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Although they closed the gap in the rebounding margin, the 2nd chance baskets just killed them. I realize that a lot of offensive rebounds are effort plays, but I'd say over half of SU's were the result of not boxing or not getting back into the play. Seemed that AD was the culprit a number of times.
Their perimeter D was porous at times throughout the game, though they stepped it up during their second half run. Give SU credit for preying on a vulnerability. AD's, and sometimes Alex's man would set a very high screen well beyond the arc and forcing our big outside the paint. They did a good job of hitting cutters who would find a lot of space in the paint with no big to get in their way. UConn seemed to make a few adjustments and didn't give up that play as much as they did in the first half, but a lot of damage was done.
They also had their share of squanders. The one that stands out was the 2-1 fast break where all Boatright had to do was toss it ahead to a wide open Lamb, but instead settled for a transition 3 that he misfired. The other one that stands out is the last play where Roscoe had what looked like a wide open short J, but instead drove it into traffic and got his shot snuffed for the 2nd or even 3rd time in the game.
I don't want to be a complete Debbie Downer. Roscoe had an outstanding game. He played with a ton of energy and made a lot of big hustle plays. His 3 offensive rebounds were huge. He got a few of his shot Js snuffed out. He might have been better served using a hard up-fake to draw Mellow and then dump it down via a bounce pass to AD or Alex a few of those times to keep SU's bigs honest and not fly out at him every time Scoe got the ball in the middle of the paint.
I thought the team played with a ton of energy in the 2nd half and turned the table when it came down to effort plays. They did a great job of crashing the offensive glass, something that's been hugely missing most of the season.
RB had a nice outside game, nailing 4 of 8. After a very good start of his Husky career hitting a lot of his highly contested runners and layups, he's really struggled lately to finish in the paint and close to the basket. 14 points and 6 assists in a very nice game. He forced a few passes and turned it over 4 times, but at least he's trying to make plays. The 3 instead of the pass ahead to Lamb, I mentioned above was a huge squander though. If they scored there, some of those late scores that tied the game would have taken the lead instead. You just can't give up easy points against a good team like the Cuse.
Lamb had a solid game, but 15 shots is just not enough for your star player in a game like that. Seven bounds were big, many seemingly coming in the 2nd half.
SU has one of the best benches in all of college hoops. UConn's bench didn't show up. When was the last time you saw a team's bench put up a goose egg, especially in a big game like this. Upsets often take place when a team gets some unexpected contribution from a bench player or two. Giffey didn't score but he hustled and was active. I give the staff credit for identifying that this was a band match-up game for Olander and not give him many minutes. Daniels had a couple good looks but they just didn't fall. He still seems to lack confidence and his best years are ahead of him. Lastly Bazz, had a solid game even though he didn't score. 7-3 Asst/TO ration is pretty good. If he was healthy, he'd be splitting some seams like he did early in the season. I'm convinced that he's gutting it out game after game, battling through his foot injury and probably a host of other ailments. At one point he was doing a good job of zipping the ball around the zone which helped create some opportunities, but at times he slows it down too much for my taste. All in all, he had a solid game even though he took few shots and missed all of them.
SU also shot lights out in the first half, and it wasn't all due to UConn's porous perimeter D. They hit their open and lightly contested Js, while UConn misfired on many of theirs digging that early hole in first half.
If not for that bad stretch where SU had that 13-0 run in the first half, stretching out a 12-10 lead to 25-10, the outcome would have been very different. Teams are never perfect and will always make mistakes that result in points from their opponent, but if UConn did the little things better in the area of protecting their own glass, and not give up so many 2nd chance baskets, they would have come away with a huge W.
I was pleased with their effort and offensive execution in the 2nd half. If they could play like that most of the time, they'll be able to beat most of the teams they'll face. I hope they build on this game and win their last 2 games.
Their perimeter D was porous at times throughout the game, though they stepped it up during their second half run. Give SU credit for preying on a vulnerability. AD's, and sometimes Alex's man would set a very high screen well beyond the arc and forcing our big outside the paint. They did a good job of hitting cutters who would find a lot of space in the paint with no big to get in their way. UConn seemed to make a few adjustments and didn't give up that play as much as they did in the first half, but a lot of damage was done.
They also had their share of squanders. The one that stands out was the 2-1 fast break where all Boatright had to do was toss it ahead to a wide open Lamb, but instead settled for a transition 3 that he misfired. The other one that stands out is the last play where Roscoe had what looked like a wide open short J, but instead drove it into traffic and got his shot snuffed for the 2nd or even 3rd time in the game.
I don't want to be a complete Debbie Downer. Roscoe had an outstanding game. He played with a ton of energy and made a lot of big hustle plays. His 3 offensive rebounds were huge. He got a few of his shot Js snuffed out. He might have been better served using a hard up-fake to draw Mellow and then dump it down via a bounce pass to AD or Alex a few of those times to keep SU's bigs honest and not fly out at him every time Scoe got the ball in the middle of the paint.
I thought the team played with a ton of energy in the 2nd half and turned the table when it came down to effort plays. They did a great job of crashing the offensive glass, something that's been hugely missing most of the season.
RB had a nice outside game, nailing 4 of 8. After a very good start of his Husky career hitting a lot of his highly contested runners and layups, he's really struggled lately to finish in the paint and close to the basket. 14 points and 6 assists in a very nice game. He forced a few passes and turned it over 4 times, but at least he's trying to make plays. The 3 instead of the pass ahead to Lamb, I mentioned above was a huge squander though. If they scored there, some of those late scores that tied the game would have taken the lead instead. You just can't give up easy points against a good team like the Cuse.
Lamb had a solid game, but 15 shots is just not enough for your star player in a game like that. Seven bounds were big, many seemingly coming in the 2nd half.
SU has one of the best benches in all of college hoops. UConn's bench didn't show up. When was the last time you saw a team's bench put up a goose egg, especially in a big game like this. Upsets often take place when a team gets some unexpected contribution from a bench player or two. Giffey didn't score but he hustled and was active. I give the staff credit for identifying that this was a band match-up game for Olander and not give him many minutes. Daniels had a couple good looks but they just didn't fall. He still seems to lack confidence and his best years are ahead of him. Lastly Bazz, had a solid game even though he didn't score. 7-3 Asst/TO ration is pretty good. If he was healthy, he'd be splitting some seams like he did early in the season. I'm convinced that he's gutting it out game after game, battling through his foot injury and probably a host of other ailments. At one point he was doing a good job of zipping the ball around the zone which helped create some opportunities, but at times he slows it down too much for my taste. All in all, he had a solid game even though he took few shots and missed all of them.
SU also shot lights out in the first half, and it wasn't all due to UConn's porous perimeter D. They hit their open and lightly contested Js, while UConn misfired on many of theirs digging that early hole in first half.
If not for that bad stretch where SU had that 13-0 run in the first half, stretching out a 12-10 lead to 25-10, the outcome would have been very different. Teams are never perfect and will always make mistakes that result in points from their opponent, but if UConn did the little things better in the area of protecting their own glass, and not give up so many 2nd chance baskets, they would have come away with a huge W.
I was pleased with their effort and offensive execution in the 2nd half. If they could play like that most of the time, they'll be able to beat most of the teams they'll face. I hope they build on this game and win their last 2 games.
