Enjoy the ride

[nelsonmuntz]

This UConn team is good enough to win it all, and teams that are good enough to win it all do not come along very often. I am enjoying the ride, and will be disappointed if it does not end on the final weekend of the season.

This year's UConn team is not dominant, but it is very good. It has inside play, outside shooting, penetrators, rebounding, and good defense. Hurley will never be an X's and O's genius, but he has assembled and is coaching up a team that is deep, complements each other very well, and is playing at a very high level where the whole is more than the sum of its parts. There are coaches still playing that are better with late game adjustments, but there is more to coaching than just in-game adjustments. There are plenty of great game coaches who never made a Final Four. Game planning and getting players to play together as a team will go a long way. I started a thread in November where I compared this team to the Dream Season team of 89-90, and that comparison feels even more relevant now. This team just has the "it" that a team needs to make a deep March run.

This is a year where the other top teams, like Alabama, Kansas, Houston, and UCLA, seem very beatable. The media uses superlatives like "shocked the world" so often that it loses some of its meaning. How many people were truly "shocked" by Arizona's or Purdue's first round losses? Surprised maybe, but not shocked. None of these top teams are dominant, and the other teams that are left are all decent. A lot of crazy stuff can happen once the ref tosses the ball up to start the game. If chalk holds, UConn will have to play Kansas AND UCLA to make the Final Four, which is a tough path. Every time UConn has made a deep run, we have gotten some help in getting to the Final Four and National Championship by other top teams getting picked off by someone else. This feels like a Tournament where I think there is going to be quite a bit of that. We will see.

Going into the last two Tournaments, I think we all knew that there was a limited ceiling for UConn. Making a Final Four is always hard, but it is a realistic possibility with this team. So while a win is better than a loss, I am not going to get too excited over beating a low major like Iona. When UConn loses its next game, whatever this special season is comes to an end, and a team like this might not come along again for a while. I will not view it as a failure if UConn does not make the Final Four, but it will be a missed opportunity. I do not want this season to end.

 

[bendm]

I thought the point of just enjoying the ride was that you don’t know when it will end, but that it’s ok when it does (as long as it’s not before the sweet 16)

 

[ctchamps]

I've been enjoying it since the beginning. That 14-0 run got me through a 5 week period of medical issues. Even during that January swoon I saw adjustments in play that made me believe it was only going to be a swoon.

If this team plays it's A game it could beat anybody even other good teams playing their A game. Not since 2004 have I felt confident like this. We have depth, skills, athleticism, one of the best inside outside games in the country, and defense. The offensive and defensive metrics support this. But like any team with this potential they have to have an A game to win and that is never a given.

So go UConn! and yes we are Dooooomed!!!!!!

Show us the way!

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This UConn team is good enough to win it all, and teams that are good enough to win it all do not come along very often. I am enjoying the ride, and will be disappointed if it does not end on the final weekend of the season.

This year's UConn team is not dominant, but it is very good. It has inside play, outside shooting, penetrators, rebounding, and good defense. Hurley will never be an X's and O's genius, but he has assembled and is coaching up a team that is deep, complements each other very well, and is playing at a very high level where the whole is more than the sum of its parts. There are coaches still playing that are better with late game adjustments, but there is more to coaching than just in-game adjustments. There are plenty of great game coaches who never made a Final Four. Game planning and getting players to play together as a team will go a long way. I started a thread in November where I compared this team to the Dream Season team of 89-90, and that comparison feels even more relevant now. This team just has the "it" that a team needs to make a deep March run.

This is a year where the other top teams, like Alabama, Kansas, Houston, and UCLA, seem very beatable. The media uses superlatives like "shocked the world" so often that it loses some of its meaning. How many people were truly "shocked" by Arizona's or Purdue's first round losses? Surprised maybe, but not shocked. None of these top teams are dominant, and the other teams that are left are all decent. A lot of crazy stuff can happen once the ref tosses the ball up to start the game. If chalk holds, UConn will have to play Kansas AND UCLA to make the Final Four, which is a tough path. Every time UConn has made a deep run, we have gotten some help in getting to the Final Four and National Championship by other top teams getting picked off by someone else. This feels like a Tournament where I think there is going to be quite a bit of that. We will see.

Going into the last two Tournaments, I think we all knew that there was a limited ceiling for UConn. Making a Final Four is always hard, but it is a realistic possibility with this team. So while a win is better than a loss, I am not going to get too excited over beating a low major like Iona. When UConn loses its next game, whatever this special season is comes to an end, and a team like this might not come along again for a while. I will not view it as a failure if UConn does not make the Final Four, but it will be a missed opportunity. I do not want this season to end.

Agree in the main, however, could have to go through Few or Musselman or even Chris Collins.

For now, it's a weekend with a 4-game tourney that collected 3 other teams with fewer than 10 losses, including 2 conference champs, plus a co-champ that was runner up in their league's tourney. Winner of this weekend gets to play next weekend against another 4-team tourney winner.

My focus is on Sunday evening's game.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

One game at a time Boneyarders.

One game at a time.

 

[uconngb]

I've been enjoying it since the beginning. That 14-0 run got me through a 5 week period of medical issues. Even during that January swoon I saw adjustments in play that made me believe it was only going to be a swoon.

If this team plays it's A game it could beat anybody even other good teams playing their A game. Not since 2004 have I felt confident like this. We have depth, skills, athleticism, one of the best inside outside games in the country, and defense. The offensive and defensive metrics support this. But like any team with this potential they have to have an A game to win and that is never a given.

So go UConn! and yes we are Dooooomed!!!!!!

Show us the way!

You felt THAT confident in 2014?? I call BS on that. That was the biggest surprise of all time, that team showed zero reason to think they were capable of that run. But thank god

 

[Excalibur]

I’m amazed that people claiming to have followed college basketball for 30 years haven’t figured out that the tournament is more of a crapshoot now than it ever has been.

 

[ctchamps]

You felt THAT confident in 2014?? I call BS on that. That was the biggest surprise of all time, that team showed zero reason to think they were capable of that run. But thank god

Reread. I think it says 2004!

You have the wrong way! I have spoken!

 

[uconngb]

Reread. I think it says 2004!

You have the wrong way! I have spoken!

My bad. 2004 totally agree. Mea culpa.

When you’ve won as many as we have sometimes it’s easy to confuse!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I’m amazed that people claiming to have followed college basketball for 30 years haven’t figured out that the tournament is more of a crapshoot now than it ever has been.

It actually isn’t. UConn has had maybe 8 teams that I thought were legitimately capable of making the Final Four without extraordinary assistance or luck. 1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006 (although everyone saw this team’s issues), 2009 and 2011. With the exception of 1990 (UNLV was a wrecking crew), UConn was as good in those years as any team in the country. I thought 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2014 were long shots to make the Final Four. Their deep runs were fun, but those teams would all have needed major help to win it those years. 2014 may be the worst team to win it all since Villanova or NC State in the 80’s.

This year’s team fits in the first group. It is good enough to win it, and there is not a dominant team or teams standing in UConn’s way. Every team needs to play great every game and get a little luck to win it, but this year’s UConn team doesn’t need anything crazy to happen.

 

[Huskyforlife]

It’s a nice thread, but saying Hurley isn’t a great Xs and Os guy when his team is one of 2 to be top 20 in offense and defense, with only one sure fire NBA player. That must mean he’s doing something right with the game plan/strategy/play calling.

 

[Kolumbo]

The team also needs guys who can be clutch in close games. Whether you are up or down by a couple, you need ballers with ice in their veins. I think they've come a long way since the January swoon and have shown they can keep their composure. Don't get rattled and I like their odds.

as an aside, the FDU win was one of the biggest shockers all-time, given the disparity. FDU had a NET of 301 to purdue's 5 and every team in the NEC was over 300.

 

[HuskyHoosier]

Agreed I think he’s really good, and think Murray has helped a lot offensively. Question mark is more around late game adjustments in close games. I know results haven’t been there but it’s a relatively small sample size and I think he’s better than average there, and only getting better.

 

[boba]

Every time UConn has made a deep run, we have gotten some help in getting to the Final Four and National Championship by other top teams getting picked off by someone else.

While 2014 #4 Michigan State picked off #1 Virginia, #7 UConn went through #2 Villanova & #3 ISU, both of whom would have beaten UVa. The injury to ISU player whose name escapes was significant, but those happen too. Arguably, #4 Arizona was a better team than #1 Duke back in 2011, and they had geographic advantage to boot. (Wonder who the Duke fans sold their tickets to.)

 

[Dabutlerdidit]

Niang ?

 

[Waquoit]

The guy, who in another thread, felt the need to spit out "It is amazing that Hurley was able to coach UConn to a win over the might Iona Gaels" is now telling us to enjoy the ride. That's some good coaching by Hurley, right there.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The guy, who in another thread, felt the need to spit out "It is amazing that Hurley was able to coach UConn to a win over the might Iona Gaels" is now telling us to enjoy the ride. That's some good coaching by Hurley, right there.

You and Excalibur struggle with sarcasm.

One of the things that is making this board tough to read is that the same people who rip Hurley to shreds in the game chat attack any poster who doesn't proclaim that Hurley is a better coach than John Wooden. Hurley is what he is. There are some things he does well, and some things he doesn't. If you and Excalibur can't get your heads around that, then it is not worth explaining it to you.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

It’s a nice thread, but saying Hurley isn’t a great Xs and Os guy when his team is one of 2 to be top 20 in offense and defense, with only one sure fire NBA player. That must mean he’s doing something right with the game plan/strategy/play calling.

It's almost like the middle of the season never even happened.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

It actually isn’t. UConn has had maybe 8 teams that I thought were legitimately capable of making the Final Four without extraordinary assistance or luck. 1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006 (although everyone saw this team’s issues), 2009 and 2011. With the exception of 1990 (UNLV was a wrecking crew), UConn was as good in those years as any team in the country. I thought 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2014 were long shots to make the Final Four. Their deep runs were fun, but those teams would all have needed major help to win it those years. 2014 may be the worst team to win it all since Villanova or NC State in the 80’s.

This year’s team fits in the first group. It is good enough to win it, and there is not a dominant team or teams standing in UConn’s way. Every team needs to play great every game and get a little luck to win it, but this year’s UConn team doesn’t need anything crazy to happen.

Bah, the 1998 team only needed to not get the flu or have to play UNC in Greensboro to get to the final four.

 

[gsmooth]

Bah, the 1998 team only needed to not get the flu or have to play UNC in Greensboro to get to the final four.

Who in the 1998 team had the flu?

 

[caw]

It actually isn’t. UConn has had maybe 8 teams that I thought were legitimately capable of making the Final Four without extraordinary assistance or luck. 1990, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2006 (although everyone saw this team’s issues), 2009 and 2011. With the exception of 1990 (UNLV was a wrecking crew), UConn was as good in those years as any team in the country. I thought 1996, 1998, 2002 and 2014 were long shots to make the Final Four. Their deep runs were fun, but those teams would all have needed major help to win it those years. 2014 may be the worst team to win it all since Villanova or NC State in the 80’s.

This year’s team fits in the first group. It is good enough to win it, and there is not a dominant team or teams standing in UConn’s way. Every team needs to play great every game and get a little luck to win it, but this year’s UConn team doesn’t need anything crazy to happen.

I thought 2002 was less of a long shot with the way Butler was playing going into the tournament. Or did you mean pre-season? While Maryland was good, they were beatable and UConn played them pretty close.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Who in the 1998 team had the flu?

That was the Jamison/Carter Tar Heels and UConn was young that year. If that UConn team played that UNC team 10 times, UConn would have won two or three times. UNC was just better, as were Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, probably Utah, and maybe Cincinnati. The Big East kind of sucked that season, inflating UConn’s record, but that team was a year away.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I thought 2002 was less of a long shot with the way Butler was playing going into the tournament. Or did you mean pre-season? While Maryland was good, they were beatable and UConn played them pretty close.

Caron Butler was amazing that year and carried a very young UConn team to a couple of bad calls away from the Final Four, but that was more Caron playing out his butt than UConn having a great team. Johnny Selvie was the second best player on the team. Enough said.

 

[caw]

Caron Butler was amazing that year and carried a very young UConn team to a couple of bad calls away from the Final Four, but that was more Caron playing out his butt than UConn having a great team. Johnny Selvie was the second best player on the team. Enough said.

Don't disagree, but Caron was playing out his butt and that was nearly enough. He was that good that year.

 

[August_West]

That was the Jamison/Carter Tar Heels and UConn was young that year. If that UConn team played that UNC team 10 times, UConn would have won two or three times. UNC was just better, as were Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, probably Utah, and maybe Cincinnati. The Big East kind of sucked that season, inflating UConn’s record, but that team was a year away.

You’ve got that one right . You have 96 wrong