Marquette Post Game Thread

[PAHusky]

It’s starting to look like Hurley’s offense really only works when all five guys can contribute something. When Karaban is your fifth option and he’s wide open for three the offense works, when it’s Ross or Stewart or Malachi not so much. The motion works when everyone on the court is a threat to score, and when they’re not it becomes obvious who the actions are run for as half the players on the floor can’t score for shit.

Just don’t see the horses for a title run. I can’t tell if it’s Reed or gameplan that leads to him dominating for stretches then no showing. Mullins is a freshman but it’s March and it still looks like he’s playing in a different offense than anyone else. Solo is lost. Karaban goes from captain CT to two points in a game deciding the BE title. Some on here want Reibe to start next year based off a couple of good games he played three months ago.

I love Hurley, but he needs to stop running his mouth at refs and start making some adjustments here or this team has a lot fewer than 9 games left

 

[PAHusky]

Yep.

We also have a peculiar situation where our worst perimeter shooter is our most prolific perimeter shooter. On March 7th, it is well past time for Solo to be allowed to shoot himself out of a 30-game shooting slump.

Given that he doesn't really do anything else well, he's incredibly expensive when he's out there for 35 minutes with the greenest of green lights, especially when he's pulling shots from guys like AK, BM and SD who actually convert at a rate far higher than Solo's 30.7%.

I agree with your point but picking a game where solo went 2-7 from 3 while Mullins went 1-10 and Karaban 0-5 to make it is pretty hilarious

 

[Slick]

I think they should spare the team and the fans embarrassment and pull out of the Big East and NCAA Tournaments. UConn is clearly a bottom feeder.

Yea a real bottom feeder. Beat Kansas in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, beat Florida, beat Illinois, beat BYU when they were completely healthy! I hope you are being sarcastic because if your not you sound like a real Dope!

 

[Fishy]

I agree with your point but picking a game where solo went 2-7 from 3 while Mullins went 1-10 and Karaban 0-5 to make it is pretty hilarious

"Why would you pick a game that illustrates your point to illustrate your point."

Be less stupid.

 

[uconngb]

I agree with your point but picking a game where solo went 2-7 from 3 while Mullins went 1-10 and Karaban 0-5 to make it is pretty hilarious

I think his point is pretty valid when it’s backed by a 31 game body of work.

 

[superjohn]

I feel like Silas started to shoot well from distance and mid range earlier in the season, but lately either doesn't shoot or just drives. He busts his butt every game and we are lost with smith out there unfortunately- maybe Adams transferring hurt more than we realize.

Before the season I thought this may be the best shooting UConn team ever given the roster and system. Solos improved driving hasn't offset his worse shooting. Braylon has been good mostly but I don't think that the injuries he has dealt with are an explanation for him not being a dominant freshman at this point. I think he is going to be great, but think about how much more Liam had on his plate last year- he initiated the offense frequently where Braylon is still just a shooter who occasionally will have a nice drive or mid range. I think Braylon could be a superstar next year if he stays and likely help his nba stock, but who knows.

I cannot fathom how we have such difficulty getting it to tarris at this point- especially when we aren't shooting well. I also can't fathom how tarris still struggles to take it strong when not doubled, or pass it to the open shooter when he is doubled.

Karaban is who he is. I love the guy and he loves UConn. He never claimed to be a superstar and the only reason to be negative about what he has brought us is to think he is supposed to be a superstar .

Despite all the negatives and not being a dominant team, we can fully beat any team in a one game situation. So many top teams have had a bunch of close games, especially in conference. I wouldn't say I am confident in getting #7, but it's easy to lose site of the fact that maybe 4-5 teams have a better chance than us- those are decent odds.

Agree with your post but Darius Adams wasn't any answer, he can't shoot or pass. AK isn't supposed to be a superstar but it doesn't excuse him from ghosting in these games. He just had the Big East title on the line and he scored 2 points in 40 minutes. Lesser players would've been blasted by the entire fanbase if they played that way with the conference title on the line and it wasn't just a one off no show for him.

 

[PAHusky]

"Why would you pick a game that illustrates your point to illustrate your point."

Be less stupid.

Sorry your point was solo takes shots away from better shooters. You made the point after a game where the shooters you named went a combined 1-15. Where’s the stupid here?

 

[geohusky]

Just a shame work hard all season and throw away a Big East Championship and a number one seed against a bad team sucks

Depending on how we do in the BET wouldn’t be surprised if we drop all the way to a four seed as they’ve been downplaying us all year

 

[PAHusky]

I think his point is pretty valid when it’s backed by a 31 game body of work.

No kidding. Again, pretty simple here. Said I agree with the point but not really the best game to be saying BM or AK should be shooting more

 

[RuffRuff]

Malachi was supposed to be that guy but he has disappeared for the last 2+ months. He looked horrendous out there today which is why he got pulled after just 2 minutes. Our backup PG situation is a mess right now.

He has this knack for some of the most egregious mistakes you can make, like his head isn’t there. Total out of structure player.

Would be smart to grab a semi high HS kid willing to play backup. A kid like County may be just that.

 

[boog204]

Yep.

We also have a peculiar situation where our worst perimeter shooter is our most prolific perimeter shooter. On March 7th, it is well past time for Solo to be allowed to shoot himself out of a 30-game shooting slump.

Given that he doesn't really do anything else well, he's incredibly expensive when he's out there for 35 minutes with the greenest of green lights, especially when he's pulling shots from guys like AK, BM and SD who actually convert at a rate far higher than Solo's 30.7%.

I’m far beyond the point where I think we would best served with Solo as your offense off the bench guy. His defense is a complete liability and when his shot is off, as is has been most of the year, he brings very little else to the table.

 

[jibsey]

It’s starting to look like Hurley’s offense really only works when all five guys can contribute something. When Karaban is your fifth option and he’s wide open for three the offense works, when it’s Ross or Stewart or Malachi not so much. The motion works when everyone on the court is a threat to score, and when they’re not it becomes obvious who the actions are run for as half the players on the floor can’t score for shit.

Just don’t see the horses for a title run. I can’t tell if it’s Reed or gameplan that leads to him dominating for stretches then no showing. Mullins is a freshman but it’s March and it still looks like he’s playing in a different offense than anyone else. Solo is lost. Karaban goes from captain CT to two points in a game deciding the BE title. Some on here want Reibe to start next year based off a couple of good games he played three months ago.

I love Hurley, but he needs to stop running his mouth at refs and start making some adjustments here or this team has a lot fewer than 9 games left

Hurley has been well behaved to this point this year, even restrained. Today we went 3-24 or 13% from 3. No one can win like that and I’m surprised the game was as close 64-62 before the technical. Trying to figure out how we can beat St. John’s 72-40 and then do this but the shots were falling that day for us and not them.

 

[KingAG]

Hurley has been well behaved to this point this year, even restrained. Today we went 3-24 or 13% from 3. No one can win like that and I’m surprised the game was as close 64-62 before the technical. Trying to figure out how we can beat St. John’s 72-40 and then do this but the shots were falling that day for us and not them.

Shots didn’t fall for us that day from 3 either. The difference was the defense

 

[DMIL]

It seems clear that this team really needs opponents that catch their full attention. We can talk about playing for a share of the regular season title, road game environments, etc, but they just play far too many close games against teams that just aren't very good. Then you watch them play against the big time opponents on their schedule and it is totally different. Mind boggling really.

This team is simply not what many of us think they are or need them to be despite the potential and they put fear in no one. Our opponents view UCONN as completely vulnerable. We need to accept this reality as we know what high level, elite championship basketball looks like.

The roster construction is flawed and the bench is inconsistent. Mid season this team plateaued and has hit a wall. It's the lack of consistent execution on several small items that is stopping this team from being great and they haven't figured it out yet. Hurley has talked about these items constantly over the last 4 to 6 weeks. Their weaknesses have been exploited consistently and that is what good opposing coaches are supposed to do until you do something about it.

When the 3 ball is not going down you have to be able to quickly pivot to the mid-range and inside game to generate free throws and this is accomplished with elite PG play. Reed was under utilized once again despite is good start to the game.

Mullins takes too many three point shots and often shoots them too early in the shot clock. If he is going to be given the green light then he needs to hit these at a higher clip. His game is multi-dimensional

Bottom line is that your best players have to step up when it counts and in the biggest moments. It didn't happen today for this team after a week being off and they lost on the road to a 19 loss team with the Big East Regular Season title on the line. St, Johns has now won the Big East Regular season title consecutively.

I'm afraid there is no magic switch for this team. The NCAA tourney is about match ups, heart, coaching and Dogs that are ready to embrace the moment. It takes more than raw talent.

As with every loss, we learned something about the 2025 version of our beloved Huskies today. Expectations of this team should be tempered at this point. They've shown us who they are after 31 games.

If we are going to win the BET and NCAA tournament this year, it will be as an underdog where we've thrived historically. A reset was necessary. Go Huskies!

 

[Martin84]

After this loss, I don’t even know what to do with them in my brackets. Maybe they’ve become a dark horse.

 

[ucp990411]

At this point i wouldnt even mind a second round exit so we can avoid the South bracket. UF is a buzzsaw. Rather face UM or AZ if we get there.

Atta boy. Real fan

 

[RuffRuff]

I’m far beyond the point where I think we would best served with Solo as your offense off the bench guy. His defense is a complete liability and when his shot is off, as is has been most of the year, he brings very little else to the table.

I’m at the point where I feel we are limited with him as our starting two as you essentially have to hide him, he’s so bad at defense and other phases of the game. His best role was likely always coming off the bench for quick bursts of points. He just doesn’t make winning plays and makes a ton of losing mistakes.

 

[drayenob]

No post game press conference?

 

[blkknight1]

We know that there is really nobody but Silas that can get in the paint to score. We have seen though that Ball Mullins and AK are more than capable of making the shots in the mid-range. Why they insist on continually jacking 3s and not taking mid range jumpers is so frustrating.

 

[connVA]

Hold your 🐎 s. If we win the BE title we will be 1 seed in the tournament

Florida controls their own destiny for the 1 now. If they win the SEC tourney (or perhaps even lose in the finals) it's probably theirs regardless of what we do. Either way, I suspect the only way our prospective Elite 8 opponent isn't Florida- regardless of which team has which number next to their name- is if we flame out in the BE quarters and drop below the top #2 slot.

 

[Padutch5]

Silas was fouled...pretty clear cut. Total joke!

Too bad UConn waited until 4 mins left to start playing and let the refs blow the call.

Two of those three refs are notoriously anti UConn. Donnie praised as one of the best in the country. They are both inconsistent at best and very anti UCONN at worst. When i get to a game and see them warming up I know UCONN is in for less than an even playing field. I can’t disagree we deserved to loose. However, we deserve to get competent refs.

 

[jibsey]

We know that there is really nobody but Silas that can get in the paint to score. We have seen though that Ball Mullins and AK are more than capable of making the shots in the mid-range. Why they insist on continually insist on jacking 3s and not taking mid range jumpers is so frustrating.

Couldn’t agree more. Been wondering this all season.

 

[Fishy]

I’m far beyond the point where I think we would best served with Solo as your offense off the bench guy. His defense is a complete liability and when his shot is off, as is has been most of the year, he brings very little else to the table.

I prefer to keep him and Mullins separate for far longer than we currently do.

I don't want to bury Solo - there are some areas where he is clearly preferable to Mullins. We have trouble getting to the throw line - we never get there when Solo is off the floor. BM has taken like 20 free throws this year.

 

[ucp990411]

Two plays that stick out that really illustrate a lack of basketball IQ. At the end of the half, Marquette inbounds the ball to Nigel James and dribbles to the top of the key and hits a jumper. How about if we deny him the ball? Or at least try to slow him down. Who else were they going to give the ball to.
And then at the end of the game Alex receives the ball and stands there waiting for Silas to get open. Marquette had the brains to deny Silas the ball. A valuable second at least was wasted. Alex, go with the ball, you weren’t guarded.

 

[FightOnCT]

Hurley has been well behaved to this point this year, even restrained. Today we went 3-24 or 13% from 3. No one can win like that and I’m surprised the game was as close 64-62 before the technical. Trying to figure out how we can beat St. John’s 72-40 and then do this but the shots were falling that day for us and not them.

We shot 28% from 3 that game, it was a bad shooting night