You misunderstand what I said. They know that UConn has the muscle to punch back at perceived injustice that is represented by the P4's. If they are present, and have no skin in the game, yea, UConn, fan wise, is the underdog. Conferences are a thing.
Whatever works for the Mojo!
Well, in his defense, Bob Diaco was "a rock star."
True, but I think his other point is valid - fans of other B10 teams besides Illinois will be rooting for us, etc.
The fans of all 3 other schools will be rooting against UConn, as they would rather play Illinois than a team that is in their 3rd Ff in 4 years
Arizona fans should be very afraid of Reed, who they never saw in December
And local Braylon Mullins supporters .
And Dent of UCLA.
Great point.
I do think this kind of understates the difference. His pre-UConn averages were heavily buoyed by big scoring totals against LIU, FGCU, Colgate, and JKST. He scored 8 and 11 in their only real competition before UConn (on bad efficiency). He was also a very complementary scorer vs. effectively the stating PG making everything happen that he has turned into (which is shown by his massive jump in assist totals). He’s a much better player now and is deployed very differently.
Sure. But that isn’t the narrative. The narrative being pushed is be was some after thought who became a star after that game. That is understating the player he was then.
www.cbssports.com
He's definitely a much bigger focus and is a great player, so not trying to discount him at all. He'll be a tough assignment for our guys. But he also followed up the UConn game with 16 against Tennessee and 19 against Ohio State a week later with 5 assists both games, then 23 and 10 against Nebraska. Just seems a little too convenient for the narratives I've seen from all the B10 guys on social media
I honestly don't know how much of that game really matters anymore. I doubt the coaches are even spending much time on it TBH. I would think tape in the last month is most relevant. They are an easy system to plan for, it's all about execution. We are much more unpredictable and variable - I barely know how we are going to do it game to game.
No. reigning Mr Kansas
I was just coming over here to post this. Yes, if you read his positional analysis we seem to have the edge. Then he spends 5 paragraphs analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and he makes it sound like Illinois is going to kill UConn. Then ends with, "Karaban, Ball and Mullins need to go berserk from downtown, or UConn's run ends in the Final Four." People said that before the Duke game and UConn was absolutely horrendous from three, especially the first 35 minutes, and still won.Final Four breakdown: Why Illinois has answers for UConn, Michigan holds edge vs. Arizona
Illinois-UConn and Arizona-Michigan headline a loaded Final Four. Here's a full matchup breakdown, key advantages and predictions for both games
Interesting exercise in that in both cases, he seems to pick the team that has less overall positional advantage.
I'm done thinking they need to do this or that to win - we beat Duke shooting terribly from three and were able to do something we don't normally do well (turn the opposition over), to win the game. If I was betting this game, I'd put a lot of weight on the coaching advantage in a game like this.
The three other teams left standing are all bigger than us and they would all be favored. The other teams have the star freshmen and more players who have gotten buzz throughout the season. The thing is we have the best staff and our coaches and players find a way. We also have the player who is playing the best basketball in the country at the moment, Tarris Reed.
I tend to be pretty cautious by nature, but the more I break this game down, the more I think we should be the favorites. The biggest concern is our outside shooting, but even there, our defense does a lot to compensate. And as mentioned earlier, it’s not like we had any major edge in shooting or free throws in the first game either.
Actually this was true in 2011 as well...
