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I never wanted to be arrogant or hurt the mojo, but I was more comfortable going into the matchup with Illinois than I was with any of our previous opponents. in the tournament. That is not to mean I don't respect Illinois, but I said all week that their path to the Final 4 was not overly strong, and people quoting there tournament statistics, especially on defense, were ignoring that. I felt UConn's offense would be able to get whatever they wanted, mainly because Illinois doesn't force turnovers. We have talked about the type of team that gives UConn trouble. St. John's is the poster child with their aggressive defense, their fast pace of play, and the fact that they want the game to speed up. Illinois was more than happy to play at our pace last night. Hence, we had 4 turnovers, with 2 of them being offensive fouls.
While we got out-rebounded by 7, those 4 turnovers allowed us to put up 62 shot attempts. The 12/33 from 3 is 36%, which is not unreal, but certainly better than we have been shooting, and allowed us to out-score them from 3 by 18 points. While they outscored us from the foul line, it was only by 3 points, which was huge. Silas/Ross on Wagler really made him earn his 20 points. We have played 3 really good PGs in this tournament in Dent, Fears, and now Wagler, and we really took away their ability to be a facilitators, and forced them into more one on one play. They three have combined to shoot 14/40 (35%) and 4/16 (25%) from 3, with, 43 total points and 19 assists. We are cutting the head off the snake off with these teams.
Underwood and the media were quick to say the first game really didn't mean much. I was shocked Illinois was a favorite all week. In the end, it seems as if Hurley adjusted his style a bit to bother Wagler, but we did a lot of the same things we did in the first matchup, because it worked. Underwood always seems to be a step behind, and I think did us a favor when Illinois had all the momentum after a basket to make it 57-53, and he called a timeout. Allowed us to set up a play for Reed out of the timeout.
Onto Michigan. The tempo is going to be massive. Yaxel's injury helps level the playing field, especially if he is limited. Making Caedu uncomfortable is going to be vital.
While we got out-rebounded by 7, those 4 turnovers allowed us to put up 62 shot attempts. The 12/33 from 3 is 36%, which is not unreal, but certainly better than we have been shooting, and allowed us to out-score them from 3 by 18 points. While they outscored us from the foul line, it was only by 3 points, which was huge. Silas/Ross on Wagler really made him earn his 20 points. We have played 3 really good PGs in this tournament in Dent, Fears, and now Wagler, and we really took away their ability to be a facilitators, and forced them into more one on one play. They three have combined to shoot 14/40 (35%) and 4/16 (25%) from 3, with, 43 total points and 19 assists. We are cutting the head off the snake off with these teams.
Underwood and the media were quick to say the first game really didn't mean much. I was shocked Illinois was a favorite all week. In the end, it seems as if Hurley adjusted his style a bit to bother Wagler, but we did a lot of the same things we did in the first matchup, because it worked. Underwood always seems to be a step behind, and I think did us a favor when Illinois had all the momentum after a basket to make it 57-53, and he called a timeout. Allowed us to set up a play for Reed out of the timeout.
Onto Michigan. The tempo is going to be massive. Yaxel's injury helps level the playing field, especially if he is limited. Making Caedu uncomfortable is going to be vital.