Stats prove Defense has been really good

[victor64]

Some quick stats indicating how well UConn has played defense.

1. Excluding Baylor, UConn has held their opponents under 60 in the other previous nine games.
2. For the year, opponents have been held under 60 in 14 of the 19 games.
3. Of those 14, twice the opponent has been in the 30s, three times in the 40s.

Those numbers are probably comparable to past years but this year, with shooting percentage down, it seems like the defense has played a more significant role in their 18-1 record.

 

[Boreifs]

Of the Top 10 ranked teams, only Baylor had a higher Massey rating defensively. This morning, they passed Baylor in that metric.

 

[diggerfoot]

I am not surprised by this; I have been satisfied with our defense all season. Even when ONO is not playing up to her potential she is still an intimidating shot blocker. This is the great irony. The past few years we have had truly superb defenders in Collier, Williams and Nurse, but they were not intimidating defenders. Against the best team-oriented offenses the value of Nurse and Williams diminishes, while Collier was out of position, able to defend but not really to change what the opponent wants to do.

There was a time when, nationally televised game after game, the announcers would keep saying how our defense was overlooked because of our smooth offense. Game after game they would point out our defense was "overlooked," to the point where I concluded "I don't think that means what you think it means."

I do think without a Nurse, Williams, Jefferson or Faris our perimeter defense needs a little improvement, but then I see what is coming in next year, along with what we already have with ONO and company, and I suspect announcers are going to repeatedly emphasize about our defense being "overlooked" again.