Hot Potato, or Greased Pig?

[Sonny44]

I think there is much over reaction to last night's performance against UC. IMO we were just inexplicably out of synch for some unknown reason. I blame the ball; we went one way and the ball went another; just couldn't grab it and control it, whether on a lay up, a pass, or a rebound or other: but certainly no lack of effort.
Possibly there had to be a let down after the last, almost perfectly played, game against USF.

Like a batter's slump in baseball, no one can ever explain it.

I also thought UCF played very well on defense; give them credit.

 

[connie]

I think there is much over reaction to last night's performance against UC. IMO we were just inexplicably out of synch for some unknown reason. I blame the ball; we went one way and the ball went another; just couldn't grab it and control it, whether on a lay up, a pass, or a rebound or other: but certainly no lack of effort.
Possibly there had to be a let down after the last, almost perfectly played, game against USF.

Like a batter's slump in baseball, no one can ever explain it.

I also thought UCF played very well on defense; give them credit.

I will certainly watch the replay. Based on what I saw with my untutored eyes first time through . . . UCF's starters are very athletic and were really geared up. They played very hard throughout the first half, especially in the first quarter, and on both ends of the floor. Their guards are agile ball-handlers and fast. They also held the ball for long stretches on most possessions. (You could see their coach occasionally signaling with a "run the clock" gesture.) UCF was also physical (I don't have a problem with that, as long as officiating is fair and nothing is excessive; I took that to be the case, though there were at least a couple obvious no-calls when Lou was fouled.) As a result, UConn had fewer opportunities to score (I think). The score was low, and close (until mid-way through the 3rd Q). There were (again, through the first half) fewer transition points, points off turnovers, etc. All of this gave the appearance of something we have not seen lately. And that alone gave the game a weird "feel" for much of the first 20-25 minutes.

Perhaps related but who knows . . . This was also one of those games where a number of shots around the basket weren't falling in. Combine this with a rather off night shooting outside (that's bound to happen), sub-par FT shooting, and you have a perfect storm of conditions poised to result in an upset. Didn't happen, of course, and that speaks volumes about UConn's ability to adjust and grind out a win (albeit, a 36 point win!). That is perhaps the best thing to come out of this game.

Credit UCF. This is as tough a performance against UConn as I've seen since MS last year. Having said all that, even with warts and all, UConn held UCF to its lowest scoring output in any game this season. And 80 is the second most points scored on UCF.

 

[augustaTC]

I will certainly watch the replay. Based on what I saw with my untutored eyes first time through . . . UCF's starters are very athletic and were really geared up. They played very hard throughout the first half, especially in the first quarter, and on both ends of the floor. Their guards are agile ball-handlers and fast. They also held the ball for long stretches on most possessions. (You could see their coach occasionally signaling with a "run the clock" gesture.) UCF was also physical (I don't have a problem with that, as long as officiating is fair and nothing is excessive; I took that to be the case, though there were at least a couple obvious no-calls when Lou was fouled.) As a result, UConn had fewer opportunities to score (I think). The score was low, and close (until mid-way through the 3rd Q). There were (again, through the first half) fewer transition points, points off turnovers, etc. All of this gave the appearance of something we have not seen lately. And that alone gave the game a weird "feel" for much of the first 20-25 minutes.

Perhaps related but who knows . . . This was also one of those games where a number of shots around the basket weren't falling in. Combine this with a rather off night shooting outside (that's bound to happen), sub-par FT shooting, and you have a perfect storm of conditions poised to result in an upset. Didn't happen, of course, and that speaks volumes about UConn's ability to adjust and grind out a win (albeit, a 36 point win!). That is perhaps the best thing to come out of this game.

Credit UCF. This is as tough a performance against UConn as I've seen since MS last year. Having said all that, even with warts and all, UConn held UCF to its lowest scoring output in any game this season. And 80 is the second most points scored on UCF.

Great post. And attribute a lot of it to Coach Abe. She has her team playing hard and seems to know what she's doing. Believe her program is going to surprise a lot of people.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I agree with both posts above: When Uconn WBB does not play up to "standards" it isn't always because of what THEY are not doing, sometimes another coach gets OVERLY physical and takes the team out of their normal rhythm. We'll see this again.
Over the many years when UConn has been successful one team or other decides to keep the score manageable by using foul, knowing Uconn is a finesse team. Geno in the Gulf Fla Tourney told the Green Bay coach--he did the same thing when he didn't have great teams. (put down?)

 

[Charliebball]

I'm constantly amused by the "bipolar"nature of some of our BY posters.....................one good game and the team is peaking, one sub par game and all is lost................I would have thought that after all these years we all would be used to the "roller coaster" nature of the basketball season even for a well oiled machine like the Huskies................we should never forget that for every other WBB team, playing UConn is one of if not the most important games of the regular season, so we're seeing the best effort that these teams can muster and you've got to expect some spirited play................I say just sit back and enjoy it because UConn plays with a target on it's back and when that ends we'll know the dynasty is over.....................

 

[HopJim]

I'm constantly amused by the "bipolar"nature of some of our BY posters......one good game and the team is peaking, one sub par game and all is lost......I would have thought that after all these years we all would be used to the "roller coaster" nature of the basketball season even for a well oiled machine like the Huskies......we should never forget that for every other WBB team, playing UConn is one of if not the most important games of the regular season, so we're seeing the best effort that these teams can muster and you've got to expect some spirited play......I say just sit back and enjoy it because UConn plays with a target on it's back and when that ends we'll know the dynasty is over......

Good post. Most games, UConn would have made a few more shots and received a few more foul calls. Easily could have been 20 point lead at half and most of these comments not made. Good defense played throughout game.

 

[TylerTx]

From watching in the stands, it looked like the ball had too much air int during the first half. Shots that normally go in would pop back out, layups would take weird bounces and not go in. It’s like they were playing with an extra large brown ping pong ball.

 

[veryolddog]

It seems to me, that UConn scored 80 points and the other team scored 44 points. What's the problem? I got to feed the horses.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'd like to reiterate my yearly January post -

January is typically a month where the team is coming back from Christmas and they just don't play well. The players are forced to live in a hotel because the campus is closed for the break and their routines are all messed up. Freshmen are playing more games in a season than they ever had to play in high school and they're hitting the wall. The team is made up of young people; they're human and prone to funks just like the rest of us. If you look through UConn history, most of the ugly or what the heck was that? loss took place in January or early February, even the team some consider the best ever.

It's funny, but I've posted the same thing for the last 20 years because it seems to happen every year.

 

[oldude]

I'd like to reiterate my yearly January post -

January is typically a month where the team is coming back from Christmas and they just don't play well. The players are forced to live in a hotel because the campus is closed for the break and their routines are all messed up. Freshmen are playing more games in a season than they ever had to play in high school and they're hitting the wall. The team is made up of young people; they're human and prone to funks just like the rest of us. If you look through UConn history, most of the ugly or what the heck was that? loss took place in January or early February, even the team some consider the best ever.

It's funny, but I've posted the same thing for the last 20 years because it seems to happen every year.

I have a suggestion. Next year, just before Christmas, send out an eCard to everyone on the BY wishing them Happy Holiday greetings and also reminding everyone of the post holiday January funk.

 

[HuskyNan]

Bumping this thread from January 2018 so I don’t have to retype the sentiments in post #9. Just going back through the years (I went back to 2013) it seems every January has had a bad game.This year, the margin of error is thinner but my point is this - we’re dealing with young COLLEGE STUDENTS not professional players who have other stresses in their lives than just shooting a basketball. I feel I need to remind folks about this every year