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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 2012629, member: 5798"] [B]Respect everyone, fear no one -[/B] THAT is the mindset you take into the NCAA tournament. There will be the 5-6 teams other posters have mentioned that have a [U]legitimate chance[/U] of defeating the Huskies. UConn can't possibly play (or be concerned) with all of them. Like last year, they will eliminate each other. Let's not forget about that "dark horse" that always crashes the party, and sends top seeded teams home early. The most UConn will have to face is 3 of them. UConn will come out of their regional. The other teams will be scratching and clawing to do the same. UConn will face the top surviving 5-6 teams: 1 in the regional final, 1 in the championship semi's, and the last one for the championship. The first 3 games will be "tune up" games for the final 3 games. Let's not forget that UConn is use to playing in BIG games, on the biggest stages under the brightest of lights. Most other programs are not. The lights can't get too bright for UConn. Geno's teams have played on the biggest stages in WCBB for the last 4 years. Geno and staff have trained their players to be mentally tough, and tournament ready. Geno knows where his team needs to be in March & April. Teams that play UConn go in to the game [I]hoping[/I] to win, whereas UConn [I]expects[/I] to win. As [B]Tonyc[/B] began his post above, If UConn can stay out of foul trouble (and keep its starters on the floor), they are going to be very hard to beat. They are not going to beat themselves. Geno likes his team to take control early, and set the tone and pace of the game. They want to put their opponent on their heels and jump out to an early lead. UConn is not going to allow an opponent lots of trips to the free throw line, so opponents will have to get the majority of their points from the floor. [B] Note - [/B]This past Monday, [B]Mississippi State lost to South Carolina by 3 points (64-61) [/B]because of excessive fouling. SC was 21 /28 from the line, while MS was 3/9. That's an 18 point differential. It didn't help that BOTH of the MS BIGS fouled out. Both of SC's BIGS were still in the game. That will not happen to UConn. They are too disciplined for that. MS should have won that game by double digits. Self control, and self awareness (not losing focus on what YOU are suppose to be doing, or sight of the big picture) is the difference between winning and losing. We know UConn will not change the way they play because of who they play. They'll just ratchet down the screws a little, and tighten up on their execution. [B]UConn is short-sighted - [/B]They can only see the next team in front of them, they don't look ahead. There are no "trap" games for them. UConn is the elephant in the room. Teams that go deep into the tournament all know, if they are going to win a championship, at some point, they'll have to face and beat UConn. They go into the tournament with that thought (realization) in the back of their minds. Their opponents must be concerned about staying out of foul trouble. UConn players are trained to played without fouling, and have been doing so all season. So that is not an adjustment they'll have to make. We can only hope that the referees let them play to a certain extent, and not whistle every touch or incidental contact that is made. Basketball [U]is[/U] a contact sport. If you haven't learned to play without fouling by March, it's too late to learn in a game or two. The short bench will not be a problem for Geno, since he usually shortens it to two players anyway. [B]Butler [/B]and [B]Dangerfield [/B]will no doubt be the bench for Geno once the tournament begins. [/QUOTE]

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