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I think we all owe ourselves a round of applause. There were multiple photos of the husky and then this post from Luke, and not a single one of us has used the word "rapey". Seriously, well done. I'm very, very proud of how grown up we've become.
A husky like that doesn't wait for peanut butter.
You guys shot FTs like a top third NBA team this year. Approaching 80% for a college team is ridiculously good.
Your theory on what the refs call dovetails with something I've believed for a while about how CU games get officiated, but haven't wanted to say because it probably sounds too homerish on officiating. But here goes. Tad coaches a very straight up man defense where the emphasis is on challenging everything without fouling. On offense, Josh Scott is a very fundamentally strong post player whose game draws a lot of fouls. Taken together, that is going to give CU an advantage on FTAs in most games.
My theory is that refs like to even things up, especially on the road. So, while another part of Tad's offensive philosophy is to attack the rim, this CU team is not getting foul calls on that as often as opponents. And, since Josh Scott draws some type of contact on every shot, they're only giving him the calls when he gets absolutely mugged to avoid blowing the whistle every trip. In short, I think CU has been hurt by officiating not calling things straight or even in an effort to not make the foul situation too lopsided... and that results in a lot of plays where CU players get hit on layups with no call while the same type of contact is called a foul on the other end. (And damn if that doesn't read as too homerish.)
I've always actually really liked the UConn mascot guy. I dunno why, I guess I just like his goofy look.
It was a good one. The new one? Not so much.
It's not even close. They may not be funny, but but our UConn guests are informed and appear to be sincerely friendly. All-in-all, probably the most respectful guests I remember visiting our board.
UConn fan here with my take.
First, unlike 1999, 2004, 2009,2011 & 2014 - I don't feel like UConn is a potential National Champion. In those years, I either felt like UConn was either the best team in every game or had the best player.
As good as Hamilton and Adams can be, I think they are a year away from being that good. It's just too much to ask for a Sophmore and Freshman. Next year, I'm thinking NC contender.
That being said, if we are fortunate enough to get past Colorado, I think we could give KS (or anyone in the field) a tight game.
When you look at this year's UConn team, it all starts with defense. This team plays close to elite D.
From y reading on here; I think you overestimate how much Brimah is responsible for that. During the stretch he was out, we had several games in a row where we held our opponents to under 40% shooting. KenPom had us at the #4 adjusted D in the country when Brimah came back. We've slipped a bit since then, but KenPom still has us at #13.
We play mostly (but not exclusively) man D and are pretty good at turning the other team over. Sometimes, Hamilton loses his man and allows open 3's, but he seems to be curing that issue. In general, our guards won't give you much space, you won't be getting many uncontested shots, but you will likely get our bigs into foul trouble. We do have a few big bodies to run it so you'll have to hit FT's to take advantage of that. Teams just seem to have bad shooting days against us
Our best offense comes from pushing the ball after turnovers and rebounds. Hamilton is our best defensive rebounder (he has a knack for it) and is also the guy we want leading the break. He'll pull down a rebound and push it.
In the halfcourt, the offense will also run through Hamilton as well. He is a very talented passer - especially to Brimah on ally-oop passes. Purvis and Gibbs are good 3 point shooters and senior Miller is very efficient on the low block. We sometimes struggle to get good looks and force stuff towards the end of the shot clock.
The X-Factor is Jalen Adams. He is a freshman and plays like it at times, but he is special. As UConn fans, we've been lucky to have guards like Kemba, Shabazz, and Ben Gordon in the past. I have no doubt Adams is as talented as that group. High praise indeed.
He can get into the paint at will (like Kemba as a frosh) and finishes around the basket. He is also a playmaker. Against Temple (AAC regular season champ) in the conference tourney, he had eight assists and only one turnover. He was a good shooter in HS but has only shown that in the last couple of weeks. He struggled from 3 earlier.
Overall, I think we are pretty evenly matched, and this game could be a coin flip. I give UConn a bit of an edge because I think they are confident right now, and Ollie seems to have March Magic as a coach.
And if we can inbound the ball...
I know, but then I watched him play quite a bit.
I've always actually really liked the UConn mascot guy. I dunno why, I guess I just like his goofy look.
