Pressure | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Pressure

CL82 said:
For 99 I felt angry that we weren't getting our due, especially with the whole "Duke invitational" narrative. I respected Duke, but felt like we were capable of beating them.

For the Kemba championship, I felt like we were the team of destiny.

The Bazz championship, I was angry about the whole NCAA BS and felt like we were going to teach a lesson.

2024 felt like a coronation. Which, in a way comes with its own pressure.

I think if I were to compare this, the closest one would be 2023. I felt like we could win it, but I wasn't sure whether we would win it. That's where I am now. Michigan is a very good team, but we have a lot of talent and a great coaching staff. Can't wait for them to toss up the ball so we can find out.
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In 2023, once we started blowing the doors off Arkansas (still in the first half), I didn't see anything stopping us. We were a runaway freight train at that point.

I joked a number of times during that run that I was worried that we unleashed too much mojo and afterwards that I was afraid we were going to end up breaking the tournament.

That was a very enjoyable run.

I would love to be able to grab a little mojo from 2023 and use it tonight as I am less comfortable than I can ever remember being for a title game, but I still believe some small piece of mojo will show itself over the next few hours. When it does we need to be able to grab it immediately and embrace it.
 
Inyatkin said:
A lot of talk about a hot start being necessary, but I'm not sure that's true. We of course don't want to get in an Arizona situation, but we will stay calm, no matter what.
I could see Yaxel getting off to a hot start, high on adrenaline, but not being able to maintain for an extended period. And then we grind away at them.
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I don't think UConn necessarily needs a hot start, but I do think it would be extremely detrimental to the cause if Michigan does start something like 10-1 like they did against Zona. Once Michigan gets the train rolling, it can get out of hand real quick and many of their games only end up semi-competitive because they seem to go AAU ball for 3, 4, 5 minute stretches when they start getting full of themselves. If we do get in a deficit, it needs to stay within 7-9 points to keep game pressure on these guys.
 
I'm a little nervous but honestly I'm kind of in the "playing with house money" crowd so not a lot of pressure. Most people wrote them off as championship contenders after the Big East Tournament final combined with the late season losses to Creighton and Marquette.

But.........when you get here it's just one game and you might as well win that one when you get the chance. They didn't get here by accident. So why not us? Let's bring home #7!
 
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What's the over/under on how many times Silas is going to pick off one of the lazy over the shoulder passes thrown by Cadeau about 20 times per game? Michigan moves the ball around pretty well, but they sometimes get very sloppy with their passing. Cut off the head of the snake in Cadeau and we have a good chance to keep the game tight. If the game is less than 5 points under the 3 minute mark I like our chances.
 
Hurleyman216 said:
What's the over/under on how many times Silas is going to pick off one of the lazy over the shoulder passes thrown by Cadeau about 20 times per game? Michigan moves the ball around pretty well, but they sometimes get very sloppy with their passing. Cut off the head of the snake in Cadeau and we have a good chance to keep the game tight. If the game is less than 5 points under the 3 minute mark I like our chances.
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Speaking of cutting off the head… I would love to see Silas super-aggressive early. Cadeau in early foul trouble could seriously hamper Michigan’s transition game and their drive-and-kick-out strategy.
 
karstenkibbe said:
Speaking of cutting off the head… I would love to see Silas super-aggressive early. Cadeau in early foul trouble could seriously hamper Michigan’s transition game and their drive-and-kick-out strategy.
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This is a very good point. Their backup PG is injured, right .
 
Marat said:
This is a very good point. Their backup PG is injured, right .
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Yes LJ Cason is injured. Gayle, McKenney and Burnett can all handle the ball, but their crazy offensive output is really generated by Cadeau.
 
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Mr. French said:
I’m nervous but I agree about the pressure aspect. Our team is the loose one, we’re here again, we’re not expected to win, but internally they believe they can.

As a fan, what a pleasure. We have one more game to enjoy THIS team, THIS season. Let’s soak it in. This was an incredible season no matter what happens tonight.

So let’s go win the whole cluckin’ thing!
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Regardless of what happens tonight, I am so proud of this team. This season is already a success. However, since UConn is here they might as well go out on their shield. Why not us? BTW, I am Yankees fan as I was born in Brooklyn and my family roots are from New York City so I hated that question when the Red Sox came back and won in 2004. But seriously, why not us?

Michigan is great and a behemoth, but they are beatable. I watched some of the highlights of their losses and close wins against Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Purdue. They have some holes in the armor, not a lot and not big holes in the armor, but holes in the armor nonetheless.
 
I’m with most of you here, I’m thrilled to be playing tonight, win or lose we got as long a season as possible to enjoy the hard work of guys like AK, Reed and Smith.

I feel like the pressure is off, it’s all on them, I like that they only have 2 days to prep for us, but I know how good they are even with a hobbled Yaxel. But why not us? Why not tonight? Hoping we can just play some D without fouling, keep it competitive before we light up like napalm with Mullins, AK, and some Ross/Stewart thrown in for good measure.

Anything is possible, hoping we come out hard and active and can somehow put this team of monstars on their heels a little bit
 
gsmooth said:
Regardless of what happens tonight, I am so proud of this team. This season is already a success. However, since UConn is here they might as well go out on their shield.

Michigan is great and a behemoth, but they are beatable. I watched some of the highlights of their losses and close wins against Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Purdue.
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I imagine our coaches hit the film hard yesterday.
 
cellocgg said:
All we need to win is for Charles Barkley to pick Michigan
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For those who missed the Barkley, Kellogg, Pearl and Smith picks the other night, they were very interesting.
B, K and P all picked Michigan but they did a lot of careful wording...like hedging their comments because UConn has made them look so bad so many times.
Kenny Smith, though, was unequivocal. He said, "I'm flipping my pick. I had Michigan State but I'm picking UConn."
Nobody laughed or gave him grief. They know the staff is the best, the players are tough, and the team is experienced in pressure situations.
Kenny is, based on his past picks of UConn, a closet Husky and unafraid to make the right call!
Let's make him prognosticator in chief....and win number seven.🙀🍸🎈🎉🎊🤩
 
Scrutineer said:
For those who missed the Barkley, Kellogg, Pearl and Smith picks the other night, they were very interesting.
B, K and P all picked Michigan but they did a lot of careful wording...like hedging their comments because UConn has made them look so bad so many times.
Kenny Smith, though, was unequivocal. He said, "I'm flipping my pick. I had Michigan State but I'm picking UConn."
Nobody laughed or gave him grief. They know the staff is the best, the players are tough, and the team is experienced in pressure situations.
Kenny is, based on his past picks of UConn, a closet Husky and unafraid to make the right call!
Let's make him prognosticator in chief....and win number seven.🙀🍸🎈🎉🎊🤩
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He's not a closet Husky. He's very clear that his family is incredibly close to Kimani.
 
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I think the pressure is on UConn. You have Karaban going for a third title in four years, Reed going against his old team, and Mullins back in his hometown trying to cement his shot against Duke as the greatest of all-time. Then you have Hurley trying to do something that, as far as I know, no one has done post-Wooden. You also have the following streaks on the line:

- Undefeated (6-0) in title games

- 19 straight wins in the Sweet 16 or later

- Whatever ridiculous run Hurley is on defying Vegas and covering the spread

- Keeping the Big 10 from snapping a 26 year drought

- Keeping Michigan from snapping its own title game losing streak

I think, more than anything, that the infallibility, the mystique, the voodoo of the UConn program will be tested tonight. People want to see if the program is human. If they win this game, as a 7.5-point underdog, with the long odds they were fetching coming into the tournament, it's going to break people's minds.

I suppose you could spin some of these reasons the other way, but I tend to look at the team that's going for history as the one with more pressure - think the '07 Patriots, the Warriors trying to cap a 73 win season with a title, the Chiefs trying to threepeat, etc.
 
Not saying we're going to win, I'm hoping, but we've got four main guys that have won national championships and Karaban hasn't had a great game in a while. I'm hoping that Michigan tightens up and our experience comes through. It's gotta feel so much more relaxing for guys that are the underdogs and who've also been in the title game before.
 
ConnZag3 said:
I don't think UConn necessarily needs a hot start, but I do think it would be extremely detrimental to the cause if Michigan does start something like 10-1 like they did against Zona. Once Michigan gets the train rolling, it can get out of hand real quick and many of their games only end up semi-competitive because they seem to go AAU ball for 3, 4, 5 minute stretches when they start getting full of themselves. If we do get in a deficit, it needs to stay within 7-9 points to keep game pressure on these guys.
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This.
 
champs99and04 said:
I think the pressure is on UConn. You have Karaban going for a third title in four years, Reed going against his old team, and Mullins back in his hometown trying to cement his shot against Duke as the greatest of all-time. Then you have Hurley trying to do something that, as far as I know, no one has done post-Wooden. You also have the following streaks on the line:

- Undefeated (6-0) in title games

- 19 straight wins in the Sweet 16 or later

- Whatever ridiculous run Hurley is on defying Vegas and covering the spread

- Keeping the Big 10 from snapping a 26 year drought

- Keeping Michigan from snapping its own title game losing streak

I think, more than anything, that the infallibility, the mystique, the voodoo of the UConn program will be tested tonight. People want to see if the program is human. If they win this game, as a 7.5-point underdog, with the long odds they were fetching coming into the tournament, it's going to break people's minds.

I suppose you could spin some of these reasons the other way, but I tend to look at the team that's going for history as the one with more pressure - think the '07 Patriots, the Warriors trying to cap a 73 win season with a title, the Chiefs trying to threepeat, etc.
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This would be by far the most understandable Tournament loss in the second weekend or later in program history since 1999.

I don't really buy there being pressure to uphold streaks in title games, in the second weekend, versus the spread (which, surely we failed to cover against Furman already, no?), and certainly about the Big Ten.

I mean, Geno lost a championship game for the first time a few years ago. That didn't tarnish his legacy. And then he won another.

This is very much a "house money" game for us, Hurley, Karaban, Reed, and everyone else.
 
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champs99and04 said:
I think the pressure is on UConn. You have Karaban going for a third title in four years, Reed going against his old team, and Mullins back in his hometown trying to cement his shot against Duke as the greatest of all-time. Then you have Hurley trying to do something that, as far as I know, no one has done post-Wooden. You also have the following streaks on the line:

- Undefeated (6-0) in title games

- 19 straight wins in the Sweet 16 or later

- Whatever ridiculous run Hurley is on defying Vegas and covering the spread

- Keeping the Big 10 from snapping a 26 year drought

- Keeping Michigan from snapping its own title game losing streak

I think, more than anything, that the infallibility, the mystique, the voodoo of the UConn program will be tested tonight. People want to see if the program is human. If they win this game, as a 7.5-point underdog, with the long odds they were fetching coming into the tournament, it's going to break people's minds.

I suppose you could spin some of these reasons the other way, but I tend to look at the team that's going for history as the one with more pressure - think the '07 Patriots, the Warriors trying to cap a 73 win season with a title, the Chiefs trying to threepeat, etc.
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All those bullet points are facts. In the spirit of what I posted in every game from 2024's the Sweet 16 to that title game and from this year's Sweet 16 to this game I would say this to whoever:

Don't think about UConn becoming 7-0 in title games. Don't think about Michigan's title game losing streak. Don't think about 19 straight wins in the Sweet 16 or later. Don't think about Hurley's winning run ATS of Vegas. Don't think about the Big 10's 26-year drought.

Just defeat Michigan tonight, that's it.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Michigan also has the Big Ten curse to contend with, and we eliminated the other two best teams in the conference already. So yes, pressure is on them but this is a pretty veteran team. I think UConn teams are always mentally tough under Hurley, so we definitely have a punchers chance. Michigan has been blowing everybody out, like we did in 24, and I do wonder what will happen if UConn is ahead or close late into the 2nd half. That's a new world for them.
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Similar to Duke in '99
 
gsmooth said:
All those bullet points are facts. In the spirit of what I posted in every game from 2024's the Sweet 16 to that title game and from this year's Sweet 16 to this game I would say this to whoever:

Don't think about UConn becoming 7-0 in title games. Don't think about Michigan's title game losing streak. Don't think about 19 straight wins in the Sweet 16 or later. Don't think about Hurley's winning run ATS of Vegas. Don't think about the Big 10's 26-year drought.

Just defeat Michigan tonight, that's it.
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Just do it
 
formerlurker said:
I felt extreme, diabolical, pressure the entire 12 hour drive to Indy last night. I had a golf ball sized bladder stone lasered last Wednesday and left remnants in rest area toilets in 4 states. This one almost killed me as I sat ass naked in the 3rd row of our rented mini van pushing as hard as I could into a Gatorade bottle.

View attachment 119359

Moral of the story is, pressure is what got us to this point but it’s time to play free and easy and let things flow.

That and clean your rental car seats.

Hope to see some of you at Lucas Oil in a little under 12 hours.
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I feel ya brother- had both urethras blocked when I was living in Rio de Janeiro. 12 and 15 mm respectively- had to be reduced with the surgical equivalent of a jackhammer. Good times. Glad you're flowing again, as our boys will on the court tonight!

GO DOGS!!
 
Deepster said:
Defense wins championships.
As we saw with Duke, the collars got tight quick in a close game.
Karabans experience + our staff gives an edge.

Let’s get in a rock fight and take home #7..
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Here, Here. Not nervous.

I keep hearing on the radio that UConn wasn't that good on Saturday and Illinois just played a bad game; and moreover, that Michigan is an overwhelming favorite because of this. Unfortunately for that analysis, UConn was responsible for Illinois playing a bad game, as they were also responsible for Duke's horrid second half. That is about great individual defenders, running your offense to wear folks down, and knowing how to scheme for teams - which no coaching staff does better than ours. This should be a good tight game and not the done deal that many analysts are predicting.
 
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