Who is better than us?

[superjohn]

This same NH team lost to Umass in game one by 30. They’re not good. Umass was up by 18 at the half vs our 11. There is really nothing to prove in either direction against these types of teams this early when understanding how they’ll look against other top teams.

So no takeaways from last season either when we played the cupcakes.

 

[c29328]

This feels early lol. I think we should have some answers by the end of December.

 

[RuffRuff]

So no takeaways from last season either when we played the cupcakes.

Not really. You’re looking at the parts more than the team against these squads, seeing if you have the ingredients to make the sauce. Last year early Clingan was out of shape and Steph was hurt. Against other top teams the ingredients tend to net out, it’s then about playing mismatches, execution, chemistry and IQ.

I wouldn’t say our ingredients this year pose any massive advantage over the top ten. It’s going to be the other stuff that gets us there. Last year we had both a physical/talent advantage and also an advantage on the other stuff. That’s what leads to smashing through a tournament.

 

[upstater]

Weird that no one mentioned Alabama here, a team that actually ran with UConn for 20 minutes deep in the NCAA tournament.

They bring back a lot of their players.

One could make a good argument that Alabama should've been the preseason favorite.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

I think it's a small list, but let's see this UConn team play someone ranked above 300 first

Couldn’t have said it any better myself. I’m encouraged, but keeping my expectations in check for now. In Hurley we trust…

 

[superjohn]

Not really. You’re looking at the parts more than the team against these squads, seeing if you have the ingredients to make the sauce. Last year early Clingan was out of shape and Steph was hurt. Against other top teams the ingredients tend to net out, it’s then about playing mismatches, execution, chemistry and IQ.

I wouldn’t say our ingredients this year pose any massive advantage over the top ten. It’s going to be the other stuff that gets us there. Last year we had both a physical/talent advantage and also an advantage on the other stuff. That’s what leads to smashing through a tournament.

I like what I see and see some major advantages again.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Gonzaga has also impressed. i havent seen Zona play yet.

Gonzaga is the best offensive team in the country, especially as their younger players have matured, but I’m still not sold on their defense. I think their other bigs have gotten better collectively on defense, but they haven’t adequately replaced Anton Watson, their best defensive player last season.

 

[Beowulf]

Weird that no one mentioned Alabama here, a team that actually ran with UConn for 20 minutes deep in the NCAA tournament.

They bring back a lot of their players.

One could make a good argument that Alabama should've been the preseason favorite.

i was at the alabama mcneese state game. Alabama definitely looks the part. Very deep, lot of size and length and athleticism. Would hate to run into them on a hot shooting day. Sears looked like he was pretty content with letting the rest of the team try to figure some things out. They have about as loaded of a schedule as you could possibly have over the next month, so we'll see. Also for the amount of complaining we (and i) do about home schedules.....they don't play another home came for over a month still.

 

[Danbgf]

Duke played 8 guys against Kentucky and the bench scored 6 points. Kansas is this years Purdue. Their center will score 30 but you stop the rest and we win by 20. Gonzaga is nice, nothing more. Baylor is athletic but I don’t know one area they are better than us. Michigan state could have built a pretty home with all the bricks they threw out last night. I have not seen Houston, or Ak. So far, I haven’t seen anyone better than us.

Kansas, Kansas is better than us. Don't get me wrong, there is more parity this year and this year's Kansas is not last year's UConn, but they are the strongest team in the country at least on paper. We also are not what we were last year or the year before. Puncher's chance at a 3-peat!!!

 

[UConnSwag11]

We’ll know more about where we stand when we leave Maui

 

[RuffRuff]

Kansas, Kansas is better than us. Don't get me wrong, there is more parity this year and this year's Kansas is not last year's UConn, but they are the strongest team in the country at least on paper. We also are not what we were last year or the year before. Puncher's chance at a 3-peat!!!

Kansas is a bit of a paper tiger. Storr as we saw, is kind of useless when he’s not an on ball go to guy. In 12 minutes off the bench he had 5 fouls. Dickinson is a very flawed player that catches your attention as a big that has touch. He can’t defend at all and is stiff as a board. KJ and DeJuan are nice role players that are offensively challenged. I do like Mayo. Are they really that much better than last years team with Furphy and McCullar?

Give me Bama as team to beat, although they haven’t looked great yet.

 

[Hurleyman216]

I remember when Gonzaga was an offensive juggernaut in 2023 and we smoked them in the Elite 8…they typically run good offensive sets, but their league doesn’t prepare them enough for the physicality they see in the tournament.

 

[freescooter]

If we play the first half against any good team the way we played the first half against UNH, we'll know who can beat us.

We lost games last season and the season before. Any team can lose. What matters is how we're playing in March and April. Needless to say, I'll take our staff, its schemes and its ability to adapt over anybody else's.

Staff and schemes will only take you so far. You also need the players. Too early to say how we are there.

 

[AllHusky]

Developmental team starting from a very good point. Lots of talent, great character, work ethic and desire. Team in late February will bear no resemblance to todays team other than their names.

 

[uh-no]

bama gonzaga kansas

will all be very good. duke and kentucky can get there if they gel.

*as good as. there's no way to declare better at this poitn.

 

[back2BE4us]

No one mentioning UK but having Pope's system which looks similar to ours, with high level athletes and some weathered veterans (Kerr and Butler)...that's a team that can definitely cause issues. This is a complete 180 from Calipari coached teams and the carry over talent is there with new pieces.

 

[TheChamps990411]

We are going to need that defensive stopper to put against their best scorer, like we had in Steph and AJax when we get into the heart of the season.
I'm not sure who that's going to be.

It looks like Ross may become that guy. As good as those guys im not sure but hes going to have a chance to be.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Duke played 8 guys against Kentucky and the bench scored 6 points. Kansas is this years Purdue. Their center will score 30 but you stop the rest and we win by 20. Gonzaga is nice, nothing more. Baylor is athletic but I don’t know one area they are better than us. Michigan state could have built a pretty home with all the bricks they threw out last night. I have not seen Houston, or Ak. So far, I haven’t seen anyone better than us.

Bama is the team to beat outside of us. Gonzaga and Auburn have also been extremely impressive. Would love to see us play Auburn in Maui and of course we will be seeing Gonzaga soon. I cannot wait for that game.

 

[rip81]

Interesting list of coaches. Hurley is clearly different than those coaches
Oats and Pearl are nouns
Few could be a pronoun, adjective or noun
Self is a noun, adjective or verb
We could add Shaka Smart and Wayne Tinkle to that list.
Hurley is an enigma that can’t be defined, and that’s our advantage.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

We’ll know more about where we stand when we leave San Antonio

I'm thinking in terms of a larger goal.

 

[jibsey]

We will have an indication of what we are after Maui but that is no finished product. Hurley is building the team defense in a different way than with Clingan right now and that is why we beat teams by 25 points in our run last year. The passing, motion, and assists appear to be right on track again.

 

[RuffRuff]

We will have an indication of what we are after Maui but that is no finished product. Hurley is building the team defense in a different way than with Clingan right now and that is why we beat teams by 25 points in our run last year. The passing, motion, and assists appear to be right on track again.

The mentality is being built and you could see the team make a stride last game as it came to their team defense and activity. Lots of great switching. That felt like a step in the right direction.

Gonzaga is interesting because they have two very mobile bigs that can shoot and create space, in addition to Ike. Few has some unique parts this year that he can create mismatches with.

Maui is going to be fun. There is no reason we shouldn’t make the final, as Hurley should run circles around Hardaway amd MSU is so low on talent this year. Not making the final would be a massive upset. On the other side we’ll get UNC/Auburn out of the gates with the winner playing Iowa St (3 top 10 teams). I’d like to see how we do against either a super deep and physical Auburn team or a team like ISU that is going to force a flow half court. Both will be a challenge this early in the season. UNC would be the easiest matchup. Based on KP we’d actually be 3.5pt dogs to Auburn, likely even bigger spread if they beat UNC and ISU. Would be great to see how this team responds to some “disrespect” and if they have the Hurley makeup. One more cupcake and a couple more weeks of practice and this team should be ready. I know I am.

In comparing possible F4 coaches it brought up the visual of Few and Boeheim in Phoenix last year just staring at the Huskies warmup with a look of awe in their face. That was classic.

 

[UCan3]

I watched both games last night. Kansas was not impressive at all. Cooper Flagg is really , really good but not perfect. Two Turnovers in the last 30 seconds cost them the game.

While I agree, the hype this kid has to play under is unreal. The dude had a great game and not sure who expects a freshman to win a tight game like this - that is on Duke not Cooper. Last few seconds of the game, an experienced player should be running the show this early in the season IMO.

I have never defended him LOL but when I read this I was like “com’on“ this kid is as advertised.

But that being said, I wasn’t as upset because I thought he might be a distraction and we are a TEAM bigger than one player. I think McNeeley is playing out of the box like a star - I had no worries about us when Flagg chose Duke.

 

[RuffRuff]

Rick Pitino says UConn is ‘no lock’ to win the Big East or the NCAA Championship

Rick Pitino says UConn is 'no lock' to win the Big East or the NCAA Championship

www.nj.com