Pros, Cons, Conclusions vs. Oklahoma State

[jdb50]

There was plenty of noise in the second part of the first half. After a decent start to the second half we bogged down on offense and were back on our heels a bit. It took the crowd out of the game. We did pretty well overall with Newton not doing much on offense scoring wise. He needs to be better with his dribble against tough D. Two games in a row he gets trapped after halfcourt. Andre needs a midrange jump shot. He always looks to pass after breaking down the D and if he could make a shot from the foul line which he can get at will, it would really help the offense. Playing AK 30 minutes would be better than 37 to 38.

 

[UConntLose]

Read a couple Oklahoma State takes on the game for the heck of it. Their fans feel pretty aggrieved by the officiating. I'm actually pretty proud of my ability to recognize BS that favors us, but I didn't see the game last night. Were the fouls against them as ticky-tacky as they claim? Their thought is that both teams played aggressive d but one was punished for i

I ask because that scoreline looks a heck of a lot closer without the free throw disparity. Hope the success doesn't go to our heads.

I don't know if this was true, but the guys behind me kept saying that they were Big 12 officials, which, if that's the case, the OSU fans should be used to them (it may be true because I didn't recognize any of the referees myself). That said, I do think they were a little whistle happy, especially for OSU in the first half, but the script flipped in the 2nd. Just let the kids play!

Clingan got called for a foul in the second half where he didn't even touch the guy and it became an and-one. Karaban got called for some seriously doubtful fouls too. Thankfully, this UConn team is so fun to watch that even the absurd amount of fouls being called haven't ruined the watchability of the games for me.

 

[REB1094]

Read a couple Oklahoma State takes on the game for the heck of it. Their fans feel pretty aggrieved by the officiating. I'm actually pretty proud of my ability to recognize BS that favors us, but I didn't see the game last night. Were the fouls against them as ticky-tacky as they claim? Their thought is that both teams played aggressive d but one was punished for i

I ask because that scoreline looks a heck of a lot closer without the free throw disparity. Hope the success doesn't go to our heads.

My eye test did sense we were getting favorable whistles.

That said, if I remember right even if we didn’t make a free throw in the first half we would have still been up. There may be a case for biased officiating but it’s hard to make the case when you get run off the floor in the first half even without the free throws.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Although I couldn't make last night's game (casual fan, i know, i know), in general, EVERYONE in the whole darn arena needs to get more involved, more rowdy, and STAND UP AND BE LOUD MUCH MUCH MORE OFTEN.

It's just so awkward & lame that everyone in the non-student sections are just itching for UConn to score ASAP at the start of the game and 2nd half so they can sit their butts back down in the seats & be quiet.

There's always palpable irritation from way too many people if--heaven forbid--you decide to stand up and be rowdy for more than a couple of good plays a game...the "siT dOwN wE CanT sEE tHe GaMe!!!" vibe needs to go away.

I'm not saying the arena needs to be like last year's XL Villanova game 24/7 for every game, but as a whole, we need to be better. Everywhere in the arena...not just the student section.

This a special team. Let's reward them with special crowds!

/endrant

 

[husky429]

IMO. Our guys need some rest before Florida.. Have been to the West Coast and back and played 4 Tournament bound teams in the last 7 days.. Team depth certainly has helped.. I am glad the OK St game was not at their place..

They will clean stuff up at practice and in the film room.. Need some fresh legs for the Florida game.

Coach said they're going to have today off, practice Saturday, and take Sunday off before they start game-prep for Florida. So, 2 days of rest (probably just film work) before the biggest test of the season.

 

[Vancat]

Hmmm again, maybe it depends where you were sitting? I was in the lower section (111) and the whole section (and sections around us) were standing, clapping & cheering quite often. I didn't really notice what was going on in the upper sections. I was actually amazed that the lower section behind the basket (non-student) stood quite a bit. I thought the crowd was very loud and am a little surprised at the comments...of course not crazy loud 100% of the time- who can scream for an entire game?

 

[UConnRock]

This game had more of a mid-season feel. Less experimenting with rotations. Seemed like Hurley wanted to test his top 5 with extended minutes as that group will need the stamina to play more minutes in close games. Through the 1st 8 games the depth and talent wore out the opposition. Playing 3 games in 4 days in the PK event forces a coach to distribute more minutes. However, either on purpose or out of necessity from Hurley's perspective, the starters has 37, 36, 33, 31, and 29 minutes. Karaban playing 37 minutes was a surprise, but there were obviously some match-up issues on the defensive end that kept Karaban in the game. Maybe when Johnson returns he will get some of Karaban's minutes.

 

[ThabeetDown]

One thing I did want to point out about Sanogo. Previously, he was just a black hole when he was doubled. Incapable of passing out of it. Now, while he is much better at passing out of it, he often waits too long. Very frustrating, but still an improvement over where he was. The next step in his evolution will be anticipating the double teams and already knowing where he can whip a pass too. It will come with time.

 

[Hungryhusky99]

One thing I did want to point out about Sanogo. Previously, he was just a black hole when he was doubled. Incapable of passing out of it. Now, while he is much better at passing out of it, he often waits too long. Very frustrating, but still an improvement over where he was. The next step in his evolution will be anticipating the double teams and already knowing where he can whip a pass too. It will come with time.

I was hoping he would be more willing to kick out if he was surrounded by more shooters and figured there would be a major emphasis on his passing in the offseason, but he is still pretty much a black hole. If he takes more than two dribbles it usually doesn't end well. Like you said if he can just learn to make quick decisions on when he is in good position to attack or when to just kick it right back out we will be borderline unstoppable.

 

[REB1094]

One thing I did want to point out about Sanogo. Previously, he was just a black hole when he was doubled. Incapable of passing out of it. Now, while he is much better at passing out of it, he often waits too long. Very frustrating, but still an improvement over where he was. The next step in his evolution will be anticipating the double teams and already knowing where he can whip a pass too. It will come with time.

He's been facing up a lot more this season. I think one way to minimize doubles is to face up and then make a quick move. That way he will always see the double if it's coming and have better vision of the court to find the open guys. When he backs down for 5 seconds he's blind to most of the court, including additional defenders

Big thing to work on

 

[Waquoit]

Now, while he is much better at passing out of it, he often waits too long. Very frustrating, but still an improvement over where he was. The next step in his evolution will be anticipating the double teams and already knowing where he can whip a pass too. It will come with time.

Right now it's not the skills, it's the reaction time that needs to improve. Perhaps this is where lack of games played is showing. How else do you get better at it?

 

[HooperScooper]

They misses 11 free throws. In the tourney if you play defense and make free throws you are very dangerous. UCONN should have won by more. That being said 9 and 0 baby and gonna be in top 5 Monday.

Do I need to correct another person's math? They made 24 of 33 free throws. 33-24 = 9 missed free throws.

And what are you expecting for a good percentage? Making 80% overall is in the top 10 of college teams. So if that's what you want then they should have made 26 or 27 of 33. So even if you're expecting 80% from the line, which seems unrealistic, then they should have won by 12 or 13.

 

[HooperScooper]

Really appreciate your tenacity clinging to your perception that we missed 11 FTs last night. This is at least the 3rd thread that you've tried to sell this! We went 24/33. Agree with everything else in your post.

View attachment 81398

Should have read your post before responding. I guess maybe if 2 of us correct his math then maybe that reinforces that his math skills suck.

 

[BrysonDeMan]

 

[UConntLose]

Hmmm again, maybe it depends where you were sitting? I was in the lower section (111) and the whole section (and sections around us) were standing, clapping & cheering quite often. I didn't really notice what was going on in the upper sections. I was actually amazed that the lower section behind the basket (non-student) stood quite a bit. I thought the crowd was very loud and am a little surprised at the comments...of course not crazy loud 100% of the time- who can scream for an entire game?

I was in the second row of section 116, behind the basket adjacent to the student section (helps knowing people in the ticket office).

It's not that the crowd was bad per say, but it just seemed that there was a lot of forced noise and not really a flow to it. I was actually surprised when Big Red did the U-C-O-N-N pose - think it was the second one - as it didn't feel like a Big Red moment (but I guess that's what happens when the game flowed - or didn't flow for that matter - the way it did).

I continue to advocate for the student section to be moved to lower sidelines, as I think that would make the place a house of horrors for the opponents. And make for a cool visiual on TV.

 

[ConnEd]

I continue to advocate for the student section to be moved to lower sidelines, as I think that would make the place a house of horrors for the opponents. And make for a cool visiual on TV.

I am all for that. I think the students making the arena loud and crazy from the sideline would not only help the team in games, but it could make up for the lost $$$ by increasing overall demand for tickets and the experience.

 

[Waquoit]

I am all for that. I think the students making the arena loud and crazy from the sideline would not only help the team in games, but it could make up for the lost $$$ by increasing overall demand for tickets and the experience.

How?

 

[freshler40]

The crowd was fine, they didn't play great in the second half...not a lot to go crazy for...but

the students clearly just don't know the cheers...there's about 5 or 6 that have been missing for 3 years, likely the result of COVID.

The students just don't know the cheers for when UConn is on offense and kind of leads to these weird moments of quiet. Other than that I thought students were great. AD honestly needs to engage with 5-10 students who got to every game to make sure they 1) know these cheers 2) actively lead them in game.

This happened organically for decades but clearly it just has gotten lost.

First half the crowd was pretty great, but that's because the team played well. Team plays well, fans look great and the converse is true.

EDIT: And I don't mean to put this on the students, but at the end of the day the only thing separating CBB from the NBA is them. The arena goes as they go. They are the heartbeat of the whole enterprise. For 4 years, you got to be the biggest fan you can be. But the adult decisionmakers can help lead them to water. They have 90% of it going for them: they already show up in force, they are loud, just needs to be sustained and relearn the cheers to keep the energy up and not have these dull moments.

Let's not forgot the pep bands efforts or the cheerleaders, it's more than student fans.

 

[Greathusky]

The cons for me were Karaban and the foul shooting.

Karaban was off on his jump shot and got caught out of position a few times.
Those missed foul shots will mean something in closer games.

 

[Storrs South]

Let's not forgot the pep bands efforts or the cheerleaders, it's more than student fans.

Agreed. When I say students I mean the whole thing. Band, cheerleader, fan. All 3 need to bring back the full suite of cheers that keep the energy up for the full 40 and lead us olds to the promised land.

 

[freshler40]

I was hoping he would be more willing to kick out if he was surrounded by more shooters and figured there would be a major emphasis on his passing in the offseason, but he is still pretty much a black hole. If he takes more than two dribbles it usually doesn't end well. Like you said if he can just learn to make quick decisions on when he is in good position to attack or when to just kick it right back out we will be borderline unstoppable.

This problem also belongs to our point guard being trapped against the mid-court line repeatedly in the second half. This is not the first game that has happened and resulted in turnovers and quick baskets for the opponent. Late in the game, when the other team is playing behind it often traps, we need to pass more quickly or dribble out of it as Jackson often does.

 

[HooperScooper]

Those missed foul shots will mean something in closer games.

I think this is the 3rd time I've posted this since last night. They shot 24-33 last night which is 72.7%. Right around their season average of 73.6% which puts them at 81st in the country out of 352 teams.

Serious question and I need an answer to this. What would you suggest is an acceptable percentage for the team to shoot this season? If you're expecting something like 80%, which would mean they hit 2-3 more free throws last night, then that's unrealistic since 80% would put them in the top 10 teams in college basketball.

If they shoot 73% from the line one game and lose then I would point to a lot of other things they did wrong to lose a game rather than missing a couple free throws.

 

[rayrayfor3]

What bothered me with the students was it seemed like nobody was making any noise whatsoever while on defense. You don’t need to know any cheer to know the student section needs to be jumping up and down and cheering, especially when OSU is on their side in the second half. Don’t get it

 

[Icehawk]

As a team our free throws #s are good (we've got Newton & Cali as snipers) but we have a few guys who aren't shooting it great (50-60% just isn't acceptable). I'd like to see 75% team average and nothing below 70% in an ideal world. I don't think it's unrealistic to want those high numbers like 80%... but to expect them may be.

Clingan's poor shooting I'll chalk up to freshman nerves. His form looks fine so I'm surprised to be honest at how poorly he's shot this far.

AJ I'll give a pass to as well, he's only got 8 on the books and his finger injury probably doesn't help. His past #s are much better.

Diarra's #s though must come up so he is more valuable on the floor late game - his stats for prior years say we shouldn't hope for better than 70% regardless.

 

[fatlucy]

it def sounded quiet on tv, like an XL center crowd even though it was sold out Gampel.

Didn’t seem quiet to me but I yelled myself horse

Although I couldn't make last night's game (casual fan, i know, i know), in general, EVERYONE in the whole darn arena needs to get more involved, more rowdy, and STAND UP AND BE LOUD MUCH MUCH MORE OFTEN.

It's just so awkward & lame that everyone in the non-student sections are just itching for UConn to score ASAP at the start of the game and 2nd half so they can sit their butts back down in the seats & be quiet.

There's always palpable irritation from way too many people if--heaven forbid--you decide to stand up and be rowdy for more than a couple of good plays a game...the "siT dOwN wE CanT sEE tHe GaMe!!!" vibe needs to go away.

I'm not saying the arena needs to be like last year's XL Villanova game 24/7 for every game, but as a whole, we need to be better. Everywhere in the arena...not just the student section.

This a special team. Let's reward them with special crowds!

/endrant

when I got there my section was mellow but enjoying the game. Then I started screaming myself hoarse and most of them joined me. It turned into a loud section. I couldn’t have cared less about anyone wanting me to sit down. I don’t get to many games, these were great seats and I was making the most of it!