Felt good loss

[HooperScooper]

8-27 (29.6%)

You gotta be ----in' me! I'm getting more upset with that game this morning than I was last night. I hate Kansas!

 

[boog204]

I'm still pissed because we didn't play well and more than that, at crucial moments, we played dumb.

Up 5, 52-47, and Kansas on the ropes we run absolutely nothing and Diarra has the ball in his hands with 11 on the shot clock, nearly turns it over, then has to hoist a baseline 3 with the shot clock running out. We come down and give up a wide open 3.

Up 4, 54-50, after Dickinson misses a FT, we come down, have an out of sorts possession and our shot is basically a fall away jump hook by Tristan over Dickinson. Kansas comes down and gets a wide open look for Adams.

Up 54-52, we immediately come down, run the whole shot clock down, and Ball has to heave a jumper as the shot clock expires. (This is the play where Samson got tackled). Kansas comes down and McCullers hits a wide open 3.

And that was pretty much game.

We battled and mad props to that. Kansas is obviously a quality team and their athleticism bothered us. Tristan was outstanding, obviously Spencer was hampered, DC was exposed a bit, Karaban is off, and we didn't get much of anything from anyone else. But the game was ours if we just could execute. But when the game was right there we reverted to playing passive offensively as we did in the early stages of the first half and worse yet, gave up absolutely wide open looks on three of four possessions. So this is not a "felt good loss" for me.

 

[HooperScooper]

That's more due to home officiating than to Self's coaching. I wouldn't put too much merit into that stat.

It doesn't say it's Self coaching and that's not the point of the stat. Not sure how you took it that way. It just shows how hard it is to win there. That was the point of the stat.

 

[DogMania]

I'm still pissed because we didn't play well and more than that, at crucial moments, we played dumb.

Up 5, 52-47, and Kansas on the ropes we run absolutely nothing and Diarra has the ball in his hands with 11 on the shot clock, nearly turns it over, then has to hoist a baseline 3 with the shot clock running out. We come down and give up a wide open 3.

Up 4, 54-50, after Dickinson misses a FT, we come down, have an out of sorts possession and our shot is basically a fall away jump hook by Tristan over Dickinson. Kansas comes down and gets a wide open look for Adams.

Up 54-52, we immediately come down, run the whole shot clock down, and Ball has to heave a jumper as the shot clock expires. (This is the play where Samson got tackled). Kansas comes down and McCullers hits a wide open 3.

And that was pretty much game.

We battled and mad props to that. Kansas is obviously a quality team and their athleticism bothered us. Tristan was outstanding, obviously Spencer was hampered, DC was exposed a bit, Karaban is off, and we didn't get much of anything from anyone else. But the game was ours if we just could execute. But when the game was right there we reverted to playing passive offensively as we did in the early stages of the first half and worse yet, gave up absolutely wide open looks on three of four possessions. So this is not a "felt good loss" for me.

I like how this team moves the ball and all the motion they do in their offense. With that said, I think the team needs to have a little better situational awareness where certain players should be the ones taking the shots. They're a couple of critical moments late in the game where Diarra was taking the shots. I'd like his aggressiveness to look for his shots but not when we need points to either stretch lead at a critical time or when down by just a few points. They should have got the ball in Newton's hand during the latter part of the shot clock.

Once they get castle back he's the type of player who can take his man off the dribble and either score in the paint, draw a file or kick to an open teammate. He probably would have been the difference in that game.

With that said, Kansas put together some really good stretches that flip the game in their favor.

None of us including the team likes losing, but it was an excellent experience for the team to build on. If the team were at full strength they would have come out of there with a W.

 

[ctchamps]

There have been many games in the past where I watched a win and I knew that it was fools gold. I felt the team was not progressing or even regressing and it was going to hurt in the long run. There were games which I watched a team lose but knew the converse was true. Last season we lost the first couple of games moving Andre from the perimeter to the base line but I knew that the coaching staff figured out a way to make Andre an asset in the half court offense as opposed to a liability.

Obviously there is a third more preferential door and that is to watch a team win and the team continues to improve. But I'll take a loss any day if it helps the team develop. Especially when it's early in the season.

This game allowed the team to play under the most stressful situation (injuries, extreme hostile environment, horrible start) and still be one shot away from winning. The players could be like several posters in this forum and not recognize the positives of this game or overweigh the negatives. Yes it could end up negatively impacting their future play if they get down on themselves. Or they can observe and believe that in spite of the loss they almost over came those hurdles. They could recognize that very few teams could have done this. They can believe they are the best team if they remain healthy and even unhealthy are one of the best teams. I hope this is their take from this game.

 

[Scoe]

Not a feel good loss but a loss looking back should play big dividends by selection Sunday. Honestly thinking of this loss, every time I pick up a glass cup and take a drink it makes me wanna throw my cup through a window.
I could only imagine what it was like taking that flight back home, there are great lessons to take from this loss as frustrating as it was. Now let’s learn from it and get better from it.

 

[Kitaman]

Let me re-state that.

Kansas is 13-0 at home when facing a top 10 team ranked higher than they are. That is unfathomable.

Even if Cam made that shot, Kansas would have made a miraculous buzzer beater to win.

Doomed either way

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

I'm still pissed because we didn't play well and more than that, at crucial moments, we played dumb.

Up 5, 52-47, and Kansas on the ropes we run absolutely nothing and Diarra has the ball in his hands with 11 on the shot clock, nearly turns it over, then has to hoist a baseline 3 with the shot clock running out. We come down and give up a wide open 3.

Up 4, 54-50, after Dickinson misses a FT, we come down, have an out of sorts possession and our shot is basically a fall away jump hook by Tristan over Dickinson. Kansas comes down and gets a wide open look for Adams.

Up 54-52, we immediately come down, run the whole shot clock down, and Ball has to heave a jumper as the shot clock expires. (This is the play where Samson got tackled). Kansas comes down and McCullers hits a wide open 3.

And that was pretty much game.

We battled and mad props to that. Kansas is obviously a quality team and their athleticism bothered us. Tristan was outstanding, obviously Spencer was hampered, DC was exposed a bit, Karaban is off, and we didn't get much of anything from anyone else. But the game was ours if we just could execute. But when the game was right there we reverted to playing passive offensively as we did in the early stages of the first half and worse yet, gave up absolutely wide open looks on three of four possessions. So this is not a "felt good loss" for me.

This was the stretch from about 7:35-5:30. Samson and Donovan were on the floor together. It was a BRUTAL stretch for Sampson. He made a mistake on almost every possession (offensive and defensive) during that 2 min, and we went from up 5 to down 4. He got lost on screens, didn't fight through others, and didn't know where to go with the ball on offense. Also, on the last play, he was basically tackled going g for a loose ball and got no call...but most of the damage was done at that point.
When we don't have shooters on the floor, it doesn't work.
Anyone asking for more double bigs, just check out that 2 minute period.

 

[cullaville]

I'm still pissed because we didn't play well and more than that, at crucial moments, we played dumb.

Up 5, 52-47, and Kansas on the ropes we run absolutely nothing and Diarra has the ball in his hands with 11 on the shot clock, nearly turns it over, then has to hoist a baseline 3 with the shot clock running out. We come down and give up a wide open 3.

Up 4, 54-50, after Dickinson misses a FT, we come down, have an out of sorts possession and our shot is basically a fall away jump hook by Tristan over Dickinson. Kansas comes down and gets a wide open look for Adams.

Up 54-52, we immediately come down, run the whole shot clock down, and Ball has to heave a jumper as the shot clock expires. (This is the play where Samson got tackled). Kansas comes down and McCullers hits a wide open 3.

And that was pretty much game.

We battled and mad props to that. Kansas is obviously a quality team and their athleticism bothered us. Tristan was outstanding, obviously Spencer was hampered, DC was exposed a bit, Karaban is off, and we didn't get much of anything from anyone else. But the game was ours if we just could execute. But when the game was right there we reverted to playing passive offensively as we did in the early stages of the first half and worse yet, gave up absolutely wide open looks on three of four possessions. So this is not a "felt good loss" for me.

What is a felt good loss? To me losing is never good. UCONN still could have learned/developed from a tight win. UCONN is at the elite level and while I did not expect them to go undefeated this season UCONN should not be into "feel good losses" or "moral victories"

If Fairfield U played at Lawrence and stayed with Kansas to the last shot perhaps they could claim "feel good loss" but UCONN cannot.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

What is a felt good loss? To me losing is never good. UCONN still could have learned/developed from a tight win. UCONN is at the elite level and while I did not expect them to go undefeated this season UCONN should not be into "feel good losses" or "moral victories"

If Fairfield U played at Lawrence and stayed with Kansas to the last shot perhaps they could claim "feel good loss" but UCONN cannot.

Relax.

 

[Waquoit]

Obviously not a UConn fan, but I have no doubt that they are the better team.

This is where one "considers the source".

 

[yungdowork]

Of our 5 best players, 1 missed the game, and 3 (Karaban, Clingan, Spencer) didn’t play to their usual standard, and we still had a chance away at the Phog vs #5 Kansas.

Big credit to all 3 of those guys though, they played hard and tough. Karaban showed more fire in the second half than I’ve seen from him, Clingan was up for the fight with Dickinson all night, and except for his shooting, Cam played a pretty decent game despite the ankle.

 

[Friarsnoop]

This is where one "considers the source".

Huh?

 

[TheChamps990411]

It is amazing at how mismatched a first half could be, on the road, against a Top 5 team, and UConn was only down 7 at halftime. UConn absolutely sucked for 20 minutes, at Kansas, and was still in the game at halftime. That was the grittiest I have seen a UConn team play in a long time. Respect.

My buddy turned to me and said "this Uconn team is really good. How are they only down 7 after that crapshow? Anybody else is down 15". I was pretty ticked off but that comment stopped me in my tracks. Thank goodness for Triston Newton.

 

[DW1361]

If we had Triston Newton and a point guard we win (sarcasm). Hopefully Spencer heals and Karaban gets out of his funk. Get Castle back and playing well then this game will be forgotten. The loss didn’t hurt us. I was pleased to see we got our lights punched out early but had the resilience to fight back and almost do something no other team has accomplished on their home court. So I am very happy about where this team is at this point in the season. Caveat, I fell asleep with ten minutes left in the game and never saw the end…….

 

[Tenspro2002]

I don't think there's any such thing as a "feel good loss," but it certainly felt less bad and easier to brush off than any other loss lately.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Was anyone else torn on Cam after his first 3(?) ankle tweaks early in the game? Don't get me wrong, he has been better than I could have hoped for and he did hit a few key buckets at pivotal points during the game, but I can't shake the thought that he was a target on d, he seemed imbalanced at the line leading to his first few missed FT's on the season, and I did NOT want him taking that last shot. It was a solid look but playing on a bum ankle is brutal and after Newton's game, it was his shot to take. Idk, hindsight is 20/20, and I like the way we fought as a whole, but I do feel like newton was the best player on the court Friday night and I wanted him to take that shot.