Villanova Post Game Thread

[superjohn]

Sorry if this may have been covered before but couldn't watch entire game and only saw a few snippets. Was a flagrant 1 or 2 assessed against #55 on Villanova for deliberately and dangerous;y punching Braylon in the head with his left hand while dribbling past? Tried playing that contact back multiple times with the ref no more than 6 feet away and looking directly at it and didn't see result. Can't believe at least a fragrant 1.

No, of course not because that's not what happened.

 

[Lafayette]

Sorry if this may have been covered before but couldn't watch entire game and only saw a few snippets. Was a flagrant 1 or 2 assessed against #55 on Villanova for deliberately and dangerous;y punching Braylon in the head with his left hand while dribbling past? Tried playing that contact back multiple times with the ref no more than 6 feet away and looking directly at it and didn't see result. Can't believe at least a fragrant 1.

No just a standard foul. Basically they called a charge in effect. On X I ran it slowly and when Lewis used his right to try to control the ball his left arm was just down. As soon as Braylon is there the left arm comes up and if that isn't flagrant, I don't know what is.

 

[WiseWillie]

I thought the rule was that a blow to the head was automatically a flagrant 1 whether intentional or not and that if it was deemed intentional it was a flagrant 2. Maybe I'm mistaken?

There are those that will say it was a shoulder then there are those that will say it was an inadvertent nothing. Bulls###. The left arm was raised to head level and the hand smacked Mullins on the side of his forehead. Should have been at a minimum a flagrant 1. The ref was 6 feet away. Unreal. Letting something like that slide by with a "hey, no problem; it's just business as usual" attitude does nothing to improve BE basketball.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

There are those that will say it was a shoulder then there are those that will say it was an inadvertent nothing. Bulls###. The left arm was raised to head level and the hand smacked Mullins on the side of his forehead. Should have been at a minimum a flagrant 1. The ref was 6 feet away. Unreal. Letting something like that slide by with a "hey, no problem; it's just business as usual" attitude does nothing to improve BE basketball.

There is absolutely zero world in which that is a flagrant. Mullins reaching in is what causes the shoulder contact to Braylon’s head. It was unfortunate incidental contact and the no-call was absolutely correct. I truly don’t understand how this is even an arguable point after watching the replay.

 

[Huskygrad88]

There is absolutely zero world in which that is a flagrant. Mullins reaching in is what causes the shoulder contact to Braylon’s head. It was unfortunate incidental contact and the no-call was absolutely correct. I truly don’t understand how this is even an arguable point after watching the replay.

There is no argument. It was not flagrant. Want to know the most conclusive evidence. Dan. Hurley did not complain in the moment. Dan Hurley did not complain in the postgame. Dan Hurley has not said a word since. Dan Hurley lets you know if he thinks a flagrant was missed, and is not shy about it.

 

[HooperScooper]

No just a standard foul. Basically they called a charge in effect. On X I ran it slowly and when Lewis used his right to try to control the ball his left arm was just down. As soon as Braylon is there the left arm comes up and if that isn't flagrant, I don't know what is.

Actually there was no foul call on that play. They called the ball out of bounds off Lewis when he lost his dribble and gave the ball to UConn after the turnover. Mullins actually got credit for a steal if you can believe that. See the play by play at this link. The play was at the 17:12 mark of the second half.

UConn 75-67 Villanova (Jan 24, 2026) Play-by-Play - ESPN

Play-by-play action for the UConn Huskies vs. Villanova Wildcats NCAAM game from January 24, 2026 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[huskyharry]

Still he was on the bench cheering them on for the rest of the game. I highly doubt if he was feeling dizzy or any symptoms at all that they would let him sit on the bench like that.

Can’t understand why they allow the players to sit in the bench after being diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury. Standard of care is a minimum of 24 hours with minimal physical or mental exertion then re-evaluation.

 

[superjohn]

There is absolutely zero world in which that is a flagrant. Mullins reaching in is what causes the shoulder contact to Braylon’s head. It was unfortunate incidental contact and the no-call was absolutely correct. I truly don’t understand how this is even an arguable point after watching the replay.

I swear some of our fanbase seems like they're watching basketball for the first time.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Where do you see Malachi looking for his own shot? His problem offensively is ball pounding aimlessly and not delivering passes on time.

Umm, because he usually puts up a shot about 10 seconds after coming into the game on his first offensive set. Knock it off. Hes pounding the ball looking to beat his defender instead of looking for a good pass.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I don’t know what is going on but he has really struggled as of late. He was very good earlier in the year in big games. The team needs a solid backup PG so they can’t give up on him. UConn really needs a blowout where the bench can scores some points and boost their confidence

I think he can be all that. I think hes a terrific player as he has shown it but now he just looks out of it.

 

[aceboon]

Umm, because he usually puts up a shot about 10 seconds after coming into the game on his first offensive set. Knock it off. Hes pounding the ball looking to beat his defender instead of looking for a good pass.

Yea that's absolutely not what's happening but that's no surprise coming from you

Post in thread 'Florida Post Game Thread'

Dec 10, 2025

Thank you, Malachi. Clearly our best PG right now and not all that close .

What a win and a what a battle. FLA has some legit dudes

9 assists and no turnovers. He should be starting. Ive seen enough of Demery at this point. Let him figure things out from the bench. Mal has figured things out pretty quickly.

• TheChamps990411

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[KingAG]

Yea that's absolutely not what's happening but that's no surprise coming from you

Post in thread 'Florida Post Game Thread'

Dec 10, 2025

Thank you, Malachi. Clearly our best PG right now and not all that close .

What a win and a what a battle. FLA has some legit dudes

9 assists and no turnovers. He should be starting. Ive seen enough of Demery at this point. Let him figure things out from the bench. Mal has figured things out pretty quickly.

• TheChamps990411

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• 

The over reactors never cease to amaze me haha

 

[upstater]

April 2014 is when we won with Shabazz, so why not bask in the glory and talk it up for awhile? He didn't know we'd go downhill over the next 3 years.

None of it really makes sense, I just know he went from "never heard of this poster" to "this guy is in every thread with 50 posts a day" so that alone was interesting. And his opinions are always strong, he doesn't just enjoy the convo he has a super strong take on every single topic. It's odd.

There's a different tenor to the Boneyard than the old days.

That would be expected given the 3 decade longevity of this space.

I got here in 1998 and back then there was just a lot more wisecracks and banter for the first 10 years I was here. And yes Ruff Ruff was a regular poster.

But I think social media has changed now and people's personalities/identities are different when it comes to interacting.

People also had a very different set of expectations before the national championships or even after the first one.

Most of the younger posters here do not seem to understand how incredibly unusual it is for any school to win 6 in 26 years. It's unheard of, so the storm and drang of these boards is a bit overdramatic now.

 

[upstater]

Because they missed 10 bunnies??

We've been missing a lot of bunnies the last 2 years.

I truly miss Sanogo. Although in his first year he had trouble with bunnies too. He went from missing them to being automatic.

The thing with Reed is that he just does not go up strong. He's leaning back like he's not 6'10.

 

[superjohn]

We've been missing a lot of bunnies the last 2 years.

I truly miss Sanogo. Although in his first year he had trouble with bunnies too. He went from missing them to being automatic.

The thing with Reed is that he just does not go up strong. He's leaning back like he's not 6'10.

I agree about Tarris not going up strong enough, some of these plays should be dunks but he shoots the exact same percentage as Sanogo did his final season at UConn and he blows away Sanogo's finishing when Sanogo was a sophomore.

 

[Inyatkin]

Most of the younger posters here do not seem to understand how incredibly unusual it is for any school to win 6 in 26 years. It's unheard of, so the storm and drang of these boards is a bit overdramatic now.

I think most people don't realize how unusual it is for a team to win one single title, ever. Great teams and programs have zero NCAA championships. Gonzaga, Wisconsin (basically), Illinois, etc. Whereas we put up another banner every couple years like it's no big deal.

Now we talk about them as if it's an expectation. I'm glad to be here, but we should acknowledge sometimes how rarified the air is

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Lots here suggesting the January swoon is an intentional part of the process. Agree on the leash. The big question is whether this team has the pieces to make a title run. It worked in the non conference but it’s looked shakey since.

We have a throw it down low when you need a bucket big. Enough shooters and a big lead guard and athletic glue guys off the bench. I do think we have enough but there are also so many elite teams this year it’s gonna be enough to get hot for 3 weeks you will need to beat some high level teams.

 

[NJHusky]

I think most people don't realize how unusual it is for a team to win one single title, ever. Great teams and programs have zero NCAA championships. Gonzaga, Wisconsin (basically), Illinois, etc. Whereas we put up another banner every couple years like it's no big deal.

Now we talk about them as if it's an expectation. I'm glad to be here, but we should acknowledge sometimes how rarified the air is

Well said. Like 3rd most all time!! Yet in under 30 years!!

 

[upstater]

I agree about Tarris not going up strong enough, some of these plays should be dunks but he shoots the exact same percentage as Sanogo did his final season at UConn and he blows away Sanogo's finishing when Sanogo was a sophomore.

I do remember Sanogo not being good at them earlier. He changed that Junior year. While I appreciate the stat about Reed being at the same % as Sanogo, I guess I'm just remembering Sanogo being a lot more efficient (i.e. creating his own offense when he actually got the ball down low). I thought Reed would be that player.

 

[NickDanger]

You’re right... The blocking call on Stewart where Brennan barreled into him wasn’t 50/50…. That one was probably 62(charge)/38(block)… that’s a poor job by me… but seriously if you’re not even going to concede that was roughly a 50/50 call (the announcers said as much, along the lines of “I don’t know about that” so I guess they’re clueless as well) you’re not to be taken seriously Mr. Danger. Just being contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. A “refs are never to blame” absolutist hardo. That was yet another potential 5th foul on Brennan if I’m not mistaken… Felt like very shortly thereafter a 50/50 block/charge call went against Silas on the other end to add insult to injury….

Refs make plenty of mistakes, some calls against us, and some for us. What I am contending is that there is no systematic conspiracy trying to make UConn lose on the part of the refs

 

[RuffRuff]

I do remember Sanogo not being good at them earlier. He changed that Junior year. While I appreciate the stat about Reed being at the same % as Sanogo, I guess I'm just remembering Sanogo being a lot more efficient (i.e. creating his own offense when he actually got the ball down low). I thought Reed would be that player.

Sanogo may have had the same %, but he did feel much more reliable when it was all said and done. I checked the TO numbers, Reed is 2.1/game versus 1.9/game for Sanogo, so really not that big a difference there either.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Odd time to bring it up since we shot 17/22 (77%) from the line today, that’s fine

Its funny, one's perception can differ from the stats. I agree that 77% is not a bad stat for the game. My perception watching the game was colored by the fact that we missed several front end FT's that may have made the game out of reach sooner. And I wrote my commentary without looking at the stat line. But I will say this, making FT's on crunch time was a consistent thing for our 23 and 24 teams. Of course, less important with the 24 teams because we were obliterating everyone. Missing front-end FT's with less than five to go in a close game is not ideal, and we have done that several games running now. Maybe I should have said that!

 

[Lafayette]

Its funny, one's perception can differ from the stats. I agree that 77% is not a bad stat for the game. My perception watching the game was colored by the fact that we missed several front end FT's that may have made the game out of reach sooner. And I wrote my commentary without looking at the stat line. But I will say this, making FT's on crunch time was a consistent thing for our 23 and 24 teams. Of course, less important with the 24 teams because we were obliterating everyone. Missing front-end FT's with less than five to go in a close game is not ideal, and we have done that several games running now. Maybe I should have said that!

I watched on TV (Fox broadcast) - seemed like our first half rim was tight with so many in-outs, and after the break we switch and they had some in-outs there too. Not to make too fine a point on this but just sayin'

 

[Lafayette]

There is absolutely zero world in which that is a flagrant. Mullins reaching in is what causes the shoulder contact to Braylon’s head. It was unfortunate incidental contact and the no-call was absolutely correct. I truly don’t understand how this is even an arguable point after watching the replay.

Watch it frame by frame - Lewis brings the left arm up to do something to Mullins and not for any other reason. Seeing it live and seeing it in slow replay (have to be on X not see the video here thru X for slowed down) I took it as flagrant.

I don't mind being in the minority but to each their own.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I agree about Tarris not going up strong enough, some of these plays should be dunks

He looks much slower and more earthbound lately than he did earlier in the year, or last year. I have to think there's some nagging injury there because it's not really explainable otherwise. He just looked so much quicker and more explosive earlier in the year.