It feels like we lost - but we're 1-0.

[Palatine]

So congrats to the Huskies!!! Win and survive.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Didn't feel like we lost to me

 

[Fishy]

So congrats to the Huskies!!! Win and survive.

I feel like we won, but what do I know - I'm just going by the score.

Whatever metric you're using, you can keep it.

 

[upstater]

I thought the team looked fantastic against very good players for 30 minutes, and then they got cocky. They held on and won.
Napier was out of the game at the end in large part for smiling too much.

 

[caw]

Def felt like we won at the game.

 

[UCONNfan1]

People are in a pissy mood. I get your point. I'm sure a lot of fans don't feel like this was a "good win". Still, 30 minutes of really good play, and about 10 minutes of play. And some truly mystifying player rotations by the coach. It would be interesting to hear Ollie's explanation for his player rotations in the 2nd half.

 

[CTBasketball]

I still don't know why Niels didn't play much in the second half...

 

[UCONNfan1]

I still don't know why Niels didn't play much in the second half...

Neither does he. Some choice quotes from Giffey after the game...

 

[BFieldHusky]

After everything we went through last year, I'll take the win, whether it is by 1 or 20.

 

[Gurleyman]

I'm pretty happy in all - protecting a lead is sometimes a hard thing to do, as it's hard not to start getting a little more tentative too quickly (and the guy I trust the most had a bad day managing the game late). But the team that built the lead looked really dangerous.

This time of year, if we had trailed by 17, and only came back late when the game got disjointed, I'd have been happy with our heart, but worried about our potential.

 

[TheChamps990411]

im very happy with the game. this team looks pretty good and guys like brimah and samuel look like they could be pretty darn good come march.

 

[jibsey]

Regardless of how the game ended, there's one thing that UCONN fans know after tonight and that's we've got a lot to work with this year. It ain't always gonna be pretty but we matched a good rebounding team tonight, last year not so much. We win by 15 and we feel better tonight but the close game exposes some flaws that KO can get to work on immediately. The close win is actually better long term.

 

[selles]

I'm pretty happy in all - protecting a lead is sometimes a hard thing to do, as it's hard not to start getting a little more tentative too quickly (and the guy I trust the most had a bad day managing the game late). But the team that built the lead looked really dangerous.

This time of year, if we had trailed by 17, and only came back late when the game got disjointed, I'd have been happy with our heart, but worried about our potential.

Our perimeter potential is really pretty stunning. We have 5 guys out there you wouldn't mind seeing let fly with a 3. The key to the season is going to be DD - can he be the guy you learn to go to for a mid/short range shot when it gets tight. He showed he could be at the end of last year, so I feel pretty confident.

And man do I love me some Brimah. That kid is an athletic freak, and he's going to be a force sooner than later.

 

[DogMania]

People are in a pissy mood. I get your point. I'm sure a lot of fans don't feel like this was a "good win". Still, 30 minutes of really good play, and about 10 minutes of play. And some truly mystifying player rotations by the coach.

I understand his point. Knowing what a kind and gentle group we have here, it's just not wise to frame it that way.

With that said, the first 30 was very entertaining. The last 10 was flat out brutal. Fortunately the game wasn't a 41 minute contest.

I never heard exactly what Bazz did to get that T, but that was clearly the turning point. Not only did it lead to a 5 point trip for MD, but it led to Bazz's upcoming foul troubles.

Boatshow seemed like he was in dry-dock for too long. Didn't have a particularly good shooting night. If he had one of his usual type games, the outcome would not have been nearly as close a call as it was.

Omar had some good and some bad moments. Seemed a bit shaky with the ball. He really needs to work on his ball handling if he wants to advance his game to the next step.

Daniels seemed to have a quiet night even though he took 9 shots, knocking down 4 of them. Would have liked to see him and his teammates work harder at getting more shots 10 feet on in. I expected him to be more dominant, though I think he'll get on a roll as the season goes on.

The game will serve as a good learning tool. They simply did not respond well at all to MD's pressure, which surprised me. Rarely did teams have much success pressing UConn last season. They often made teams play for doing so. I'm sure KO and the coaching staff will study the tape and coach some adjustments into this group. But enough of the negatives.

Let me just focus on the first 30. They executed pretty well on offense, moving well off the ball, moving the ball around and getting good shots off. They were very active defensively getting their hands on a lot of lot of balls thanks to some sloppy handling by the Terps.

Giffey has really improved his game, especially his J. He seems to have a quicker and more accurate stroke. Did a little bit of everything.

Brimah continues to be this year's biggest surprise. Apart from a few freshman mistakes, he was a game changer at times when he was out there. Great shot blocking instincts, something that can't be taught or at least easily taught. As seen in the two preseason games, he runs the floor very well and did a good job of catching it on the move and flushing it down.

Kromah was solid. Took good shots. Surprised he didn't get more minutes. I thought the guards could have done a little better job of getting him the ball more. I would have liked to see him get more minutes.

Bazz was outstanding again. Did a nice job of finding his teammates and his shot. He's still one of the best shot-makers we've ever had. If not for 2nd half foul trouble that effected not only the team in his absence, but his own game as well, it would not have been nearly as much a nail-biter.

One very good stat is we out-rebounded the Terps 36-33. That's a good early sign.

There's a lot to like about today's game, and a lot for them to build on. It was good for them to come out of what felt like an away game with a W. I expect them to improve their ability to break the pressure and make teams pay for doing so, like they did last season. It's not like they're not capable. I'm sure it's a part of their game they've not spent a lot of time working on during this early season, but that will certainly change. It's not often when you face a team of this caliber after just 2 exhibition games, so it's not a surprise to see them struggle in some facets of the game.

Bottom line, after one game we're 1-0.

 

[Gurleyman]

What really feels like a loss is watching us try to get a first down in football. Were it not for a PI penalty, wed have none in the 2H.

 

[DogMania]

Our perimeter potential is really pretty stunning. We have 5 guys out there you wouldn't mind seeing let fly with a 3. The key to the season is going to be DD - can he be the guy you learn to go to for a mid/short range shot when it gets tight. He showed he could be at the end of last year, so I feel pretty confident.

And man do I love me some Brimah. That kid is an athletic freak, and he's going to be a force sooner than later.

I agree selles. I would like to see them attack the paint more. In addition to DD having potential to get shots from mid-range as well as at the rim, Bazz, Kromah, Giffey, Omar and Boatright should all be able to attack the paint area and the rim. I'm not sure why, but they didn't seem to drive it at the MD players as much as I think they should have. The new rules should allow them to get in the paint more. MD seemed to try to exploit new rules better than we did at times during the game. We won that game primarily because we shot the ball much better than they did, 52% on 30-58 vs their 42% on 24-57 shooting. It was the 21 points from the stripe vs just 8 for UConn, that even made this one a game.

 

[caw]

Bench missed two shots, 12/14 on the night. Giffey and Kromah leading the way.

I read somewhere that a scout said Napier didn't have good court vision. That scout needs to watch tonight's tape. He was finding guys all over the place. If Boat had a better shooting night, Napier would have had 2-3 more assists as Boat missed a few wide open threes.

 

[huskyharry]

I thought the team looked fantastic against very good players for 30 minutes, and then they got cocky. They held on and won.
Napier was out of the game at the end in large part for smiling too much.

I don't think they were cocky, the comeback started exactly when Bazz went out after the technical foul. The team went from playing mostly confident offense with good ball movement, to tentative offense where they looked like they were more afraid to turn the ball over than exciting about penetrating and scoring.

 

[huskyharry]

In addition to DD having potential to get shots from mid-range as well as at the rim, Bazz, Kromah, Giffey, Omar and Boatright should all be able to attack the paint area and the rim. I'm not sure why, but they didn't seem to drive it at the MD players as much as I think they should have. The new rules should allow them to get in the paint more. MD seemed to try to exploit new rules better than we did at times during the game. .

Boat seemed to struggle with the overall height of the Md players (Guards 6'4" to 6'6"). he has the quickness to get past them but ineffective on a couple of occasions then subsequently reluctant to penetrate and attempt a floater or short jumper. He also tends to dribble the ball further out in front of him and higher than most, which makes him more vulnerable to being stripped when he penetrates. He was much more effective tonight on the fast break where he had space to operate.
Giffey was outstanding during the minutes that he was in: much more confident and quicker release on his perimeter shot and very willing to mix it up inside and get off. rebounds/tip ins etc. However, although if he has a lane he can dribble and finish, he doesn't have the type of great handle that would allow him to break down his defender and score (like Wells showed at times tonight). He even turned it over attempting to beat his man against the two exhibition opponents.
Omar similarly struggles and also seems to dribble out in front too far.
Kromah and Samuel have much stronger handles & IMO should be utilized more for driving opportunities. Samuel also seems to have a good ability to pass accurately from a driving position.
Giffey and Napier would be the two players that I would most like to see as the beneficiaries of drive and kick out plays (although Boat shoots a better % on kick outs as well), Kromah is a solid option for this as well. For OC and DD, I would much rather see them start shooting from 15 feet then attempting 3s after they have the range. The airballs from OC were painful (and hurt team momentum) and I'm not sure that DD has made a 3 yet in 3 games )counting the exhibitions).

 

[housekeys]

These type of reactions simply mean we have very high standards this year and as fans, we have set the bar very high. Good.

 

[Husky]

The win was suspect but I'll feel better after I watch us beat Yale into submission on Monday

 

[CAHUSKY]

The win was suspect but I'll feel better after I watch us beat Yale into submission on Monday

Suspect? What was suspect about it?

 

[dogpause]

I thought the team looked fantastic against very good players for 30 minutes, and then they got cocky. They held on and won.
Napier was out of the game at the end in large part for smiling too much.

+1 This could've been a blowout. Glad it wasn't.

 

[babysheep]

I don't understand why anyone ever could have expected us to get a blow out win like other top teams are this week. UK played UNC Asheville. MSU played McNeese State. Louisville plays Charleston today. Duke played Davidson. KU played Louisiana-Monroe. AZ played Cal Poly. Michigan played UMass-Lowell (we played them in exhibition last year). Cuse played Cornell. OKState played Mississippi Valley State. Florida played North Florida.

That's just the Top 10, but if you look at all the matchups, we are the highest-ranked team to open the season against a team from a power conference, let alone the ACC. You could argue we are just one of two teams in the top 25 to do so, but I'd say three. Not to mention, this was not even close to even a neutral site, while top teams play cupcakes at home.

When we were putting together those points in the first 30 minutes, we excelled in the things we wanted to see this season: ball movement, a stronger inside presence, rebounding. In our first game out the gate. Against a tournament team that is going to come away with a couple big wins this season. It may not have been pretty down the stretch, but we weren't one of those big wins. All together, I wonder how anyone couldn't be incredibly excited about what our team showed us tonight in their first game.

 

[Pudge]

Idiotic headline