Creighton Post game thread

[superjohn]

We gave ourselves too big a hill to climb. You can't just choose to play defense for 10 minutes of a 40 minute game. The refs were atrocious again and once again it benefitted the other side. I'm not blaming the loss on that because our play was inexcusable but it's sickening what goes on with these refs and our team. Making Jason Green turn into Moses Malone was also sickening and him getting the rebound on the ft at the end summed up our inexcusable play.

We're more talented than Creighton and I'm really quite sick of losing to them over and over. Hurley has a Greg McDermott problem.

I reached my breaking point with this conference. I'll always love it but I just can't take the refs anymore and I can't take our commissioner anymore.

Some of the stuff said by posters in the chat about McDermott was gross. He's one of the good ones.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Luke runs offense Kimani defense, and defending sucks all year. It’s bad coaching

It's not. Look at the team and tell me who the best defender is. I'd say Reed or an injured Hass. When you don't have the defenders, no amount of coaching will help. We're smaller and less athletic than previous years. It's team construction, not coaching.

 

[JCisthegoat]

Defense was the problem all year. 87th in adj D just doesn’t cut it if you want to be a title contender.

Teams flaws stemmed mainly from bad player evaluations. Happens. It was kinda obvious a long time ago this team wasn’t a title contender. Think it’s more about ability than effort though

 

[JoeyBuckets]

Lets get in the 8 and 9 game and knock off a 1 seed. Would consider it a good year all things considered.

 

[jibsey]

We played bad number one. Number two we don’t want that game tomorrow night, get rested. Number three we need better athletic guards.
Don’t expect much now but just enjoy whatever ride we have. Still like the team and the players who try very hard but have limitations.

 

[Scottobot]

Luke runs offense Kimani defense, and defending sucks all year. It’s bad coaching

Open your eyes, Kimani been carried, by exceptional defensive players like Jackson, Clingan, and Castle. there is no cleverness or strategy in their defense. Hurley’s demand for toughness on defense has carried it. They play a basic man to man with a stupid high hedge. A good defensive coach can mold a good defense twitch average players. UConn’s defensive strategy the entire year has been the exact same defense as last year and it hasn’t worked well all season. On the flip side offense has great movement and a lot of easy baskets.

 

[SeattleHoop]

Should have put Reed in earlier in the second half imo. Sampson was not good defensively tonight. Made adjustments too late.

Let’s move on and win the first round of the NCAA tournament

 

[Shamon30]

We beat ourselves with a slew of idiotic plays. That being said, the botched out of bounds call when it was clearly off Kalkbrenner was the turning point. We were down 3, then they got the ball and hit a 3. They held it out of reach from that point on. Still, we put still ourselves in the position to lose.

 

[Palatine]

We still had plenty of chances to win the game. But our offense wasn't up to it in the last five minutes.

Yes, we played poor defense. But they shot out of their minds in the first half 75%. then we gifted them four point to start the second half. WE still were with a possession or two multiple times - with the ball - in the second half and we couldn't get it done. score in the 60s and you lose.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

also embarrassing that Diarra (our smallest guy) was the only one to step up to Neal. can’t allow that disrespect to happen.

emblematic of the lack of “dogs” on this roster.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Defense was the problem all year. 87th in adj D just doesn’t cut it if you want to be a title contender.

Teams flaws stemmed mainly from bad player evaluations. Happens. It was kinda obvious a long time ago this team wasn’t a title contender. Think it’s more about ability than effort though

In fairness, the effort also sucked tonight. If I had a nickel for every time we just watched a rebound while Creighton hustled for it…

 

[Conndog]

We're more talented than Creighton and I'm really quite sick of losing to them over and over. Hurley has a Greg McDermott problem.

I’m not sure that’s true

 

[JMick]

Based on the post game interview and lip reading the altercation between McDermott and Murray, he seems to have taken exception to Hurley’s “2 rings” comment, and defended that his guys felt disrespected by it

You can see him saying something like “come on man, you came to your place and points at finger said two rings.” Then Murray says “I didn’t say that”

Maybe they should simply try winning something that matters. Their fans yelled F Dan Hurley the entire game.

 

[Kolumbo]

They earned it, but we can’t foul that much and win no matter who we play.

Meanwhile the jays hardly fouled. I don't buy it. I loathe the big east.

 

[Shamon30]

also embarrassing that Diarra (our smallest guy) was the only one to step up to Neal. can’t allow that disrespect to happen.

emblematic of the lack of “dogs” on this roster.

Ross was ejected, so there's that...

 

[Hi-Low]

Maybe don't play like crap for 25 mins and a few bad calls won't be so important. Refs suck as always so assume need to play a full game to win.

Hate the Jays...hope they get crushed tomorrow and lose in 1st round of NCAA. And screw u McDermott your team has zero class and you're a phony.

 

[aceboon]

64-58 and AK missed that open 3, you could feel the team and the crowd kinda deflate with that miss

 

[UCTitleTown]

We're not going to win too many games if both Liam and Alex shoot that poorly.

Combined: 9 - 30 and 0 - 8 from three.

Considering the above, we made the game compelling.

AK was invisible in the first half. When HD is your leading scorer, that's not a good sign.

 

[AntG168]

Kind of simple really - they’re not good enough to win when they don’t play hard and they don’t play hard all that often. At least we do not need to see St. John’s blow them off the court again.

They really need a simpler playbook and the staff is still out there trying to prove they can play chess with this group of checker players.

They’re the exact same team they were in November.

What’s this complex offense you speak of? I think the staff has already simplified dramatically if you know what you’re watching. It’s just constant DHO for McNeeley, Ball, and Karaban. With a few wrinkles(slips, back screens, etc). What would you suggest they run instead with no one who can break a guy down one on one? The roster is just flawed.

 

[JCisthegoat]

In fairness, the effort also sucked tonight. If I had a nickel for every time we just watched a rebound while Creighton hustled for it…

That’s fair

 

[UCFan1513]

Maybe they should simply try winning something that matters. Their fans yelled F Dan Hurley the entire game.

I am in complete agreement. McD has no justification there

 

[UConn990411]

Kind of simple really - they’re not good enough to win when they don’t play hard and they don’t play hard all that often. At least we do not need to see St. John’s blow them off the court again.

They really need a simpler playbook and the staff is still out there trying to prove they can play chess with this group of checker players.

They’re the exact same team they were in November.

Agreed.

I’m all for continuing to run the sets that won them back-to-back titles, but this team doesn’t have the personnel or the skill to run that offense all game long.

It’s inexplicable to me how they haven’t figured out a two-man game with Liam/Solo or Liam/Karban that they can go to when the offense gets bogged down.

 

[jesterman]

Game flipped our way once Reed got in. You can make all the analytics arguments you want for starting Samson, but in this game, with that big of a mismatch? That was such a dumb coaching decision.

 

[superjohn]

Kind of simple really - they’re not good enough to win when they don’t play hard and they don’t play hard all that often. At least we do not need to see St. John’s blow them off the court again.

They really need a simpler playbook and the staff is still out there trying to prove they can play chess with this group of checker players.

They’re the exact same team they were in November.

That about sums it up. The system/playbook works with the right players but Hurley whiffed too much this offseason. Have to get more athletic through the portal and have to get some guys who can take their man off the dribble.

We would've had zero chance against the Johnnies so this one doesn't hurt too much.

 

[navery12]

Luke runs offense Kimani defense, and defending sucks all year. It’s bad coaching

Calling you an idiot would be an insult to people around the world with zero brain cells