Read what I said. The way the refs called it (or didn't call it mostly) was something we weren't prepared for. We stunk up the joint, but had it been officiated like the OOC games we played we would never have gotten into that rut, and probably would have played much better. We were not prepared to play a game like that. Dan has said as much.Can we stop putting this on the refs? What non-calls did you want in the first half? Can make the argument that Newton was fouled on the drive that they called a jump ball maybe. Other than that I’m struggling to see where we got hosed by the refs on that big seton hall run.
We went up 10 and then completely sucked on defense. We had 2 or 3 defensive stops in the final 8:30 of the first half and one was a missed layup by Richmond where he blew by Newton.
Our offense was atrocious over that same stretch, particularly when Clingan wasn’t in the game. We missed two wide open threes during that Hall run and then Clingan left and we dribbled the ball around the perimeter for entire possessions.
UConn will be fine. The loss sucks, but not going to win many games when we play D like that last night.
Yea the big East is garbage.UConn - Welcome to the Big East / 4 foul shots to 15 before garbage time. Our best player on the bench for a good part of the game. We are not playing an elite team but no worries the Big East refs will take care of it. And as a result Clingan injuried his foot/ankle.
Why are we playing in this league with a lousy Commissioner is beyond me. For the first time I am revealing that Brian O’Connell bad mouthed Hurley at a charity event a couple years ago.
When the fouls add up, we sit guys, get out of our rotations and lose our chemistry.
Having said this, we had guys that did not respond. Karaban had a rough game and not only did he miss most of his shots / his shot looked terrible. Alex needs to come out aggressive and make them play his game rather than react to the guy he’s coveting.
Johnson had his worse game of the year. He rushed everything and did not play with the poise or motor that we have seen. Spencer let the bad calls impact his play. Karaban was 3-12 and Spencer 2 for 7. 19% from three doesn’t cut it.
Give Richmond credit, he played very well and is a tough match up for Alex. I thought Castle should have played him more. Clingan, Newton and Castle were our best players but Clingan was limited by fouls and the injury. Davis played well for Seton Hall.
We cannot lose to St John’s on Saturday. If we’re going to struggle on the road we have to win at home especially against the middle teams in the Big East.I expected this TBH, don't love it but not surprised. I fully expect DH to counter this style of play over time - this was similar to Kansas IMO where they guarded UConn super tight and took them out of their expected rhythm. I would have liked to have seen the 3pt line left more unguarded and pack the paint since SH wasn't shooting anything outside and was jamming the inside but without Clingan we're pretty week under the basket. St John's may be another loss, I figured it was one/other/both, but I expect the team to recover and come up with some gameplans and get back on track. I'm not panicking but we definitely were exposed just like last year.
GO HUSKIES!
We could have done a matchup zone or just some soft man defense too. Dare them to shoot the three and see if they can make 15 to beat us. I don’t think they could but if it happens just tip your hat. Better to lose that way then give up wide open layups.Refereeing was predictable and I said that in a thread pregame. The Hall grabs, tugs and bumps through most every pick but this was allowed. There’s no way on earth they can review that tape and give the Huskies just 2 seconds on the shot clock after no one was able to see it counting down that was a pathetic result. Having said that it had little to do with the outcome.
You saw what we hope will be a terrible reaction to what they will see in the Big East. Besides Clingan no one played well at all. Hate to say Newton was potentially the worst he made some horrible decisions and unlike him rushed things. He threw a slew of terrible passes putting himself in trouble too often. And from there it just dominoe’d.
One can only hope DC is alright or we’re looking at a long season. Johnson was lost, ineffective for the first time. He got banged out of his spot multiple times and not in position to help on the drivers to the hoop.
Don’t care what anyone says but when you’re getting beat that badly and that consistently you need to mix in a zone here and there, make them make perimeter shots. And not that 1-3-1 which leaves room anyway. Pack in a 2-3 and let’s make them uncomfortable or at least try to. And in the man give space, stay under the pick and give them the jumper don’t let them turn the corner and get that step in you.
It’s coming again Saturday get used to it. Rick will watch this tape and beat us up with his 10 deep crew and not care about foul trouble one bit.
Let’s see how we respond to what will become the Big East norm.
Hurley said before the season he wanted to get out and run more too but I think our pace or tempo metric is lower than last yearTurnovers, shooting percentage and fast break points the difference.....not the refs
We cannot lose to St John’s on Saturday. If we’re going to struggle on the road we have to win at home especially against the middle teams in the Big East.
Well the team is slower than last year. Newton and Alex are the same. Cam is slower than Hawkins and Clingan is slower than Sanogo (even without the foot). Ball isn't slow, but not as good in transition or pushing the pace as Andre. Nor rebounding. Castle needs to start.Hurley said before the season he wanted to get out and run more too but I think our pace or tempo metric is lower than last year
NEC We can dominate CCSU.What league should we join instead? American? Cusa?
We could have done a matchup zone or just some soft man defense too. Dare them to shoot the three and see if they can make 15 to beat us. I don’t think they could but if it happens just tip your hat. Better to lose that way then give up wide open layups.
My ONLY ref gripe was giving us only 2 seconds on the shot clock when the clock stopped working in the first half. That seemed unfair. Otherwise, no issues.
Right a mediocre big east performance doesn’t mean we’re gonna win a championship. We’ve had years with early exits too. I think we’ve grown too accustomed to unexpected runs in the NCAA tourneyAbsolutely agree. Saturday will tell us a lot about this team no doubt. I love the fact that people can sit back and say who cares we did this last year and won a natty. Not the same team, Clingan Johnson not Sanogo Clingan and Andre brought something we are still looking for.
Bounce back time for sure, huge game early BE season.
I think that Hurley likes to emphasize three point defense and doesn’t like to stray from it. There needs to be some balance tho especially if we can’t guard as well one on one. If Clingan is out for any amount of time we’re gonna have to pack in the defense and just live with the threes they hit. This game definitely didn’t make me like the idea of SJ being our starting 5 next year.I'm really surprised we didn't go under screens more against this team. They're not a great three point shooting team so why would you try to funnel them to the hoop when that's their strength?
I think that Hurley likes to emphasize three point defense and doesn’t like to stray from it. There needs to be some balance tho especially if we can’t guard as well one on one. If Clingan is out for any amount of time we’re gonna have to pack in the defense and just live with the threes they hit. This game definitely didn’t make me like the idea of SJ being our starting 5 next year.
The potential is still there and I don’t think we even played up to it in the non conference. I’m not worried about this teams ceiling but if we start out 0-2 in the BE it’s gonna be tough to get the regular season title.I think it's important that we don't overreact to one bad game. We played a tough nonconference schedule and looked great in that. If Clingan misses significant time or we look awful again on Saturday then I'll begin to worry.
You and the people who “ Liked” your post did not read my post. After justifiably criticizing the refs I said “having said that our players did not respond”. Are you on “hallucinogenics” or are you lazy and criticize before doing your homework. I also went on to criticize players for various things.If you watched This game and you thought the only reason we lost was the refs, you need to switch what ever hallucinogenic you are on. We didn’t play well, shoot well, hang onto the ball well.
Clingan was on bench too much before his injury. My guess is we were a plus with him on the court. He was the one match-up they coukd not handle. Karaban’s shooting now is in a legitimate slump - I hope he breaks out soon.Refs weren’t great but how did they change the tempo?
We were a disaster whenever Clingan was off the court. He took himself off the court in the first half with two legit fouls.
It seem liked everything changed right after that event.My ONLY ref gripe was giving us only 2 seconds on the shot clock when the clock stopped working in the first half. That seemed unfair. Otherwise, no issues.