UConn vs Miami Final Four

[Marat]

That UConn team should've lost in the sweet 16 and was down a dozen midway through the second half to Albany in the first round. There was a ton of talent but it was a totally unfocused group.

Totally unfocused. The BET 1st game vs Cuse was a sign of things to come - Denham needing to hit a deep 3 to send it OT and then losing it. And then having to claw back like you said vs Albany and the other Huskies. It didn't work in the next game.

 

[Marat]

On offense, which team would you say Miami most closely resembles that we have played? Marquette ?

 

[KeyWestUC]

Don't forget - we are back on the revenge tour (GW)!

 

[WheelerD92]

Believe what you see. The road is laid out for UConn this year. Haven’t peaked yet.

 

[KeyWestUC]

Don't forget - we are back on the revenge tour (GW)!

GM sorry!

 

[superjohn]

On offense, which team would you say Miami most closely resembles that we have played? Marquette ?

Yep, Marquette seems to be the closest comparison. I think Marquette is a bit better than them.

 

[Ports21]

On offense, which team would you say Miami most closely resembles that we have played? Marquette ?

All the guards are kind of Souley Boum-esque in terms of speed/quickness.

No Nunge in the middle.

I think they're kind of closer to Xavier than Marquette.

 

[Scrutineer]

The board has done this with every opponent since Iona

I'm guessing DH and the staff is doing that and will continue to do so right up to game time Saturday..............can't get cocky now!

 

[navery12]

On offense, which team would you say Miami most closely resembles that we have played? Marquette ?

I would say more Xavier than Marquette. Marquette takes a lot more 3's than Miami

 

[AntG168]

I'm guessing DH and the staff is doing that and will continue to do so right up to game time Saturday..............can't get cocky now!

Cocky doesn’t equal confident

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[superjohn]

I would say more Xavier than Marquette. Marquette takes a lot more 3's than Miami

I don't see it with Xavier, they have one of the best offenses in the country but it was largely played through their bigs when Freemantle and Nunge were together and more structured than Miami. Miami doesn't have that, it's a lot of one on one play with those explosive guards. Omier is great but he gets most of his on offensive rebounding, dump offs on the drive, and broken plays.

 

[navery12]

I don't see it with Xavier, they have one of the best offenses in the country but it was largely played through their bigs when Freemantle and Nunge were together and more structured than Miami. Miami doesn't have that, it's a lot of one on one play with those explosive guards. Omier is great but he gets most of his on offensive rebounding, dump offs on the drive, and broken plays.

The team makeup is very different, but the style of play is very similar in how they get their points. Other than the A/FGM (Miami goes 1v1 a lot more like you said) the offensive numbers are fairly close across the board

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

The team makeup is very different, but the style of play is very similar in how they get their points. Other than the A/FGM (Miami goes 1v1 a lot more like you said) the offensive numbers are fairly close across the board

View attachment 86074

 

[HuskyHawk]

We are doomed. Look at this list. Escape the worst, most anti-UConn Big East refs only for the NCAA to put them in the Final Four crew.

 

[HooperScooper]

O.K. now I'm getting nervous. Doooomed, absolutely doooomed!

March Madness 2023 picks: Expert predictions for NCAA Tournament Final Four, national champion

Our experts give their opinions on which team will cut down the nets at the end of the Big Dance

www.cbssports.com

 

[Scrutineer]

Miami has a very similar lineup to Arkansas, and we know how that worked out.

4 guards and a 6-7 center means they are extremely small. Sanogo will feast down low. We will grab most of the rebounds. Miami will have to get one of our key guys (AJ, JH) in foul trouble and bang some 3’s to beat us.

Hey, no tips for the opposition..................nothing is guaranteed!

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Totally unfocused. The BET 1st game vs Cuse was a sign of things to come - Denham needing to hit a deep 3 to send it OT and then losing it. And then having to claw back like you said vs Albany and the other Huskies. It didn't work in the next game.

And, not being able to shake off a very pedestrian Kentucky team (albeit they did have Rondo) until about 17 minutes into the second half.

 

[gsmooth]

Larranaga is a good coach but this whole "he beat UConn at George Mason" is probably the dumbest storyline in what will undoubtedly be a week full of dumb storylines. That '06 team was practically begging to lose from round 1.

correct. They peaked when they beat Nova in Gampel for the revenge game. After that they were unimpressive and struggled with the bad teams. After they lost to Syracuse in the BET a lot people including myself thought they would be angry and motivated and go a on a tear. Instead they come out flat against Albany and were down 12 with 11:30 left in the game.

If we all are being honest, they should've lost to Washington in the Sweet 16 and were very lucky to advance. At the time I was happy they won, but in retrospect, I kind of wish they didn't.

 

[gsmooth]

Yep, Marquette seems to be the closest comparison. I think Marquette is a bit better than them.

defensively they certainly are. Marquette offensively beats teams with passing and cuts and the great court vision of high IQ of Kolek and Iguadharo. Miami can beat teams offensively by shooting the lights out from 3 and with one on one skills.

 

[gsmooth]

We are doomed. Look at this list. Escape the worst, most anti-UConn Big East refs only for the NCAA to put them in the Final Four crew.

no to Jeff Anderson, please no!

 

[Dean Wormer]

Do you feel like Texas was overrated?

The Texas team that played without Disu wasn't the same. But who cares.
At this point not to win the NC would be an upset. We're clearly the best team.

 

[Jaker]

Just play the game and win!

 

[pj]

The difference is Miami's guys have been making those tough 2s that Arkansas couldn't.

Is our D significantly better than Texas's? The metrics say no.

Miami's a lot stronger offensively, but weaker defensively, than Arkansas. Quicker but not as strong or physical. Probably similar in quality.

We can dominate them with size. We have to defend their quickness which may be more challenging for us than defending Arkansas or Gonzaga, but I don't think they can defend us. If we perform offensively the way we did against Arkansas and Gonzaga, they won't be able to keep up.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Decided to re-watch UT-Miami tonight and came away with a couple thoughts (apologies in advance for the length):

• Their offense is really impressive. Generally four guys on the court that can create for themselves. Their offense against UT looked like what Arkansas was trying to run against us (ISO and get to the paint), but while we were able to completely sag off Arkansas due to their shooting incompetence, UT had to respect the mid-range and outside threat against Miami.
• I think we will see a completely different offense than what they showed against UT. They made no effort to establish the three and instead, took advantage of Texas having essentially no defensive presence in the paint. I'm curious to watch an earlier game where they employed a more balanced attack.
• Wong's ability to create off the bounce is the best we've seen in the tournament. He, and the Miami guards as a whole take the kind of shots you'd generally be happy to give up (a lot of contested mid-range stuff), but seem to make them at a very efficient clip. I think UConn's length will make a big difference there (but also don't expect we'll see nearly the same gameplan).
• I'm torn on Karaban this game. His defense has been really strong recently, but he's going to give up quickness this game and will have to play flawlessly. I could definitely see some foul trouble and having to go with a four guard lineup for stretches. That said, having him in forces Laranaga to either use their best defender (Miller) on Karaban, or try to have one of the smaller guards D him up (which Karaban will get some great post looks out of).
• UConn NEEDS to get back on D. They push the pace like crazy, even off makes and several times caught Texas sleeping and got some easy buckets. We did a great job on this against Arkansas and need to keep that going or we're going to get burned by their speed. That's all effort and focus.
• As impressive as their offense was, their defense was every bit the 100+ ranking they have earned this season. There's no other way to spin it, it was just bad. UT largely ran simple ball screen sets, they ran very little in the way of off ball motion or screens, and yet, UT seemed to have a WIDE OPEN three essentially whenever they wanted. The off-ball defenders just got caught looking at the ball constantly, drifted toward the lane, and then Carr or another Texas guard kicked out for an open look. If they do that against UConn, our shooters are going to feast.
• UConn should have a sizeable advantage down low. UT didn't really have a back to the basket game going (a few looks from bishop, but more two dribbles and a hook shot), so Omier wasn't really asked to be the primary defender much and with about ten minutes left in the first half he was already gassed (in fairness, the pace was pretty frenetic). This is another area where I'm curious to find another game with him guarding a legit post player, but nothing he showed makes me think he'll be a good matchup for Sanogo's relentless footwork or Clingan's size. If we don't come away with a sizeable rebounding advantage, I would be surprised.
• Their transition D was also not good. A lot of multiple guys collapsing on the ball handler and no effort to find the shooters. If they play like that against UConn, Jackson and Hawkins/Calcaterra are going to have a field day.

I came away from this cautiously optimistic (though I definitely want to watch some earlier games). UConn's offense is better than Texas' without Disu, so they should be able to run the offense they want and get plenty of good looks. I also think Omier is going to have a long day (or short if he gets into foul trouble) and just genuinely have no idea what they're going to do with Clingan. Their offense is legit though and we could certainly still lose if they're hitting outside shots and our shooters have an off-night, and/or if their driving creates foul trouble for some of the key players. I think their margin of error is MUCH smaller than ours though.

TL;DR we're doomed.