Silly Donovan
Well-known member
Hoping like hell we can put one right up smug Hurley’s sorry A$$ and cause him to have a mental breakdown. Damn I can’t stand that guy.
@#19 Connecticut, Fri., Feb. 7, 8p, FOX
- Thread starter Knight
- Start date
What I don't like about this matchup is Johnson/Reed, while not great, will be better at holding down the boards than Marquette was (I mean you can't do much worse than MQ in that regard, but still). That is dangerous because if our Offensive rebounding isn't there, it requires us to *gulp* hit shots to score
What I DO like about this matchup, UConn is not nearly as scary as MQ at driving the ball and defending the drive. Marquette got a lot of open looks by driving, attracting our help defense, and kicking to an open man. I could be wrong, but I think UConn will have a lot more trouble doing that, because some of their guys simply aren't that difficult to stay in front of and may not require much help defense. Solo Ball is a great shooter and quickly getting better, but he is kind of a stiff. Diarra scares no one. McNeely we will see, haven't gotten to see much of him this year.
Key to pulling this off is can we get some made shots from the more inconsistent shooters (looking at Sim and Scott here). If we get that, and our stars keep being stars, we will be there with 5 minutes left with a chance to grind this out
What I DO like about this matchup, UConn is not nearly as scary as MQ at driving the ball and defending the drive. Marquette got a lot of open looks by driving, attracting our help defense, and kicking to an open man. I could be wrong, but I think UConn will have a lot more trouble doing that, because some of their guys simply aren't that difficult to stay in front of and may not require much help defense. Solo Ball is a great shooter and quickly getting better, but he is kind of a stiff. Diarra scares no one. McNeely we will see, haven't gotten to see much of him this year.
Key to pulling this off is can we get some made shots from the more inconsistent shooters (looking at Sim and Scott here). If we get that, and our stars keep being stars, we will be there with 5 minutes left with a chance to grind this out
Since it's one game elimination tournament and not a five or seven game series, I'll do you one better: we can beat anyone any given night.
This is not going to be easy but I think that we eke out a win by 2.
Silly Donovan
Well-known member
Johnson is good but he’s no Kalkbrenner. Zuby has the physical edge. Key to this game will be defending their three point shooting but aside from Zuby, Luis and Kadary, two of Scott, Wilcher or Smith will have to have a decent offensive game as I see no offensive contribution coming from anyone else. And please, please, please make those f-ing foul shots. 
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Don't be worried about Johnson. He can block some shots, but Zuby has 15-20lbs on him. Johnson hasn't had more than five rebounds the entire season and only averages 3. He's mobile but doesn't have a nose for the ball at all.
Reed vs. Zuby will be a fun battle. His issue is that he gets in foul trouble very quickly. He's averaging 2.7 in less than 20 minutes per game. He's also a liability on defense.
I think this is our advantage again on Friday. McNeeley is the dude that gets them open three's and can create shots. I do think Ball is pretty dynamic, and emerging as someone who's more than just a shooter.
i love this group of guys and think they have the ability to beat anybody. what worries me about this game is: 1) that it is in connecticut and 2) the a-hole coach on the other side. we tend to play a physical, in your face style of defense, which breaks the other team down. the worry i have is that the home cooking pukonn generally gets at home coupled with d-bag whining will potentially limit our style of play.
i can this playing out as either a plethora of whistles and foul issues on our side or POS hurley's head exploding from screaming at the refs for not blowing the whistle. i root for the latter but desperately fear the former.
i can this playing out as either a plethora of whistles and foul issues on our side or POS hurley's head exploding from screaming at the refs for not blowing the whistle. i root for the latter but desperately fear the former.
Mullins Revenge
Well-known member
You cannot compare Marquette and Uconn. Uconn is the much better team.
We are going to have to play alot better than we did tonight to beat Uconn.
Lets hope we rest up and bring our A game on Friday night.
We are going to have to play alot better than we did tonight to beat Uconn.
Lets hope we rest up and bring our A game on Friday night.
They are definitely different teams, but I wouldn't say UConn is so much better that they can't be compared. They are 100% a weaker defensive team than Marquette is, which means if we can get to the cup and finish well, we definitely can win this game. Have to shut their water off from 3, though. That is how they beat Marquette, shot 12-19 from three. Most of that was Ball though (7)
Connecticut is a top 10 offense but #119 on defense, according to KenPom. That #119 defense meets the eye test when you have DePaul cooking them like bbq chicken. I don't care what defensive system you have, that's not part of it.
Luis and Kadary can be a nightmare for them.
Luis and Kadary can be a nightmare for them.
St. John’s going to have to muck it up to win. That’s our identity. Defensive intensity must be there from the get go. I can sit here and say we need to shoot better, we need to hit FTs but let’s be honest we need to play D and hit the glass for rebounds. That’s how we win. Just going to embrace it.
The free throw shooting is the only thing that really bothers me. In order to win big games and go far in March with that identity, you need to hit free throws. You can't miss free throws and miss three pointers.
Mullins Revenge
Well-known member
Sometimes, a light just goes on for a team and you can throw the previous stats out the window. I think the calhampionship light went on for Uconn in their last game. They dominate Marquette on the road.
This will be an absolute battle.
My eye test analysis would provide a straight line between the days Zuby and RJ are having at the line and the team percentage. I say that realizing Kadary has struggled more than them, but he has not been very "up and down" overall. Need to dig into the boxscores.
But I think shoring this up to be better consistently is more important than solving what may be an unsolvable three-point shooting situation. If they had lost yesterday, they would have left the game at the line.
But they didn't!
Mullins Revenge
Well-known member
I think he knows Hurley is an excellent coach. But he does not like how he behaves on the court.
Completely agree and that’s why I fear a limited ceiling. Tournaments (NCAA and Big East) are one and done. I would feel a whole lot better if we were money from the FT line. Fact is we are just not. We are a volume team. Rebounds and second chance is our bread and butter. At this point, we are what we are.
I don't think it did because they almost gave up the game. The light went off for Solo Ball -- agreed. But who else? You actually feeling good about Karaban now? You really want to argue Reed/Johnson and Zuby are close? You going to say Mahaney is all of a sudden a great addition? Stewart/Ross are two of the most forgettable guys on the court.
Reed has to prove he can perform offensively, defend and stay out of foul trouble, against big front courts who can match his size. Look at his numbers against competitive front courts in Big East play:
@ Xavier: 3 pts, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 4 fouls in 11 minutes
vs. Creighton: 0 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 3 fouls in 16 minutes
@ Gtown: 2 pts, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 3 fouls in 12 minutes
I'm not including the first Xavier game because Freemantle was out.
Ball carried his team to the finish line against Marquette. I will give credit in that, although 7-9 from 3pt is preposterous, he's shooting 45% from 3pt and I don't think that percentage is flukey at all. He is a championship dude. He may not even be playing his best. Diarra, I also give a benefit of the doubt because he's been injured. I'm not sure he's the third best point guard in Friday's game though.
I say all of this and think we will lose on Friday, lol. But we have very very very clear advantages against them.
SeattleJohnny
Well-known member
Devion breakout game following the shoulder injury, he explodes for 24 points on 5-7 3PT, 8 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals.