DePaul thoughts?

[DogMania]

Most importantly they won and advanced.

I was hoping they would have a solid game and begin building some confidence and good habits, but I thought through long stretches they did a lot of the same things that have plagued them.

1. Boy do they miss a lot of easy shots. (Boatright is really struggling to finish in traffic as does some of his teammates. I don't know how AD can't punish defenders and the rim everytime he gets the ball 5 feet on in.)
2. Boy did they miss a lot of FTs.
3. Still not always boxing out...good thing DePaul is not very good on the glass.
4. Gave up a lot of drives to the basket. Good thing DePaul s*cks more than UConn when it comes to finishing in traffic. Having AD, Alex and Scoe to erase shots sure helps.

If they continue to struggle in these areas I don't know how deep they will advance. A miss here and a miss there can be the difference between winning or losing a close game.

As for what they did well:

1. I thought they shot the J well today
2. Bazz continues to look solid leading the team and looks a lot more healthy than he has for some time. (Noticed that he seemed to be moving better in both the Pitt game and today.)
3. Scoe continues to build on his solid play of late.
4. Alex has looked good lately, not great, but good. (If this team can get the Scoe and Alex they had last year at this time, this team can do some damage.)
5. Boatright - If you can overlook a bunch of the missed shots in traffic and some of his cardiac failure inducing out-of-control drives and passes, he did a solid job of handling the point, knowing it was on his shoulders while Bazz had to sit most of the 2nd half. I'd like to see a little more composure from him and not force things quite a much. With that said, he made a lot of plays for both himself and his teammates (19 pts & 6 assts)
6. Lamb over 20 pts (25) is always a good thing. I'd like to see him get those shots within the flow of the offense. He forced a bunch during one stretch. In a close game against a good team, taking a string of highly contested shots and missing them, unless the team is struggling big time finding the basket, can result in a run by the other team from which they can't recover. I don't want to see Lamb have one of those 10-or-less shot games, but don't want to see him shoot us out of a game either. Just a little balance and smarts will go a long way. If the team runs it's stuff, Lamb will get the ball back and hopefully with at least a fraction of a step on his man to free him up for a good look. Giving him the ball at the top with a guy in his face doesn't often end well. Not saying they shouldn't try to get switches and give him the ball in that spot, but it shouldn't be the staple for this team, which tends to stand around and gets completely out of sync when that happens.

Bottom line it was a W and they have their first back-to-back wins since mid January. If they beat WVU it will be the first back-to-back-to-back W since December. Yeah, hard to believe.

 

[caw]

Just looking at the PBP and Boxscore.

• Napier must have played well in his minutes.
• Lamb started on fire.
• Roscoe and Giffey provided what you want them to provide.
• Oriakhi was close to what you hope to get from him.
• Drummond and Boatright didn't play poorly but it just feels like they can provide sooo much more.
• Olander and DD played a few minutes and gave the team some minutes to rest guys.

 

[dogpause]

I was hoping for a performance that helped increase their confidence level. I don't think this did it, although there were some bright spots.

 

[AtlantaHusky]

Seems like they had fun and were fluid. Liked the hitting of the threes. Disliked the missing of the free throws and some defensive lapses/sloppy turnovers.
Happy with the W, should have won by 20+ but no worries. Happy for the kids.
Would love another W tomorrow to be in the big lights versus Quse.

 

[djct1999]

this game was over with 15 mins to go in the 2nd half. from there on out, it was pickup basketball. that being said, when it mattered, the boys played well. i understand the box score says otherwise, but boatright played real sloppy and forced a ton of stuff. i do think our best is yet to come!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Free throw shooting must improve. Boatright got too cocky, especially in the 2H when we had a big lead. It allowed Depaul to shave the lead. After blowing a 14 point 2H lead to PC, you would think they would learn to value every possession, even with the lead. This team wastes possessions like none I have seen in a long time.

WVU will be a test. I think we can and should win, but it won't be easy if they don't fix these mistakes and play a complete game. Big game. Getting to 20 wins locks us in the NCAAs and probably boosts the seed a little.

 

[tzznandrew]

I've been a Giffey "hater." He was quite good today. Nice defensive block to save a layup, some nice hustle plays. He took the open 3 (he missed, but still). That's what we need from the kid.

 

[Supes]

Good:
- 2nd half rebounding, really stepped it up
- Took good care of the ball

Bad:
- 1st half rebounding
- Started sleepwalking through the game after going up 24
- Foul shooting
- Closing out on 3's. They didn't shoot 3's great, but we had more of the same problem we've had all year, not contesting 3's. No reason a team should shoot *better* from 3-point range than they do from 2-point range.

A win is a win, but there's still a lot to work on (and no real practice time to work on it). Even disregarding seeding/bubble talk, I'd love to see us beat WVU simply so we can get an additional game against top competition to work on these issues.

 

[freescooter]

this was the same old same old in my estimation...24 point lead is suddenly 10 in the blink of an eye...we were quite lucky to be playing an awful Depaul team or it could have been another nailbiter. I totally agree with the assessment of Lamb. he needs to get his shots, but he also needs to know when to take them. Taking a contested 3 pointer when the other team is making a run isn't smart basketball. Drummond should be yanked out and sent to the end of the bench next time he tries that jumper...just take it to the hole...Jeez...that absolutley got Calhoun to use some, um, strong language. freethows...that game is a complete blowout and we're all out having a beer by halftime if we hit 65%. Against a good team that kind of shooting will absolutely kill us...If I were coaching against UCONN, I'd be playing hack-a-Drummond every time he touches the ball...even if it is called flagrant you aren't at much risk of him hitting them.

 

[UC Billy]

I was hoping to see this team play a full 40 minutes of defensive pressure. They played well enough to win, but let Depaul back in it because of there lack of playing god old D. This will kill us somewhere down the road and if if its not corrected the season will be over soon.

 

[progrocks]

Reaction? We won. We are in. Tomorrow will actually tell us something, this game was never going to mean more than a result.

 

[willie99]

they won by a comfortable margin, everybody contributed and they held Depaul to 32% from the field

I just can't find a problem

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

this was the same old same old in my estimation...24 point lead is suddenly 10 in the blink of an eye...we were quite lucky to be playing an awful Depaul team or it could have been another nailbiter. I totally agree with the assessment of Lamb. he needs to get his shots, but he also needs to know when to take them. Taking a contested 3 pointer when the other team is making a run isn't smart basketball. Drummond should be yanked out and sent to the end of the bench next time he tries that jumper...just take it to the hole...Jeez...that absolutley got Calhoun to use some, um, strong language. freethows...that game is a complete blowout and we're all out having a beer by halftime if we hit 65%. Against a good team that kind of shooting will absolutely kill us...If I were coaching against UCONN, I'd be playing hack-a-Drummond every time he touches the ball...even if it is called flagrant you aren't at much risk of him hitting them.

Haha. Don't ever change.

 

[Kitaman]

Good (not great) win to get going. Weird game in that UConn looked so dominating on the court, not reflected in the scoreboard, until mid 2nd half.

WV will be a better test.

 

[sledog]

Opponents, unlike previous years, have no fear in driving to to the hoop.

 

[mcs333]

10 blocks and AD/ AO did a good job of changing shots in the paint. AD had a few nice moves but he just couldn't finish. He did have a nice move and short jumper he made in the first half.

 

[tzznandrew]

That spin move was nice. The behind the back dribble was really awesome, too, but he needed to finish!

 

[UCweCONN]

How far away from the floor were the ESPN announcers today? Roscoe Smith hit a three from the wing and the male announcer said Lamb hits a three. They don't exactly look similar. I was waiting for Doris Burke to correct him but she didn't. They spent more time babbling about the state of UCONN basketball than calling the action.

Also, Doris Burke said she has gotten a lot of heat from Husky fans over her doom and gloom talk about UCONN basketball. She must read the Yard.

Hi, Doris!

 

[Huskies320]

Better box out tomorrow, cause Kevin Jones doesn't mess around on the offensive glass

 

[DogMania]

How far away from the floor were the ESPN announcers today? Roscoe Smith hit a three from the wing and the male announcer said Lamb hits a three. They don't exactly look similar. I was waiting for Doris Burke to correct him but she didn't. They spent more time babbling about the state of UCONN basketball than calling the action.

Also, Doris Burke said she has gotten a lot of heat from Husky fans over her doom and gloom talk about UCONN basketball. She must read the Yard.

Hi, Doris!

Yeah, that was annoying. It was like watching one of those high school all star games where they ramble on about everything but the action. I give Doris some credit for doing her homework, but this isn't the Olympics where the side story is the story. This is college basketball and most fans tune in to watch what's taking place on the court and expect the play-by-play call the game and the analyst sitting next to that person, analyze the action.

I'll take the over-the-top Gus Johnson any day over the two who did the UConn game. On a side note, I'm going to miss Gus. I love the energy he added to the NCAA tournament. His end-of-game calls were classic. I don't understand how CBS didn't or couldn't retain him.

 

[Ricky1Moore]

Biggest positive from Depaul for me is the mojo. With Calhoun on the bench there is an expect-to-win mentality that has lacked in his absence. 35 minutes from roscoe helps too, dude is almost our mojo sometimes, just fighting and playing hard.

Tomorrow's game is going to be a battle, WV is no joke. But we are better. If we win, Cuse fans and players are going to go to sleep tomorrow night (high) wondering if their daddy has just knocked on the door again to... Oh wait bad analogy... Bernie has made these sort of analogies difficult...

Cuse fans and players will go to bed wondering if we're going to do what we do (win in the postseason) and they're going to do what they do (lose in the postseason)

 

[Prezidint]

Bernie has made these sort of anal ogies difficult...

Too soon?