Have to regroup and stay calm

[scrappy2.0]

We played a really good game and a half. I don’t like that we were physically outmatched but it’s a case of a little bigger stronger faster.

We have a very big center who could not play. I think our pressure defense from the guard position let down. Our ball movement in all of the games was poor and that lead to taking tough shots and not having nearly enough easy opptunitues.

I’m not panicking at 4-2. I’m asking more from our Pgs to get others involved and rectification defensively to what went wrong.

I remember a bad beat by Georgia Texh early in the year e won a chip.

Go back watch film and refocus

 

[Vancat]

I'm not panicking at 4-2. I'm panicking at that ...ugh...game.

 

[imno1]

I think Ollie needs to win through the AZ game to regain any fan confidence. Losses to Syracuse and a lesser extent AZ could seal his fate. Win those winnable games and at 9-2 thing would look much better.

 

[Wordbomar]

I think Ollie needs to win through the AZ game to regain any fan confidence. Losses to Syracuse and a lesser extent AZ could seal his fate. Win those winnable games and at 9-2 thing would look much better.

I said beginning of year if we’re 9-3 in OOC play I would be happy but anything less than 8-4 would be a disaster. Sticking to that, despite the horrible loss yesterday.

 

[HungryHuskies]

I think things will turn out okay, but man am I tired of starting games off really slow. Been a problem since day 1 of KO's tenure.

 

[4UConn]

I think things will turn out okay, but man am I tired of starting games off really slow. Been a problem since day 1 of KO's tenure.

Thought the same thing. Fair to say slow starts are a signature during Ollie's reign. We're always digging out of a hole it seems.

 

[UConNation]

I said beginning of year if we’re 9-3 in OOC play I would be happy but anything less than 8-4 would be a disaster. Sticking to that, despite the horrible loss yesterday.

From a purely numbers stand point, I don't disagree with you. But it's more of an optics problem. Honestly, I didn't have a huge problem with the MSU game. Wish it was a bit closer, but we played one of the best teams in the country to a 1 point halftime deficit. And that's after beating an Oregon team on, essentially, their home court. But we followed that up by getting completely blown out of the gym. One of the announcers said it yesterday, think it was Walton, that we have to start winning those games in order to get the country (read media, recruits, etc) to believe in the winning tradition of the program again.

9-3 or 8-4 really isn't that bad going into conference play as long as we beat some of those bigger names (AZ, Auburn, Qse, etc). Those schools don't have the same tradition as us, but, for better or worse, they've got the recognition and exposure because of their current conference situation. Getting embarrassed by a slightly better than average Arkansas team does nothing but throw more dirt on the program.

Bottom line... you have to win games against P5 teams that are nationally televised if we want to return to elite status.

 

[kobebeanbryant]

 

[housekeys]

Our ball movement in all of the games was poor

Minor quibble. It is not just the ball movement. It is player movement without the ball that is lacking. When players are lazy or expect to get the ball, they do not work to get the ball. They just "hang" waiting for their turn to get the ball. Ultimately, the need to make shots. On the flip side, if you miss, make sure you defend, Obviously we did not do much of that yesterday.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

We weren’t getting any recognition before the tournament started and we certainly ain’t getting any after it

 

[tcf15]

We weren’t getting any recognition before the tournament started and we certainly ain’t getting any after it

We're getting recognition now, just not the good kind.

Rothstein

UConn is straddling a fence. There is no in between with this program. The Huskies are either going to regain the form they showed under Jim Calhoun and in 2014 under Kevin Ollie, or they’re going to go completely in the opposite direction.

Sunday’s 35-point loss against Arkansas in the PK80 was not a promising sign. The Razorbacks are a quality team that should play in the NCAA Tournament, but this writer has never seen a UConn team beaten so soundly from tip to finish in all his years watching and covering college basketball. Arkansas’ lead reached 40 late in the second half, and at one point, sent a walk-on into the game. That type of stuff just isn’t supposed to happen against UConn.

The Huskies started the weekend off with a promising win against Oregon, but back-to-back double-figure losses raises some serious questions about just how relevant nationally this team can be this season. UConn has no interior offensive presence and still has to navigate a brutal non-conference schedule before dealing with an augmented quality of league play in the American. The Huskies still have to face Syracuse at Madison Square Garden and travel to both Arizona and Auburn before beginning conference play on Dec. 30 against Wichita State.​

CBS Sports

Grade: C-minus ... The Huskies have the longest flight back home, made all the worse by the team's abysmal 102-67 loss to Arkansas on Sunday. Kevin Ollie's team started well with a 71-63 victory against Oregon on Thursday, but a 20-point loss to Michigan State (with a season-low 57 points) turned the worm in the wrong way for the Huskies. (Plus, Oregon went 1-2 and nearly lost to DePaul.) Ollie has got talent and the team is healthy. But they haven't come together yet. They don't look like a group that's comfortable on the floor for a full game. A lot of the offense that was run was easily stymied by Michigan State and Arkansas, two groups that have coaches who specialize in neutralizing with defense. There's a lot left to figure out here.​

 

[willie99]

I said beginning of year if we’re 9-3 in OOC play I would be happy but anything less than 8-4 would be a disaster. Sticking to that, despite the horrible loss yesterday.

I concur, it's not like anyone thought or should have thought we'd be better than 4-2 right now, although we may have hoped for more.

I understand the way we lost to AR is concerning, but most teams have had at least one WTF loss

 

[Wordbomar]

I concur, it's not like anyone thought or should have thought we'd be better than 4-2 right now, although we may have hoped for more.

I understand the way we lost to AR is concerning, but most teams have had at least one WTF loss

The Arky game was a disaster and has made many Ollie guys including myself to question him and the program, but we still have a lot to play out in front of us.

If by the Wichita State game we are anything less than 8-4, then it will be time to sound the alarms. But for now, just gotta keep plugging away. NCAA tourney or bust obviously but let's see how they respond. Being 6-2 headed to the Garden against Cuse, I will feel a little better and hopefully we can pull a good win.

 

[willie99]

The Arky game was a disaster and has made many Ollie guys including myself to question him and the program, but we still have a lot to play out in front of us.

If by the Wichita State game we are anything less than 8-4, then it will be time to sound the alarms. But for now, just gotta keep plugging away. NCAA tourney or bust obviously but let's see how they respond. Being 6-2 headed to the Garden against Cuse, I will feel a little better and hopefully we can pull a good win.

I'm with you, if this team doesn't improve and can't beat with the best teams on the schedule January - March of 2018, then I'll have very little confidence KO can get it done,

As it is, my confidence is being tested, but I'm still on the plus side and think it's more likely than not he can turn it around

 

[Brochacho]

The last thing I want to see from this team is to stay calm. If UConn has any guts or pride, they'll do to Columbia what the 2014 team did to Houston when they came to Gampel.

 

[Austin316]

If you think about it... 2 if our big 3 haven’t played much ball the last couple years. Do we suck? Well yeah. But if we win the games we’re supposed to in the first half of the season... and rightfully lose the games we should lose.... there is a good chance we may find our swag in the second half of the season, go on a tear, and bring some hype back.

4-2 with losses to #4 and a solid SEC team is better than 0-6. Long way to go but whatever. Still a big dawg fan.

 

[Kenny11]

Thought the same thing. Fair to say slow starts are a signature during Ollie's reign. We're always digging out of a hole it seems.

I agree with this too. But is there a way to prove this? I know some guys on here are pretty good at digging up advanced stats. Can we find out UConn's +/- for the first 6 minutes of games in Ollie's era vs the last several years of Calhoun's era?