I think on the worst of those possessions, he was on the floor with Ross, Stewart and Koroma and we basically had no offense to run. None of those guys are coming off screens and doing anything. We were mostly just biding time until the break.

Thought Smith was great the whole second half with a couple blips. Missed a couple shots, which is fine, but after we went up 2 and the place was rocking, he was blown by too easily - which led to a Peat basket (the one where Reibe stayed vertical on the first try, but then Peat just caught the rebound and finished on his second jump).
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Serious issues on momentum-swinging defense. It was like every time we tied or led, there would be an easy bucket on the other end. I don’t know if it was being distracted or whatever but we never got consistent stops to control the game.
 
HW611 said:
Exactly. If we’re the best team we’re the best team. Seeding won't matter and is trivial.
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Eh, disagree. You play the regular season to have an advantage in the post-season. It's not trivial in a single game elimination tournament. It can be a handicap, but you never really know how a bracket is going to break, so it doesn't have to be. At the same time, losing to Arizona by a single possession isn't going to single-handedly doom our seeding prospects, especially in early February without 2 starters. Nobody is going undefeated in the regular season.
 
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Mike Honcho said:
Eh, disagree. You play the regular season to have an advantage in the post-season. It's not trivial in a single game elimination tournament. It can be a handicap, but you never really know how a bracket is going to break, so it doesn't have to be. At the same time, losing to Arizona by a single possession isn't going to single-handedly doom our seeding prospects, especially in early February without 2 starters. Nobody is going undefeated in the regular season.
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Exactly. Almost everyone will have a worse loss than this one.
 
RuffRuff said:
If you think that’s how it works, god bless. It’s a single game elimination, matchups matter. Every advantage matters. How often has the best team not won it?
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If they didn't win it they weren't best team. In 2014 we played the overall 1 seed in Florida.

2004 we beat Duke. Again in 1999.

Can't be afraid to play anyone on the way to a championship. The expectation is when you get there, you're playing the best.
 
ArizonaHsky said:
Why because I make sense. Sounds like you have a soft mentality.
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I can always spot the posters who have accomplished little in their own lives or are unhappy about their unfulfilled potential.
 
HW611 said:
If they didn't win it they weren't best team. In 2014 we played the overall 1 seed in Florida.

2004 we beat Duke. Again in 1999.

Can't be afraid to play anyone on the way to a championship. The expectation is when you get there, you're playing the best.
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We played UCLA in the elite 8 in 96, they ended up winning it all. Had we been in a different bracket, we could have been in the final. Matchups and seeding matter, perhaps even if it’s just to get as deep as possible. Final 4s matter too.

It’s not about not being afraid to play someone.
 
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First, congrats to Arizona.They played the hand that was given and did everything they were supposed to do to win. It is not easy to win at Gampel to a top 5 team (undermanned or not). They deserved the win under the circumstances.

Second, the only circumstances under our control is FT shooting. This is why we lost this game. For every UConn if, should-of and could-of, Arizona can easily counter. Refs are always poor - consistency is what we all want. Got that for the most part.

Third, moral victories are for fans (some fans). Players take a loss and move on.

The most important take away is this. Going into this game, probably the number one strategy to beat UConn was to get Reed in foul trouble and sit on the bench. We saw the result of this tonight, due to injury. But, given what we saw from Reibe, and assuming improvement, that strategy is questionable and should be crossed off the list by opposing coaches. It will likely not work in March/April.

Happy for the effort and proud of them before, during and after the game.
 
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Gurleyman said:
Watched him off the ball for some possessions - and there were times he didn’t cut with any purpose at all. Just this lazy movement where he didn’t want the ball - or didn’t think he’d get open so didn’t bother trying. And there were times the screens he got were pretty bad. Reibe has some work to do there. It was shooting slump AK from last year - and I hated when he played like that because if you cut hard and look like you want to be a threat, it opens up other things. Even if you are a decoy, you have to treat being a decoy as the most important job on the floor and do it with the same intensity as you do when you think a shot is coming your way. Because then you make the defense think about you. There’s a big contrast with Solo - he cuts hard (granted he’s smaller and quicker), but he always moves with a purpose. AK seems better as a flare option playing off misdirection off of someone else’s cut, which is where Mullins and Solo both being out there can maybe help.
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He was also being grabbed relentlessly. That was my one officiating complaint tonight. Arizona obviously scouted him well and had the type of guys that he struggles with anyway, but they treated him like my son used to when I would drop him at day care, and he only got the call once.

My son (now 17) pointed out to me late in the first half that one of the officials told Alex to tuck his shirt in. Alex just looked at him like this guy

IMG_4107.jpeg
 
FightOnCT said:
It’s one of those games like Florida where I still can’t get over it because the loss was very avoidable. Just shoot our free throws, get some boards.

Just simple things like that and we win. Missing two starters wasn’t why we lost here.
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So we still lose if we have Reed and Mullins? Because that is the natural extension of what you are saying here.
 
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EricLA said:
Well what a hell of a game. Fought and battled to the end. Down TWO starters. Up 1 late, Solo misses a dagger 3, then Silas turns it over on the next possession... I honestly thought anything better than a 10 point loss was a moral victory. These guys will be DANGEROUS when healthy.

Really great game and experience for Reibe. This will pay dividends in BE play and come March/April... But come on - 50% from the FT line??? I get it was mostly our 2 centers, so something to work on...

Never like to lose, but if there was one game that I think we can pretty much all stomach, this was it.
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Yup. Two absolutely horrible possessions late. Terrible shot by Solo and the possession where Silas turned it over was doomed before his turnover. Disappointed but feeling really good about this team. We`ve got a solid back up at the 5 who can make an impact and with Tarris and Mullins back and healthy this team can beat anyone.
 
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