Florida post game thread

[temery]

Stop saying goodbye to any player who still has eligibility.

 

[Deleted at users request]

A game like today will send Solo into overdrive this offseason, and even with his struggles he still made yet another clutch game tying 3. 1st team All BE and an All American caliber season will be on deck next year.

He’s going to be elite next year. He did a great job of distributing the Ball today too.

 

[amishboy]

Tie score, 64-64, inside two minutes?

We played with a lot of heart and smart. Made clutch shots. Florida, especially Clayton, made more. But even in defeat, these guys made us proud.

 

[KingAG]

I’m proud and happy to be a duck**** Husky.

Thank You Alex, Hass, and Samson. Warriors. Champions.

 

[UConnStats]

Great and talented group of kids who never quite put it together. Vibes are a little too low on this year. Look no farther than Florida to see how hard it is to compete after 2 championships. This squad almost took down a 1 seed. Even in a down year UConn is the real deal.

 

[Hi-Low]

Yeah, the two missed FT rebounds are the toughest to swallow.

Todd Golden just said in FL post-presser that's why they won...winning plays for them

 

[Ripper32]

If we have another guard, we win that game.

 

[UCfor3]

We were up 6 and had several chances to extend lead and couldn't convert.

 

[ValleyGuy]

I think we all need to relax on McNeeley. I don’t think he was 100% after coming back, maybe the first game back but the high ankle sprains can linger. He must have tweaked it or after his playing time ramped up he started having issues. You saw it at the end of the game he probably was trying to hide it until then. Just like Hurley said we played with honor we lost with honor. I like this side of Hurley better when we get to see it.

He really loves those players and he is 110% in on their development and getting them places that are not easy to reach.

Come tomorrow there will be a lot to discuss.

Someone said it best already. Disappointed but not angry. I wish we could hav a few of those critical possessions back but it don’t work like that you have to live with the outcome in real life. We have not felt this is in over 1,000 days thank you coach Hurley for giving us the best three years we could have asked for and look forward to next year and the new version of our team.

Whats the difference between now and tomorrow?

Relax about what. All I said is he needs to stay? His numbers were horrible down the stretch. How can you watch him if you’re an NBA scout and this he’s an NBA player?

Fantastic game. Lots of fight. Don’t think many people gave them a chance.

 

[Hoopcrazee]

Had I known we'd only lose by 2 without watching the game, I'd have been OK with it. However, that's not the case, considering we had it in the bag and blew it

It was never in the bag but we had GREAT chances to put it there

 

[superjohn]

This is going to sting for a bit. Had it and let it get away. Gonna miss Samson.

Samson played the best ball of his career at the end. For a guy who already won back to back championships that's a great way to go out. Same with Hass, he was in a ton of pain the second half of the season and lost his explosion but he controlled that game today. They got the absolute most out of their college careers.

 

[IndyLives]

AK's missed layup at 3 minutes left was easily the play of the game. Would have given UConn a little cushon down the stretch. Instead, Florida erupted and we never recovered. It's one thing missing 3s. Its another when you cant make the easy ones when it really counts.

All of the 6 Title teams each had that clutch gene. It was clearly missing on this year's team.

 

[Hunt for 7]

Can't watch anymore BB today after that...too painful.

I am going to watch Dook lose that will cheer me up!

 

[Irvine]

Gameplan was solid and we played tough. Shooting and a few poor decision in the final few minutes let us down.

 

[Hi-Low]

Will miss Hass, AK & Samson tremendously...total winners and great men.

 

[slepers]

Really lucky to catch Florida on an off day for 38 minutes. Still sad to see such low basketball IQ plays cost us a chance at a win. Nice to see McNeeley pad some stats in garbage time after not hitting a meaningful shot since Creighton. Hope that drags some of his draft stock back. Huge credit to Diarra and Johnson for playing so damn hard; would not have been close without those two. Now let's go grab some transfers so we can compete next year

Way to cheer for our team….jeez

 

[BigTenFan]

Absolutely best high level game of the tournament.

 

[NHUConnfan]

Todd Golden just said in FL post-presser that's why they won...winning plays for them

Clayton put the team on his back. Every team needs that one player if they're gonna make a run. That's why I think they absolutely have a chance to win the ship. He's a baller.

 

[millertime7774]

Yeah, the two missed FT rebounds are the toughest to swallow.

Game was basically over before that - missed open looks was the difference. Defense was beyond point, offense not so much,

 

[DRBackup]

I think it's dumb to speculate if one game would have changed our seeding because this committee was all out of whack with its seeding. I'm almost positive we still would have been an 8.

Almost certainly would have. That was our only WTF loss of the year. Without it, they're likely a 7, maybe better.

 

[BullDawg]

The team is definitely tougher than many of those who are posting here.

 

[JohnFSilver]

After 13 straight ncaa wins and two national champions , went down like one putting fear of god in the best team.

i feel comfortable with loss because they struggled all year in finding that 1-on-1 scorer who can bail you out.

Inconsistent defense, inconsistent outside shooting , and lack of breakdown 1-on-1 scorer.

Hey. That happens.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

I am going to watch Dook lose that will cheer me up!

Taken from Dallas when they did last year….

 

[jibsey]

Yeah, the two missed FT rebounds are the toughest to swallow.

The one off Liams hand and then a 3. A number of missed bunny’s on both sides. This came down to Clayton just making shots and he did. Clayton was 5-8 from 3 and they were often contested. Gotta take your hat off to that.
Clayton and Richard were 7-12 from 3. We outfought them otherwise as a team.

 

[amishboy]

went out on their swords

Respect

Samson and Diarra showed out especially, but effort all around. UConn toughness.

I thought it was the best game by each that I could remember. Sad to imagine even how much better Diarra could’ve been but for his knee.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Almost certainly would have. That was our only WTF loss of the year. Without it, they're likely a 7, maybe better.

They earned and deserved the 8 seed. No shane in it.

 

[NHUConnfan]

...

Relax about what. All I said is he needs to stay? His numbers were horrible down the stretch. How can you watch him if you’re an NBA scout and this he’s an NBA player?

He's got a freakish body that is perfect for the NBA. That's literally what every NBA scout leads with lol

 

[Candyman]

Our offense is built for open threes and slips. They gave us open threes but we proved for weeks we are not a good three point shooting team. Solo, Ak and McNeeley have not been good from three for a long time. If you want to knockoff a 1 seed need to hit open shots and play solid D. We only did one of those things.

 

[millertime7774]

He’s going to be elite next year. He did a great job of distributing the Ball today

Think he needs a good run at running point; similar to Kam Jones

 

[SubbaBub]

A word for those limited to this millennium. This was a very 90's tournament loss. Played well, just not well enough to beat a good team with a great player.

Clayton was clearly the difference. Yes, we could have made a few more easy buckets but we also couldn't have predicted the championship class effort in defense. Best game Samson Johnson ever played. Hass showed up at both ends. Stewart, Mahaney and Reed played well for long stretches. Our scorers scored, even if you didn't like the percentages. Our staff was better than there staff.

As I said in another thread, we should regret losing the games that put us at 8 and having to face a tournament favorite so early. Today's effort would have beat most other teams in the field.

Literally can't win them all.