Not a Top 5 Team - So What Are We?

[Greg]

If we keep this up we will end up a 5 seed

A 5 seed is fine. I think most fans would have taken that on Novemer 1
This team can still make a solid run.

 

[Billy Jack]

Right now we are a 2 seed. Maybe a 3.

 

[CTBasketball]

A 5 seed is fine. I think most fans would have taken that on Novemer 1
This team can still make a solid run.

 

[August_West]

Right now we are a 2 seed. Maybe a 3.

 

[NotADime89]

Sadly I think you are right. As to where we are: lost 5 of 6, 0-3. 4-5 in the conference for 6th place. The last 2 losses to me are the most worrisome. St Johns at home and at Seton Hall. 2 very mediocre opponents at best. The hall lost to Siena, for heavens sake.

You do realize we still have 11 conference games left? Plenty of time to turn things around. Starts with Sunday. Let's get out there and support these kids.

 

[Billy Jack]

I get it. I’m laughing right along with you.

What’s even funnier is witnessing the despair that so many Boneyard posters display. I expect to see any day an article about a fan self-immolating in front of Gampel after being driven to fatal despondency by the team’s performance.

Anyway, facts are facts. The committee begins its analysis with NCAA Net where we’re currently ranked #8, which is a 2-seed.

 

[freescooter]

Right now we are a 2 seed. Maybe a 3.

LOL

 

[freescooter]

You do realize we still have 11 conference games left? Plenty of time to turn things around. Starts with Sunday. Let's get out there and support these kids.

If we lose to Butler as Don Meridith used to sing on Monday Night Football back in the day, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” The way we are playing you think that is not a possibility?

11 games left. We’ll probably be favored in 4.

 

[Billy Jack]

LOL

Oh, you of little faith . . . Patience, please.

In his latest bracketology post out today, Lunardi has us as a 4-seed. Sports Illustrated had us as a 3-seed yesterday even after Wednesday’s loss. CBS Sports has us as a 4 even after the loss. NCAA Net has us as a 2. No one has us as a 5, as is being suggested here.

 

[Billy Jack]

If we lose to Butler as Don Meridith used to sing on Monday Night Football back in the day, “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.” The way we are playing you think that is not a possibility?

11 games left. We’ll probably be favored in 4.

If the team plane crashes on the way to the DePaul game, they won’t even make the tournament.

 

[August_West]

I get it. I’m laughing right along with you.

What’s even funnier is witnessing the despair that so many Boneyard posters display. I expect to see any day an article about a fan self-immolating in front of Gampel after being driven to fatal despondency by the team’s performance.

Anyway, facts are facts. The committee begins its analysis with NCAA Net where we’re currently ranked #8, which is a 2-seed.

The best part is where you cite 2011. We all want the same things. Obviously . Or we don’t post here. If you don’t see difference between 2011 , 11 big East teams in tourney, (and just forget team make up between that year and this year), I don’t know what to say.

That being said, I pray you’re right. I’ve been wrong so many times before. And right slightly ( ever so slight) more.

Also lol @ “ math”

 

[Billy Jack]

The best part is where you cite 2011. We all want the same things. Obviously . Or we don’t post here. If you don’t see difference between 2011 , 11 big East teams in tourney, (and just forget team make up between that year and this year), I don’t know what to say.

That being said, I pray you’re right. I’ve been wrong so many times before. And right slightly ( ever so slight) more.

Also lol @ “ math”

Of course I see the difference.

I think my reference to 2011 was in a different thread? The post to which I responded claimed that it was “out if the ordinary” for a team to open the season as strongly as we did and then go into a slump. I was just trying to show that it’s not as uncommon as he might think.

 

[gsmooth]

I just gave you a "Like" for the screenshot from the movie Face Off.

 

[Hoophound]

A couple thoughts.

We are overrating our talent a little bit. Our shooting percentages other than our two bigs aren’t very good at all and we’re about at the midway point. Sanogo is certainly as skilled on the low block as anyone we’ve ever had when he’s isolated one on one, and Hawkins is as dangerous a scorer as there is in CBB when he gets some space. But Sanogo isn’t guaranteed to get isolated one on one, and Hawkins isn’t guaranteed to get any space. Other that that, it feels like we have limited offensive talent - guys who have to scrap, are limited to a role of just knocking down wide open looks, or who are 7-foot-2. Was hoping Newton could be that get a bucket or make a play guy, like RJ was last year, but that hasn’t happened and at this point, I’m not sure it will.

The thing about the Alabama and Iowa State wins isn’t even so much the scouting report as the lack of practice time. At those tournaments, you have no prep time between games and basically just do a short walk through to go over strategy and then roll out the balls and play. In the rest of the regular season, you have a full practice to implement a game plan going full speed and the walk through reinforces those things at slow speed. Both teams are in the same boat, of course, but those tournament games don’t always give you full insight as to what might happen with time to really get a game plan in place. By March, you play conference teams super familiar with you and then teams that have been scouting you for five days (even if you advance to the Round of 32, an assistant has been doing deep dives into you for five days while the rest of the staff was working on the opening round).

In order to get back to a legit contender, the team has to have its late-game identity. Winning big was a good problem, but it never forced us to develop our late game pecking order of options, and we’ve been perfectly dreadful the last two games. A year ago, it was a lot of Cole and Tyrese in iso/high screen situations, Sanogo postups, and Polley looking for catch and shoots. They had an idea what they wanted to do - maybe they didn’t always succeed, but they had a checklist of options. Tight games, this team has been night at the improv, often regressing to AJ threes or Hawkins forcing something.

We have to ask ourselves - tie game, two minutes left: what are we good at? What’s our bread and butter? Is it Hawkins running around like Rip and getting him quick trigger looks? Ball movement and good decision making from multiple players? Attacking the basket and crashing the boards? Playing our best defensive team and scrapping for points? Our plan can’t be to just dump it into Sanogo, since that’s too easy to take away - we can’t spread the floor with four shooters around him so he’ll always see a double.

Somebody has to take a step forward. Can Hawkins be force fed and evolve as a multi-dimensional scorer a little more? Can Newton become more competent with the ball in his hands and make plays late in the shot clock? Can Jackson do something offensively off the dribble when teams play him to pass? Could maybe Karaban or Alleyne add another layer to their offense and have the ball more?

There’s hope for at least one of those things to happen. In our last two two titles, we saw Lamb and Daniels take a big leap at the right time of year - Lamb became a go-to scorer in his own right, and Daniels became a guy who could make iso fadeaways, adding another layer to our offense. In ‘04, Ben was certainly established but became even better when forced to handle more burden with Okafor out. The ‘99 team didn’t really have a surprise leap (other than the short term surprise of Ricky’s 13) but had been playing together for two years (three for most of them with El-Amin added) and their strength was cohesion at both ends.

As we stand now, i don’t think we’re good enough. But the key is to not stand as we are now and evolve forward in some capacity.

This post by Gurleyman has aged like fine wine. Great stuff.

 

[jdb50]

Lots of talk about seedings and runs in March. How about winning some damn games in January first? As to past Big East seasons where we were around .500 there is no Kemba or Shabazz and Boat on this team. Or Daniels for that matter. They are what they are. Fragile. They have to prove they can put up a fight and win. Holdovers from last years New Mexico St disaster are not responding to tough times so far. Missed layups and no ability to stop a scorer one on one are still raising their ugly heads. If Hurley really is the guy we will rip off a 5 game winning streak. That will tell us who we are or not. There is no one taking charge on the court. Poor defensive play is not addressed. Last game second half inbound to Newton and everyone runs up court with their back to him as he deals with pressure and our offense starts off minus 10 seconds. It is like there are a bunch of independent contractors out on the court. Your move Dan.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

A 5 seed is fine. I think most fans would have taken that on Novemer 1
This team can still make a solid run.

I’m one of those fans.

My preseason expectation was we’d be a top-25ish team.

However, with both Karaban and Clingan exceeding my freshman expectations, the team clicked early and started the season special.

One awesome thing about college basketball nowadays is the parity. UConn is one of many teams who can get hot and do something special in the tournament.