UConn @ Memphis

[wyo angel]

MG , that helps immensely! whew. hot flash averted

thank you, tcf15 shabazzle dazzle!

and thank u again U of Memphis. if I'd looked closer at the schedule I'd have seen you were pointing out the fact i was living in the future.

 

[BoatShow]

^what?

 

[rw005]

[/sarcasm]

Considering we just lost at home to Cincy by 16 points...I think UConn has a shot.

What is it about doomed you don't get?

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!

 

[storrsroars]

I just can't seem to get excited despite Memphis being ranked.

There's nobody to hate/wish ill upon. We don't know anything about 90% of the teams we play. Hell, even Siva isn't with Ville anymore.

Is there counseling for this condition?

 

[huskiesnyc]

Sorry UofMemphis we aren't trying to make friends in the American. You guys can continue to keep your RPI up so it helps us.. But honestly this is a straight up business trip for the 3-time National Champion UConn Huskies tomorrow.

 

[Husky]

brimah is about to smash on these pu$$ies

 

[Husky]

 

[Peacefrog]

Can we please be nice to UofMemphis? He just comes here to talks hoops, and is always super respectful of UConn and the posters here.

He's not a PC troll, people.

Agreed, he's always been a respectful poster. I was just making the point (perhaps a bit too strongly) that by the time you're a senior there is a ton of objective data to consider. It's akin to putting your GPA on a resume when you have 25 years of work experience.

Anyway, if we can keep their advantage in the paint and on the boards to a minimum we've got a shot. If we can somehow break even I like our chances.

 

[Adios]

UofMemphis also goes to the football board.

 

[patrick]

I'm sorry but we are at war with Memphis tomorrow night!
What's with all this he's a nice poster crap?

UofMemphis Is our sworn Enemy till tomorrow around 9 after that he's cool!

WAR!

 

[patrick]

Serious and sincere question: Do you really believe that? Your team's chances against Memphis depend on Amidah Brimah?

We can win even if Brimah is a non factor but if he is a beast it will be that much easier!

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm sorry but we are at war with Memphis tomorrow night!
What's with all this he's a nice poster crap?

UofMemphis Is our sworn Enemy till tomorrow around 9 after that he's cool!

WAR!

UofMemphis seems to be a good dude, but....WAR!....huh....good God, y'all....

 

[huskyharry]

WE ARE DOOMED!!!!!!!!!!

Doomed for sure!

 

[upstater]

Serious and sincere question: Do you really believe that? Your team's chances against Memphis depend on Amidah Brimah?

He is a big key for UConn this year.

 

[msgordon]

Serious and sincere question: Do you really believe that? Your team's chances against Memphis depend on Amidah Brimah?

Makes sense to me. We more or less know what we're going to get from bazz,boat,dd,lasan,gif. Brimah is our only big with the ability to change a game and hes coming off an amazing performance. He's also had some complete duds, whether it be foul trouble or just poor play

 

[mauconnfan]

U of M seems like a good dude, leave him be. Thanks for the heads up. Having seen them play a few times they are athletic and can get it going. As you said they don't shoot it particularly well from deep but if they start falling we could be in trouble. When the Huskies go away, especially for the 1st time in front of a big home crowd, teams seem to shoot real well suddenly…LOL

Should be a battle for sure, our guys will need to be as tough as they were against UCF and then some. Don't expect 20 and 8 out of Brimah but if we can get him 25 minutes, 6 and 6 with some blocks and alter some others, we'll be on the right track.

 

[SixRings]

Memphis is starting 3 seniors and have more on the bench. That is often overlooked and maturity usually means less mistakes. If they are hitting their shots we probably get beat. Memphis will probably get AB into foul trouble early. They have an interior game and drive the lane a lot from what I have seen - UofM can probably tell us more. AB, while showing great poise the other night, hasn't played well yet against a taller, experienced team. Lets hope he has truly made the turn. Otherwise doomed for sure.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Serious and sincere question: Do you really believe that? Your team's chances against Memphis depend on Amidah Brimah?

We can win even if Brimah is a non factor but if he is a beast it will be that much easier!

Makes sense to me. We more or less know what we're going to get from bazz,boat,dd,lasan,gif. Brimah is our only big with the ability to change a game and hes coming off an amazing performance. He's also had some complete duds, whether it be foul trouble or just poor play

I'll put it this way. If Brimah is anywhere near 12 points, 8 boards, 3 blocks and 20 minutes of playing time I like our chances a whole bunch more than if he's 3 points, 4 boards, 2 blocks and 12 minutes.

I'd also like to see Nolan play as well as he did last game. If it's true that he had the flu during the Texas Massacre then that explains a lot. Fighting the flu while on the road and travelling takes much longer to recover from than sitting at your house for 2-5 days.

 

[James]

If brimah gets a line like 12 points / 8 boards / 3 blocks , our chance to win will be over 75%. vs an elite rebounding team he looked incredible , I wonder how this translates vs Goodwin .

 

[caw]

Serious and sincere question: Do you really believe that? Your team's chances against Memphis depend on Amidah Brimah?

No, most good teams don't rely on a single role player playing well to win. UConn can win with minimal contribution from Brimah (see Florida win). However, he makes things easier if the defense has to at least account for him.

Napier on the other hand... He has to at least be involved and engaged. If he comes out without energy, UConn will likely flounder.

 

[Jerry1714]

Found this to be very impressive:

Kevin Duffy ‏@KevinRDuffy1m
In only #UConn-Memphis meeting (2007), all 10 starters went to NBA. 7 were drafted; 3 (Dyson, Adrien, Alan Anderson) signed as undrafted FAs

 

[HuskyHawk]

No, most good teams don't rely on a single role player playing well to win. UConn can win with minimal contribution from Brimah (see Florida win). However, he makes things easier if the defense has to at least account for him.

Napier on the other hand... He has to at least be involved and engaged. If he comes out without energy, UConn will likely flounder.

Exactly, Brimah having a big game is less about how he plays than about whether the team is playing as a team or as 5 separate guys (or more likely 2). When we go 2 on 5 with our guards, we will struggle on O. If we play a team game, as in the last game vs. UCF, everything changes. Brimah's stats, or Nolan's, or Olander's or Giffey's will merely reflect that.

I don't know what to expect really, both teams have been inconsistent. I don't think a large margin is likely either way.

UMemphis, how battle tested is Memphis? Do they have experience closing out 1 point games?

 

[msgordon]

Found this to be very impressive:

Kevin Duffy ‏@KevinRDuffy1m
In only #UConn-Memphis meeting (2007), all 10 starters went to NBA. 7 were drafted; 3 (Dyson, Adrien, Alan Anderson) signed as undrafted FAs

it was antonio anderson, but he indeed got signed as well

 

[TigerJ]

Exactly, Brimah having a big game is less about how he plays than about whether the team is playing as a team or as 5 separate guys (or more likely 2). When we go 2 on 5 with our guards, we will struggle on O. If we play a team game, as in the last game vs. UCF, everything changes. Brimah's stats, or Nolan's, or Olander's or Giffey's will merely reflect that.

I don't know what to expect really, both teams have been inconsistent. I don't think a large margin is likely either way.

UMemphis, how battle tested is Memphis? Do they have experience closing out 1 point games?

Memphis is very battle tested this season. We have beaten LSU, Oklahoma State, and Louisville that came down to the last minutes of the game. We also lost to a fully healthy Florida squad by 2 with a chance to win.

 

[ZenConn]

Dooooooooooooomed!

 

[TigerJ]

Dooooooooooooomed!

I don't believe that you are doomed but our kids have a chip on their shoulder after letting the home crowd down last time. Then what could be better than beating two recent champions in Ville and Huskies. Look forward to a good game!!!

 

[ctchamps]

Memphis is starting 3 seniors and have more on the bench. That is often overlooked and maturity usually means less mistakes. If they are hitting their shots we probably get beat. Memphis will probably get AB into foul trouble early. They have an interior game and drive the lane a lot from what I have seen - UofM can probably tell us more. AB, while showing great poise the other night, hasn't played well yet against a taller, experienced team. Lets hope he has truly made the turn. Otherwise doomed for sure.

Actually the UCF team was tall and experienced. Beating them at their strength was the critical thing about that game. I watched the game a second time focusing on AB. Not only was he good at blocking shots, getting rebounds and finishing, he also was incredible in setting screens, moving to positions that set up offense or moving on the defensive end that impacted UCF's offense. I saw three moments that I could nitpick about his entire body of work. He was absolutely dominant on offense and defense.

Even when I was excited last season regarding the potential of PN and DD based on the way they played at the end of last season, this performance by AB was literally heads above anything they demonstrated. I'm cautiously excited. Getting to this level is not what I expected AB could do even after 3 years of development. The big question is can he repeat this performance? Another question is if he can repeat this performance, how consistent will he be in the future?

 

[ctchamps]

No, most good teams don't rely on a single role player playing well to win. UConn can win with minimal contribution from Brimah (see Florida win). However, he makes things easier if the defense has to at least account for him.

Napier on the other hand... He has to at least be involved and engaged. If he comes out without energy, UConn will likely flounder.

Chicken and egg thing. When other players execute off of Napier's playmaking that is the thing that helps generate the greatest excitement in Bazz.

Funny how so many people don't understand this. Every analyst has been critical of Bazz for not getting involved in scoring during the first half. The thing he loves best is getting his players involved. The thing he loves best is getting an assist. It doesn't have to be Brimah. SN would have been equally thrilled with any of his team mates getting a score when a play is set up for them and he gets them the ball.

Therefore I would say the most critical thing is for Bazz's team mates to execute well when given the opportunity, because that will start the positive cycle. He's the engine that runs the car and they are the fuel.

 

[James]

guys like kromah and Daniels need to start the game with great fury. boatright is a known commodity, hell be primed for a match up vs joe Jackson.
I like the idea of starting olander , our offense actually produces at an inexplicable rate when he's on the floor. A terrible defender , olander still has moxy and offensive awareness to facilitate scoring for short bursts.

 

[ctchamps]

guys like kromah and Daniels need to start the game with great fury. boatright is a known commodity, hell be primed for a match up vs joe Jackson.
I like the idea of starting olander , our offense actually produces at an inexplicable rate when he's on the floor. A terrible defender , olander still has moxy and offensive awareness to facilitate scoring for short bursts.

Olander does have good passing skills and still is the best big to set screens. He is weak at finishing and is a defensive liability. KO has been smart to get him involved early in the halves. AB and PN are not upset by not starting. Part of it is their personality and part is they are underclassman who respect TO's four years in the program.

KO has gauged every players performance on the court and is quick to substitute when the negative outweighs the positive. It's just that his hook is not as immediate as JC's which we became accustomed with. Personally I felt that with a couple of exceptions, JC's hook had a negative impact on players.