Be honest, did you keep the faith down 19??? | Page 4 | The Boneyard

Be honest, did you keep the faith down 19???

Did you keep the faith???

  • It was over; I turned off the TV in protest

    Votes: 17 7.3%

  • I was certain of defeat and loudly complained of the team's shortfalls in the game chat

    Votes: 8 3.4%

  • I cursed this team but bit my tongue and kept watching

    Votes: 69 29.5%

  • I suppressed all negative thoughts and conjured up my own personal mojo at halftime

    Votes: 83 35.5%

  • It was only a first half deficit; everybody needed to calm down

    Votes: 35 15.0%

  • 1 for 18 3-pt shooting be damned. AK wasn't going to let us lose

    Votes: 22 9.4%
  • Total voters
    234
  • Poll closed .
BPT2Storrs said:
We allowed MSU to come back and we were up 19 at one point. For that reason I texted a friend at half and said I wasn’t giving up.

We were shooting so poorly that I felt some would have to start falling eventually. The two Mullins mid range jumpers, the two Demry threes. Reed and Karaban just knowing where each other were at seemingly all times.

It all seemed to sync so much better in the 2nd half. What scared me the most was any momentum we had, Duke always had an answer. The freshman on Duke (#14) had maybe three or four baskets that seemed to kill any answer we seemed to have. I kept yelling we need defensive stops. We couldn’t just trade baskets. The defense really stepped up when we needed it.

I’ll admit I was screaming for Mullins/AK to call a timeout one that last possession. Thankfully they didn’t listen.
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Those cussed kids.
 
I actually lost hope a few minutes into the second half when we still could not make any 3pt shots. Even as we started chipping away at the lead, never thought we would get over the hump. The only time I believed was AFTER Mullins' shot. It was a "dang - we won!" moment.
 
I was very worried at half time basically thinking that our 3 pt shot was not going to be there tonight but had hope that we could get to single digits then find a way. That second half was such a grind but more so for Duke! From 15 down we kept at 12-13, then got to 11 to 12 then single digits starting from 7-9 after that I thought we had a chance. I was discouraged when we went down with seconds left. Last thought for me as I just finished rewatching just the second half my God how good was Tarris Reed!
 
I thought it was over, complained about how things were going, that parts of that first half felt a lot like the Big East Championship game... but also held out hope that if shots would fall (or they'd focus more on the inside/mid-range and stop chucking threes that weren't falling), if they'd dial up the intensity that maybe there was a chance... my better half, well she lived up to the title.. holding out a lot more optimistic view.
 
I still had faith at half time. But I pretty much lost hope when we were taking so long on the last possession (before the steal) and then when Demary missed the first FT I really thought that was it. The reason I thought it was over after the Demary FT was because I figured we wouldn’t get another shot off and that we’d need to foul Duke and they’d just foul back. Of course they were in the bonus and they may of missed but I was tilted we didn’t have something better out of the timeout and the missed FT. I never dreamed of a steal and a 3
 
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I turned off the Tv not in protest but because I couldn’t bear to watch. When you watch as many WCBB games as I do, big deficits are unquestionable death.

I came back late.

Forgive me
 
That the deficit never increased past 15 during the is why I fall category 5. Even as Duke did their last inbound I thought there was a chance, just didn't know how.
 
I never gave up. Just like I knew MSU was going to make a run at us Friday night, I expected us to make a run at Dook Sunday night

I believe that we will win
 
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Honestly no, but when it was 15 at half I did believe UConn would come back and make it close at least.
 
For me this was 1999 redux when I was working in Portugal, listening to the audio in the middle of the night via internet. I remember thinking the same thing back then - let's just not get embarrassed here.

Difference was in 1999 I had that thought before the game but then the game play turned out to be hopeful right from the beginning and I gradually came to believe that we might win. I was pacing the living room during the last 10 minutes of the game and when we won I ended up screaming out my apartment window. I think I went to sleep at around 4am.

Compare that to the 2026 version where, before the game I thought we might win - then quickly lost hope. I set my alarm to wake up for the 11pm tip off. I was laying in bed - this time here in Spain - and again listening to the game audio via internet (no really solid video options that I wanted to tinker with) and as it quickly got out of hand I was tempted to turn it off and just go back to sleep. Then I decided - well, this is the end so I'll get up out of bed and take it like a man.

Cracked open a beer and waited for the inevitable. Then another second half beer to numb the sorry...

And then spent the last few minutes pacing in the kitchen until the unexpected glorious Shot! Then jumping and kicking and soft scream exclamations (no screaming this time cus kids and wife and neighborhood sleeping) ...and a celebratory third beer to accompany replays and post game analyses and reactions. I ended up getting back to sleep at around 3am.

Bottom line: I didn't start to have hope until we got back to within 5.

Then I partied like it was 1999!
 
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I turned it off at 40-21 to take a shower. A very long one.

The faith was still there in that long moment when I started to think of 2014 MSU (where I also jumped in the shower at UConn's largest deficit, which I think was 9), and the 9-point comeback against Duke in 2004 (when I was just a drunk frat boy). The faith came back more while still showering, when I then realized MSU erased their own 19-point deficit two days prior despite falling short in the end, and I said to myself, "UConn can do that too, come on".

Anyway, I don't think I made it back until around the 17-minute mark in the second half, lol. I had it on but didn't really start to pay attention until 55-45 and was at full attention at 56-49.
 
It felt like someone spliced together two halves of our opposite blowout games against St Johns. First half was reflective of our blowout loss to St Johns second 1/2 was our blowout win - creating this legendary masterpiece.
 
When we went down big, I commented to the Warden that I didn’t think we were overmatched but thought we didn’t match up well, man-for-man, against them. In my head I was making the Tarris-Edey comparison from the ‘24 as he was scoring at will and everyone else was ice cold.

I was ticked off thinking about how close SJU came to beating Duke (and Siena !) and that this was a bad look for us and the Big East. I also was thinking about how at dinner Saturday night I calmly told the table, “UConn is gonna beat ‘em.”

I can’t honestly say I kept the faith throughout, because I was pretty distraught, but at the half I was thinking that MSU also came back from 19 just two nights before.
 
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I was hoping the Duke 14-0 run didn’t become a 30-0 run. Once that didn't happen and the deficit was 15 at halftime it was doable. If they could just hit a 3. Which took a while. However their defense was exceptional and with Duke’s penchant for turnovers they had a chance in my mind.
 
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I, literally, conjured up my own mojo at halftime.

Was cooking steaks for game-watching guests, and realized that, in the madness of trying to cook for 8, i forgot to put on my lucky rugby shirt.

Put it on at the half to moans from my crew (knowing this was a serious faux-pas)

Sorry about the first half, everyone - won't happen again.
 
JCisthegoat said:
I never dreamed of a steal and a 3
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I was thinking about every possible scenario and remembered a game in ‘99 where Miami did this to us. They hit a 3 with seconds left and stole the inbounds pass and hit another three as the buzzer sounded to beat us by two.
 
Vowelguy said:
I turned off the Tv not in protest but because I couldn’t bear to watch. When you watch as many WCBB games as I do, big deficits are unquestionable death.

I came back late.
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Forgive me
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Missed out on lifetime memory. Don’t do that.
 
pepband99 said:
I, literally, conjured up my own mojo at halftime.

Was cooking steaks for game-watching guests, and realized that, in the madness of trying to cook for 8, i forgot to put on my lucky rugby shirt.

Put it on at the half to moans from my crew (knowing this was a serious faux-pas)

Sorry about the first half, everyone - won't happen again.
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Don’t wash it
 
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Forgive me brethren for I have sinned. I harbored negative outcome thoughts at halftime and muttered some to the wife. I also threatened to burn down the announcers house when he gave the stat about #1 seed records when being up by 19. I didn't bad mouth any players (on our team) but I did utter things like "stop shooting threes", "that was a charge", "that should be a technical, it wasn't a basketball move", and "oh boy this doesn't look good". Please don't assign any Hail Marys, I heard the movie stinks.
 
We are on the road heading back to CT. Watched the game in hotel in Atlanta. Was on a text group with friends. We were reason tix holders starting in 1980 when uconn first joined the big east. We have seen a lot of ways to lose and win...
At halftime my comment was, "it's not over yet".
By the end of the game I had no voice left and I can't believe we weren't asked to keep the noise down...
Even my wife was really into it.

This win ranks right up with the comeback over G'town in the big east tournament and the Tate George shot.

All is right in the basketball universe.
 
Kept telling my in laws. . . lot of game to go. . . we will start hitting threes . . . keep it under 15 at half, 10 under 10, 6 with 4 to go. Just keep chipping away

Never doubted it
 
The first half was frustrating except for Reed still playing fantastic. Go Tarris! and there was no way I was going to listen to the studio halftime guys. But there’s 20 minutes left and UConn trailed at the Trop at the half (by four I think). I really wanted that first basket but it was Duke who scored first. Ugh. From then it’s just, c’mon, chip away. Make a three somebody! And still UConn was chipping away but every time hope was rising Duke would get the next basket. The charge Mullins drew on Boozer that was called blocking was a gut punch.

Finally getting that much closer. Demary for two threes! Steals and Tarris’s slam off of his! But under 90 seconds every play was do or lose. AK hits his 3! Down 1. Still, once Duke was inbounding up 2 with 10 seconds left it wasn’t looking great. Logically it should have been foul, hope Duke makes one at most and then hope for a desperate 3 to tie the game. Actually it would have been a one and one so a UConn 3 could win it if things went right but…

Then it went from gloom to !!!! in 10 seconds! Going home to moving on off a Mullins bomb! And the really great part was that it was done!! There’s no time for Duke to counter. Wow!!

As for mojo. These discussions always happen. Deepster had it down in ‘99 or whatever. If you’re doing something and the team is benefitting then that is your contribution and you have to keep doing it. It doesn’t mean everyone has to wear their ‘14 championship gear or eat potato chips at halftime. Not everyone has to stand the whole game or mute their TV. You know what’s working! Keep doing that!
 
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