One thing we MUST work on

[Deleted at users request]

I think our biggest weakness right now is our ability to drive to the basket from the perimeter. Our offense slows down so much when we aren’t hitting our shots which is scary seeing how we lost our last few tourney games.

Andre and Hawkins have to learn to be able to effectively take it to the basket. Your jumpshot is not always going to be able to fall. When it doesn’t we still have to figure out how to score. Newton has to be more assertive because that’s something he’s suppose to be good at. All in all another good win because we had those stretched where the good looks were falling.

 

[housekeys]

Our half court D, and defending low post isolation when our big's are pulled to the perimeter, is also something to work on.

 

[DisabledVet]

We will be fine. We have now won two games when pushed by a conference team. All wins won’t be by 20 pts. This is a very good team.

 

[auror]

I think our biggest weakness right now is our ability to drive to the basket from the perimeter. Our offense slows down so much when we aren’t hitting our shots which is scary seeing how we lost our last few tourney games.

Andre and Hawkins have to learn to be able to effectively take it to the basket. Your jumpshot is not always going to be able to fall. When it doesn’t we still have to figure out how to score. Newton has to be more assertive because that’s something he’s suppose to be good at. All in all another good win because we had those stretched where the good looks were falling.

Nova was packing the paint. They had 3 guys touching the paint on most possessions. It was the Creighton defense from last year. Sagging way off Jackson and Diarra. There was no room to drive, as evidenced by the charges we committed. Nova had a full week to prepare their defense.

But it did let Hawk and Karaban a little more open from usual, and they made them pay, especially in 1st half. Jackson and Diarra have to hit the wide open ones.

Our half court D, and defending low post isolation when our big's are pulled to the perimeter, is also something to work on.

Sure, but literally Villanova is basically the only team in the country that is proficient with multiple guards at posting up. And we held them, one of the best offensive teams in the country, to a bad shooting night overall and forced 18 turnovers.

 

[gsmooth]

I think our biggest weakness right now is our ability to drive to the basket from the perimeter. Our offense slows down so much when we aren’t hitting our shots which is scary seeing how we lost our last few tourney games.

Andre and Hawkins have to learn to be able to effectively take it to the basket. Your jumpshot is not always going to be able to fall. When it doesn’t we still have to figure out how to score. Newton has to be more assertive because that’s something he’s suppose to be good at. All in all another good win because we had those stretched where the good looks were falling.

True. They don’t or have not shown consistent dribble penetration. I would like to see the, utilize the pick and roll more.

Edit- auror is correct though in terms of tonight with Nova packing the paint. Nelsonmunts said it in the chat. When left that open for 3s they have to hit a higher percentage of them. But UConn took smart shots and had a lot of in and out shots and conversely it seemed like Nova got every roll on their shots. I don’t have data I am just speaking anecdotally about the in and outs and the lucky rolls for Nova

 

[Palatine]

We need to do a better job getting the ball inside.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I think our biggest weakness right now is our ability to drive to the basket from the perimeter. Our offense slows down so much when we aren’t hitting our shots which is scary seeing how we lost our last few tourney games.

Andre and Hawkins have to learn to be able to effectively take it to the basket. Your jumpshot is not always going to be able to fall. When it doesn’t we still have to figure out how to score. Newton has to be more assertive because that’s something he’s suppose to be good at. All in all another good win because we had those stretched where the good looks were falling.

Yeah im not sure what up with Newt but hes pretty good going to the basket and needs to take that more often when its there or when we simply need a basket.

 

[krinklecut]

We will be fine. We have now won two games when pushed by a conference team. All wins won’t be by 20 pts. This is a very good team.

And not all games this year are gonna be wins.

 

[REB1094]

Hawkins has been showing a decent midrange pull-up game. I still don't trust him around the hoop as he usually throws himself into bad situations and hopes for a foul.

For Andre, I think it's just not in his bag. He's so confident and I'd even call him cocky. If he could drive it to the hoop and finish at the rim consistently, then I have no doubt he would do it while trash talking the entire way

The offense is designed to let Sanogo destroy you, or let the shooters destroy you. If both of those fail, our defense has proven it can hold the other team at bay enough to hold us over until somebody starts hitting shots

I'm sad that we lost the double digit win streak, but it's a game of runs and we were able to beat their runs. I thought it was a great win and this team is so dangerous when there's other offensive options than Sanogo

 

[auror]

Yeah im not sure what up with Newt but hes pretty good going to the basket and needs to take that more often when its there or when we simply need a basket.

Nova has big and strong guards, they don't really play freshmen and all their guys have been in the weight room for years. Newton was giving up 15-20 lbs on all of them, and quickness is not his forte.

 

[Palatine]

And not all games this year are gonna be wins.

Why not? The girls do it al the time.

 

[UConnSwag11]

We will be fine. We have now won two games when pushed by a conference team. All wins won’t be by 20 pts. This is a very good team.

They’re not saying we’re a bad team. Very good teams have flaws and ours should be fixable

 

[tcf15]

And not all games this year are gonna be wins.

 

[DisabledVet]

And not all games this year are gonna be wins.

I don’t like the sound of this but acknowledge it is probably true.

 

[my2cents]

I think our biggest weakness right now is our ability to drive to the basket from the perimeter. Our offense slows down so much when we aren’t hitting our shots which is scary seeing how we lost our last few tourney games.

Andre and Hawkins have to learn to be able to effectively take it to the basket. Your jumpshot is not always going to be able to fall. When it doesn’t we still have to figure out how to score. Newton has to be more assertive because that’s something he’s suppose to be good at. All in all another good win because we had those stretched where the good looks were falling.

I agree 100%

 

[Deleted at users request]

Nova was packing the paint. They had 3 guys touching the paint on most possessions. It was the Creighton defense from last year. Sagging way off Jackson and Diarra. There was no room to drive, as evidenced by the charges we committed. Nova had a full week to prepare their defense.

But it did let Hawk and Karaban a little more open from usual, and they made them pay, especially in 1st half. Jackson and Diarra have to hit the wide open ones.


Sure, but literally Villanova is basically the only team in the country that is proficient with multiple guards at posting up. And we held them, one of the best offensive teams in the country, to a bad shooting night overall and forced 18 turnovers.

I agree they were packing the paint, especially to keep the ball out of Sanogo’s hands. They did a great job of denying him all game. It seemed like there were still opportunities to drive still though if they knew how to do it. Especially on the fast break at the least.

There’s times where we have a break and Andre has to pull it out because he has no confidence in how to attack. The steal he got where he just threw up some garbage after on something that should’ve been a bunny was cringey. He has every tool from an athleticism and strength perspective to be good at getting to the rim.

Hawkins has been showing a decent midrange pull-up game. I still don't trust him around the hoop as he usually throws himself into bad situations and hopes for a foul.

For Andre, I think it's just not in his bag. He's so confident and I'd even call him cocky. If he could drive it to the hoop and finish at the rim consistently, then I have no doubt he would do it while trash talking the entire way

The offense is designed to let Sanogo destroy you, or let the shooters destroy you. If both of those fail, our defense has proven it can hold the other team at bay enough to hold us over until somebody starts hitting shots

I'm sad that we lost the double digit win streak, but it's a game of runs and we were able to beat their runs. I thought it was a great win and this team is so dangerous when there's other offensive options than Sanogo

While Hawkins struggles to finish around the rim I appreciate that he at least tries. Andre can learn from just going as hard as possible and just drawing a foul if nothing else. Take an extra dribble around the guy trying to take a charge, something.

I’m not sure what is up with this generation of UConn players not being comfortable driving to the rim lol.

 

[dennismenace]

Nova has big and strong guards, they don't really play freshmen and all their guys have been in the weight room for years. Newton was giving up 15-20 lbs on all of them, and quickness is not his forte.

There is a lot to like about how Villanova plays smart and has been well coached. They don't usually do dumb things and play within themselves. They just ran into too many Huskies that wore them down when the game started into the last 10 minutes or so. That bench and defensive aggression eventually takes a toll. Villanova was playing just seven men and the Uconn defense started creating turnovers near the end. It must be very disheartening when you keep seeing those waves of substitutions. Too bad Villanova; we owed you one. You need to start getting used to Husky beatings.
BTW, how about the foul shooting! Newton looks like "are they serious handing me the ball to shoot free throws? This is just automatic; you should just award them to me (with a smile on his face). " LOL.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

We need to work on loosening the XL center rims a little. Lots of in & out 3s tonight

 

[HooperScooper]

I was happy to see the play where Jackson took it straight to the rack. He then committed an offensive foul because Nova was packed in the paint and I don't remember him trying it again this game.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Nova was packing the paint. They had 3 guys touching the paint on most possessions. It was the Creighton defense from last year. Sagging way off Jackson and Diarra. There was no room to drive, as evidenced by the charges we committed. Nova had a full week to prepare their defense.

But it did let Hawk and Karaban a little more open from usual, and they made them pay, especially in 1st half. Jackson and Diarra have to hit the wide open ones.


Sure, but literally Villanova is basically the only team in the country that is proficient with multiple guards at posting up. And we held them, one of the best offensive teams in the country, to a bad shooting night overall and forced 18 turnovers.

Not sure people recognize that their guards are like linebackers. Daniels is an absolute load. So hard to guard when the bigs can shoot from outside. That’s the offense. Drive the bigs outside and attack with oversized guards inside. Hawkins was tremendous using his quickness to interrupt shots.

 

[JohnFSilver]

You can’t force the ball if the paint is packed.

It isn’t 1985 anymore.

I would like to see Jackson look at the rim on the drive, but UConn got some really good looks that didn’t go down.

Issue isn’t driving to the hoops Vs jump shots, issue is UConn needs to get ball in transition more and maybe create some turnovers and get out on the break. Defense is the best way to get your offense on track.

End of day, this team is good. It is real good.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I was happy to see the play where Jackson took it straight to the rack. He then committed an offensive foul because Nova was packed in the paint and I don't remember him trying it again this game.

Same, don’t even care about the charge. Just try to get there a couple times again. Can’t work on it if you don’t try.

 

[husky8273]

And not all games this year are gonna be wins.

the 2 games vs. Xavier are our currently ranked opponents. Purdue only has 3 ranked opponents, IA twice & tOSU.

 

[dennismenace]

the 2 games vs. Xavier are our currently ranked opponents. Purdue only has 3 ranked opponents, IA twice & tOSU.

Another team like Villanova that that plays smart. I watched part of the SJ/Xavier game last night and they had the coaches on open mic. Very interesting to hear what coaches talk about in the locker room and surprised that the media is getting their way on that point. It wouldn't be half as bad if it was after the game or at the end of the season. Too distracting to the coach and players and invasive to me.

OT but what I would have really liked to see was a Bill Parcells halftime talk when the Giants had not performed so well in the first half. They seemed to come out completely transformed. My son and I would look at each other and laugh and say something like "we don't have to worry. Coach will start hitting them with chairs at halftime."

 

[husky8273]

Another team like Villanova that that plays smart. I watched part of the SJ/Xavier game last night and they had the coaches on open mic. Very interesting to hear what coaches talk about in the locker room and surprised that the media is getting their way on that point. It wouldn't be half as bad if it was after the game or at the end of the season. Too distracting to the coach and players and invasive to me.

OT but what I would have really liked to see was a Bill Parcells halftime talk when the Giants had not performed so well in the first half. They seemed to come out completely transformed. My son and I would look at each other and laugh and say something like "we don't have to worry. Coach will start hitting them with chairs at halftime."

JC was said to often rival Parcells's locker room "talks"

 

[Icehawk]

We're geared around the 3 ball so I don't see what we need to work on here? 14-0.

 

[QDOG5]

Our D is elite. I have only one quibble. When the opposition has the in the post after 3-4 dribbles I'd like to see a weakside double team trap happen. We are so long we can make the pass out of the double very difficult. Sanogo did a good job on Dixon but he did pick up a couple of personals too.

 

[SubbaBub]

We messed up the dish to Sanogo several times. We don't need guys dribbling into Sanogos triple team. Just run the pick and roll when it presents itself.

This isn't an iso ball screen based team.

 

[huskyharry]

Our D is elite. I have only one quibble. When the opposition has the in the post after 3-4 dribbles I'd like to see a weakside double team trap happen. We are so long we can make the pass out of the double very difficult. Sanogo did a good job on Dixon but he did pick up a couple of personals too.

we also have athletic defenders who can recover to the open man quickly...I don't think we need to do this every time but mix the defense up from time to time

 

[QDOG5]

we also have athletic defenders who can recover to the open man quickly...I don't think we need to do this every time but mix the defense up from time to time

Obviously Hurley prefers to defend one v. one but as you mention using it occasionally will keep teams guessing.