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I tried to warn people who said UConn was just going to waltz into MSG and beat BC by 20+ points. They have a couple of really good offensive players in Anderson and Hanlan, surrounded by capable shooters. They lost on the road, in overtime to Providence, and lost another narrow one to UMass, both potential tournament teams. As I said, BC isn't a good team, but they're not bad, either. They'll end up with a bad record because they play a loaded schedule, but we'll be far from the only good team they push this year.
That being said, yeah, we looked bad. When UConn shoots poorly from three (3-14 tonight), they are a very ordinary team, because they don't have anybody they can go to (aside from maybe Daniels) to get easy buckets inside. Tonight, after a quick start from Daniels, BC doubled him whenever he caught the ball in the post. Ideally, with the way UConn can space the floor, that should play right into our hands. Daniels, though, isn't really used to being doubled, since it was only the end of last season when he emerged as a guy capable of going for 20+ on any given night. He better get used to it, though - the ball movement tonight wasn't good enough, and Daniels's lethargic passing out of the post was a major reason why. Give BC credit, though. Their game plan was to take away the three point line and force Napier and Boatright to shoot over the defense. Additional note: I heard a lot of talk, both from the commentators and posters here, about Napier "forcing the issue". And while maybe he took a couple bad shots, it's tough to get on Bazz for taking bad shots since he seems to have an uncanny ability to make bad shots. I tend to think his shot was just off tonight - I have no problem with a Shabazz looking for his own offense early and often. I'm guessing he'll have the same approach tomorrow - he looked visibly distraught after the game, even in defeat, because he knew he didn't play well and the team dodged a bullet. Expect him to come out blazing.
To the Indiana game: no, they aren't a great team, but they'll be by far the toughest test we've faced so far this season. Yeah, Washington isn't very good, but they completely eviscerated them, and they have athletes in the front court of the likes we haven't seen this season. We may be forced to double Vonleh because I don't think anybody on the roster can guard him (damn, talk about a game we're going to miss Roscoe). I'm assuming Ollie will have Boatright start on Ferrell, because he tends to assign the opposition's lead guard to Boatright, probably in part to conserve Shabazz's energy. Even if Boatright is on top of his game defensively, dribble penetration is inevitable, so UConn better clean up their rotations if they don't want to be surrendering open three's all night.
Between Maryland and BC, it is a little bit concerning that UConn has been unable to put away two below average ACC teams. I'm not that concerned, though, because even though both games came down to the wire, I thought UConn was demonstrably better than both teams and made just enough mistakes to keep them around. The UConn/Indiana game will more than likely be a back and fourth affair where nobody leads by more than 8-10 points the entire game, so at the very least, there will be no big lead to blow. They aren't in the class of Duke/MSU/Arizona/Kentucky/Kansas/Oklahoma State, but after those teams, there are probably 15-20 squads that are relatively equal, and UConn and Indiana both fall into that category as of now.
This should be the first big time team we play all year. As bad as we looked tonight, I was just hoping to grind it out so we could take a crack at Indiana. Now, we're getting that chance. It should be a fun one.
That being said, yeah, we looked bad. When UConn shoots poorly from three (3-14 tonight), they are a very ordinary team, because they don't have anybody they can go to (aside from maybe Daniels) to get easy buckets inside. Tonight, after a quick start from Daniels, BC doubled him whenever he caught the ball in the post. Ideally, with the way UConn can space the floor, that should play right into our hands. Daniels, though, isn't really used to being doubled, since it was only the end of last season when he emerged as a guy capable of going for 20+ on any given night. He better get used to it, though - the ball movement tonight wasn't good enough, and Daniels's lethargic passing out of the post was a major reason why. Give BC credit, though. Their game plan was to take away the three point line and force Napier and Boatright to shoot over the defense. Additional note: I heard a lot of talk, both from the commentators and posters here, about Napier "forcing the issue". And while maybe he took a couple bad shots, it's tough to get on Bazz for taking bad shots since he seems to have an uncanny ability to make bad shots. I tend to think his shot was just off tonight - I have no problem with a Shabazz looking for his own offense early and often. I'm guessing he'll have the same approach tomorrow - he looked visibly distraught after the game, even in defeat, because he knew he didn't play well and the team dodged a bullet. Expect him to come out blazing.
To the Indiana game: no, they aren't a great team, but they'll be by far the toughest test we've faced so far this season. Yeah, Washington isn't very good, but they completely eviscerated them, and they have athletes in the front court of the likes we haven't seen this season. We may be forced to double Vonleh because I don't think anybody on the roster can guard him (damn, talk about a game we're going to miss Roscoe). I'm assuming Ollie will have Boatright start on Ferrell, because he tends to assign the opposition's lead guard to Boatright, probably in part to conserve Shabazz's energy. Even if Boatright is on top of his game defensively, dribble penetration is inevitable, so UConn better clean up their rotations if they don't want to be surrendering open three's all night.
Between Maryland and BC, it is a little bit concerning that UConn has been unable to put away two below average ACC teams. I'm not that concerned, though, because even though both games came down to the wire, I thought UConn was demonstrably better than both teams and made just enough mistakes to keep them around. The UConn/Indiana game will more than likely be a back and fourth affair where nobody leads by more than 8-10 points the entire game, so at the very least, there will be no big lead to blow. They aren't in the class of Duke/MSU/Arizona/Kentucky/Kansas/Oklahoma State, but after those teams, there are probably 15-20 squads that are relatively equal, and UConn and Indiana both fall into that category as of now.
This should be the first big time team we play all year. As bad as we looked tonight, I was just hoping to grind it out so we could take a crack at Indiana. Now, we're getting that chance. It should be a fun one.
