Nova, UConn, Zona, FSU

[david]

DI Men's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Are currently ranked 32, 33, 36, 38 respectively in the latest NET poll. Should be some good basketball!

 

[UconnU]

DI Men's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Are currently ranked 32, 33, 36, 38 respectively in the latest NET poll. Should be some good basketball!

We’re going to find out just how good we are really quick. Cincinatt(27) is also early in conference play.

 

[Ewekon]

DI Men's Basketball Rankings - NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings | NCAA.com

Are currently ranked 32, 33, 36, 38 respectively in the latest NET poll. Should be some good basketball!

Yeah but Florida St is 15 in AP and Nova 23. UConn got 4 votes too.

FL st. Is good.

 

[August_West]

we need 2 out of 3.

Its doable.


Zona MUST be one of them.

 

[Hi-Low]

Zona is the must for sure at home, will keep the confidence up & then a split with FSU / Nova seems realistic.

 

[awfuldan]

we need 2 out of 3.

Its doable.


Zona MUST be one of them.

2 out of 3 seems like a big ask to me. Would love to see it though.

Villanova and FSU on a neutral court would be a challenge for just about any team in the country.

 

[August_West]

2 out of 3 seems like a big ask to me. Would love to see it though.

Villanova and FSU on a neutral court would be a challenge for just about any team in the country.

Indeed.

But we are not chopped meat.

Just currently a bit defensively challenged.
One of those 2 teams out of Villanova or FSU is going to abuse us a bit on that front. Just a feeling. Hard to say which. I kinda like our chances against Nova more than FSU just because of play style. But who knows. Arizona doesnt have the offensive pieces they usually do and we are at home. its why we need that one.

What we have going for us is we play HARD. Guys are being unselfish on offense and we can make teams uncomfortable with tempo and pressure. Then it comes to making shots. (I will allow @temery to use that phrase in his next "My take" column). As bad as that Iowa game was, if we went 5 for 13 instead of 0 for 13 on our first 13 3's (which isn't asking too much considering our stats 7 games in) it wouldve changed the complexion of that game early and then who knows. Need to at least hit our averages to stay in games obviously.

We CAN win one of those 2.

 

[glastonbury50]

Realistically, so far, I feel as though we haven't been able to see just how good we are. I originally thought 'Cuse was good win which was sort of debunked when they were spanked by Oregon. No way to tell exactly what Iowa's ceiling is at this point. (I think they are a top 25 team rest of the way.)

Furman hung with Nova in regulation and then finished them off in OT. No easy feat at Nova. Also Nova was manhandled by Michigan. Then Nova goes on to beat Florida State.

Who knows, I think we can beat any of the teams we are facing on any given night. Bottom line, I'm excited and looking forward to it. Which in a way is everything I could have hope for, for this season.

 

[Candyman]

Syracuse win will mean more than it does now as they are not a bad team and will be a Tourny team with Howard. They beat 15th ranked Ohio State last night.

So beating anyone of these three will add to our tourny chances. As long as we finish in top 3 of AAC with wins against Cincy, Houston and UCF.

 

[Wordbomar]

I am giddy thinking about heading into Top 15 ranked Florida State 8-1...

 

[HawkHusky]

I'm really liking this whole NET-thing (right now)...

 

[Sphinx]

One out of three, and a win-out of the final three mid-majors, gives us a 10-3 record and two big-name scalps going into conference play. To say that we "need" more is just to set up an arbitrary standard by which a surprisingly strong early season becomes a disappointment. How 'bout let's not.

 

[superjohn]

2 out of 3 seems like a big ask to me. Would love to see it though.

Villanova and FSU on a neutral court would be a challenge for just about any team in the country.

I don't think it's a huge ask. We should beat Arizona at home, I think we can hang with both Nova and FSU so I don't see taking 1 of those to be too hard to envision. Zona is the should win and I pretty much view it as a must win despite being so early in the season.

 

[mdkhusky]

1-2 would be fine. 0-3 bad

 

[Sphinx]

I don't think it's a huge ask. We should beat Arizona at home, I think we can hang with both Nova and FSU so I don't see taking 1 of those to be too hard to envision. Zona is the should win and I pretty much view it as a must win despite being so early in the season.

Agree that Arizona is the real target win of the three. Only two guys above 6-7, and the tallest -- ex-Dukie Chase Jeter -- is no Zion. Also, nice that AG will finally get to play an opposing PG his own size, 5-10. Also good that Zona poses only one real 3-point threat (only two of their guys ever take a three), so the perimater defense can home in tightly. Lose this one, and we're looking at 9-4 going into the conference, and that WOULD be a disappointment.

 

[Palatine]

Most of this group played Zona staight up for almost a full game. They should have some confidence going onto the contest. And as others have mentioned, the home crowd should also be a factor.

Finally, Bobby Hurley plays Arizona all the time. He also talks to Danny six times a week. Not a bad go-to guy to break down Zona's strengths an weaknesses.

 

[glastonbury50]

Indeed.

But we are not chopped meat.

Just currently a bit defensively challenged.
One of those 2 teams out of Villanova or FSU is going to abuse us a bit on that front. Just a feeling. Hard to say which. I kinda like our chances against Nova more than FSU just because of play style. But who knows. Arizona doesnt have the offensive pieces they usually do and we are at home. its why we need that one.

What we have going for us is we play HARD. Guys are being unselfish on offense and we can make teams uncomfortable with tempo and pressure. Then it comes to making shots. (I will allow @temery to use that phrase in his next "My take" column). As bad as that Iowa game was, if we went 5 for 13 instead of 0 for 13 on our first 13 3's (which isn't asking too much considering our stats 7 games in) it wouldve changed the complexion of that game early and then who knows. Need to at least hit our averages to stay in games obviously.

We CAN win one of those 2.

This is true that if we hit our threes it would have been different. Even if we hit 3 of the first 15. But I find that sometimes a stingy D like Iowa's can either force us to take bad threes.

Ps. I love my pearly baker best more than my wine.

 

[SubbaBub]

How we play against better defensive team will determine these games. We've had free run against most teams and we no Cuse plays no D.

 

[Mokum]

If our guys are on target with their shooting it’s concievable to me we could win all these games. Not saying we will but I am optimistic.

 

[CTBasketball]

Arizona is a very winnable game, if we want to dance we need to get these W’s.

 

[Edward Sargent]

Realistically, so far, I feel as though we haven't been able to see just how good we are. I originally thought 'Cuse was good win which was sort of debunked when they were spanked by Oregon. No way to tell exactly what Iowa's ceiling is at this point. (I think they are a top 25 team rest of the way.)

Furman hung with Nova in regulation and then finished them off in OT. No easy feat at Nova. Also Nova was manhandled by Michigan. Then Nova goes on to beat Florida State.

Who knows, I think we can beat any of the teams we are facing on any given night. Bottom line, I'm excited and looking forward to it. Which in a way is everything I could have hope for, for this season.

Syracuse took out Ohio St at their place. That is a good win for them

 

[UConnStats]

Arizona beat Georgia Southern by 30 last night. Some thoughts:

• Chase Jeter was Arizona's MVP. The 6'10 C went for 18/10/2 BLK (4-4 FG, 10-12 FT).
• Jeter kept getting fouled and was a constant mismatch for GA Southern's frontcourt, which starts a 6'4 PF and 6'8 C. They just didn't have the size to stop him. Jeter is 1 dimensional and can't stretch the floor, and probably won't fare nearly as well against us.
• The 3 players that lead Arizona in FGA (Randolph, Williams, and Coleman) were a combined 2-13 3PT. Hopefully they stay cold in aggregate against UConn. They moved the ball and limited turnovers well though.
• Luther, Smith, and Barcello are all spot up threats. They don't touch the ball much, so hopefully we don't forget about them and let them slip open for 3s.
• Arizona was great at defending the perimeter. Looking at their numbers on the year, this isn't surprising. They've held opponents to 28% shooting beyond the arc.
• OTOH their bigs (Jeter, Luther, Akot) are SOFT. Zona plays man the whole game. Our guards are going to have to attack off the dribble to create offense. If we settle for 3s, I don't like our chances.

 

[EBonz30]

We can’t let Coleman & Williams get going from deep, I think if we can hold Zona to 6 or less three pointers we will be good. It should be an interesting matchup between their three guards and our three guards, all around the same size.

 

[jibsey]

Arizona beat Georgia Southern by 30 last night. Some thoughts:

• Chase Jeter was Arizona's MVP. The 6'10 C went for 18/10/2 BLK (4-4 FG, 10-12 FT).
• Jeter kept getting fouled and was a constant mismatch for GA Southern's frontcourt, which starts a 6'4 PF and 6'8 C. They just didn't have the size to stop him. Jeter is 1 dimensional and can't stretch the floor, and probably won't fare nearly as well against us.
• The 3 players that lead Arizona in FGA (Randolph, Williams, and Coleman) were a combined 2-13 3PT. Hopefully they stay cold in aggregate against UConn. They moved the ball and limited turnovers well though.
• Luther, Smith, and Barcello are all spot up threats. They don't touch the ball much, so hopefully we don't forget about them and let them slip open for 3s.
• Arizona was great at defending the perimeter. Looking at their numbers on the year, this isn't surprising. They've held opponents to 28% shooting beyond the arc.
• OTOH their bigs (Jeter, Luther, Akot) are SOFT. Zona plays man the whole game. Our guards are going to have to attack off the dribble to create offense. If we settle for 3s, I don't like our chances.

10-12 FT is concerning. Do we help double him to deny him the ball? Then they shoot the 3 which they are due to make.

 

[UConnStats]

10-12 FT is concerning. Do we help double him to deny him the ball? Then they shoot the 3 which they are due to make.

12 FTA was double his previous high in FTA. I think it was more about his opponent than anything. He’s a lot like Carlton IMO.

I wouldn’t double him with their biggest scoring threat being their perimeter players. What I would do is go at him offensively. He averages 4.8 PF/40 and is their only true center. Get him in foul trouble and we can really do damage inside.