Uconn is...pedestrian

[OrlandoCuse]

In all seriousness, they're in the hangover phase right now. I think they'll get out of it. It's still an incredibly young team. I have no idea how you motivate a team of kids that did what they did last year.

I'm not sure if UConn is "hungover", or if this is truly who they are. I keep thinking back to last year, looking at a "pedestrian" 9-9 in BE play UConn team. They got extremely hot at the perfect time, riding the back of the best guard in college last year, getting some bracket breaks in the NCAA tourney, and going on the perfect run to win it all.

I'd describe this UConn team as coming back a bit to earth, not being hungover. They are now 13 or 14 games into the season and haven't looked completely dominant (other than Holy Cross ). 13 or 14 games is not a hangover, it's who you are.

They are a young team with a huge upside, but I don't think they can catch lightening in a bottle again to repeat last years results. I still think Lamb is great, and Drummond is a young beast. Boatright looks to be a nice prospect too.

 

[Upstate]

Herb Pope is lying on the side of I-90 trying to figure out who beat him up and left him on the side of the highway after that smothering.

Unfortunately, I think that is a regular Wednesday night for Herb Pope.

 

[DeGrozz]

I hate to be a stick in the mud but Uconn is winning on the road in the BE without Calhoun. They are playing @ USF which is always a hard game because of the distraction and travel factor. Drummond is light years ahead of were Fab was last year and Uconn is still learning life without Walker but they are easily the second best team in the BE behind us and has about the same amount of talent wheather its as developed at this point or not.

We have yet to win on the road in the BE and while I think Lville is a bit over rated Uconn is our main competition in the BE .

I don't think you can say UCONN is easily the second best team in the Big East when G'town and Louisville have played the way that they have. G'Town just won a much more difficult road game the UCONN and Louisville is just getting some of their team back from injuries now.

I would probably put UCONN around fourth, but we'll see it play out as the season goes forward.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

Disagree about the hangover part, thats a copout. UConn was a pedestrian team last year in the regular season too, they just got ridiculously hot at the right time. And fortunate with arizona and kentucky missing would be game winning shots in the tourny, and playing 1 of the worst teams to ever play in a national championship game. Theyre a good team but not great, lightening wont strike twice again for them this year in march.

Funny, I posted almost exactly the same thing (didn't see your post), right down to using the term "lightening in a bottle"

Great minds think alike!

 

[rrlbees]

UConn is always good.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

UConn Women's basketball is always good.

Fixed.

 

[zls44]

I think lightning in a bottle undersells it. This is also just the second time since 2004 UConn has started 1-0 in conference.

Watching them now, it's kind of like...I'm a Giants fan. I still get into the games. But after SB 42...it doesn't feel as life & death anymore. If they lose on Sunday, I'll be pissed, but I can just pop in the SB 42 DVD and feel better pretty quick.

 

[jordoo]

I don't think you can say UCONN is easily the second best team in the Big East when G'town and Louisville have played the way that they have. G'Town just won a much more difficult road game the UCONN and Louisville is just getting some of their team back from injuries now.

I would probably put UCONN around fourth, but we'll see it play out as the season goes forward.

Whom has Lville beaten? They are much like us last year, a good team that could have lost a lot of the games they won early on and shot up the rankings. Gtown is much better than expected and is the type of team that JT3 will do well with, but they lost to an OK Kansas team on a nuetral court and got a lot of credit for beating a mess of a Memphis team early on. IMO Uconn is far more talented than Gtown or Lville overall and far more skilled in the backcourt by far. I don't think its close personally but again its just my opinion and its based a lot on projected improvement over the course of the season.

 

[DeGrozz]

Whom has Lville beaten? They are much like us last year, a good team that could have lost a lot of the games they won early on and shot up the rankings. Gtown is much better than expected and is the type of team that JT3 will do well with, but they lost to an OK Kansas team on a nuetral court and got a lot of credit for beating a mess of a Memphis team early on. IMO Uconn is far more talented than Gtown or Lville overall and far more skilled in the backcourt by far. I don't think its close personally but again its just my opinion and its based a lot on projected improvement over the course of the season.

I definitely agree with you about UCONN having more ability, talent, etc than G'Town or LVille, but I just don't see them as being clearly a better team than the other top Big East teams right now (Cuse excluded -- the clear number 1). When I read your comment, I was thinking right now. I just think there are too many arguments for GTown or Louisville being a better team to call UCONN a clear number 2, and I would probably put them at 4. I'd put them at four because we have seen how far talented teams who don't play a complete game as a cohesive unit can drop when the Big East grind is at full throttle. They'll improve as they learn to play post-Kemba, but I don't they are deserving of being called a team that clearly the second best in the Big East and Big East play is not always the best time for a young team to gel.

But when comparing their schedules to GTown, for example, I am not sure there is a huge difference. UCONN has a worse loss, and both teams beat opponents who were obviously over-ranked at the time (Memphis, Bama, FSU, I'm also not buying Harvard as a legit top-25 team -- but they are a great story). That's my rationale.

But as Bees said above, UCONN is always good and I expect nothing less this year.

 

[zhanjuzi]

UConn is always good.

Indeed. Calhoun will whip them into shape as always does and they will be a tough out especially away. At the same time, if we can continue to play defense as well as we did tonight and unselfishly on offense WE will be a very tough out for any team.