If you’d a told me 18th KenPom

[uconnsouth]

18th KenPom

Top 30 offense and Top 30 defensive teams in the country

If you tell me that’s where we are in March, I take it.

Wasn’t the best in Bahamas, but I’ll take those metrics over the course of the year with this team — and call it a success

 

[businesslawyer]

So far, with ups and downs and pluses and minuses, we’re right where the consensus for us was coming into the season. We’re a team that’s going to have a chance to get to the second weekend and compete at the top of the big east. And we have the potential to be better than we are today if either the role players can consistently contribute or the high ceiling guys like Hawkins and AJ can move towards their potential.

Unfortunately, however, some on here read way too much into our blowing out four terrible teams and expected us to walk into the Bahamas as a top ten team. We’re not yet. We don’t have the consistency in offense or outside shooting yet. And it’s possible we won’t. In which case we’re going to have to fight like heck on the boards and on D to be slightly better than last year.

 

[jibsey]

So far, with ups and downs and pluses and minuses, we’re right where the consensus for us was coming into the season. We’re a team that’s going to have a chance to get to the second weekend and compete at the top of the big east. And we have the potential to be better than we are today if either the role players can consistently contribute or the high ceiling guys like Hawkins and AJ can move towards their potential.

Unfortunately, however, some on here read way too much into our blowing out four terrible teams and expected us to walk into the Bahamas as a top ten team. We’re not yet. We don’t have the consistency in offense or outside shooting yet. And it’s possible we won’t. In which case we’re going to have to fight like heck on the boards and on D to be slightly better than last year.

I agree we can get better and be good but if you saw the Duke Gonnzaga game last night you know we just don’t have the personnel to be that class, but no one else does either.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I agree we can get better and be good but if you saw the Duke Gonnzaga game last night you know we just don’t have the personnel to be that class, but no one else does either.

Baylor does. But yeah, watching the Zags last night had me realizing there are college teams on a completely different level than this year's current UConn team.

 

[pepband99]

...and this is with weighting (down) from last year, too.

 

[businesslawyer]

So far, with ups and downs and pluses and minuses, we’re right where the consensus for us was coming into the season. We’re a team that’s going to have a chance to get to the second weekend and compete at the top of the big east. And we have the potential to be better than we are today if either the role players can consistently contribute or the high ceiling guys like Hawkins and AJ can move towards their potential.

Unfortunately, however, some on here read way too much into our blowing out four terrible teams and expected us to walk into the Bahamas as a top ten team. We’re not yet. We don’t have the consistency in offense or outside shooting yet. And it’s possible we won’t. In which case we’re going to have to fight like heck on the boards and on D to be slightly better than last year.

By the way == where are the folks who mocked me for saying hitting 3s against terrible teams didn’t prove we’d do it against good teams after the Auburn game? Feeling a little silly about thinking you can read everything into one game?

 

[tzznandrew]

Against MSU and VCU—two excellent defensive teams—we've shot 2/16 and 7/24 from 3. 22.5%.

 

[jibsey]

Baylor does. But yeah, watching the Zags last night had me realizing there are college teams on a completely different level than this year's current UConn team.

Yes and you’re right about Baylor. The one thing is that those defenses we played against this weekend were actually tougher than in that game last night. Both those teams had less disruption than we faced and more open shots, so defense is the big factor.

 

[UConNick]

Baylor does. But yeah, watching the Zags last night had me realizing there are college teams on a completely different level than this year's current UConn team.

Same when I watched them dismantle UCLA… I struggle to picture how we would handle facing them. Or Duke, for that matter, based off of their win over the Zags.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I feel like we're close to being VERY good. If we can get better ball movement, maybe some inside out passing (instead of just inside ), and get better looks we could really step up our level.

 

[businesslawyer]

I agree we can get better and be good but if you saw the Duke Gonnzaga game last night you know we just don’t have the personnel to be that class, but no one else does either.

Did anyone think coming into the season we have the offensive firepower to compete for a national championship? Without that, the only way to compete for championships is for Hurley to take teams with Top 15 talent and blend them into a team where the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Like Calhoun routinely did in the glory days.

And while Hurley has done a great job here, and we’ve been better every year while he turns this ship around, he has not shown yet that he can consistently have teams where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. So far, his bigger success has been bringing in better and better parts.

 

[CTBasketball]

Don’t trust KenPom until about January. They use last season’s data to scale the first few weeks of the current season.

But yea we’re doing solid.

 

[jibsey]

Did anyone think coming into the season we have the offensive firepower to compete for a national championship? Without that, the only way to compete for championships is for Hurley to take teams with Top 15 talent and blend them into a team where the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Like Calhoun routinely did in the glory days.

And while Hurley has done a great job here, and we’ve been better every year while he turns this ship around, he has not shown yet that he can consistently have teams where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. So far, his bigger success has been bringing in better and better parts.

Correct yet if you watch a team like Gonzaga pass the ball and cut, why can’t our guys do stuff like that? You don’t have to be able to shoot the lights out or jump over the moon to make layups like they do. Nova does it same way. That’s on coaching and IQ and making the second and 3rd pass after the cut.

 

[Waquoit]

By the way == where are the folks who mocked me for saying hitting 3s against terrible teams didn’t prove we’d do it against good teams after the Auburn game? Feeling a little silly about thinking you can read everything into one game?

Now you are saying we can't make 3's after just one game. I say mocking remains in effect.

 

[KingAG]

Now you are saying we can't make 3's after just one game. I say mocking remains in effect.

While throwing out we shot 16-25 against the best team we’ve played alll season

 

[SixRings]

Did anyone think coming into the season we have the offensive firepower to compete for a national championship? Without that, the only way to compete for championships is for Hurley to take teams with Top 15 talent and blend them into a team where the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Like Calhoun routinely did in the glory days.

And while Hurley has done a great job here, and we’ve been better every year while he turns this ship around, he has not shown yet that he can consistently have teams where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. So far, his bigger success has been bringing in better and better parts.

Championship or bust

Only way to look at the season. The only thing I’d change about this team is moving whalley into a bench role. Not because he’s not good but my ONLY fear with this team is we are down a shooter in the SL and hedge 4 Adama for foul trouble— don’t want to fall behind anyone Seriously This team is...

the-boneyard.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just a reminder that we once won a National Championship game 53-41. Can this team beat Gonzaga or Duke right now. No. Do either of those teams expend the energy UConn does on defense? No.

What we just watched was somewhat matchup driven. In two straight games offensively challenged teams faced stifling defense. We have problems on offense. We have for several years now. That includes 2014. For reasons that escape me, we seem to be unable to grasp modern offensive concepts that rely on motion and ball movement rather than “beating your man” or “creating your own shot”.

I still don’t think our shooters are as terrible as they often look, because our offense simply isn’t going to generate a lot of good looks outside. It doesn’t help when we miss the few good looks we get. Sanogo backs his man down, does anybody cut to the rim to draw the defender doubling to his off hand? Nope. It would either free him up or give him a passing outlet. Cole and Gaff both get trapped because we don’t have free, moving cutters they can pass to.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Did anyone think coming into the season we have the offensive firepower to compete for a national championship? Without that, the only way to compete for championships is for Hurley to take teams with Top 15 talent and blend them into a team where the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Like Calhoun routinely did in the glory days.

And while Hurley has done a great job here, and we’ve been better every year while he turns this ship around, he has not shown yet that he can consistently have teams where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. So far, his bigger success has been bringing in better and better parts.

Polley, Whaley, CV would beg to differ with your view.

 

[bazzdog]

Same when I watched them dismantle UCLA… I struggle to picture how we would handle facing them. Or Duke, for that matter, based off of their win over the Zags.

I think by March we’ll be able to play with them

 

[auror]

These stats are more descriptive than predictive, but the most commonly cited championship contender whittling down stat is that almost every champion (other than '14 UConn basically) has been top 30 in both offense and defense in KenPom entering the tournament. Now you probably want to be elite at one of the two as well, but we're in a good place going forward.

 

[Hi-Low]

UConn is 10th in BPI for whatever that's worth right now...Auburn is 21, MSU is 25 & VCU is 79 despite record.

Not sure how Marquette is 109 with 3 Power 6 wins and 1 loss to Bonnies though.....

2025-26 Men's College Basketball Power Index - ESPN

View the 2025-26 Men's College Basketball power index on ESPN. The BPI is the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.

www.espn.com

 

[tjc1888]

Now you are saying we can't make 3's after just one game. I say mocking remains in effect.

Right - no way playing 3 games in 3 days (two against top 5 kenpom defenses) will effect shooting percentages. Couldn’t be.

Now I do think we are somewhere in between what we showed shooting in the first few games and the last couple but we shot well against high caliber opponent in auburn with fully rested legs

 

[tykurez]

Yea not for nothing but Gonzaga and Duke aren’t guaranteed a championship this year. Two of our four titles you could argue there were a handful of other teams on another “level” that year but we got hot and we were lockdown defensive teams. I like this team’s trajectory. We’re a kid or two finding themselves away from being dangerous against anyone in the country. (cough … Hawkins … cough)

 

[Kitaman]

November teams will not be February teams. Hurley has the weapons, its a matter of player development/growth and ability to execute.

Come March coaching takes over, especially if a team does not have an AA, and we are such a team. Lets see where Hurley takes us, these are his players (I'll include Polley/Whaley).

 

[jibsey]

Yea not for nothing but Gonzaga and Duke aren’t guaranteed a championship this year. Two of our four titles you could argue there were a handful of other teams on another “level” that year but we got hot and we were lockdown defensive teams. I like this team’s trajectory. We’re a kid or two finding themselves away from being dangerous against anyone in the country. (cough … Hawkins … cough)

No one is guaranteed but if you saw that game last night how do we not get beat by at least 20 by either of those teams? we don’t have Kemba we don’t have a Bazz or Boat.

 

[navery12]

By the way == where are the folks who mocked me for saying hitting 3s against terrible teams didn’t prove we’d do it against good teams after the Auburn game? Feeling a little silly about thinking you can read everything into one game?

Is it though? We shot 33/84 (39.3%) against the cupcakes and 25/66 (36.4%) in Atlantis. That's not too significant of a difference

 

[tykurez]

No one is guaranteed but if you saw that game last night how do we not get beat by at least 20 by either of those teams? we don’t have Kemba we don’t have a Bazz or Boat.

I agree, right now it seems like Duke, Gonzaga, Baylor and then everyone else.

But I think our defense keeps us in just about every game this year and if a guy or two can break out and Hurley can find a way to use them correctly I think we’re dangerous against anyone.

 

[McLovin]

UConn is 10th in BPI for whatever that's worth right now...Auburn is 21, MSU is 25 & VCU is 79 despite record.

Not sure how Marquette is 109 with 3 Power 6 wins and 1 loss to Bonnies though.....

2025-26 Men's College Basketball Power Index - ESPN

View the 2025-26 Men's College Basketball power index on ESPN. The BPI is the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.

www.espn.com

The BPI is basically a probability outcome simulator ranking. More forward looking than past looking.

It definitely isn’t perfect, but I like it because it makes us look good.

 

[Stinger92860]

Did anyone think coming into the season we have the offensive firepower to compete for a national championship? Without that, the only way to compete for championships is for Hurley to take teams with Top 15 talent and blend them into a team where the whole is substantially greater than the sum of its parts. Like Calhoun routinely did in the glory days.

And while Hurley has done a great job here, and we’ve been better every year while he turns this ship around, he has not shown yet that he can consistently have teams where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts. So far, his bigger success has been bringing in better and better parts.

I agree we don’t have the firepower but I would like us to at least scheme the offense better. Our inbounds plays need improvement, and while it’s still early in the season I would expect better offensive sets. For example, when do we implement the kick-out from Sanogo.

On D, I am still not fan good the high hedge by our 4/5, but it has not burnt us yet.

 

[bendm]

watching the Zags last night had me realizing there are college teams on a completely different level than this year's current UConn team

When were we ever considered a championship caliber team???? The higher unrealistic expectations are the further they fall. That’s why this place implodes after every loss.