UConn (+3.5) v. Temple

[Storrs South]

UConn (KenPom 73) goes on the road to Temple (KenPom 77). Here are my key things to watch for:

• One of the few teams in conference that doesn't play slow with an KenPom AdjT of 102 (UConn is at 56). However...
• Temple does not turn the ball over a ton (35th best in the country). Beating a dead horse but need to force more turnovers than normal to get those easy baskets and minimize pressure score in the half court
• Temple is also a very good foul shooting team (#69 in the country). Must be disciplined on defense or getting the Owls in the bonus early will severely handcuff UConn
• The good news though is Temple is not particularly adept at drawing fouls (#267 in the nation).
• The Owls are very bad from 3P% at #236 in the country (UConn #89). This has been an area of weakness for UConn so they should not get hurt to much for a missed rotation or overplaying a drive to the basket. Although it should be noted UConn is top 25 in the country in opponent 3P%.
• Temple also struggles on the boards at #217 in the country compared to UConn at #86. They do not get a lot of offensive rebounds so between Carlton and Vital they should be able to minimize second chance opportunities for Temple.
• This game is going to be a big challenge for Carlton going up against Ernest Aflakpui who is limited on the offensive end but is a step up on the defensive end from the ECU bigs.
• My guess is Polley takes on the Temple's second leading scorer 6'8" Quinton Rose. If Polley can replicate defensive performances against AAC leading scorer Markis McDuffie and top 5 AAC scorer Jayden Gardner, UConn has a good chance to win their first road game of the season.
• Jalen, CV, and Tarin will be tasked with stopping the teams leading and 3rd best scorers Senior Shizz Alston and former KO target Nate Pierre-Louis.

All of the above aside, I would distill it down to this...without Alterique, how organized will this team play against a respectable defensive unit. After the early struggles on Sunday, UConn was able to exploit ECU's sloppy defense without Jalen and Alterique. It will be extremely hard to win without Jalen tomorrow, and still improbably if the offense looks as out of sync as @ UCF.

 

[Palatine]

Nice preview. Better than we will see in the Courant.

 

[UConnNick]

If Gilbert doesn't play, we lose.

 

[GHSWolverines]

If Gilbert doesn't play, we lose.

I guess we lose. If Gilbert plays it will only be in a limited role.

 

[Danzz]

I guess we lose. If Gilbert plays it will only be in a limited role.

Better to get Gilbert healthy. No need to push things.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If Gilbert doesn't play, we lose.

Nonsense. This is a winnable game if Jalen is good Jalen and the rest of the cast builds on the last game. If Polley and Sid can make baskets, Josh can be the recent Josh on both ends and CV plays the controlled fury game he has lately, this team can beat Temple, and honestly, every other team in this league.

 

[WrenchFan69]

I think we win. Everything I think I know about Jalen tells me he's going off this game. Need someone to defend Rose decently or better and we'll have a solid shot at it.

 

[HawkHusky]

I think we win. Everything I think I know about Jalen tells me he's going off this game. Need someone to defend Rose decently or better and we'll have a solid shot at it.

Polley got dis.

 

[outlaw]

what's up w this 6pm start?

regardless, let's get after it and climb back to .500 in conf play!!

 

[mauconnfan]

If Gilbert doesn't play, we lose.

Pretty close to agreeing Nick but I guess I'm just hoping Jalen took the message seriously and comes back with a high end performance. We will see.

 

[August_West]

we are going to need to have a good shooting night against John Chaneys 2-3 matchup zone. and somehow keep Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie in check.

 

[mauconnfan]

we are going to need to have a good shooting night against John Chaneys 2-3 matchup zone. and somehow keep Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie in check.

Wonder if Chaney will storm in on Hurley, grab him by the neck during his press conference if we upset them?

 

[FlippinCrazy!]

I like these kenpoms rankings

 

[Storrs South]

what's up w this 6pm start?

The answer is always TV. Creighton v. Nova is the game after so they are avoiding a 9 PM start for an east coast game. Looks like they learned their lesson from 3 years ago when UConn/Temple played a 9 PM game at Gampel during the week.

 

[UofCT]

Looking forward to Hurley doing some work on our schedule, assuming he has a say on things like when and where they play.

 

[ChocRaisins]

I've been unplugged for a couple days...is AG ruled out for tonight?

 

[UConnStats]

Via haslametrics, Temple has some trends that play in our favor:

 

[August_West]

I've been unplugged for a couple days...is AG ruled out for tonight?

con_ir_ed

 

[auror]

Via haslametrics, Temple has some trends that play in our favor:
View attachment 39249

Ooh this site breaks down FGs by distance, very nice.

 

[UConnStats]

Ooh this site breaks down FGs by distance, very nice.

Yeah it has some cool aspects. Eric Haslam seems like a good guy on Twitter too.

 

[spudzj6]

I (and I'm sure most of the BY) have been waiting for a Sid breakout game. The kid is so fluid and has the tools. I feel like we saw him get more comfortable vs ECU, granted it was lesser talented defenders. He's quickly picking up the speed of the college game and starting to be effective. The main thing holding him back is his defense. once he learns to move his feet and use his length (like Polly has the last 2 weeks), he can wedge more playing time to continue to get more confident.

@UConnStats - do you have any numbers for the year with Sid/Polly on the floor together? Just by my eye test, it's trending up. Not bad to have a speedy and lengthy defensive unit on the floor.

 

[UConnStats]

I (and I'm sure most of the BY) have been waiting for a Sid breakout game. The kid is so fluid and has the tools. I feel like we saw him get more comfortable vs ECU, granted it was lesser talented defenders. He's quickly picking up the speed of the college game and starting to be effective. The main thing holding him back is his defense. once he learns to move his feet and use his length (like Polly has the last 2 weeks), he can wedge more playing time to continue to get more confident.

@UConnStats - do you have any numbers for the year with Sid/Polly on the floor together? Just by my eye test, it's trending up. Not bad to have a speedy and lengthy defensive unit on the floor.

I do not, but @ ECU was the first time they shared the court for substantial time. We will definitely see more of that if Gilbert is out, and if they continue to coexist well with each other on the floor, we probably will see more of it even when he returns; especially now that Diarra is back and by extension we have 5 more fouls to give as a worst case scenario.

 

[McLovin]

We're up to 73 in the KenPom? Nice.

 

[andy34]

We're up to 73 in the KenPom? Nice.

Well, almost nice

 

[imno1]

My heart wants UConn my head says lay the points
On the road
No Gilbert
Weird start time
Coming off an impressive win (one step forward theory)