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Oregon: 2-2
Kenpom Rating: 39
Previous games:
Notable Rankings via KenPom:
OFFENSE: 37th in efficiency
After work today, I watched a replay of the Houston/Oregon game and their length is what immediately enthralled me. About 40% of their lineups feature the 6’5 180 fifth year senior Will Richardson at point, 6’8 220 Guerrier at the 3 and two of their three elite bigs (Dante, Ware and Bittle) playing the other two forward positions.
All three of their bigs are athletic, possess long wingspans and flash the ability to contest perimeter shots.
After three solid, but unspectacular seasons, N’Faly Dante has exploded into a feature offensive role in his senior season. Like Sanogo, Dante hails from Bamako, Mali and while both players are similar, there are slight differences. Dante is a better rim protector while Sanogo has a better outside shot. Sanogo also is much stronger.
Nate Bittle reminds me a lot of the Phoenix Suns version of Channing Frye: a rim-protector with a smooth perimeter shot and functional athleticism for his position. His lack of strength entices me for post-up situations for Sanogo whenever Dante needs to sit and Bittle is forced to play the 5.
Ware is an exceptional athlete who is more of a 7’0 combo forward than a true big. Frenetic energy, versatile defender and a unique offensive profile who looks comfortable on the dribble, moving the ball and shooting from deep.
More combo guard than true point guard, Will Richardson is a versatile offensive piece, but didn’t do much for me on defense. I like Newton’s ability, pending injury, to break Richardson down in one-to-one situations.
According to a buddy of mine who lives in Boulder and goes to a ton of Colorado games, Barthelemy lost his starting spot in mid-February, is a very streaky shooter and is just ok defensively.
Overall, the Houston/Oregon game was all Houston for the last 30 minutes or so. As a team that relies a lot on rebounding, Oregon seemed overmatched by Houston’s rebounding dominance and will face another strong rebounding team in UConn. Oregon also gave up too many turnovers: early turnovers in the first half lead to a momentum shift for Houston. Overall: Oregon had 16 turnovers compared to 10 assists.
It’s UConn’s first true challenge, but on paper it looks like UConn has the advantage, especially in our ability to matchup Dante with an even better big in Sanogo.
Kenpom Rating: 39
Previous games:
- 11/7 W 80-45 over #359 Florida A&M
- N’Faly Dante, 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals
- 11/11 L 56-69 against #107 UC Irvine
- N’Faly Dante, 20 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks,
- 11/15 W 81-51 over #163 Montana State
- Kel’el Ware, 16 points, 2-3 from three, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
- 11/20 L 56-66 v Houston
- N’Faly Dante, 16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Notable Rankings via KenPom:
- 2nd tallest team in the nation
OFFENSE: 37th in efficiency
- They don’t play with pace (194th fastest pace)
- They are excellent offensive rebounders (14th highest offensive rebounding rate)
- They are generating too many turnovers (238th lowest turnover %)
- They shoot a lot of threes (86th highest 3PA ratio) but haven’t been making shots (26.3 3p%. I file that under “bad luck”.
- They do a good job getting to the line (70th best FTA/FGA ratio)
- #1 on block percentage (21.3%)
- 15th best in preventing teams from getting to the line
- 24th in average opponents’ possession length (18.6 seconds per possession)
- 37th best opponent 2p% (41.2 2p%)
- 50th best defensive rebounding rate
After work today, I watched a replay of the Houston/Oregon game and their length is what immediately enthralled me. About 40% of their lineups feature the 6’5 180 fifth year senior Will Richardson at point, 6’8 220 Guerrier at the 3 and two of their three elite bigs (Dante, Ware and Bittle) playing the other two forward positions.
All three of their bigs are athletic, possess long wingspans and flash the ability to contest perimeter shots.
After three solid, but unspectacular seasons, N’Faly Dante has exploded into a feature offensive role in his senior season. Like Sanogo, Dante hails from Bamako, Mali and while both players are similar, there are slight differences. Dante is a better rim protector while Sanogo has a better outside shot. Sanogo also is much stronger.
Nate Bittle reminds me a lot of the Phoenix Suns version of Channing Frye: a rim-protector with a smooth perimeter shot and functional athleticism for his position. His lack of strength entices me for post-up situations for Sanogo whenever Dante needs to sit and Bittle is forced to play the 5.
Ware is an exceptional athlete who is more of a 7’0 combo forward than a true big. Frenetic energy, versatile defender and a unique offensive profile who looks comfortable on the dribble, moving the ball and shooting from deep.
More combo guard than true point guard, Will Richardson is a versatile offensive piece, but didn’t do much for me on defense. I like Newton’s ability, pending injury, to break Richardson down in one-to-one situations.
According to a buddy of mine who lives in Boulder and goes to a ton of Colorado games, Barthelemy lost his starting spot in mid-February, is a very streaky shooter and is just ok defensively.
Overall, the Houston/Oregon game was all Houston for the last 30 minutes or so. As a team that relies a lot on rebounding, Oregon seemed overmatched by Houston’s rebounding dominance and will face another strong rebounding team in UConn. Oregon also gave up too many turnovers: early turnovers in the first half lead to a momentum shift for Houston. Overall: Oregon had 16 turnovers compared to 10 assists.
It’s UConn’s first true challenge, but on paper it looks like UConn has the advantage, especially in our ability to matchup Dante with an even better big in Sanogo.