UConn 314th in steals per game

[DRBackup]

They averaged 6.2 a game last year.

And much like turnovers in the NFL, the difference of 0.8 per game could easily be explained by the fact that they rarely trailed and put game pressure on the opponents to score, causing them to take more risks with the ball.

As an oh, BTW, the 2004 team stole the ball only slightly more often than this one.

 

[6Nattys4Us]

Your first defensive priority can be to deny your man a high percentage shot or it can be to look for a chance to get a steal. You can’t have two first priorities. We are a poor defensive team, but not generating enough steals is way, way down the list as to why.

Agreed, but let's shine a light on why we are a poor defensive team:
1. We turn the ball over more than are opponents do = more easy buckets for them than us.
2. Our guards are not +defenders. = we lack the steals, and the height to block shots which gives teams higher fg pct.
3. We foul a lot more than our opponents = 2pt +1 or 3pt +1 are killers to defensive ratings based on pts given up per 100 possessions.
4. Liam was out for a month = loss of a +defender and offensive threat replaced by Stewart mainly = less defense, less offense
5. Diarra limited with knee issue and lack of replacement PG - while Mahaney is NOT a turnover machine he does not create for the team on offence and Nowell is too limited in minutes to make a dent in stats - without Diarra our offensive efficiency suffers and we are on defense more.

The good news is even last year our defensive pressure amped up in the post season - of course a 30-0 run in the elite 8 game will do amazing things for your defensive rating (fg pct or pts given up per 100 possessions). But we dialed it up in March well above our 23-24 regular season stats showed.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

excellent point. I was surprised by that, and it makes me wonder how much of their great defense last year was solely due to Clingan. Also surprised that Spencer led the team with 1.5 steals.

Clngan was huge but , Castle was also good 1v1 . Both made my all defensive team 2nd and 3rd team respectable. . Might be the most difficult team to make as we’ve had so many .
Castle had potential to move up if he stayed . So did Clingan but a more difficult position
Newton was not bad and big for a guard , plus Diarra was terrific off the bench .and is on my HM list . Karaban is also adequate
I think there are ways to hide this years weakness’s at least try things to find a formula . But we shall see.

 

[Austin316]

Every time they are caught with their hands on the cookie jar it’s a foul. Also interesting how they foul - put opposition on FT line.

Our Fouls per game
Opponents Free throws made/attempted

2019/2020 - 18.6
Opponent FTAPG - 14.5 - 19.6
2021/2022 - 16.8
Opponent FTAPG - 12.5 - 18.2
2022/2023 - 17.7
Opponent FTAPG - 15.3 - 20.8
2023/2024 - 16.3
Opponent FTAPG - 12.9 - 17.7
2024/2025 - 18.2
Opponent FTAPG - 16.1 - 22.0

 

[gsmooth]

As your post reflects, we haven't pressed since the dream season

For a while I expected for Calhoun to bring the press back, but he never did

In his book A Passion to Lead he explains he stopped full court pressing because Ray and Doron did not like it.

 

[gsmooth]

We don't play to steal, hence we're going to steal less than many teams

Teams that play to steal press more, reach in more, play defense more aggressively, constantly pressing the ball for 94 feet. We don't

The GOAT emphasized defensive FG % and rebounding margin, not steals or deflections or even flopping. Hurley's defense is closer to Calhoun's than Pitino's. I'm OK with that

100% and that's what most of the posts in this thread are missing or failing to understand. UConn's defense under Hurley and Calhoun, although they were different in some ways, what they had in common was that they didn't pressure with the intent to turn the opposition over. The mantra was "you can keep the ball, but you are going to get a low percentage shot that you don't want." Creighton, although their defensive scheme is different from UConn's, they don't play with the intention to make the opposition turn the ball over.