The last 3-5 minutes were a mess - but given the backdrop of the season, I'm not at all angry about their performance tonight a single, solitary iota. Based on what we've seen - I was scared to even play this game tonight as Arizona is a disaster match up literally everywhere - and not only did we play neck and neck with them, I thought we actively outplayed them for much of the game.
They went 7 for 10 in the second half from three - the majority of which were contested shots. So what are you going to do, exactly? We actually neutralized Ayton, got him in foul trouble, put up a heck of a fight on the boards and the simple truth of the matter is we don't have enough up from to stop him AND Ristic - and Ristic was the guy to challenge and he stepped up. He was arguably their best player tonight. To boot - when things COULD NOT go bad - they did - and they were always when we'd pull within a bucket or be down by one - then they'd hit the three. Or Adams/<fill in the guard> would turn the ball over. For two stretches, they happened in combination. We just don't have that game changer on the roster - don't have that knock down, lights out shooter - don't have that playmaker that's going to get us over the top against that caliber of a team. But taking the entire enchillada into consideration, I saw improvement tonight almost everywhere.
Diarra and Cobb did about as much as you can ask of them tonight, and kudos for Terry Larrier for getting into the mix and being more decisive on offense and not being afraid to be decisive. Just those things along made a world of difference. Not having a point guard murdered us tonight. Jalen just can't do it. Anderson clearly is uncomfortable doing it. Vital is capable for stretches, but it's not a spot for him, either. We're exactly where we were last year in that regard. That being said they're all talented enough to kind of hit shots here and there to keep us in the game and not totally make themselves ineffective.
I'm gonna get shot for saying this, but the Oregon game, the 1st half of the Michigan State game and about 35 minutes of this game are the best stretches of UConn hoops i've seen in years. Coppin State, Arkansas, Michigan St 2nd half... those games are maybe the worst. I'm not sure what this team is going to look like by the end of the season entirely, but they took a big step forward tonight, and i've been a guy who's been super gloom and doom on this team for the majority of the year. The effort they gave tonight for 35 minutes will win them a ton of in-conference games. Dare I say even bump off a team or two we shouldn't.
But it's just clear we lack a go-to weapon. We don't have a lights out shooter. We don't have a PG again. We lack depth and we're simply outsized up front. The effort, intensity and aggression that's been lacking though, that was more there tonight than it's been the last few games and that's a positive. My hope is they take positives out of tonight, maybe they sneak a win against Auburn, but my bigger worry is they continue to play better, put in good efforts and don't have much in the way of wins to show for it and the kids sulk off. I'm more confident after tonight though saying we have a few pieces that could be valuable heading forward than I felt yesterday, though.
