Hate to do this

[WhereistheDove?]

Did Akok play today? How did Bouknight look after the fall?

So players not being at their peak immediately after returning from surgeries is the fault of the coach.... you’re really picking a stupid hill to die on here

 

[UConnSwag11]

How about when he didn’t leave the floor in the shot came and then stepped forward shoulder first into the defender and got the xall

 

[TRest]

We got out-toughed today, sorry but it happens

 

[UConnSwag11]

Or the two clean blocks Jackson got called

 

[SportsFan88]

Kids are so precocious these days. Now they’re experts on the link between coaching methods and player injury and durability in the age of COVID.

Another loss under Hurley because we couldn't get Bouknight through a game without getting injured and Akok apparently a DNP.

Ur strange

 

[UConnSwag11]

We got out-toughed today, sorry but it happens

Would’ve been different if four of our guys didn’t pick up two in the first balf

 

[August_West]

This game was tailor made for Akok at the 5 . He got a minute in first half tgat was it

 

[AdamaNation]

They gave two jump balls in a row to nova

You saw that too?

 

[UConnSwag11]

How much blood needs to be spilt before you’re taken off the floor?

 

[AdamaNation]

We got out-toughed today, sorry but it happens

Not out touched. Out bettered

 

[StllH8L8ner]

The Whaley jumpshots that don't hit the rim are also adding up

When he hesitates, I cringe.

 

[Jbirdp5]

What's adding up is the fact Hurley can't keep his players healthy.

Remember Akok a week ago sparking the Xavier win? A week later and he can't give us a thing?

Remember the first 10 mins of this game when Bouk was the best player in the country? He gets hurt again and is giving us nothing.

Total joke. Nothing else matters if the players aren't durable.

How does hurley keep a guy from getting bumped and falling? Not sure what any coach can do for bouk in that situation.

 

[XLCenterFan]

@StllH8L8ner Whaley is an offensive liability. And the refs blew the whistle so late on like 4 suspect fouls.

 

[Hankster]

But the 50/50, nickel dimers, and non calls are stacking up. I think they call that home court advantage. Wish we could see that someday. Free throws sure. But the stripes are getting involved now. Can’t say that nova is playing harder.

I normally don't join in on the "it's the ref's" thread but can't help this one. Was it 6-7 minutes into the second half and Nova had 6 fouls and the good guys 1. I couldn't believe it. They called 3 quick fouls on the good guys inside of a minute. And they were BS calls.

 

[OkaForPrez]

I normally don't join in on the "it's the ref's" thread but can't help this one. Was it 6-7 minutes into the second half and Nova had 6 fouls and the good guys 1. I couldn't believe it. They called 3 quick fouls on the good guys inside of a minute. And they were BS calls.

During that stretch there were 3 loose balls out of bounds that I think all went the wrong way. I don’t think Whaley tipped the first ball out. Gilespie definitely tipped the ball after rj picked it on the sideline. And Jackson has a nova player come through him on the third. That plus the double possession and I’m convinced there was 4 possessions that should have changed hands.

Wouldn’t have changed the outcome in my opinion. Gillespie would have hit two more daggers. He wasn’t letting nova lose today.

 

[freescooter]

This game was tailor made for Akok at the 5 . He got a minute in first half tgat was it

Akok is coming back from a career threatening injury. I’ve heard medical people say playing him that long against Xavier was coaching malpractice. If he becomes a big time player it will be in 2021-22.

 

[freescooter]

RJ Cole went 2-10 from the field. He couldn’t handle Gillespie man to man. This was the guy who had 25 vs Xavier. Guess Hurley told him to miss those shots.

The offense though has turned back into give the ball to Bouknight and stand around while he plays hero ball. It worked in the first half but as he got beat up, and Villanova adjusted not so much.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

@StllH8L8ner Whaley is an offensive liability. And the refs blew the whistle so late on like 4 suspect fouls.

Yeah I don't disagree. It's just a little disappointing bc I've seen Whaley hit those little medium range jumpers but he just seems to have zero confidence in anything outside of the wide open dunk lately.

 

[uconnfan68]

Another loss under Hurley because we couldn't get Bouknight through a game without getting injured and Akok apparently a DNP.

Too bad they let Villanova dictate the tempo. We’re way too predictable.

 

[navery12]

Too bad they let Villanova dictate the tempo. We’re way too predictable.

Don't think anyone was dictating the tempo, UConn is 319th in tempo and Villanova is 331st

 

[tennmike]

We got out-toughed today, sorry but it happens

I wouldn't say out toughed...I would say out disciplined by some skilled and experienced seniors. Our seniors do not have that winning make-up.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Total joke.

This, but not what you think.

 

[uconnfan68]

Don't think anyone was dictating the tempo, UConn is 319th in tempo and Villanova is 331st

Did you forget how much better we looked when we played faster?

 

[navery12]

Did you forget how much better we looked when we played faster?

Of course not, my point is until proven otherwise that game should be treated as an anomaly because we haven't played fast much of the year. Even with the games we played "fast" we're one of the slowest teams in the country

Edit: To expound on this, and my math may be off here, but I believe we averaged 64.2 possessions a game before Xavier/Providence. We had 70 and 73 possessions in those 2 (raising the average to 65.2), and then had 67 possessions today. Not sure if there's anywhere that tracks possessions to confirm, had to piece that together by searching KenPom in the wayback machine. So I wouldn't say we played particularly slow today

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

So we took the lead at 40-39 near 15:00 left. There were 3-4 really bizarre calls that went to Nova in a 1 minute span. We never recovered.