New Haven Post Game Thread

[GHSWolverines]

Arizona is going is nuts to butts going to drive the out of the ball on UConn. Better figure our defense fast

They will not be able to do it as much once Tarris is back. Our defensive style always relied on a rim protector. Beware of the bear!

 

[UCann]

One thing I’m struggling with is the constant comparisons to our last two championship teams - “they don’t have the same fire,” “Demary is the new Newton,” “Reibe is the new DC,” “we don’t have a Cam,” “we don’t have an Ajax,” etc. I understand the urge to try to compare to those teams of the past but out of respect to this group, and the unique teams of the past, can we ease up a bit. I feel like even the coaching staff does this. This year’s team is this year’s team. We can think about and honor the past but we can’t be trying to replicate it. Our next championship team, whenever it is, will look and feel different and will take a different path. Let’s accept that.

 

[REB1094]

what is going on

 

[Lafayette]

It was a bad game. Period. We got up 28-15 and then basically played them even for over 20 minutes until 70-55 and then we closed on a 9-0 run. Against a team making their DI debut.

But let's see how we've done in our first cupcake game the last several years and how it boded:

2025: 92-56 over Sacred Heart. Bad D in the first half maybe portended season-long issues.
2024: 95-52 over NAU. Consistent, pretty dominant.
2023: 85-54 over Stonehill. D was stout early, offense so-so.
2022: 99-48 over CCSU. High-flying and dominant, actually masked season-long issues on offense.
2021: 102-75 over CCSU. Misleadingly explosive on offense and mediocre on defense.
2020: 89-67 over Sacred Heart. Disconcertingly close at halftime portended slow start to the year, but the team developed immensely.
2019: 80-70 over Morehead State. Bad game by a bad team.
2018: 70-58 over Colgate. Bad game by a bad team.
2017: 58-67 loss to Wagner. Say no more.
2016: 100-56 over Maine. So-so first half, pulled away early 2nd. Maybe emblematic of some inconsistency.
2015: 66-53 over Bryant. Bad game by a mediocre team.

So, of those 11 examples, there are several cases -- though mostly among teams that were much worse than this one -- of a bad start being representative of the team's performance. There are also a few where the game wasn't representative, though mostly, but not always, in the direction of the team being worse than implied. There's also one case of a team developing over the year. And, of course, missing 1-2 starters is a factor.

We shouldn't dismiss some obvious warning signs, but full-blown panic is unwarranted.

we miss 2 starters in many of those?

 

[Shabazzkets]

Do you realize how insane you sound posting this on November 4th after a game against New Haven that was never actually competitive?

I knew people would react viscerally. I don’t think my take is that crazy. Winning a title is so insanely hard. I don’t see the talent level necessary to do so. It is simple as that.

There are loads of teams that we all immediately know are not good enough to win it all. Just because I support UConn doesn’t mean I have to blindly believe they are good enough to climb the mountaintop. I will still go to the games and cheer them on. They are still capable of having a great season.

 

[Gurleyman]

I knew people would react viscerally. I don’t think my take is that crazy. Winning a title is so insanely hard. I don’t see the talent level necessary to do so. It is simple as that.

There are loads of teams that we all immediately know are not good enough to win it all. Just because I support UConn doesn’t mean I have to blindly believe they are good enough to climb the mountaintop. I will still go to the games and cheer them on. They are still capable of having a great season.

Just a little early on that with two guys out. Emphasis on "could" - but Reed could be as dominant a post scorer as there is in the country and Mullins could be as much of a "don't give him a good look" guy as there is in the country. They weren’t out there. If it plays out that way, that's a lot of headaches for a defense to worry about.

In terms of talent level compared to our 2023 team:

Demary - Junior year Newton
Ball - Hawkins
Mullins - AJ
Senior Karaban - Freshman Karaban
Reed - Sanogo

Mullins and Jackson are wildly different players we can't compare yet, especially until we see Mullins up and running. Reed has to take a leap to get on Sanogo's level - but it's possible. Demary and Newton are comparable. I think Ball is a slight upgrade on Hawkins (mainly due to an extra year) and Karaban is hopefully an upgrade on himself.

There's the cohesion and chemistry element of things - and of course an element of randomness in the NCAA Tournament.

 

[navery12]

I knew people would react viscerally. I don’t think my take is that crazy. Winning a title is so insanely hard. I don’t see the talent level necessary to do so. It is simple as that.

There are loads of teams that we all immediately know are not good enough to win it all. Just because I support UConn doesn’t mean I have to blindly believe they are good enough to climb the mountaintop. I will still go to the games and cheer them on. They are still capable of having a great season.

It would be insane to draw that conclusion based on a game at full strength against New Haven. It is even more insane to draw that conclusion minus 2 starters

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I knew people would react viscerally. I don’t think my take is that crazy. Winning a title is so insanely hard. I don’t see the talent level necessary to do so. It is simple as that.

There are loads of teams that we all immediately know are not good enough to win it all. Just because I support UConn doesn’t mean I have to blindly believe they are good enough to climb the mountaintop. I will still go to the games and cheer them on. They are still capable of having a great season.

Counterpoint: I do think it’s crazy to draw that conclusion and state definitively on November 4 that their ceiling is capped after a game in which arguably their most important player wasn’t playing. The fact that you wouldn’t be saying this if they won by 35 instead of 25, too, is crazy.

Shame on me for continuing to be surprised by some of the takes on this board but people actually saying other programs made “statements” by beating random directional schools by a larger margin is truly mind-boggling.

 

[temery]

Yep. I think some would rather have had one title in 23 and then the 2nd one 5 years later.... Then he'd be a hall of famer. But back to back is somehow a knock???

B2B is never a bad thing.