UConn vs Illinois (Final Four)

[jibsey]

I’m hearing today that they have a lot more firepower than us. Our defense against their firepower. And they have a better guard playing than earlier.

 

[BFieldHusky]

In looking at the 1st matchup, some notes:

1. We were 10/28 from 3. They were 6/29. The major difference in the game in a 13 point win. They were plus 5 from the foul line.

2. We were plus 5 on the rebounding. We had 63 attempts, they had 60.

3. We had 19 assists to their 10 assists.

4. Both teams had outlier performances in this. Smith had 14 points, and Reibe had 8. Reed had 2, and Mullins had 2. For Illinois, Boswell had 25.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I have to give Ball a ton of credit for yesterday because he has been a huge negative for us on defense, but his defense yesterday was very solid. He needs to keep that same level of intensity on defense for the Final 4. He has the ability athletically, he just needs to focus and put in the effort

 

[upstater]

Did not mention UConn. Just said how disappointed he was for his guys blah, blah, blah.

Those coaches were glitching after it went in like they were Androids on BladeRunner.

 

[Inyatkin]

In looking at the 1st matchup, some notes:

1. We were 10/28 from 3. They were 6/29. The major difference in the game in a 13 point win. They were plus 5 from the foul line.

2. We were plus 5 on the rebounding. We had 63 attempts, they had 60.

3. We had 19 assists to their 10 assists.

4. Both teams had outlier performances in this. Smith had 14 points, and Reibe had 8. Reed had 2, and Mullins had 2. For Illinois, Boswell had 25.

I'm going out on a limb and predict Reed has more than 2 points this time around.

 

[upstater]

Were you in Zona with Purdue?

I think what made that win special last night is after the first half and seeing how dominant Boozer looked, it felt like there was zero answers for him. And I mean zero. Anytime they ran anything through him, he'd either get a bucket or find a very open man, as we were triple teaming him at times.

I don't know what happened in the second half, maybe he tired out or the black eye phased him a bit, but they totally moved away from how they looked to find him with intention. Tarris playing out of his mind was also hard to predict. You could expect good, but he was other worldly great.

I can't agree with this. I thought our strategy was pretty effective when our defense was set.

The 1 for 16 shooting created a lot of rebounds and breaks for them.

I thought the 15 point deficit was largely a result of the bad shooting, and let's not forget that Carolina was hot from 3 point land, and a lot of their shots were contested.

If someone pulls up the game chat, they'll have me saying exactly this at the end of the first half.

I didn't think we looked any worse against Boozer than any other team did.

 

[Hurlees4hed]

We've got all the momentum in the world coming off Duke and I like our staff's chances of outfoxing Underwoodivic and his crew. Hopefully we take the clutch late shooting and turn it into a hot streak at the best time of the year.

 

[HailUConn]

I think Silas and Malachi are better defenders now than they were in late November.

To add to my original post, our mental fortitude is a huge advantage over most teams.

Every team we have faced in this tournament has been gassed in the second half by the physicality and constant action. If you combine that with the mental edge that I think we have, we are very tough to beat.

More likely than not, Ross will get the bulk of assignment of guarding Wagler who is just too tall for Malachi. Silas maybe.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Not worried about the crowd advantage. I feel like we dodged death last night. We have a new lease on life. If our biggest concern in this game is the crowd factor, I'm really not worried.

In our last two games, we survived a 19 point comeback against one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time, and executed a 19 point comeback against an overall 1 seed. Idk how this team could fear anything at this point.

 

[noelle]

it really depends on the shooting and by extension the cause of the slumps. if it's a mental thing then we can probably expect the guys to shoot better. if it's a tired/injury/physicality thing then they probably won't be nearly as bad compared to duke/st johns.

i don't think we'll win 100% of course, but matchup wise they are pretty chill.

 

[uconngb]

How it started:



How it's going:

JI missed

How it started:



How it's going:

I missed it....did he play yesterday??

 

[uh-no]

In our last two games, we survived a 19 point comeback against one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time, and executed a 19 point comeback against an overall 1 seed. Idk how this team could fear anything at this point.

idk...i certainly fear foul trouble to tarris reed and shooting 1-18 form behind the arc

 

[RuffRuff]

idk...i certainly fear foul trouble to tarris reed and shooting 1-18 form behind the arc

We could probably absorb some FT with Reed against illinois as Reibe could matchup with the euro bigs, not so much with Zona/UM.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I checked the Wikipedia page today:



Not bad for a mid-major conference! For as long as Connecticut remains in the Big East this league is guaranteed to command a high level of respect. NO ACC, NO SEC! Power-4 administrators probably hate this so much!

 

[UofCT]

Not worried about the crowd advantage. I feel like we dodged death last night. We have a new lease on life. If our biggest concern in this game is the crowd factor, I'm really not worried.

Exactly. If they have nothing to cheer about it won’t matter

 

[Leebo]

We're four pages in, yet none of you thought about posting this yet?

I watch it about once a week regardless of the occasion and just assumed everyone else does the same.

 

[storrsroars]

I wonder if Brad Underwood has learned how to adapt in-game yet.

Remember this doozy of a quote by Underwood when interviewed by a sideline reporters:

We’re going to keep attacking the rim and if Clingan blocks 100 shots, he blocks 100 shots.

Tarris should talk to Donovan this week.

 

[Vuce]

Oh no……

 

[storrsroars]

I watch it about once a week regardless of the occasion and just assumed everyone else does the same.

All fine and well, but this time it's actually contextually relevant.

 

[caw]

Our KenPom metrics must have skyrocketed after beating MSU & Duke over the weekend.

Not really, moved from 10th to 9th, just barely passing MSU (only after beating Duke).

 

[storrsroars]

Oh no……

Do we really fear anyone except Breeding?

I see High Knees is working the FF this year. That could be fun.

 

[caw]

Wagler can give anyone trouble, he's one of the best players in the country. He doesn't scare me like Boozer did matchup wise though.

Wagler vs Boozer is kind of a microcosm of Illinois vs Duke. Duke/Boozer have a much higher floor but Illinois/Wagler have a higher ceiling. Mostly because they can and do play five out and can hit at a high rate. They can also miss everything. They aren't a great 3PT shooting team but they can go on heaters. That said, I agree that as a matchup he doesn't scare me as much as Boozer as long as our wings/guards are healthy.

 

[Waquoit]

He bloomed after our game. The kid is very good.

Is he better than Boo Buie?

 

[JakeTheDog]

We could probably absorb some FT with Reed against illinois as Reibe could matchup with the euro bigs, not so much with Zona/UM.

I think Reibe more than held his own against AZ earlier this year. He’s been more down than up lately but his early season play shows he has it in him.

 

[Chin Diesel]

As an acknowledgement to karma and as a nod to mojo, first play UConn runs Saturday should free up Mullins for a three from the same area on the floor as the game winner.

 

[RuffRuff]

Wagler vs Boozer is kind of a microcosm of Illinois vs Duke. Duke/Boozer have a much higher floor but Illinois/Wagler have a higher ceiling. Mostly because they can and do play five out and can hit at a high rate. They can also miss everything. They aren't a great 3PT shooting team but they can go on heaters. That said, I agree that as a matchup he doesn't scare me as much as Boozer as long as our wings/guards are healthy.

I see what you're saying, but Wagler is not Boozer, much more easily defended.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Oh no……

What dirt does Breeding have on the head office to get these assignments? I wouldn’t hire him to officiate a corporate league game, much less the final four.

 

[BFieldHusky]

It will be interesting to see how our game plan on defense. Against Dent and Fears, we wanted to make them more into scorers versus being facilitators. Wonder if we do the opposite in this game with Wagler.

Then again Boswell went for 25 last time, and we still held them to 61 points. If we can continue to shut down their front court, Wagler can put up 30. Won't matter.

 

[JungleLobo]

How it started:



How it's going:

How can you be more connected than a school with Connect in its name?

 

[caw]

I wonder if Brad Underwood has learned how to adapt in-game yet.

Remember this doozy of a quote by Underwood when interviewed by a sideline reporters:



Tarris should talk to Donovan this week.

Underwood has to be the most overmatched coach left. I mean he is a heck of a recruiter and team builder and actually does a good job of adjusting year to year depending on his roster but his in game coaching is highly questionnable.