Xavier Post Game Thread

[ThetaZoo]

There have been times I've imagined him as Havlicek (even if not really). Tonight he had his second garbage putback in the last week or so that brought to mind Bailey Howell.

Boy, you go back probably as far as I do.

 

[ThetaZoo]

The way these teams are shooting 3s against us is unsustainable. They can't miss even when we're playing good defense, like tonight. We are now #11 in the country in 2pt defense only allowing teams to shoot 43%, while we're #359 in 3pt defense where our opponents are making a ridiculous 39%. Maybe we aren't that great at guarding the 3, but we are definitely not THIS bad.

Playing a very good 3pt shooting team in Butler on the road next and I'm terrified that this ridiculous luck will continue where teams just can't miss from deep against us.

Jimmy Chitwood is not playing for Butler.

 

[willie99]

Great win. We're going to get everyone’s best effort, and this game was an example of that. X played great, couldn't miss, Miller was getting uncontested layups out of timeouts, it might be the best game they'll play all season. If they can bottle this up, they're dancing

And we responded. Gutsy effort, we're good

 

[willie99]

Hurley won another close game! They kept fighting even though it was awful down the stretch... not to be that guy but whats the excuse for the crowd this time? Back to back champs, Big East Home opener, close game.... all i heard was lets go huskies at some points. Are the students too used to winning, or do they just not get "it", is it the the TV broadcast and it was wild in there, or is that a product of the XL center?

The students bring the juice.. in my opinion they didn't bring it today the way i'm sure a lot of people were expecting. Karaban, Hurley, the Social Media team, McNeeley, Diarra, pretty much everyone has said countlessly they need the fans. Hurley was outspoken when they went to Kansas last year and truly saw what court advantage looks like. Ready to be flamed but all you have to do is go back and watch replays of older teams to know what I'm talking about.

The crowd was sensational, again

The crowd is sensational at every game in MSG, and in Boston last year. Those are not student crowds, those are UConn fan crowds

I'm not mocking our students, they're great. But suggesting the rest of us don't bring it is simply wrong

 

[jaundicedeye]

His timeouts were pretty much perfectly timed.

I listened to his post game and it's obvious they're still reeling from the freemantle loss. Was also pretty funny that he's claiming Zach freemantle is "4% body fat"

As if anyone could play basketball for more than 5 minutes at 4% body fat lol.

100% one most certainly can. Fat is not the primary energy source in this sport. The body, even at 4%, has plenty of fat reserves.

 

[Stinger92860]

What an insane game. I’m starting to think we’re snake bitten from 3 on D. There were lapses, but a lot of them were tough shots. Just not sure how it happens every game.

Their center was setting solid screens on top with no intention of rolling, so he was really sticking to the defender trying come over. It gave many of the shooters that little extra time to plant and shoot And they got hot. I don‘t recall one illegal screen, so that was a great job by them.

 

[Stinger92860]

Our perimeter switches tonight were awful. The X plan was if Reed is on you shoot

Definitely in OT and to a degree in the last 2 minutes it looked IIke Reed was quicker and more agressive on the high hedges than he was earlier. Maybe that was to conserve fouls, but its possible the staff had him change his approach and that extra step out made a difference.

 

[Stinger92860]

I also don't get how they missed McNeeley getting tripped at the end of regulation.

They did not miss it, they chose to ignore it. It’s not like it was off to the side and incidental. That has to be called whether there are 9 seconds or 9 minutes left. You run a play for arguably your best offensive threat and they trip him. That shut the play set down.

 

[REB1094]

That second half was electric. We won another close game!

The good

• Diarra was a calming and consistent presence for us. Another double double
• Solo’s 6-17 isn’t great but he has no fear in the clutch. Huge threes in the second half and a career high 22 points
• McNeeley and Karaban went off in the second half because Liam played aggressively and AK trusted the flow of the offense
• Tarris Reed will be a BE POY contender next year.
• CASH APP!!!!!

The bad -

• Who is Maddox Jr? Will he ever play like that again? INCREDIBLE 1-on-1 shotmaking to lead a 13-24 night from 3 for X
• Sorry but I have to. Disgraceful officiating last night. They let everything go (which is fine because it was for both teams), but then would call a random touch foul, and then immediately follow it with a bad make up call. The final 20 seconds of the second half was terrible. They call a foul on nothing to put us ahead, then call a foul on nothing to let X tie it, then swallow their whistle on the only actual foul in the sequence when Liam got tripped. The horrible officiating was consistent on both teams so at the end of the day it’s whatever, but it was still horrible

But….at the end of the day, we won a conference opener! Let’s go Huskies!

 

[JMick]

100% one most certainly can. Fat is not the primary energy source in this sport. The body, even at 4%, has plenty of fat reserves.

You wouldn't be able to feed yourself enough fuel for your body to play competitive sports and maintain 4% body fat. It's not possible.

Most body building champions are 3-5% body fat for several hours before and during their competition, and then within days are back to 8%. Those are the guys where you litterally see the ripples in their muscles and their butts are squares. Anything below 5% is active starvation

 

[jibsey]

Can someone address Reed getting a foul for a screen when he was standing as still as a statue and a player smashed into him? Didn’t see movement there.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

A defender has rights to his space on the floor. That was closer to ankle level, and Liam tripped across his lower leg as the defender was sliding.

I’d go back and rewatch that one. I don’t disagree with your overall hypothetical premise, but he slid in to McNeeley when Liam had already turned the corner. It was not a legal guarding position and was 100% a foul by the rules and one that is probably called in any other situation. Refs swallowed their whistle because of the situation and I’m sure their realization that the last 30 seconds had been a total embarrassment for them. All worked out at least.

 

[mauconnfan]

Can someone address Reed getting a foul for a screen when he was standing as still as a statue and a player smashed into him? Didn’t see movement there.

That was awful to see as went back to look and asked myself “what can any ref see there to make any call?”….horrible. Not movement at all completely set. It’s like the guy hadn’t blown the whistle for a while and thought it was time, I don’t get it?

 

[That Guy]

Jimmy Chitwood is not playing for Butler.

Their top 4 scorers are shooting 43%, 38%, 47%, and 44% from 3 this season...

 

[alphasigko]

Ross: in 19 mins he was 0,2,0 with 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 PFs and had a +/- of -13.

Can someone tell me why he deserves 19 minutes?

 

[microfich]

* reffing. As much as close games have taken years off my life I think most of that has been due to ire at ref decisions rather than lead changes with players making plays against us. That's my problem but I don't think I'm alone.
Fans rightfully expect 100% precision which isn't fair when you're talking about humans, which most refs are
That was a good crew who choked up an inconsistent mess during crazy crunch time.

The tiresome under 2 minute reviews have gotten to the point where when Driscoll made that OOB off UConn call near the end he immediately also threw up the swirly-hand review signal - on his own call, which was overturned. Laugh riot.
They are also predictable in their pet calls.
Driscoll will make 2-3 phantom calls a night with poor perspective from at least 30 away.
Potter believes in post body fouls before they occur.
John (sorry, can't recall last name) is routinely focused on reaches as players cross the floor. He also looks for players jawing at each other before the ball is in play and follows them with his prepared short whistle on often-minimal contact.

My whole deal about refereeing is to limit calls to those that are consequential - these kids can take hits.
As our AAC years should remind us, we're fortunate to have such good crews in the Big East. What an infuriating thing to admit.

 

[Sibeerian]

Raff really loves Solo, been a fan since last year.

 

[UCann]

Ross: in 19 mins he was 0,2,0 with 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 PFs and had a +/- of -13.

Can someone tell me why he deserves 19 minutes?

His defense

 

[RuffRuff]

Ross: in 19 mins he was 0,2,0 with 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 PFs and had a +/- of -13.

Can someone tell me why he deserves 19 minutes?

Defense. He has no offensive game to speak of. Perhaps rushed but even missed a breakaway layup yesterday. Don’t find him to be much of a natural basketball player out there, everything looks a bit awkward. Thought the same last year in his minimal minutes then the Sept hype train came. Good athlete.

 

[80shusky]

Great win to gut that one out when getting pushed hard. The defense is still...concerning. It was great for a stretch of the first half but then not so much. The guys played great though. Reed is a beast and they should continue to feed the post. Alex came back with a nice night. Ball was electric offensively and better defensively. Diarra with the double double and 11 assists! On to Butler.

 

[ucp990411]

Can someone address Reed getting a foul for a screen when he was standing as still as a statue and a player smashed into him? Didn’t see movement there.

He was leaning forward. That is a no no.

 

[UConnRock]

That was awful to see as went back to look and asked myself “what can any ref see there to make any call?”….horrible. Not movement at all completely set. It’s like the guy hadn’t blown the whistle for a while and thought it was time, I don’t get it?

These refs were influenced greatly by the embellishments of the players when contact was made. They reacted to the head movement and the flailing arms more than the actual contact. That was the case on a couple of Ross fouls and certainly the case on the Reed "moving" pick.

 

[F101Voodoo]

The foul call on Ross with 9 seconds left in regulation was BS. The Xavier player (Maddox?) threw his head back when he brushed his teammate who set the screen and got the call, Ross didn't touch the him. It smelled of a make-up call but the call on McNeeley was legit.

I was a bit relieved however as I was worried X would launch a contested three and hit it.

I also don't get how they missed McNeeley getting tripped at the end of regulation.

Reason was Anal-Immersional-Myopic-Syndrone

 

[willie99]

Ross: in 19 mins he was 0,2,0 with 1 steal, 2 blocks, 4 PFs and had a +/- of -13.

Can someone tell me why he deserves 19 minutes?

Because Dan Hurley and the staff think so

The real question is, why do so many people think they know more than Dan Hurley and his staff? About multiple players and situations and opponents?

If this board collectively had their way, I'm not sure we'd have 5 guys who would play. Most would be eliminated by someone

Be thankful for every kid that chooses UConn, and enjoy the ride

 

[Waquoit]

you have it right. Donyell had 42 against St. John’s twice that season. His 20-20 at the line was during the regular season. He was 10-10 line in the BE quarters.

Thanks, Gurleyman!