nelsonmuntz
Point Center
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
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Good game last night. I said in the game chat last night that I thought the team played well in the first half and was a victim of some crazy shots by Marquette and missing a lot of bunnies at the rim. Other than a 90 second stretch early in the second half where they clearly were discouraged, I thought the team played smart and with intensity the whole game, and it was just a question of whether the shots were going to fall or not.
Credit to Hurley for not overreacting to some of Marquette's runs. Marquette takes a lot of bad shots, and just because they make some of them doesn't mean that Hurley should panic and blow all his timeouts in the first half.
The team is finally getting Hurley's defense. The problem earlier this season and last season with Carlton and Whaley on the hard hedge wasn't just that they ended up on a guard 10 feet above the 3 point line, but that the second rotation to cover the paint was never showing up. That second rotation was there last night, so the dump in to the screener on the P-n-R was not available to Marquette. There were some really good defensive possessions last night, especially with Carlton and Whaley on the court together.
The 4 guards played 93 minutes, which feels more right than the 100+ that they have been playing at times. Take the 3 best opponents on our schedule so far: USC, Marquette, and Creighton. The 4 guards played 93 minutes against Marquette, 88 minutes against USC, and 135 minutes against Creighton. We are a better team when we play bigger lineups.
Related to playing bigger lineups, UConn killed Marquette on the boards, 42-28. UConn is going to win 80%+ of the time when it is +10 on the boards.
Sanogo struggled on defense and on the boards. He has to keep his feet and hold his position when the other team is backing him down. He is falling for every pump fake. 5 rebounds doesn't seem like a bad night, but he kept getting boxed out down low. He can not make it that easy for the opposing big man to get him out of the play on the rebound. He will come around, but he has a lot to learn.
The team made its run without Bouk or Carlton on the court, and Martin having a bad game. UConn beat a good team without some of its key pieces. That is great work by everyone else.
Credit to Hurley for not overreacting to some of Marquette's runs. Marquette takes a lot of bad shots, and just because they make some of them doesn't mean that Hurley should panic and blow all his timeouts in the first half.
The team is finally getting Hurley's defense. The problem earlier this season and last season with Carlton and Whaley on the hard hedge wasn't just that they ended up on a guard 10 feet above the 3 point line, but that the second rotation to cover the paint was never showing up. That second rotation was there last night, so the dump in to the screener on the P-n-R was not available to Marquette. There were some really good defensive possessions last night, especially with Carlton and Whaley on the court together.
The 4 guards played 93 minutes, which feels more right than the 100+ that they have been playing at times. Take the 3 best opponents on our schedule so far: USC, Marquette, and Creighton. The 4 guards played 93 minutes against Marquette, 88 minutes against USC, and 135 minutes against Creighton. We are a better team when we play bigger lineups.
Related to playing bigger lineups, UConn killed Marquette on the boards, 42-28. UConn is going to win 80%+ of the time when it is +10 on the boards.
Sanogo struggled on defense and on the boards. He has to keep his feet and hold his position when the other team is backing him down. He is falling for every pump fake. 5 rebounds doesn't seem like a bad night, but he kept getting boxed out down low. He can not make it that easy for the opposing big man to get him out of the play on the rebound. He will come around, but he has a lot to learn.
The team made its run without Bouk or Carlton on the court, and Martin having a bad game. UConn beat a good team without some of its key pieces. That is great work by everyone else.