Do we control our own destiny?

[willie99]

I believe so. When they play their best, there's nothing anyone can do

Stay strong boys, you can do it

 

[husky429]

I mean it's silly to think your opponent doesn't have a big part of losses. We didn't beat ourselves 7x in the Big East... the opponent was better.

That being said, with all but the most mature teams, it's better to focus on US than THEM until you get into the nitty gritty of the scout.

 

[Get a Job]

I mean, every team that plays in a conference with a tournament of which the winner is given an auto-bid controls its own destiny. So yeah.

 

[imno1]

if we limit turnovers and don’t go cold from 3 I like our chances against anyone But I think it’s the mojo gods who control our destiny

 

[microfich]

Only those who blame themselves for losses when we forget to wear UConn gear or record the game.
Oh, you meant UConn, the team?
Clearly, winning controls everything.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

It's college basketball. Every team that enters their conference tournament controls their own destiny

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

It seems as if the Uconn teams that have won it all have had at least one "unstoppable" player. Regardless of who the team played those players got their points, played their standard or better game. etc.. - Hamilton, Okafor, Kemba, Shabazz. Not sure we have that Alpha on this team. We will definitely cause some serious matchup problems for the opponents come NCAA time. i would bet we are going to be near the bottom of almost everyone's bracket wish list.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

It seems as if the Uconn teams that have won it all have had at least one "unstoppable" player. Regardless of who the team played those players got their points, played their standard or better game. etc.. - Hamilton, Okafor, Kemba, Shabazz. Not sure we have that Alpha on this team. We will definitely cause some serious matchup problems for the opponents come NCAA time. i would bet we are going to be near the bottom of almost everyone's bracket wish list.

Hawkins (minus last night) has been emerging as that alpha

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Hawkins (minus last night) has been emerging as that alpha

Agreed...(and if not this year), if he comes back next year with a slightly better handle we would likely be pre-season favorites.

 

[Billy Jack]

Hawkins (minus last night) has been emerging as that alpha

And he’s only a sophomore. Those other alphas were further along in their careers when they led their teams to championships.

 

[ctchamps]

I understand the cliche and applaud @willie99 for his optimism. He’s been positive all season.

But is there anything in this universe that has control over its destiny?

 

[Get a Job]

I understand the cliche and applaud @willie99 for his optimism. He’s been positive all season.

But is there anything in this universe that has control over its destiny?

 

[ucp990411]

It seems as if the Uconn teams that have won it all have had at least one "unstoppable" player. Regardless of who the team played those players got their points, played their standard or better game. etc.. - Hamilton, Okafor, Kemba, Shabazz. Not sure we have that Alpha on this team. We will definitely cause some serious matchup problems for the opponents come NCAA time. i would bet we are going to be near the bottom of almost everyone's bracket wish list.

Our team goes as Andre Jackson goes in my opinion. Not an alpha in the sense of scoring points but an alpha in every other way. Bring your energy Andre, stay out of foul trouble and we will be fine

 

[August_West]

We

I mean it's silly to think your opponent doesn't have a big part of losses. We didn't beat ourselves 7x in the Big East... the opponent was better.

That being said, with all but the most mature teams, it's better to focus on US than THEM until you get into the nitty gritty of the scout.

beat ourselves a few of the times. But yes, the opponent has a say.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I mean it's silly to think your opponent doesn't have a big part of losses. We didn't beat ourselves 7x in the Big East... the opponent was better.

That being said, with all but the most mature teams, it's better to focus on US than THEM until you get into the nitty gritty of the scout.

UConn was exposed for what they were at the time. Kudos on those schools' staffs and players for exposing UConn.

Nova Saturday night and the BET will give us fans a good idea if this is a legit Sat/Sun of week 2 team or another possible first round exit team.

 

[Chin Diesel]

We

beat ourselves a few of the times. But yes, the opponent has a say.

Even this morning I was looking at the BE standings and national rankings and kept going back to the turd in NJ at Seton Hall.

24-6 and 13-6 in conference just seems light years better than 23-7 and 12-7 even though it's only one game. UConn would probably be in the top ten, a guaranteed 3 seed and an outside chance of a 2 seed.

 

[Palatine]

Always. All of us.

 

[August_West]

Even this morning I was looking at the BE standings and national rankings and kept going back to the turd in NJ at Seton Hall.

24-6 and 13-6 in conference just seems light years better than 23-7 and 12-7 even though it's only one game. UConn would probably be in the top ten, a guaranteed 3 seed and an outside chance of a 2 seed.

We were in the first Providence game dumb late game stuff), in the first X game (we threw that away even worse with horrible decisions down the stretch and TECHNICALS!) we were up double digits at marquette with Clingan destroying them and Hurley went away from it, and we were up 15 at Seton Hall and had the lead the whole game until we didnt. We beat ourselves in all of those. Providence the least, but the others you can point to some really glaring mess ups.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Even this morning I was looking at the BE standings and national rankings and kept going back to the turd in NJ at Seton Hall.

24-6 and 13-6 in conference just seems light years better than 23-7 and 12-7 even though it's only one game. UConn would probably be in the top ten, a guaranteed 3 seed and an outside chance of a 2 seed.

The St. Johns loss was worse, since it's a worse team and was at home, but both of those should have been wins. My fan take looks something like this. UConn enters league play, coaches that know Hurley and know UConn have seen something they can exploit and they do. The players get rattled by this, they aren't sure why what worked for 14-0 isn't working.

After those tough games, we get St. Johns and the team was just out of it. Next game? At Seton Hall and they wilted at the end. Remove those two and it's a top 8 team with a 2 seed. That's honestly what I still think they are.

 

[BarkingDog]

It seems as if the Uconn teams that have won it all have had at least one "unstoppable" player. Regardless of who the team played those players got their points, played their standard or better game. etc.. - Hamilton, Okafor, Kemba, Shabazz. Not sure we have that Alpha on this team. We will definitely cause some serious matchup problems for the opponents come NCAA time. i would bet we are going to be near the bottom of almost everyone's bracket wish list.

Adama Sanogo is an unstoppable force.

Sanogo averages 17.2 ppg on 60 percent shooting. Last night he went off for 26 in a mere 23 minutes. He has scored in double figures in every game except one since Jan, 1. Adama is the rock on which this team is built.

With Andre playing so well and if Hawkins can settle into a groove, and with contributions from the other parts, Tristen, AK, the bench, this team can most definitely win it all.

A lot has to go right for any team to win a championship, of course, but this team is capable and Sanogo can lead them there. .

 

[XLCenterFan]

For a team to win it all, they have to play their best for 6 games. There can be very brief lapses (especially earlier in the bracket, or against a team that is also having an off night/moment), but overall, you have to bring it for a whole month. After what I've seen this year from us and the rest of college basketball, I believe that if we play our peak game for a month, we can win it all. Now we just have to roll the ball out...there's a few other teams that are thinking the same thing. We have the pieces and current mindset to do it.

 

[bendm]

nope our fates are predetermined

 

[superjohn]

The St. Johns loss was worse, since it's a worse team and was at home, but both of those should have been wins. My fan take looks something like this. UConn enters league play, coaches that know Hurley and know UConn have seen something they can exploit and they do. The players get rattled by this, they aren't sure why what worked for 14-0 isn't working.

After those tough games, we get St. Johns and the team was just out of it. Next game? At Seton Hall and they wilted at the end. Remove those two and it's a top 8 team with a 2 seed. That's honestly what I still think they are.

There's been a weird pattern to our seasons with Hurley here. Get huge wins early in the season, get punched in the face in league play, adjust to it and play our best ball at the end of the season and then flop in the tournaments. We need to flip the script on the last part starting now.

 

[Chin Diesel]

We were in the first Providence game dumb late game stuff), in the first X game (we threw that away even worse with horrible decisions down the stretch and TECHNICALS!) we were up double digits at marquette with Clingan destroying them and Hurley went away from it, and we were up 15 at Seton Hall and had the lead the whole game until we didnt. We beat ourselves in all of those. Providence the least, but the others you can point to some really glaring mess ups.

The St. Johns loss was worse, since it's a worse team and was at home, but both of those should have been wins. My fan take looks something like this. UConn enters league play, coaches that know Hurley and know UConn have seen something they can exploit and they do. The players get rattled by this, they aren't sure why what worked for 14-0 isn't working.

After those tough games, we get St. Johns and the team was just out of it. Next game? At Seton Hall and they wilted at the end. Remove those two and it's a top 8 team with a 2 seed. That's honestly what I still think they are.

To each their own.

I was trying to catch the X game on tape delay and screwed up and saw the final score. At first I guessed it was just a loss on the road to a good team. Took me two days to get the time to watch and I'm glad I did. That would have been infuriating.

The SJU game was a more of the same where teams just decide to drive and flail and just keep getting baskets or lay ups. We've seen that play out before against SJU.

Seton Hall did the same and they had done it last year. In spite of all the stupidity of the SH game, one stop on D and one defensive rebound and that game is a win. Worst part was the announcers talking about how NDefo is a great weak side rebounder and has a knack for finding the ball. And 20 seconds later we watched that play happen live.

All the other losses were a done deal with a minute or two to go. The Seton Hall game UConn led for all but 0.5 seconds and lost it on a put back. For me, that's the one that sticks in the craw.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There's been a weird pattern to our seasons with Hurley here. Get huge wins early in the season, get punched in the face in league play, adjust to it and play our best ball at the end of the season and then flop in the tournaments. We need to flip the script on the last part starting now.

Agreed. I think they will. They have to really. I'm no coach, but I definitely saw opposing coaches who ruthlessly exploited our inability to stop drivers on ball screens. They know Hurley likes to overplay the 3, they know he will send his Big out to the line, and the result was a parade to the rim and a massive number of fouls as our guards/wings were chasing their man. Clingan solved some of it by accident, because Hurley didn't send him out as far.

This may have been the year that Hurley finally realized he can't just run his system and win in the Big East. I am very curious to see what we throw at Villanova. Dixon has been a problem for us, but I think we will change things up. Sanogo facing more often will stress Dixon on D, but our D on him has to change.