Is this a must win game?

[Scot-e]

If the goal is to get to 19-20 Ws- is this a must win game? I am thinking it is and therefor it is HUGE!

WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kitaman]

Yeah, I recently was thinking that they should try and win out, for recruiting purposes. This team needs to stand out from the pack, and with conference realignment, to win out would be a great way for Ollie to kick start his future recruiting. The return of "UConn basketball" under Ollie, I feel is huge for impressing future recruits. At the very least the players should try their best to get Ollie the COY award. That's a great goal in a year of no post tournaments.

In addition we still want to look attractive for conference courting. We can't afford to look mediocre (i.e. our record) with our unknown future at stake. Finally its a nationally televised game.

So yeah, for the coach and the school its a must win, our future prospects needs a boost..

 

[Catsailor]

If the goal is to get to 19-20 Ws- is this a must win game? I am thinking it is and therefor it is HUGE!

WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!!!!

This IS a must win for pride game .....especially since pride took a petty big hit vs Nova last week.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Must win......or else what exactly?

The remaining 5 games on the schedule will still be played whether we win tonight or not. The goal of "19-20 wins" is still attainable whether we win tonight or not. How can this possibly be called a must-win game?

 

[businesslawyer]

Must win......or else what exactly?

The remaining 5 games on the schedule will still be played whether we win tonight or not. The goal of "19-20 wins" is still attainable whether we win tonight or not. How can this possibly be called a must-win game?

The only sense in which this is a must win game is that we're still not totally out of the conference race, but we need to win out to have a chance.

The return of UConn basketball? Return from where exactly? We are less than two years from an NCAA Championship and have been in the Final Four 2 of the last 4 tournaments. Sheesh.

 

[Catsailor]

I'd wager Bazz is super focused. I'm rather surprised and concerned what we saw from Boat. AND this is a big opportunity for redemption for both. I am optimistic-we'll see who comes to play.

 

[Palatine]

This is a good to win game. If they lose Depaul would be a must win game in terms of the direction of the program.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I think it's important to be ranked in the last regular season poll. If we can finish ranked in a year where we should be an afterthought, that's a sign that we haven't left the stage. Perception is everything in college sports.

If we stumble to another double-digit loss season on the heels of a poor recruiting year, that keeps the arrow going in the wrong direction.

 

[freescooter]

There are no "must win" games this year. And given what's left, getting to 18 ought to be a given, 19 very likely and 20 might be a stretch. It is one we'd like to win, but it isn't like we are a bubble team and it bursts if we lose. That is in many ways the beauty of this season for Ollie and for the team. it is the most low pressure season they will probably ever face. They are playing for fun.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

There are no "must win" games this year. And given what's left, getting to 18 ought to be a given, 19 very likely and 20 might be a stretch. It is one we'd like to win, but it isn't like we are a bubble team and it bursts if we lose. That is in many ways the beauty of this season for Ollie and for the team. it is the most low pressure season they will probably ever face. They are playing for fun.

So what you're saying is...only 2 wins left before you have to admit that this team and its rookie coach exceeded your preseason expectations?

 

[beerfan]

Is this a must win similar to the Uconn - Louisville football game last fall.

Another spot could be opening up in the ACC soon, I am sure Cincy will play up this win as an example of the end of UCONN basketball. (not that a win at Louisville helped us much).

 

[freescooter]

So what you're saying is...only 2 wins left before you have to admit that this team and its rookie coach exceeded your preseason expectations?

No, I thought this team would be pretty good. I got "talked out of it" after reading all the stuff written here in the pre-season. But it will show that Ollie did what he should have done with a team that was decent and a schedule that was not exactly stacked. In fact, I'm satisfied with the season to date, and if they only win 1 or 2 more, given the Wolf situation, I don't think that's a horrible outcome. I didn't see anything out ofd Ollie that makes me say the guy is great. On the other hand, he didn't screw up royally either. I don't buy the line that he's a great coach just because he put together a season that would be considered fine by UConn standards. We expect at least 20-21 wins every year. The long term worry is can he do better in the future.

 

[Scot-e]

IMHO- it is very important to hit 19-20 Ws- for all the reasons mentioned above. Winning out would be a dream ending and - well who knows- after the last NC anything can happen. I just think this game will hurt as much as the Nova loss and I would hate to see the momentum fade away going inot the off season. There is a lot of $%## going on and appearances are important.

KO has exceeded all expectations- maybe with the exception of Free (but we rarely agree on anything). JC gone- kids transferring- losing one of our only real 5 men- really an amazing job. Free- if we had a "lessor" quality coach we could easily have lost 5 more games and lost a few additional players to boot.

 

[Inyatkin]

IMHO- it is very important to hit 19-20 Ws- for all the reasons mentioned above. Winning out would be a dream ending and - well who knows- after the last NC anything can happen. I just think this game will hurt as much as the Nova loss and I would hate to see the momentum fade away going inot the off season. There is a lot of $%## going on and appearances are important.

KO has exceeded all expectations- maybe with the exception of Free (but we rarely agree on anything). JC gone- kids transferring- losing one of our only real 5 men- really an amazing job. Free- if we had a "lessor" quality coach we could easily have lost 5 more games and lost a few additional players to boot.

The players part is key. Once Roscoe left no one would've batted an eye if Bazz and Boat both transferred. Some of the credit for keeping them here ought to go to Ollie.

 

[dsturdy5]

If you want to get to 20 wins, this would be a good one to get but DePaul, USF, and PC all provide better chances to get us to 20 than this one.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

No, I thought this team would be pretty good. I got "talked out of it" after reading all the stuff written here in the pre-season. But it will show that Ollie did what he should have done with a team that was decent and a schedule that was not exactly stacked. In fact, I'm satisfied with the season to date, and if they only win 1 or 2 more, given the Wolf situation, I don't think that's a horrible outcome. I didn't see anything out ofd Ollie that makes me say the guy is great. On the other hand, he didn't screw up royally either. I don't buy the line that he's a great coach just because he put together a season that would be considered fine by UConn standards. We expect at least 20-21 wins every year. The long term worry is can he do better in the future.

You're just the worst. I don't know how else to put it. True to form, you didn't have a god**** thing to say after the Syracuse game.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

No, I thought this team would be pretty good. I got "talked out of it" after reading all the stuff written here in the pre-season. But it will show that Ollie did what he should have done with a team that was decent and a schedule that was not exactly stacked. In fact, I'm satisfied with the season to date, and if they only win 1 or 2 more, given the Wolf situation, I don't think that's a horrible outcome. I didn't see anything out ofd Ollie that makes me say the guy is great. On the other hand, he didn't screw up royally either. I don't buy the line that he's a great coach just because he put together a season that would be considered fine by UConn standards. We expect at least 20-21 wins every year. The long term worry is can he do better in the future.

LOL. No, no, no, no. You said 9 million times that you predicted 18 wins for this team. And now that they are almost certain to exceed that number, you are throwing out even bigger numbers.

 

[RS9999X]

This is a good win to have in the pocket. It reinforces the EPSN story line of "UConn is an NCAA Tourney Team" that is ineligible and then they can build up HCKO and next year's outlook.