It's Friday night. I got off work too late to do anything fun, but I had a few beers. It's time for a new tradition.
The opponent statistical preview. I have watched 0 of their games, but I promise to be accurate. I need to write this long thing to sober up to drive home safely.
Here we go:
Florida State is surprisingly good at BOTH offense and defense. Both rank in the top 25 of KenPom. That normally suggests a potential Final Four quality team, but neither is within the top 15, so they might just not be GREAT enough at either to do it. But they're a very, very good team.
Their defining trait: Aggression.
They rate highly in both points scored on free throws AND points given up on free throws. We'll put the latter to test soon enough (immovable object vs. irresistible force situation). They're also one of the best teams in the country at securing offensive rebounds AND forcing turnovers on defense. All of these traits indicate aggression and athleticism. Other than their pace, they scream a Hurley team. If you can break their defensive pressure, there are plenty of easy buckets awaiting you.
What they're not: Skilled.
I don't know if I've ever seen a team in the top 25 of offense efficiency with such mediocre shooting AND turnover numbers. Especially the turnovers. They're really willing to give it away. But they'll draw fouls, and more importantly, they'll make you pay like 2014 UConn when you do foul them. Plus they're rebounding 1/3 of their own missed shots.
Other info:
I'm not really scared of any of them from the block or from midrange, but maybe on tips. They have one shooter: MJ Walker. But he can really stroke it (47% on the year on 4 attempts a game). PJ Savoy ain't bad either, but he's pretty much just a spot up 3-point shooter even though he's a starter: he has 7x more 3 attempts than 2 attempts on the year.
M.K is a big (I'm not going to try to spell his name in this inebriated state) and he will get us in foul trouble. He's NOT a starter and he's not terribly effective at anything but drawing fouls and maybe rebounding and blocking shots, but he's 250 lbs. and he will 100% get our bigs in foul trouble in the minutes he does play. He gets the ball A LOT when he's in the game, but doesn't really pass the ball out. He just gets fouled.
Their 7'4" guy, Christ the King, plays less than half the minutes. He's a worse version of Tacko Fall, although you do need to keep him off the offensive glass. Between him and MK they have a problem in the game at all times.
Terance Mann and Trent Forrest are decent players, but generally rely on drawing fouls to be effective. Forrest is their PG at 6'4" and can pass a bit, but can't shoot a lick and has Vital-esque turnover problems. Mann can step outside a bit, but he's mainly dangerous on the offensive boards and from the charity stripe. It's very difficult to keep both whichever center they have in AND Mann off the glass at the same time. It will be especially hard if we play Polley at the 4.
We can't play Tyler Phommachanh at the 4 in this game. He has a 7.2% dreb%. That's AWFUL. That's worse than Antoine Anderson. That's worse than all of the guards on the 2017 team. That's worse than Omar Calhoun. That's worse than Sam Cassell. That's worse than Tyler Olander. That's worse than freshman Ryan Boatright. That's worse than freshman Shabazz. That's worse than freshman Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel. That's worse than freshman Kemba Walker. That's worse than AJ Price. That's worse than AJ Price again but a year younger. That's worse than 185 lbs frshman "possible worse rebounder in UConn history" Craig Austrie. That's worse than Marcus Williams. That's worse than Rashad Anderson. That's worse than Ben Gordon Taliek Brown, and Tony Robertson. That's worse than Ben Gordon, Taliek Brown, and Tony Robertson... each a year younger. Dude needs to rebound the ball.
What UConn Needs To Do:
Turn them over without fouling.
Keep them off the offensive boards.
Did I say keep them off the foul line?
Capitalize on transition points and maybe sneak some offensive rebounds.
Fun Fact: The WORST team they played is better than any of the 6 cupcakes we've played. Our 2nd best win is worse than their 7th. What a confidence building schedule we've played.
Tonight's beers:
The opponent statistical preview. I have watched 0 of their games, but I promise to be accurate. I need to write this long thing to sober up to drive home safely.
Here we go:
Florida State is surprisingly good at BOTH offense and defense. Both rank in the top 25 of KenPom. That normally suggests a potential Final Four quality team, but neither is within the top 15, so they might just not be GREAT enough at either to do it. But they're a very, very good team.
Their defining trait: Aggression.
They rate highly in both points scored on free throws AND points given up on free throws. We'll put the latter to test soon enough (immovable object vs. irresistible force situation). They're also one of the best teams in the country at securing offensive rebounds AND forcing turnovers on defense. All of these traits indicate aggression and athleticism. Other than their pace, they scream a Hurley team. If you can break their defensive pressure, there are plenty of easy buckets awaiting you.
What they're not: Skilled.
I don't know if I've ever seen a team in the top 25 of offense efficiency with such mediocre shooting AND turnover numbers. Especially the turnovers. They're really willing to give it away. But they'll draw fouls, and more importantly, they'll make you pay like 2014 UConn when you do foul them. Plus they're rebounding 1/3 of their own missed shots.
Other info:
I'm not really scared of any of them from the block or from midrange, but maybe on tips. They have one shooter: MJ Walker. But he can really stroke it (47% on the year on 4 attempts a game). PJ Savoy ain't bad either, but he's pretty much just a spot up 3-point shooter even though he's a starter: he has 7x more 3 attempts than 2 attempts on the year.
M.K is a big (I'm not going to try to spell his name in this inebriated state) and he will get us in foul trouble. He's NOT a starter and he's not terribly effective at anything but drawing fouls and maybe rebounding and blocking shots, but he's 250 lbs. and he will 100% get our bigs in foul trouble in the minutes he does play. He gets the ball A LOT when he's in the game, but doesn't really pass the ball out. He just gets fouled.
Their 7'4" guy, Christ the King, plays less than half the minutes. He's a worse version of Tacko Fall, although you do need to keep him off the offensive glass. Between him and MK they have a problem in the game at all times.
Terance Mann and Trent Forrest are decent players, but generally rely on drawing fouls to be effective. Forrest is their PG at 6'4" and can pass a bit, but can't shoot a lick and has Vital-esque turnover problems. Mann can step outside a bit, but he's mainly dangerous on the offensive boards and from the charity stripe. It's very difficult to keep both whichever center they have in AND Mann off the glass at the same time. It will be especially hard if we play Polley at the 4.
We can't play Tyler Phommachanh at the 4 in this game. He has a 7.2% dreb%. That's AWFUL. That's worse than Antoine Anderson. That's worse than all of the guards on the 2017 team. That's worse than Omar Calhoun. That's worse than Sam Cassell. That's worse than Tyler Olander. That's worse than freshman Ryan Boatright. That's worse than freshman Shabazz. That's worse than freshman Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel. That's worse than freshman Kemba Walker. That's worse than AJ Price. That's worse than AJ Price again but a year younger. That's worse than 185 lbs frshman "possible worse rebounder in UConn history" Craig Austrie. That's worse than Marcus Williams. That's worse than Rashad Anderson. That's worse than Ben Gordon Taliek Brown, and Tony Robertson. That's worse than Ben Gordon, Taliek Brown, and Tony Robertson... each a year younger. Dude needs to rebound the ball.
What UConn Needs To Do:
Turn them over without fouling.
Keep them off the offensive boards.
Did I say keep them off the foul line?
Capitalize on transition points and maybe sneak some offensive rebounds.
Fun Fact: The WORST team they played is better than any of the 6 cupcakes we've played. Our 2nd best win is worse than their 7th. What a confidence building schedule we've played.
Tonight's beers:
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