Pros, Cons, Conclusions vs. Buffalo

[REB1094]

3 Pros -
1. Tristen Newton triple double!! Sure he couldn't get the jumper to fall, but he started us off with some solid passing and early scoring. He kept us afloat for that stretch in the 1st where nothing was going down. And he finished with a monster statline - 22 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block. Mostly impressed by his ability to grab a rebound, push a fast break, and find open shooters. He should have had at least 15 assists tonight if some of the open shots went in
2. I had Joey C in the Cons section after last game, but he played great. He still can't guard a traffic cone, but he hit some great shots to help us pull away from a really rough offensive stretch. 2nd leading scorer for us off the bench tonight, credit where it's due
3. Clingan is a monster. I remember two times that he grabbed a rebound over THREE Buffalo players. A couple of great blocks as well. There are still some freshman mistakes, but he's going to be a great player with some experience. He's so much more agile than I expected

3 Cons -
1. That shooting was miserable. Most were pretty good shots that just didn't go in. Alleyne/Newton/Karaban combined for 2-16 three point shooting, 6-23 overall.
2. Sanogo had a rough game. Part of it is because Buffalo swarmed him and we couldn't hit the shots to make them pay, but Buffalo has nobody that should be able to stop Sanogo from scoring 20+ with ease. He missed some bunnies, looked tired pretty early in the game, missed a wide open fast break dunk, and even tipped a Buffalo miss in for them on accident. He did control the paint defensively, but he'll be ready to put this game behind him
3. Every team goes through cold spells, but it always is a little more painful to see ours. The first 15 minutes of the first half was some of the worst UConn basketball I've watched in years. It was a 1 possession game for a while and we were even down at a point before Newton and Calcaterra got us some space. I get that it happens to even the best teams, but that was rough. Still managed to hang 44 in the first half though!
HM. The refs. They should be embarrassed after that. A very poorly and inconsistently called game for both sides

Conclusion -
If we hit our open shots at even a slightly below average rate, we'd have won by 40+. Offense was stagnant and sloppy at times, which was tough to watch because half of Buffalo's players looked like they don't know how to play basketball. BUT we won by 20 points so can I really complain about it? 3-0 baby, let's go Huskies!

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Just one of those games where you have to find a way to win …. by 20.

The in game chat is hilarious. The alacrity with which the panic button is pressed is hilarious. Carolina is up 4 on some guy named Gardner Webb at half. The dude is playing by himself and he’s within 4 of the number one team in the country.

 

[GHSWolverines]

Pro - DH showed a little JC. Pulled Sanago for not giving up the rock to Newton and pulled Hassan after that crazy pass to Adama.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Pro #3. Clingan had a rebound in the second half basically without jumping and grabbed it away from Buffalo players and got the put back. Lappas, on the commentary, had an off the cuff, completely impromptu, "wow" comment. It's a comment a coach makes when they are watching all sorts of plays and someone just stands out above and beyond. That same type of comment happened several times during AJax's freshman year when he would just make a play you can't coach and you can't gameplan against. It's just one player being better than everyone else on the floor and coaches notice those types of things.

 

[Mister P]

Con… third game in a row where there was a UConn player ahead of the ball handler in the offensive zone where the ball was not passed to the open man ahead of him for a uncontested layup. Saw the frustration on Hurley’s face after Sanogo did that and missed the dunk. I’m positive this will be addressed by the coaches.

Pro…3-0 and getting closer to getting Jackson and Hawkins back.

 

[shizzle787]

Watching in person, Newton does his work quietly. I looked up at halftime and realized he had 12, 7, and 5. Would have never guessed.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Six players in double digits. I'm sure it's been a while since that last happened for UConn.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Only cons are that our bigs put the ball down below their waist when catching it and when they're surrounded they never kick it out. They try to go right back up,

Also, is there a reason why Sanogo doesn't dunk? Is he unable to?

Edit: Sorry for the confusion. Yes, he dunks a few times a game. He lays it up much more than he dunks. Lower percentage shot

 

[UConnSwag11]

Watching in person, Newton does his work quietly. I looked up at halftime and realized he had 12, 7, and 5. Would have never guessed.

He's smooth. The three guards look very confident and I like how we have guards who aren't afraid to drive to the rim and take contact

 

[HooperScooper]

Also, is there a reason why Sanogo doesn't dunk? Is he unable to?

I'm positive he dunked at least once tonight.

 

[superjohn]

Pro #3. Clingan had a rebound in the second half basically without jumping and grabbed it away from Buffalo players and got the put back. Lappas, on the commentary, had an off the cuff, completely impromptu, "wow" comment. It's a comment a coach makes when they are watching all sorts of plays and someone just stands out above and beyond. That same type of comment happened several times during AJax's freshman year when he would just make a play you can't coach and you can't gameplan against. It's just one player being better than everyone else on the floor and coaches notice those types of things.

He's great. We were certainly better with him on the court tonight than with Sanogo on the court. Going into the season I don't think anyone thought he would be this good and would ever be the better option on the court than our star big man in any game.

 

[ucp990411]

Just one of those games where you have to find a way to win …. by 20.

The in game chat is hilarious. The alacrity with which the panic button is pressed is hilarious. Carolina is up 4 on some guy named Gardner Webb at half. The dude is playing by himself and he’s within 4 of the number one team in the country.

Great post

 

[HuskyHawk]

Pro: winning by 20
Con: “Fans” who whine when you win by 20

They can be much better, but we are down 3 key players, have to integrate 6 new guys and still steamroll teams. Kwintin Williams once played for UConn. Never forget.

 

[Chin Diesel]

He's great. We were certainly better with him on the court tonight than with Sanogo on the court. Going into the season I don't think anyone thought he would be this good and would ever be the better option on the court than our star big man in any game.

In football they talk about catch radius. Clingan's rebound radius has been impressive so far. I'm anxious to see how many he gets against higher level competition.

 

[elmcityboy]

I'm positive he dunked at least once tonight.

he did. and he has probably 5 or 6 dunks this season already.

he isn't crazy tall and he isn't crazy athletic. but he does dunk. it's a ridiculous post.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I'm positive he dunked at least once tonight.

Thanks, made an edit to the post

 

[Palatine]

Pro #3. Clingan had a rebound in the second half basically without jumping and grabbed it away from Buffalo players and got the put back. Lappas, on the commentary, had an off the cuff, completely impromptu, "wow" comment. It's a comment a coach makes when they are watching all sorts of plays and someone just stands out above and beyond. That same type of comment happened several times during AJax's freshman year when he would just make a play you can't coach and you can't gameplan against. It's just one player being better than everyone else on the floor and coaches notice those types of things.

He continues to show very good hands. And once he grabs a rebound, it doesn't get knocked away. All the little things add up to a very good basketball player. Hate to say it, he has the potential to be a big help.

 

[Icehawk]

I think they were just playing lazy that first 10-15mins - it's the third cupcake in a row, the line is like -21... easy town. My sister was texting me "I thought you said they are looking good?" after those first dozen misses. A little bit later... she's oh, I see what you mean - they really turned it around and put the game away like the should have.

I was a little surprised by a couple mistakes Sanogo made, I mean that dunk was bad... but we were up like 20 so whatever!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Here's another Pro.

Alleyne. Had a bad shooting night and the rest of his game was pretty rough too. In the second half he absolutely D'd up and dogged a Buffalo player for 15 seconds. Buff player eventually gave up and passed to the big frosh on Buffalo who subsequently bobbled the pass right in to Clingan's hands.

Love to see it when a player who is new to the program and struggling on O still gives it their all on defense.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

pro. we won, thats all that matters.
con. three games in, three games 2nd half sketchy. this one, only 4 points better in the half.
these teams stink. shizzle is right when he says 'can we please play a quality team or two early in the season? not really haulin in the crowds at this point. mebbe folks get bored watching scrimmages for a whole month.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Just one of those games where you have to find a way to win …. by 20.

The in game chat is hilarious. The alacrity with which the panic button is pressed is hilarious. Carolina is up 4 on some guy named Gardner Webb at half. The dude is playing by himself and he’s within 4 of the number one team in the country.

This is really funny, well done.

 

[Jaydumo20]

We have a lot to be excited about. We'll be ranked top ten by Christmas. There's something in the water on campus.

 

[MexicoHusky]

Winning pretty easily without some significant contributors. Team looks physically capable. We may actually be a better basketball than last year. More options. Less defensive liabilities. Generally more dynamic and capable... stuff like that. Time will tell.

 

[Kenny11]

I'm positive he dunked at least once tonight.

He had 2

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You know the game was an easy win when the usual suspects have to complain about the game chat.

UConn was missing two of its 3 best players and cruised to an easy win against Buffalo that could have been even more of a blowout if not some showboating in the last 10 minutes. No biggie, let the bench have some fun.