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Duke Thoughts

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Danzz said:
I won't predict a win because Duke is very, very good but I have a feeling we fight like hell and make this a closer game than the experts think. UConn teams have traditionally played some stinkers against lesser competition but we seem to play well against very good competition.
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This....we always seem to play to the level of our competition. We are talented and have failed our early season tests. We have no excuse but to be HUNGRY HUSKIES. The kids should be more motivated than any point in the season so far.
 
huskymagic said:
You overestimate Duke and understimate UCONN's players. The key is Boatright shutting Tyus Jones down in the half court. You cannot allow him to penetrate and I think Boat will take that matchup seriously. Okafor is not a dominant big that scares anybody, and Brimah can bother him with his length and athleticism. Boat's defense on Jones, Hamilton continuing to play as our point forward with success, and preventing wide open 3's from Jones and Rasheed Sulaimon(Terrence Samuels needs to be on him) is a game plan for success against Duke. Facey can more than hold his own against Amile Jefferson, so it should be a good matchup. Feed the bigs, allow Hamilton to do what he does as our point forward, allow Boat to play as out 2 guard while also locking Jones down is a recipe for success on Thursday.
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Okafor is not a dominant big that scares anybody - I guess I've been watching the wrong guy for 4 or 5 games this year. He's as mobile and has the touch of a player well beyond his years.
Not sure if you are serious or just playing.
If you're serious you are, in my estimation - crazy
Can UConn stay close - yes
Can UConn win - I hope so but realistically probably not
I hate Duke as much as any team in existence BUT they have a very very strong team.
UConn's three point defense this season has been beyond bad and that is a strength of Puke.
 
pnow15 said:
Huskies should approach this game like an NCAA tourney elimination game. Why?. In reality it probably is. If UConn gets blow out, we may need to win AAC tourney to guarantee a bid.
Who is left on the schedule that is a high quality win? Florida is rebuilding. SMU?
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This thread wasn't about the schedule and the AAC so get off you're ridiculous pedestal will ya you sound like a broken fn record!
 
gtcam said:
Okafor is not a dominant big that scares anybody - I guess I've been watching the wrong guy for 4 or 5 games this year. He's as mobile and has the touch of a player well beyond his years.
Not sure if you are serious or just playing.
If you're serious you are, in my estimation - crazy
Can UConn stay close - yes
Can UConn win - I hope so but realistically probably not
I hate Duke as much as any team in existence BUT they have a very very strong team.
UConn's three point defense this season has been beyond bad and that is a strength of Puke.
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Translation of his argument: "he sucks because he isn't wearing a UCONN jersey". Gotta love the logic here.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Agreed. I expect them to fight like hell and maybe keep it within range for most of the game, but I just don't see them taking this one without: (i) a superhuman effort from Boat, Hamilton, and Amida; (ii) a career day from Facey; (iii) a major step forward from Rodney; and (iv) some timely shooting from SCJR. They'll also have to be lights out defensively. Duke generates points pretty easily.
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Superhuman? If Nolan scores 6 points we will win.
 
Happy with today because we had good ball movement, Boat healed, Rodney looking less injured. Hamilton feeding Brimah. Good fast break. Defensively we can not let Duke shoot 3's at will the way we did today with Coppin, but all in all very good.
 
Honestly, if we lose by less than 20 it will be a moral victory. Keep the loss to under 15 and that's great. Under 10 would be spectacular... Doomed for sure...
 
ericsandiego said:
Honestly, if we lose by less than 20 it will be a moral victory. Keep the loss to under 15 and that's great. Under 10 would be spectacular... Doomed for sure...
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Duke is good, is a prohibitive favorite, and will probably win. But this is an awful post. Less than 20 is a moral victory? That's horrendous.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
Duke is good, is a prohibitive favorite, and will probably win. But this is an awful post. Less than 20 is a moral victory? That's horrendous.
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LOL I stand by my post, which was sort of tongue in cheek. But seriously, we lost to Yale. gave up 85 to Coppin State. The players have admitted this team lacks chemistry at this point. Plenty of time to figure it out by March, but we aren't barn burners by any means at this point.
 
ericsandiego said:
LOL I stand by my post. We lost to Yale. gave up 85 to Coppin State. The players have admitted this team lacks chemistry at this point. Plenty of time to figure it out by March, but we aren't barn burners by any means at this point.
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The spread will not be 20, which makes your post pretty nonsensical.
 
UCONNfan1 said:
I agree. This team is not a good matchup against Duke.
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That's not the point. The notion that it's a "moral victory" if they lose by less than 20 is a farcical idea for a program of this stature. With fans like these . . .
 
UConn's transition defense and getting out to cover shooters is horrendous. Its been bad all year and was bad vs Coppin St (Glen Miller even said so during the post game).

If they don't get that reeled in and corrected for the Duke game it is going to be ugly. Duke is too talented and too well coached to get away with the bad transition defense.
 
We fans are getting over hyped for this game. I'll bet the players are taking it in stride.
 
We REALLY don't match up well with Duke defensively.

-Okafor plays well beyond his years as far as his offensive skill-set/repertoire and basketball IQ. I've seen him play a bit so far this year and he is savvy for his age. He doesn't force things and is a capable passer. I think he's a very tough match-up for Amida who is still inexperienced and foul-prone and not an exceptional rebounder for his height. That being said, we need Amida in the game over Nolan who hasn't given us much at all this year on either end of the floor. If Amida gets in foul trouble, we're sunk.

-Our transition defense is still a problem. For some reason we have a hard time stopping the ball. Coppin State had a few easy transition buckets against us where they got to the rim with ease. They also had a few quick-triggers 3's where we weren't defending close enough 1on1. Even if we do stop the ball, we've had a hard time capably accounting for all 5 guys on defense. A little bit of ball movement and screening from the opposing team and they have been able to find open shooters, which leads me to my next point...

-Our perimeter defense has been a big issue and Duke is shooting very well from behind the arc. They've got a lot of guys that can knock down shots. We have done a poor job of fighting over or around ball screens so far this year leading to a lot of open 3's. Our close-outs have been pretty poor.

-Our defense is not creating turnovers. Boat has a few steals on the year but that's been it for the most part. Our perimeter and pressure defense has NOT been as advertised at all. Our poor transition defense is probably one reason why we have a hard time pressuring the ball and forcing turnovers.

Offensively, I'm actually not overly concerned being able to put points up against Duke despite our early season shooting woes. We moved the ball better yesterday around the perimeter and we need to do that again in order to have any success against a team like Duke. Our guards need to penetrate and make the extra pass. I wouldn't be surprised to see Coach K go zone often. If he does, I think getting Hamilton/Facey touches around the free throw line will be key to our success.
 
Different teams yes, but they lost to Mercer. This place of all places shouldn't buy into the Duke is unbeatable hype.

I expect to compete for 40 minutes and hope to see a win.
 
August_West said:
Is this a prediction thread?
Duke 217
Uconn 34

doomed



In all seriousness I don't worry so much about our D being like it was today. They will be much tighter on Duke. It's human nature. D is 85 percent effort. Natural to play a bit looser when operating with an 11 point cushion 90 seconds into game. I worry about:
1) our tendency to dig a hole before 1/2 with looser D. We've been an excellent 2nd half defensive team even with the losses.
2). Finding offense other than lobs which Duke will take away.
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Uconn has a real chance if they can put Okafor in early and late foul trouble and Brimah is able to play at least 25 minutes whether foul-plagued or not. The one guy I believe who can challenge Okafor on drives to the hoop is Hamilton who can induce maybe 2 fouls. He's very crafty with high IQ lobs.. Even Nolan might be able to get one one foul off Okafor, too.

Plays should be designed to put constant pressure on Okafor. The guy can implode given that he is freshman. He could have a bad game here and there; nobody is perfect. Hopefully this would happen in the game against us. Other than that, I see not much else in terms of upsetting a very good Duke team. Hamilton could be the hero of this game, maybe not Brimah, but he and Boatright and Facey could play memorable games, too. Hopefully, they all click together against this very good Duke team. If Purvis is healthy, he could use this game to catapult his game before watching NBA scouts. This game could be his biggest opportunity during the regular season.

I am not coach KO, but I want to see Hamilton spelling Boat for PG duties. He would be a phenomenal oversized 2-guard for us. He should be put against that Duke PG. He just might succeed putting him in a straight jacket, why not, given his height and agility. This would do wonders for Boat's energy for the final 10 minutes. I'd like to see the players put together a productive transition game.

The one weakness Hamilton still has to contend with is with his FT shooting. He needs to shore that up because Duke will try to foul against him a lot.
 
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