Someone Tell Me About St. Joe's

[Inyatkin]

Where's Emeka these days? He needs to be in Buffalo on Thursday. Revenge for Jameer Nelson stealing all his awards.

 

[intlzncster]

My crazy ex-lover/boss cheered for bball when she went there

pics or it didn't happen.

 

[uconnbill]

I think UCONN is playing better as well "as long as they are not playing Louisville."

 

[Mots010]

Does St Joe's have any next level talent? Any players that are a nightmare to match up with?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Does St Joe's have any next level talent? Any players that are a nightmare to match up with?

Next level talent, probably not. Their big Kanacevic could give us trouble.

 

[Gurleyman]

UConn has played against Kanacevic once before. Although nobody on the current roster was on that team.

 

[CL82]

I compared stats in another thread:
LINK

 

[Excalibur]

How do they defend the high ball screen? Do they blitz the ball handler, hedge and recover, or switch? Teams with size in the backcourt have done well by doubling Shabazz or Boatright off of the ball screen.

 

[James]

How do they defend the high ball screen? Do they blitz the ball handler, hedge and recover, or switch? Teams with size in the backcourt have done well by doubling Shabazz or Boatright off of the ball screen.

If they trap off pnr's say goodnight , Giffey or Daniels might get 30. Ville is the only team in the country with the athletes and coaching to play defense like that vs elite guards.

 

[tzznandrew]

If they trap off pnr's say goodnight , Giffey or Daniels might get 30. Ville is the only team in the country with the athletes and coaching to play defense like that vs elite guards.

I remember Memphis trying that in game 1, and Daniels kept popping for practically ungaurded 3s. And Memphis has athletes.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

both big guys are very deliberate with solid low post moves. Nothing that UConn can't handle as long as the bigs are patient on defense and don't reach. The St. Joseph's guards are okay for a tournament team. St. Joe's plays slow down style, probably because of a lack of depth, so we don't need to worry about a ton of pressure.

 

[Husky25]

Scouting report from ESPN insider <15 % of article:
Offensive approach: The Hawks use lots of ball screens to get looks for their different scoring options. They are best when multiple players are getting involved, and while depth isn't plentiful, they do a good job of spreading around the scoring. Someone new can step up every night, which bodes well in late-game situations because there's no telling who could make the next big play.

Defensive approach: Typically man-to-man but will occasionally mix in a 2-3 matchup zone. The Hawks are aided by having two excellent rebounders in Kanacevic and Roberts to limit second-chance opportunities. Saint Joseph's lacks the team speed to turn opponents over, but when Galloway and company are locked in they can make it hard for opponents to score.

How they beat you: Saint Joseph's best games this season have come when it has played a controlled tempo and gotten meaningful contributions from all five of its starters. Establishing Kanacevic and Roberts early opens things up for Galloway and Bembry to step out and get good shots in the flow of the offense.

How you beat them: Take away the 3-point line and force Galloway and Chris Wilson to beat you off the dribble. Their foot speed leaves something to be desired, and a quick, sound defensive team will cause problems for them in the tournament.

I immediately like UConn's chances to make the Round of 32.

 

[Husky25]

They also had us on upset alert in 2011 against Bucknell. How'd that work out?

I think that was because 4 freshman and a sophomore saw starters minutes and they just played 5 tough games on five consecutive days. The theory was that UConn wouldn't have legs.

 

[upstater]

My crazy ex-lover/boss cheered for bball when she went there

Is this her?

 

[Matt (Chicago)]

It's no criticism of Ollie. This is his first Tournament game, and far from it for Martelli.

Ollie is a born competitor. He lives for moments like this. The guy scratched and clawed his way to a 13 year NBA career, he's not going to feel pressured or overwhelmed just because its his first tourney game.

 

[huskiesnyc]

So did Gottlieb. They thought the Bucknell guard would go off.( or hoped he would)

Greenberg also picks Duke to be in the championship game so don't
Get too worked up about what he thinks

I remember Gottlieb going on and on about how Cohen was going to shut down Kemba. It still makes me laugh

 

[caw]

I remember Gottlieb going on and on about how Cohen was going to shut down Kemba. It still makes me laugh

That and their big going for 20-10 against Oriakhi and Smith. Crazy bad analysis on that one.

 

[tcf15]

I remember Gottlieb going on and on about how Cohen was going to shut down Kemba. It still makes me laugh

Ha, that's why in the 2011 highlights, I had to include the video of Cohen (being interviewed by Goodman, no less) before the Bucknell highlights.

 

[Kembacity]

Hmm, I think we might need solid play from my boy Olander on Thursday and I like that. Olander gives us that girth we need on an occasional night. Work hard Tyler, work hard!!!

 

[babysheep]

Is this her?

Wouldn't be an "ex" if it was!

I was working a sumer job, just got out of a relationship, and knew I could get it if I felt like it. Well I felt like it one night and before I know it she wants to start driving 3+ hours to visit me at UConn. Yeah, wish I could have got out of that as easily as I got in!

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Lost a recruiting battle for Chukwu.

 

[Candyman]

The one thing I wouldn't concern myself with is early season loses. They lost to Temple but so did SMU and we all know what they did to us. I'm more concerned if they play a zone or not. I'm sure we will see a zone most of the game. I also dont like playing a hot team but I do think we win if we play we did the last 3 games (minus first half of Losuiville game).

 

[Peacefrog]

Slowish guards with mediocre ball-handling skills? Use some pressure to turn them over and/or speed up the tempo and prevent Karnacevic from being able orchestrate down low. Do NOT go under screens allowing the slower guards to shoot. Our quick guards should be able to go over screens and recover. We have a height advantage down low, should we front their two bulky guys?

 

[hyperthink]

Haven't seen them this year saw them twice last year. I know the big european guy can shoot. Also they can get up and down the court fast. Of course they're well coached...

 

[champs99and04]

Couple of quick thoughts (without having seen them play, so take it with a grain of salt):

1. Per kenpom, they're 49th in the country (68th in offense, 55th in defense). By comparison, Memphis is 66th in offense and 53rd and defense, so the two are basically identical from a statistical perspective, and we enjoyed a lot of success against Memphis this season (that said, two of the games went down to the wire, so it wasn't as if they were a pushover). Most of our losses this season have come against teams with elite defenses (Ville x3, SMU x2, Cincy), so the fact that St. Joe's appears to have a defense we can score on is comforting. The only perplexing losses were Stanford (and that may have just been because we had no clue how to solve a zone) and obviously Houston.

2. If St. Joe's does in fact play at a slow pace (209th in adjusted tempo per kenpom, but that can be misleading - we're 246th, for instance), it becomes all the more imperative to jump out to a quick lead. For all the pundit talk about how "it's easier to slow a team down than speed them up", do you know who generally controls tempo? The team that's ahead. If we lead early and are able to sustain that lead into the second half, St. Joe's is going to be forced to deviate from their deliberate style and take high degree of difficulty shots early in the shot clock. That plays right into our hands. If, on the other hand, UConn trails by eight or more in the second half, our margin for error is razor thin.

3. TV timeouts in the NCAA Tournament are nearly twice as long, so that could be to the benefit of St. Joe's and their thin bench. That doesn't protect them from foul trouble, though, which is why, again UConn needs to be in attack mode early. My feeling is if UConn jumps out to an early lead, St. Joe's is a team that may struggle to score points against our defense. They performed very well against a strong VCU defense both times this season, but VCU differs a bit in that their defense is largely predicated on turning people over. Against Villanova, St. Joe's shot just 37% from the field.

My general thought is that this is a pretty good team playing good basketball at the right time. I think UConn should win, but St. Joe's just won the A-10 Tournament - that's no small accomplishment, and they had to beat a team of similar caliber to us (VCU) to do it. I certainly will not be taking them lightly in the least bit.