UConn Arkansas

[AdamaNation]

Unfortunately for Arkansas, Corliss “big nasty” Williamson is not walking through that door. Lol

They are very talented. Looked just as talented as Alabama last time I saw them. Uconn by 7

Wouldn’t matter.

 

[AdamaNation]

He has. I’m nervous about his ability to stay in front of Arkansas’ guards

Yes this matchup may be a problem. I have no idea why. Why?!? I’m thinking more zone and possibly some Samson. Doesn’t make sense. But I’m seeing this even if it’s just 4-6 minutes.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

It might as a possession by possession change of pace , but I like hurleys credo “play to your identity”. Zone isn’t that.

I get that, but that was our identity against St Johns, too, and that was a disaster. I'm not a huge fan of it, myself, but if a team can't shoot, sometimes that's the way to go. I'm all for straight man to man, just give them all a cushion and beg them to shoot jump shots.

 

[Ripper32]

No one on the Arkansas boards mention donovan or Andre. They definitely don't watch uconn basketball.

 

[metsfan2323]

They don’t shoot the three well, right?

Their guys attack the boards and get to the rim. We’re going to have to protect the rim.

Break out the nifty zone that almost won the Marquette game?

 

[Ripper32]

 

[gsmooth]

I see that perspective. But we may need him on Thursday. I don’t think Joey C is going to be playable on defense

And Tristen will need some rest

 

[Huskyforlife]

UConn twitter is an embarrassing place that nobody should care about. So many cornballs and weirdos. Being a weirder online fanbase isn’t a flex.

 

[caw]

Basically the shot chart that was posted before the first round tells the story of Arkansas:

They take and make a ton of bad shots. Watching their two games this past weekend affirms it. Man in the face...15-19 foot pullup sounds good. Hard to defend to be honest because they already take bad shots. They take what Hurley wants them to take.

Just keep them off the boards and watch for backcuts. Don't make silly live ball turnovers. Those should be UConn's keys to the game.

 

[Ripper32]

I'd take their backcourt over ours.But our front court and bench is better. The game will be tight.

 

[Ripper32]

Also, I don't know who is the worse defender...nick Smith Jr or hawkins

 

[That Guy]

No one on the Arkansas boards mention donovan or Andre. They definitely don't watch uconn basketball.

They DEFINITELY don't. They have a thread on there where one of them ranked the S16 teams and had us at 13 while giving us the description "tough on def, but lack scoring punch", meanwhile we're 3rd in the country in offensive efficiency lol. Funnily enough the description he used for us is the exact one I would use to describe Arkansas.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

Very athletic team that can beat anyone and also lose to anyone. They're dangerous since they have a high ceiling.

The 2nd half against against Kansas, who I thought had the best overall team, was a thing of beauty. It should be a fun game to watch with all the dynamic players. UConn wins a close one.

This whole statement is irrelevant when you said you thought Kansas was the best overall team. This tells me you haven’t watched closely enough this year. Thanks tho!

 

[nomar]

Dork

 

[UCfor3]

We just need to stay in front of our man. This will be a Jackson, Alleyne, Diarra game on defense for me. Diarra has his first chance to make a real impact on this tournament. Joey C might not be playable by the second half in this game. We have to keep their guards out of the paint

Agreed Ant. Will say this. Joey C's D has been way better lately and night and day compared to PK1. His D has been way better than Hawks lately, especially the outright effort.

 

[That Guy]

Dork

McGuire's a big UConn fan and he's right. I've already seen them all over social media commenting about the matchup. Their MBB twitter page has 146k more followers than ours and basketball isn't even their main sport. Gotta give credit where credit is due, they've got a passionate fanbase.

 

[FreeKlaiber]

St. Mary's tonight was getting into paint 1v1 without a screener, using their quick guards to just drive by Jackson, Hawkins, and Newton. Arkansas will try the same thing. High hedge not relevant in that scenario.

if you consider st marys guards "quick", what are arkansas's? i felt AJ gave up way too much penetration to freshman Mahaney, even without the high hedge rotation...i like the idea of shell man or zone at times (with two bigs), or we risk seeing a st johns first game layup line at times

 

[EBonz30]

The key to their team is Davis- he’s their heart & soul- cannot let him manipulate the game defensively & must stop his penetration, especially late in the shot clock- he’s their guy who hits big shots & timely ones- plus he’s their experienced leader.

 

[husky429]

They are like SJU but way better. Can't shoot but a bunch of iso creators.

They don't have any very good post players.

Defending the rim has been a weakness of ours. That will be the difference... feels like a potential big game for Clingan.

 

[husky429]

He has. I’m nervous about his ability to stay in front of Arkansas’ guards

This game kay he better situationally for Diarra because of that. SMC wasn't physical enough to body Joey

 

[OkaForPrez]

Arkansas basketball fans are some of the best in the country. They know and love the game. They are not wake up in March fans who don’t follow the sport. They won a title in the 90’s under Nolan Richardson and have been wandering in the desert trying to regain the success of that era. They are hungry.

Every message board has shmoes. Don’t judge the fans based on their scrappys.

Source- lived there 3 years. Had more ball conversations than the years I lived in NC.

 

[Conndog]

Well, I like the idea of a zone against their ISO oriented guards, and maybe playing some Donovan and Sanogo at the same time, and Coach tell Andre to play off his man a little so he can move defensively and stay between his man and the basket. I'm hoping that UConn will try driving to the basket more too, especially Hawkins and Karaban, even though it really isn't in their DNA. I don't think the UConn train stops yet, and two teams in this bracket that worry me (UCLA and Gonzaga) have to play each other next, so one of them will be eliminated. Just win and advance!

 

[UconnFanDC]

Tge comp gets tougher. I like Uconn to win this game for sure. Hurley has days to prepare them.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What concerns me the most is that Arkansas can lure us into a sloppy, frenetic track meet. If they do, they will have an advantage as this is often how they win. We need to be smart and disciplined, especially with our guard play.

I really want a pig roast on Thursday. The pit has already been dug out and we're on track to have the embers going in time for the long, slow, roasting process (it's a full day job so don't plan on any productivity at work once you leave the office on Wednesday) but the results are well worth the effort.

By the way:

 

[REB1094]

It’s a tough situation because Adama has been the most dominant player in the tournament so far, but seems like this would be a great game for a Clingan zone

I trust the staff