OT: - East #2 | Page 8 | The Boneyard

OT: East #2

2 looks good on us...
IMG_3073.jpeg
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
If it wasn't for good players teams wouldn't be good is among the dumber of the hot takes we see around here. Right up there with "if [good shooter] didn't make a bunch of shots we would have lost." I have yet to hear anyone suggest that Mara makes Michigan's success a fluke.
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We know full well that most times the teams with the best players (I'm defining them as the one and dones) more often than not flame out in the tourney. I've been picking against Freshman for many years and winning.
 
media reporting on college athletes' injuries remains weird. either he had a calf strain or he didn't, nobody who did have one is 100% 2 days later.

 
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superjohn said:
29-5 currently but I get your point.

I do think our record is a bit inflated compared to past UConn seasons because this is probably the weakest Big East since I've been watching basketball but we did schedule great out of conference and we did win those games minus the Arizona loss without two starters.
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I was giving the regular season record, as a counterpoint to saying he had a lot riding on the post season. And yes, the Big East was down this year, and in other seasons the same quality ball might have produced fewer wins, but we went 17-3. We won a national championship in 11 in a much tougher Big East, but we finished 9th in the conference that year. We had an exceptional regular season, period.
 
bendm said:
And only 2 included since 1975 when expanded to 32
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To me, the modern era started when NC State beat UCLA in the national semi-finals in double OT. Which roughly coincided with the expansion from 25 to 32, and allowing more than one team from a conference into the tourney.
 
UCTitleTown said:
People in this board were predicting he'd start. 😄
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Enough people post on this board that you could find someone who says anything. Just like an unlimited amount of monkeys typing on an unlimited amount of computers over an infinite period of time will one day reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare.

There were almost none predicting Furphy would start this year. But I did see him play this summer in the FIBA tournament, and I still expect him to be a meaningful contributor before he’s done.
 
businesslawyer said:
Enough people post on this board that you could find someone who says anything. Just like an unlimited amount of monkeys typing on an unlimited amount of computers over an infinite period of time will one day reproduce the complete works of Shakespeare.

There were almost none predicting Furphy would start this year. But I did see him play this summer in the FIBA tournament, and I still expect him to be a meaningful contributor before he’s done.
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he was the lead scorer for Australia, played Dybantsa pretty well and certainly outplayed his teammate Dyson Daniels who is listed in mock NBA drafts. I had some higher expectations but hopefully we see more next year.
 
Listened to Bill Simmons tourney preview with J Kyle Mann and Tate Frazier of The Ringer and Frazier said Mullins should come back for another year, this after a month ago when Simmons was asking which players should he watch as the season was coming to an end Frazier offered up Kon comparisons for Mullins. Seems like people are starting to use their eyes and what's being put out there on film instead of just going off of pre-heated HS evaluations that are holding less weight as the season comes to an end.
 
aceboon said:
Listened to Bill Simmons tourney preview with J Kyle Mann and Tate Frazier of The Ringer and Frazier said Mullins should come back for another year, this after a month ago when Simmons was asking which players should he watch as the season was coming to an end Frazier offered up Kon comparisons for Mullins. Seems like people are starting to use their eyes and what's being put out there on film instead of just going off of pre-heated HS evaluations that are holding less weight as the season comes to an end.
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The "one more year" piece.
 
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BugsyCT said:
UConn 7th in today's AP poll, SJU 10th

www.espn.com

Duke heads into March Madness ranked No. 1 in AP Top 25

Duke is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 of the regular season.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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And the Coaches poll moved SJU up to 9. SJU and the Big East got screwed with a 5 seed. And so did the East Region. If St John's is currently playing like a 2-3 seed then Kansas, Duke, TCU and the rest can't be too happy either. Especially UConn
 
Kolumbo said:
saw this on the st john's board. I can have both sympathy and shadenfruede 🤣

www.instagram.com

New York Post Sports on Instagram: "Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo sounded OFF on how 'royally screwed' St. John's was with their March Madness seeding. 👀"

1,758 likes, 68 comments - nypostsports on March 16, 2026: "Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo sounded OFF on how 'royally screwed' St. John's was with their March Madness seeding. 👀".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
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Calm down its Mad Dog. Knows nothing about sports beyond playing tennis at Rollins College. great marketing though
 
aceboon said:
I prefer the late start, get to watch all the other games and then pop an edible for the late start before we're seated in the torture chamber
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Yup. It’s a Friday night - who cares it’s at 10pm. Most people don’t work Saturday. People that are worried about the late start can be safely tucked in their bed by 12:15. Up at 7:15 to get 7 hrs of sleep. What’s the big deal? lol plus I can enjoy the first two days of the tourney and then get watch UConn at the very end of first round- don’t have to worry about them till later Friday
 
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JB75 said:
Yup. It’s a Friday night - who cares it’s at 10pm. Most people don’t work Saturday. People that are worried about the late start can be safely tucked in their bed by 12:15. Up at 7:15 to get 7 hrs of sleep. What’s the big deal? lol plus I can enjoy the first two days of the tourney and then get watch UConn at the very end of first round- don’t have to worry about them till later Friday
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1. More people from CT would make the trip if not for the late start
2. Even for people watching at home or in the local pub, we aren't all in our 20's anymore. I'm not throwing back pints and wings at 11PM
3. So much for kids getting to see their favorite college team playing in the NCAA tourney on day 1
4. Most importantly, these student-athletes will be finishing a game well after midnight for no logical reason when they had all day Friday to play, so by the time they cool down, eat, relax and get to bed, I'd imagine it's at least after 2 AM Saturday. That makes for a lousy start Saturday trying to practice and prepare for a game the next day against UCLA or UCF
 
JB75 said:
Yup. It’s a Friday night - who cares it’s at 10pm. Most people don’t work Saturday. People that are worried about the late start can be safely tucked in their bed by 12:15. Up at 7:15 to get 7 hrs of sleep. What’s the big deal? lol plus I can enjoy the first two days of the tourney and then get watch UConn at the very end of first round- don’t have to worry about them till later Friday
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Yup. Not a big deal. I probably will tape it and watch it early next morning without peeking at the scores. I'll be wide awake with mugs full of coffee. Have to restrain my voice yelling at tv though so I don't wake up Mrs. Menace.

It's also hard to imagine all the local drunk Philly (South Philly?) fans will be with a 10:00 pm tipoff.
 
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uconnyankee said:
Curious…. If we matchup with St Johns again, do they bring in BE refs for that game?
Asking for a friend…
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No in the NCAA tourney they really (really, really?) try to use refs from not those conferences.
 
Sam Vecenie wrote an article for The Athletic about 9 prospects that have the most to gain from the tourney and Mullins was included.

Braylon Mullins, Connecticut
First-round opponent: Furman; Potential second-round opponent: UCLA or UCF

No player has more room to help himself during the tournament than Mullins. Connecticut got a very favorable draw at the bottom of the East Region. UCLA is dealing with injuries to its two best players, Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau. UCF is ranked outside of the top 50 in KenPom and doesn’t do many of the things that have caused issues for UConn this season — mainly interior scoring. Louisville has been very up-and-down as the No. 6 seed, and Michigan State is similar to UConn in that it goes through offensive droughts in the half court. I would trust Hurley and what I consider to be the best staff in the country to problem-solve for a one-game, must-win matchup and get through, as long as Silas DeMary Jr. is healthy enough to play.

But because of the Huskies’ offensive droughts, Mullins will be the key to stopping the half-court issues. When Mullins is rolling, few shooters in the country can take over games as he can. His lightning-quick release and ability to fly off of movement and fire have brought him into the NBA Draft conversation. Scouts typically rank him somewhere in the No. 12 to 25 range. If he leaves UConn, he’ll go somewhere in the first round. However, there’s a big difference between being a potential lottery pick and more of a potential late first-rounder, when the other option is millions in NIL money to return to school.

Mullins hasn’t helped himself much to close the year. Over his last seven games, he’s averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, shooting 38 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from 3. He could simply be due for a barrage of 3s to fall over the next two weeks. But Mullins also has issues dealing with strength and stronger opponents. And after a terrific run before this recent slump, when he averaged 15 points over 11 games, it’s clear that teams prioritized bumping him and frustrating him.

A big tournament for Mullins could be the difference between him getting locked into a 2026 lottery spot or entering the 2027 draft. And it’ll almost certainly be the difference between UConn getting upset early or going on a deep run.
 
aceboon said:
Sam Vecenie wrote an article for The Athletic about 9 prospects that have the most to gain from the tourney and Mullins was included.

Braylon Mullins, Connecticut
First-round opponent: Furman; Potential second-round opponent: UCLA or UCF

No player has more room to help himself during the tournament than Mullins. Connecticut got a very favorable draw at the bottom of the East Region. UCLA is dealing with injuries to its two best players, Donovan Dent and Tyler Bilodeau. UCF is ranked outside of the top 50 in KenPom and doesn’t do many of the things that have caused issues for UConn this season — mainly interior scoring. Louisville has been very up-and-down as the No. 6 seed, and Michigan State is similar to UConn in that it goes through offensive droughts in the half court. I would trust Hurley and what I consider to be the best staff in the country to problem-solve for a one-game, must-win matchup and get through, as long as Silas DeMary Jr. is healthy enough to play.

But because of the Huskies’ offensive droughts, Mullins will be the key to stopping the half-court issues. When Mullins is rolling, few shooters in the country can take over games as he can. His lightning-quick release and ability to fly off of movement and fire have brought him into the NBA Draft conversation. Scouts typically rank him somewhere in the No. 12 to 25 range. If he leaves UConn, he’ll go somewhere in the first round. However, there’s a big difference between being a potential lottery pick and more of a potential late first-rounder, when the other option is millions in NIL money to return to school.

Mullins hasn’t helped himself much to close the year. Over his last seven games, he’s averaging 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, shooting 38 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from 3. He could simply be due for a barrage of 3s to fall over the next two weeks. But Mullins also has issues dealing with strength and stronger opponents. And after a terrific run before this recent slump, when he averaged 15 points over 11 games, it’s clear that teams prioritized bumping him and frustrating him.

A big tournament for Mullins could be the difference between him getting locked into a 2026 lottery spot or entering the 2027 draft. And it’ll almost certainly be the difference between UConn getting upset early or going on a deep run.
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Here's the video talking about the article:

Mike Honcho

Thread 'Vecenie on Braylon'

  • Like
 
Inyatkin said:
Posting this video got a different thread locked, just FYI
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The video didn't get the thread locked. It was Tom thinking what people would discuss after the video. The same thing that might happen with the article.
 
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