Not a Top 5 Team - So What Are We?

[StllH8L8ner]

Still a Top 10 team. Need some open shots to fall like they were early on. It’ll come…

 

[AntG168]

Why can’t I see any F’s? Lmao

 

[Ratso]

I think every ranked team is a 5-15. there is no clear #1 yet.

 

[uconnfan68]

On any given day we can beat anyone. Just hoping the stars align at the right time.

 

[cap10dingus]

Notes

Overall the foul differential that we've seen over the last two games almost never continues for long stretches.

Last night we got beat but 50/50 balls certainly favored the friars. Some of that is hustle some will correct itself naturally.

This team and this fan base fell in love w/ 14-0, lost some of the edge and felt entitled. IF this team is going to be special it was always going to go through a tough stretch to get there. Too inexperienced on the road, in big games, and as a unit. This will either end up being the real team and we will finish top 6 in the BE maybe make the second weekend of the NCAA OR this will wake up a young but top 5 talented roster to be exceptional and achieve greatness. Either way I'm excited this is happening now instead of 3 weeks from now. Now we have enough time for a gut check and to rebound from mediocrity.

A couple more shots drop, the foul disparity is slightly more level, and we hustle a little more that game is a bucket either way. This team is more talented than that, more talented and deeper than that Providence squad.

Hurley flat out got outcoached and outmaneuvered last night.

Fanatics overreact both positively and negatively. This team either way can beat any team in the country on a given night but they can be special. It's up to them if they are going to be special and lead (Jackson) or be a contender with guys who act like Andre did in the last minute of a 12 point game last night. I love the fight but let's also consider the situation, ramification, and respect of the game. I don't like what I'm seeing from this team on a attitude level RN.

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Hurley’s teams always foul like crazy. Maybe give up the whistle for a portion of practice to see if an assistant can teach the kids to play defense with their feet better.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Don’t forget we won one of our titles after going 9-9 in conference play. Then we won 11 in a row. Point being- It’s not how you start, but how you finish. A lot of season is left and these losses will ultimately help make the team better for a deep run in March.

My main concern is DH still being outcoached in close games in the last 5 minutes.

 

[alphasigko]

"The offense in general has looked disorganized in conference play and the beautiful ball movement we saw earlier this year has disappeared."

THIS

 

[JohnFSilver]

"The offense in general has looked disorganized in conference play and the beautiful ball movement we saw earlier this year has disappeared."

THIS

That’s because the shots aren’t going in.

 

[MexicoHusky]

A 2nd weekend NCAA team. An improvement from last year with more good recruits on the way.

If that's the way it works out ill be very happy.

 

[Ratso]

making it to 16 was the plan. anything more, no complaints

 

[willie99]

We're in the mix, that's all one can hope for

We still have better wins than most, and no bad losses

 

[nelsonmuntz]

It doesn’t matter what we think UConn is in early January. At the end of the season there will be a chasm in terms of perception between a 5 loss team and an 8 loss team even though the actual difference is a handful of plays. UConn will be what its record says it is, so all UConn can do is focus on getting just enough positive plays to win its next game. And each game after that.

 

[HuskyinWRNY]

Heading into last week there was a hope and expectation that this truly was a special team, a Dream Season-like renaissance under Hurley that would catapult us back to permanent national relevance.

After Xavier I posed the question of whether this was:
A) a blip, we'd snap back to dominance and stay top 5 and #1-seed worthy wire to wire
B) a concerning trend (including mediocre performances in wins over Georgetown and Nova), but one we should recover from to still be top 10-ish and #2/3 seed
C) a reality check, that we played over our heads, caught teams off-guard, and peaked super early against some potentially overrated opponents (and looked better than we were by pushing leads from 10 to 20 in garbage time), but now we've been figured out and we're really the #15-25 type team people thought preseason

After last night, we can kiss A goodbye.

The good news is, by frontloading our dominant stretch, we're going to stay in the national conversation for at least a little while longer and maintain some buzz around the program. But that will wear off if we're looking like a clear #3 or worse in our own conference (sick to my stomach but feeling like a genius for putting a few bucks on Providence at 30:1 to win the BE and more on Xavier at 3.5:1).

So are we going to be B (a conference title and Final Four contender) or C (ranked but not really a threat in big games) ?

just my opinion, but i think teams have figured out how to play us. they pack it in and dare us to make outside shots. we need AJ to crash the rim and not take 3pt shots. AS needs to get in the habit of sending the ball back out when he is being over covered. reality check is that if we dont figure out how to beat the under the rim defenses, we will end up a 5 or 6 seed with little to show for the season

 

[August_West]

I also think Saturday's game against Creighton will be a better barometer for where this team is/may be headed.

A loss here would be killer. Absolutely killer.

 

[superjohn]

This team absolutely has the players to be the best team in the country. It's all about execution.

Coaching.

 

[HobokenHusky]

We are still #3 in Kenpom this board is an asylum. 2 “good” road conference losses. We lose the next 2 and then we can talk.

 

[UofCT]

We are still #3 in Kenpom this board is an asylum. 2 “good” road conference losses. We lose the next 2 and then we can talk.

I think we get back on track and do it quickly. We have ton of "winnable" games coming up.

 

[tcf15]

A loss here would be killer. Absolutely killer.

I agree. Historically, a 3 game losing streak isn't a usually good thing for UConn. In the last 30 years, these are the only UConn teams with a 3+ game losing streak during the season:

1992-93 (15-13)
1996-97 (18-15)
2000-01 (20-12)
2006-07 (17-14)
2009-10 (18-16)
2011-12 (20-14)
2012-13 (20-10)
2014-15 (20-15)
2016-17 (16-17)
2017-18 (14-18)
2018-19 (16-17)
2019-20 (19-12)

5 NIT teams, 1 NCAA team, and 4 teams that missed the tourney altogether.

 

[August_West]

I agree. Historically, a 3 game losing streak isn't a usually good thing for UConn. In the last 30 years, these are the only UConn teams with a 3+ game losing streak during the season:

1992-93 (15-13)
1996-97 (18-15)
2000-01 (20-12)
2006-07 (17-14)
2009-10 (18-16)
2011-12 (20-14)
2012-13 (20-10)
2014-15 (20-15)
2016-17 (16-17)
2017-18 (14-18)
2018-19 (16-17)
2019-20 (19-12)

5 NIT teams, 1 NCAA team, and 4 teams that missed the tourney altogether.

and the one NCAA team was bounced in 30 seconds.

 

[REB1094]

I agree. Historically, a 3 game losing streak isn't a usually good thing for UConn. In the last 30 years, these are the only UConn teams with a 3+ game losing streak during the season:

1992-93 (15-13)
1996-97 (18-15)
2000-01 (20-12)
2006-07 (17-14)
2009-10 (18-16)
2011-12 (20-14)
2012-13 (20-10)
2014-15 (20-15)
2016-17 (16-17)
2017-18 (14-18)
2018-19 (16-17)
2019-20 (19-12)

5 NIT teams, 1 NCAA team, and 4 teams that missed the tourney altogether.

We’re already within 3 wins of the total win number of 5 of these 12 teams, with 15 games to go

If we win against Butler, GTown, and DePaul x2, and lose every other game (won’t happen), we would have as many or more wins than 8 of the 12 teams. I appreciate the data digging on the post, but not quite apples to apples here.

I expect a win Saturday and a loss would be very disappointing, but even if we do lose it would take a massive collapse to finish the year anywhere close to the best record you listed

 

[gsmooth]

just my opinion, but i think teams have figured out how to play us. they pack it in and dare us to make outside shots. we need AJ to crash the rim and not take 3pt shots. AS needs to get in the habit of sending the ball back out when he is being over covered. reality check is that if we dont figure out how to beat the under the rim defenses, we will end up a 5 or 6 seed with little to show for the season

With all the various threads, this kind of sums it up. I would include also, the defense has taken a step back and they need to learn how to defend the staggered screens and maybe change up the pick and roll defense to handle the slips and the rolls to the baskets off of these. Why? Because they will see plenty of this especially from Creighton.

Hurley built this roster with 3 pt shooting in mind to be excellent but it has been far from that in Big East play. In the Villanova game they shot 9/30 from 3 for 30%, but really they should've shot better than that considering how open those 3s were and that Nova sold out to deny the entry passes to the post. UConn has missed a lot of open 3s including the PC game. If 3s aren't falling there has to be a Plan B and Plan C. That is something Jim Calhoun emphasized in his book a Passion to Lead. It's common life advice from other sources as well, but rarely put into action, generally speaking.

Let's face it, they haven't played poorly in the Big East, but they really have not played all that well either. They were in a close game against Butler with 9 minutes remaining. For comparison, PC blew the doors off Butler and was up 20 in the first half and that game was never close. And UConn struggled with GTown at home being down by 8 with 10 minutes to go.

Here's hoping UConn breaks the hex against Creighton and turns around their underwhelming Big East play. It's only January 7th, and 14-2 is still a very good record.

 

[jayp123669]

I stand by UConn is still a Top 5 team and a National Title contender. I could see if they were outscored by PC or X on the floor, but they weren't. Neither team completely outplayed UConn otherwise it would show up in the game scoring independent of FT. They were beaten by FT's and bias officiating IMO. I think its clear there's a campaign against Hurley inside the BE with the refs. They just have to weather the storm and get through league play. Once the NCAA's come, whole different ref situation and I think just like the OOC Games will be playing closer to that once again with a more balanced ref situation.

 

[DW1361]

These were two very good teams we played on their court and lost. The skies not falling. For two games we were chopped liver, but liver can heal itself. We are still the team we got giddy over and instead of getting caught up in the polls I will enjoy watching the best team we have had in a decade. It is going to be so much fun watching the peaks and valleys. Hopefully we will peak late and make a run at a national championship. I could care less what two losses make.

 

[Orc]

making it to 16 was the plan. anything more, no complaints

View attachment 82734

Sweet 16. Any less would be a total disappointment