Who had 19-12 for the 2020 regular season?

[Palatine]

All things considered not a bad number of wins especially considering the usual thud at the begining of conference play. We'll always have St. Joe's but it looks like those days are behind us. We let a lot on the table. 1-4 in overtime games, not good. The opener against USF was another signature disaster. Indiana was there for the taking. We could have been 22-9, or better, definitely attainable.

But truth be told after the Polley injury I thought we were headed for a losing season. Instead the team got better. Than we lost Akok and the team got better. Then there was the Sid situation and the team got better.

I think a lot of us would have signed on for 19 wins. Next year we need to replace the WTF lossess with WTF wins. So this has to be considered a success for Coach Hurley with more in front of the Huskies. And opportunities are still presenting themselves.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

I thought with this schedule pre injury and preseason I thought 22 wins was possible.

 

[McLovin]

I thought with this schedule pre injury and preseason I thought 22 wins was possible.

Still is!

 

[HooperScooper]

Look up that preseason thread with the predictions. I think I was at 20 wins. As most agree, when you look back at the season game by game they easily could have won 23-24 games.

 

[HooperScooper]

Here's the preseason prediction thread. I had 19 or 20 wins. Do I win anything?!

And sorry AllAbout5, you don't get the UConn t-shirt since they didn't win at least 23 games.

2019/20 Prediction Thread (Regular Season)

With the new schedule, which games will we win, and which will we lose? Here’s mine: vs. Sacred Heart - W vs. St. Joseph's - W vs. Florida - W (Remember last time we played them at Gampel? Expect a close one but we win) vs. Buffalo - W vs. Xavier/Towson - W (Xavier would be a tough game but...

www.the-boneyard.com

 

[Austin316]

Jan 5 I said 18-13 after we lost to USF. I typically don’t like predicting records in case I jynx it. Didn’t think we would win at home vs Houston... glad I was wrong

 

[businesslawyer]

Very strange year in that the more we lost players the better we became. In hindsight, the roster was such as we entered pre-season camp that much better than 19 wins was possible. It took Hurley and the team a lot of time to find a rotation and style that made them their best. (Which, by the way, was something we never saw from Calhoun who may have been the best ever in figuring out almost immediately what rotation and style were going to produce wins).

That having been said, the record is certainly an improvement from where we've been, and is somewhat remarkable given what we've had to overcome (not just the two season ending injuries but Bouk and Gaffney being slow to find their roles due to behavior and nagging injuries, Carlton and Gilbert melting down as the season projected and Sid being unable to figure things out).

I'd say I like what we've accomplished in terms of what it tells me going forward, except that would mean I'm not focused on Tulane and the rest of this season. Which I am.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Very strange year in that the more we lost players the better we became. In hindsight, the roster was such as we entered pre-season camp that much better than 19 wins was possible. It took Hurley and the team a lot of time to find a rotation and style that made them their best. (Which, by the way, was something we never saw from Calhoun who may have been the best ever in figuring out almost immediately what rotation and style were going to produce wins).

That having been said, the record is certainly an improvement from where we've been, and is somewhat remarkable given what we've had to overcome (not just the two season ending injuries but Bouk and Gaffney being slow to find their roles due to behavior and nagging injuries, Carlton and Gilbert melting down as the season projected and Sid being unable to figure things out).

I'd say I like what we've accomplished in terms of what it tells me going forward, except that would mean I'm not focused on Tulane and the rest of this season. Which I am.

The most remarkable thing about Hurley this year was how he was able to bench a senior leader and former go-to guy and not only see the team not unravel, but actually get stronger.

It was the right move for the future and the present.

I'm actually more impressed with that -- both the guts to make the move, and how he held the team together -- than adapting to not having Polley and Akok.

 

[gtcam]

I had 18-13 with hopes for a 20-11 regular season
I really think this team should have been at 22-9 at a minimum
Better than past years but in the large picture they didn't over achieve however they are fun to watch so that make me happy
on to the tournament(S)

 

[Chin Diesel]

Very strange year in that the more we lost players the better we became. In hindsight, the roster was such as we entered pre-season camp that much better than 19 wins was possible. It took Hurley and the team a lot of time to find a rotation and style that made them their best. (Which, by the way, was something we never saw from Calhoun who may have been the best ever in figuring out almost immediately what rotation and style were going to produce wins).

That having been said, the record is certainly an improvement from where we've been, and is somewhat remarkable given what we've had to overcome (not just the two season ending injuries but Bouk and Gaffney being slow to find their roles due to behavior and nagging injuries, Carlton and Gilbert melting down as the season projected and Sid being unable to figure things out).

I'd say I like what we've accomplished in terms of what it tells me going forward, except that would mean I'm not focused on Tulane and the rest of this season. Which I am.

Yep, Dan was still tinkering around with lineups and personnel and injuries forced his hand. I would even suggest outside of Bouk or Vital any combination of 2 other players getting hurt may have had the same results as the Polley and Akok injuries. Hurley's hand was forced to find a rotation and stick to it. It worked and probably worked more quickly than if DH kept a full roster for the season.

 

[UConnRock]

UConn was 4-7 in games decided by 4 points or less. Throw in the fluke of a game against a horrible St. Joes team and that is 4-8. Even splitting those games (6-6) UConn is 21-10. Catch a few breaks and they are easily 23-8.

Kenpom has this interesting variable in his rankings called "luck" which accounts for winning percentage in close games based on other efficiencies. UConn is rated 326 out of 353 in the "luck" factors. That may be the reason kenpom rates UConn a bit higher than most as he accounts for bad luck. In my view, the low "luck" factor was essentially this team learning to win. AG and CV had to play more team offense down the stretch in close games and the freshmen needed to have the confidence to take the big shots. Once that happened they team prospered.

 

[QDOG5]

Sid wasn't very good last year. Commenting on that doesn't make me a hater. There is a tried and true saying that the best thing about freshman is that they become sophomores. I thought I saw incremental improvement out of most of the team last night. They look like a 20 win team. To get to the next level this year the rebounding has to improve dramatically.

 

[Edward Sargent]

I was a smartalec ad said 25 wins based on 31 games so I am still in the running!

 

[BrassBonanza]

I wonder how many of those close losses could have ended up as wins if Bouk and Gaff were "available" and healthy in the preseason/early season schedule. I think we clicked later b/c we were missing the preseason development of two key players.

 

[coachn]

Bouk and Gaff contributions has made our team play a different kind of more open offensive game.
Whaley is also looking to get running after a defensive rebound with great outlets-this has caught on for Carlson.
Gafney will make long skip passes in the offensive set-this opens up everybody . With Bouk on the floor another option makes a difference. Our present offense is all about personel. Vital is superstar without the wins to show for it..
We didn't do this in the early season.

 

[Travelman6]

I predicted 20-14 as the end of the season record (including 1-1 in the AACT), I believe, which they could get...BUT I HOPE NOT (hoping for, at least, a little better.

 

[metsfan2323]

The big rotational error by Hurley early in the season was being a little late to recognize the talents of Whaley. If Whaley was getting his current minutes earlier in the season we might have 2 or 3 more wins. It reminds me of Edsall missing on Easley early in the 09 football season. Not mad at Hurley, those things happen sometimes, Whaley snuck up on most of us.

 

[AllAbout5]

Here's the preseason prediction thread. I had 19 or 20 wins. Do I win anything?!

And sorry AllAbout5, you don't get the UConn t-shirt since they didn't win at least 23 games.

2019/20 Prediction Thread (Regular Season)

With the new schedule, which games will we win, and which will we lose? Here’s mine: vs. Sacred Heart - W vs. St. Joseph's - W vs. Florida - W (Remember last time we played them at Gampel? Expect a close one but we win) vs. Buffalo - W vs. Xavier/Towson - W (Xavier would be a tough game but...

www.the-boneyard.com

NO

 

[Cuse Socks]

Here's the preseason prediction thread. I had 19 or 20 wins. Do I win anything?!

And sorry AllAbout5, you don't get the UConn t-shirt since they didn't win at least 23 games.

2019/20 Prediction Thread (Regular Season)

With the new schedule, which games will we win, and which will we lose? Here’s mine: vs. Sacred Heart - W vs. St. Joseph's - W vs. Florida - W (Remember last time we played them at Gampel? Expect a close one but we win) vs. Buffalo - W vs. Xavier/Towson - W (Xavier would be a tough game but...

www.the-boneyard.com

"My guess is 18 or 19 in the regular season. Probably on the wrong side of the bubble, but will be in a good spot to make a run at the AAC tournament. Could maybe play our way into one of the last teams in"- @KSC94

Incredible prediction. So what're this week's lottery numbers?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I had 22 regular season. Couldn‘t predict that horrible St. Joes game, and if just two of those five OT losses go the other way I’d be on target. Feel ok with it.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I had 23-12 after the AAC Tourney. And 8 seed in the NCAA.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Kelvin Sampson, who is at the very least a good basketball coach, said that Whaley gave UConn so much more than Akok in terms of winning basketball plays that are not stats. I am not sure he was ready to do that in December just as Bouknight was not ready to do what he did back then either. Sometimes it is just the process and time.

 

[businesslawyer]

Kelvin Sampson, who is at the very least a good basketball coach, said that Whaley gave UConn so much more than Akok in terms of winning basketball plays that are not stats. I am not sure he was ready to do that in December just as Bouknight was not ready to do what he did back then either. Sometimes it is just the process and time.

This. Whalley wasn't a back up QB trying to convince a coach what he could do if he was given a chance in a game. He was an in-the-rotation basketball player. Every game he came out and gave his 8 minutes he had every chance to show the coach he was ready to help the team with more playing time. Overwhelmingly, he failed to do so until very close to the Akok injury when we needed him. And then he was there.

A truly remarkable example of "the lights going on" all at once. We can still hope that Sid can have the same type of moment, even if it's to a lesser degree.

 

[GoUC99]

I think the biggest plus this year is that we saw the team get better and better as the season went on. That’s what’s been missing for a few years. In the JC years the teams always progressed and seemed to peak at the right time. It’s nice to see happening again

 

[Shine33]

I predicted 19 wins at end of regular season. I didn't do that math so wasn't sure how many losses that would mean. And I said we would be on the bubble. Then I get grilled for saying that because many responded saying that if we only have 19 wins we will certainly not be on the bubble...well...here we are.

And I totally consider this a successful season. We literally have a better record than last year which shows objective improvement but their are so many improvements you can see that are not on paper as well (culture, effort, team ball, etc). The Hurley haters are hiding now