What Changed For Us?

[jibsey]

Defensively this team has gone into overdrive and is completely different than during the season when we had that bad streak. Either that or ….the BE is way better than everyone and that includes St. John’s who didn’t make the tourney. Is it an effort thing? A new defensive scheme? Players just maturing? Inquiring minds want to know. Announcers talked about this remake last game but not with any specifics, just saying Hurley did some kind of adjustment and they had to change and buy in. I’m sure Hurley will be asked about it this week but look at Gonzaga one of the best offensive teams in the country in the second half, that was a helluva plan to hold them to that low number.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HuskyBoi]

When people say Hurley can't coach, adjust, etc.

He has clearly worked with Andre since around January where he was in a total rut.

Now when they sag off him, he is able to take his sweet time and shoot an actual, feet set and good enough three.

Teams that double Sanogo to somewhat sag off Jackson pay for it as he's cutting and laying/dunking it in for easy deuces, and in credit to Sanogo he's learned to pass the rock out of those double teams.

In Hurley we trust

 

[jibsey]

Yes that’s great, but on the defensive end?

 

[Rico444]

They just seem more connected on both ends. Better communication on defense, and the way they pass the ball is just incredible.

 

[Kenny11]

No big east refs helps too

 

[HuskyNan]

Yes that’s great, but on the defensive end?

Getting a great offensive team onto a hole speeds them up, throws off timing, and takes them out of their offensive game plan because they’re trying to catch up with their next shot.

The fact that Gonzaga’s best player couldn’t do much against the Sanogo/Clingan combination also forced other players to make shots and they just couldn’t

 

[Dibbie]

I’d say DC, Sonogo and Hawkins are pretty much the same. Joey and Alleyne have been significant contributors after their mid season funk. AJ has really increased his level of play. Karaban is much more of an all-around player

I don’t not think you can underestimate the importance of getting 15-20 each night from the bench. Had that during the 14-0 stretch, lost it, now it’s back.

 

[Skiblets]

Playing teams who haven’t played us before

 

[REB1094]

I think it has to start with the coach, as Hurley is still the psycho we know and love but now he knows when to reign it in and keep composure. That trickles down to players

We’ve figured out the Andre problem on offense (also coaching) and that translates to his defense. Andre is a highly emotionally driven player. If he’s having fun and is confident, that allows him to play at his peak. And his energy and effort is contagious. He is the key

Also not being whistled for a foul every time you breathe in the direction of a player helps. UConn plays best when they’re playing freely and running often. That didn’t happen as much in the BE. For whatever reason.

 

[Chin Diesel]

A few areas.

Karaban getting better defending stretch fours and Newton getting better defending guards driving to the hoop.

Alleyne has been great off the bench spelling any of Newton, Jackson, Hawkins or Karaban. Alleyne can guard 1-3 and Jackson can guard 1-4.

The staff had to learn defensive capabilities to get the right rotations and currently this team's D is elite+.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

They just seem more connected on both ends. Better communication on defense, and the way they pass the ball is just incredible.

In conference, familiarity breeds contempt. These out of conference teams we're playing now don't know the tendencies like the Big East coaches do. They know our sets inside and out and they're familiar with our guys, their individual tendencies, athleticism, strengths, and weaknesses. There's only so much you can do on short notice against a team you're unfamiliar with. Tends to allow better players to shine more and for the best coaches to make more of a difference

 

[That Guy]

We have gotten WAY better defensively. If you look at our Bart Torvik rankings from Feb 1st to now, we have been the #2 offense and #6 defense. When you look at the entire month of January we were still really good offensively at #12, but our defensive efficiency was an abysmal #88 in the country during that span.

 

[jibsey]

We have gotten WAY better defensively. If you look at our Bart Torvik rankings from Feb 1st to now, we have been the #2 offense and #6 defense. When you look at the entire month of January we were still really good offensively at #12, but our defensive efficiency was an abysmal #88 in the country during that span.

Thanks for those stats. And since Feb 11th when we barely lost at Creighton defense really progressed for us.

 

[hardcorehusky]

College kids play better D when they see the ball going into the basket. We are playing better offensively and that has helped the D. Plus they have reverted back to spurtability due to less stops and starts, looking at you Zebras!

 

[my2cents]

Everybody understands their roles and are playing them like a fine orchestra.
Our defense is good, and then we bring in Clingan, and the lane gets shut down.
Scoring from the bench.
AJ running around like a maniac to keep balls alive.
Sanogo , Hawkins keep doing their thing.
Karaban getting better every game.

 

[ElGreco]

Playing teams who haven’t played us before

Opposing coaches can watch video and get input from others “but” when faced with actually playing us it’s totally difficult.

 

[ElGreco]

In conference, familiarity breeds contempt. These out of conference teams we're playing now don't know the tendencies like the Big East coaches do. They know our sets inside and out and they're familiar with our guys, their individual tendencies, athleticism, strengths, and weaknesses. There's only so much you can do on short notice against a team you're unfamiliar with. Tends to allow better players to shine more and for the best coaches to make more of a difference

Absolutely spot on!!

 

[tzznandrew]

We have gotten WAY better defensively. If you look at our Bart Torvik rankings from Feb 1st to now, we have been the #2 offense and #6 defense. When you look at the entire month of January we were still really good offensively at #12, but our defensive efficiency was an abysmal #88 in the country during that span.

 

[XLCenterFan]

The BE is a grind. An 8 loss team in the BE is waaaay better than a 5 loss team from the West Coast Conference. We just completely annihilated Gonzaga and their little cousin St Mary’s. Those teams play bums all year.

 

[XLCenterFan]

And we got back to having fun. We got away from that when the 14-0 pressure began to mount.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

We need a Bill Murray / Nerd combo meme - STAT

 

[HuskyBaggins]

And we got back to having fun. We got away from that when the 14-0 pressure began to mount.

Hard not to when you hit the road in the Northeast in the middle of winter

 

[pj]

Some quality coaches and teams figured out ways to disrupt what UConn was doing. UConn had to learn and adapt to that. Fortunately Hurley had built a versatile roster that can adapt to almost any opponent and almost any strategy, and the coaches were smart enough to find the path, and the players to follow it.

In parallel, the Big East refs favored the other teams. That could have gone either way, but in the end it seems to have toughened the team up mentally and gotten them better prepared for unfair officiating, for physical opponents, for adversity generally, and for the tourney.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hurley’s comment in that tweet is exactly what I’ve been saying. We may not win that game if the Bug East coaches didn’t expose our flaws in January. We are much better for the learning experience we got in January. How did we lose games?

• Double Sanogo and trap him facing the sideline. Cover the guards on that side, if any, so he has no outlet to pass. The fix? Get Sanogo the ball farther from the basket and closer to the lane. Allows him to see and pass both to shooters up top and to cutters. We saw those results last night.
• Jackson on the perimeter not being guarded. Allowed those traps on Sanogo. Limited our ability to drive as the paint was clogged. The fix? Move Jackson baseline for shorter corner 3s and cuts pr lobs at the rim. Especially when they double Sanogo he cuts to the rim.
• Ball screen D was confused. Guys didn’t know what to do, caught between high here and drop. Sanogo-Clingan differences. Teams had a parade to the rim during that losing stretch. The fix? Practice but also, teach Diarra, Alleyne and Joey to play mostly in drop and fight over screens. Have Hawk and Newton mostly playing high hedge, where they stay with the screener and Sanogo comes out. Jackson and Alex had to get better at covering the paint until Sanogo recovers.

 

[Mister P]

We started clicking again in late January when the offensive game plan was adjusted from keeping Sanogo on the blocks trying to feed him the ball to getting him setting picks up higher and having him moving more without the ball. At the same time Jackson was not as ball dominant and he was put in a better position to be more of an offensive threat than an offensive liability by running the baseline or flashing to the middle. It seemed there was a lot more off ball movement by players in the offense sets which opened up more scoring opportunities.

Give credit to the coaches for making the offensive adjustments. Sanogo still got his points but by making the changes it put more pressure on the opposing defense to guard multiple options which opened up driving lanes and made kick backs to the perimeter for open three’s. Jackson is a perfect example of getting to at least the offensive foul line in transition and quickly turning around and passing to a spot on the floor where he knew a teammate would be for an open three.
The players are that much more in sync with each other right now and it’s fun watching plays as they develop.

 

[Umami Zen]

Answer to OP?? Self-belief of players and staff.. Man in the mirror

 

[Rocktheworld]

Unfamiliarity and referees

This is exactly how things went before conference play

 

[uchusky32]

Biggest change equipping AJ to handle not being guarded. He has big lanes to drive and offensive rebound.

Second Sanogo's passing when double and triple teamed.

Increasing the unselfish mature this team has. They are playing freely. The ball is moving beautifully.

 

[UConNick]

No big east refs helps too

Actually, fun fact - one of our refs last night was John Gaffney, who I’ve mentioned here before and typically does a ton of Big East games. Even more fun, we’re now I believe 30-4 in games he refs for us over the last decade. He’s a good one!