So … We Were A Bit Overexcited
The Story: Hopes of a potential Top 25 appearance were dashed Friday night when Iowa dismantled UConn 91-72 to win the 2K Empire Classic. But, have no fear, there are still plenty of good takeaways for the Huskies. We here at The UConn Daily remain bullish on the season.
SO WHAT HAPPENED? We were expecting for a letdown, but Friday night was a bubble bursting. It was like going to the dentist with no choice but to sit and take it. We saw all the flaws of this year’s team exposed, including suspect shotmaking (4-of-26 from 3) and poor interior defense. The next time the Huskies defend a pick-and-roll effectively will be their first. Iowa has a good offense and hit their shots. The Huskies won’t be able to defend a stretch 5 all year like Luke Garza, who scored 22 points. Luckily, there are a lot of those to go around. Iowa shot 57.69 percent from the floor in the second half. Not many teams they face will have that personnel.
MORE TURNOVERS THAN THANKSGIVING DINNER: We have two big concerns going forward with the team. The first is the turnover situation. UConn has 60 in four games, good for 15 a game. They had 35 in two games at MSG. That’s giving away possessions. And the assist-to-turnover ratio is a not-very-good 1.1-to-1. A lot of the turnovers are sloppy and anxious. That comes with trying to push the pace. We are confident that Dan Hurley will get this fixed as the team gets more comfortable with its frenetic style.
The second major concern is a roster issue. Iowa’s Tyler Cook annihilated the Huskies at the SF/PF position with 26 points. UConn had no one capable of guarding him and the production of Christian Vital and Tyler Polley is concerning at the third guard slot and stretch 4. Vital’s in there to score and Polley has to defend, rebound and hit 3s. The pair combined for 5-for-14 shooting and 14 points in 43 minutes. UConn has to get more out of the 3 and 4 spots. We are assuming this is a position that Sid Wilson could step into and there remains a big hole at that position on the roster. Wilson can’t get eligible soon enough, but we also have no idea if he is good enough to step into that role. There’s still no word on why he is sitting out.
MORE COBB! Everyone is allowed a hero game, and Eric Cobb had his against Syracuse. Then, he followed it with 16 points and 7 rebounds against Iowa. We haven’t seen a player come out of nowhere like this going back to Hilton Armstrong‘s senior year. Cobb is big, athletic and active. He deserves the lion’s share of the minutes going forward, in our opinion. Cobb is averaging 9.3 points per game.
WHERE’S THE DEPTH? Off the bench, there is Cobb and Smith. After that, a lot of spare parts. Brendan Adams is the only other bench player averaging more than 10 minutes a game. The Huskies play a frenetic style. Will they wear down, especially inside?
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I did not like the job I did getting my team ready for today,” Hurley said, according to the AP.
UP NEXT: UConn has Cornell, New Hampshire and UMass-Lowell over the next three games before hosting Arizona. UConn has to hit its stride and comfortably win these games going into a tilt with Arizona. UConn passed its first test this season at 3-1 with a win over a top-15 team. Now, they need to prep for Arizona and Florida State.
Football Scrapes Bottom In (Another) Blowout
We here at The UConn Daily have understood all season long that the football program is in a bit of disarray. Bob Diaco didn’t just leave the cupboard bare; he removed the shelves, stripped the paint and then smashed it to splinters with a sledgehammer before Randy Edsall returned. We understand that’s why, for several weeks, the defense has been relying upon 11 underclassmen — nearly half of them true freshmen — and why UConn is far and away last in the FBS in points and yards allowed.
But in a way, that’s not an excuse for the 55-21 drubbing on Saturday at ECU, which had scored 23.2 points per game this season. As young as players may be, at this point, there should be some improvement evident, and that doesn’t seem to be the case. This was probably UConn’s last winnable game, with Temple (7-4) the finale next weekend, and it means there will be plenty of soul-searching come the offseason.
BAD TO WORSE: Quarterback David Pindell threw for three touchdowns but gained just three yards rushing, well below his season average, and reportedly left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. This would have been the perfect opportunity to get Marvin Washington, the freshman backup, some reps and experience, but he was benched earlier this month over concerns about his grades and junior Brandon Bisack went 1-for-7 with an interception to finish it off.
WHAT DID EDSALL SAY? “You can’t fix this right now,” the coach told reporters. “People might not want to hear it, but we’re playing with guys who shouldn’t even be playing. They aren’t big enough, aren’t strong enough, aren’t fast enough. I said that when I came in, and I said it doesn’t get fixed during the season.”
Women Look Dandy In Beating Vandy
The Story: Another weekend, another win for the UConn women, who rolled to an 80-42 win over Vanderbilt in their annual game at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday. Four players reached double figures in scoring, including Crystal Dangerfield‘s team-high 19 points.
Dangerfield may be starting to emerge as the Huskies’ best player, argued Mike Anthony in the Hartford Courant, because of her defensive prowess.
EASY PHEESY: Napheesa Collier said before the game she wanted to work on being more aggressive on the boards with Gabby Williams gone, and she did just that by matching a career high with 16 rebounds in addition to her 15 points.
“I keep thinking every night that Napheesa’s going to get a double-double because if every post player — every player — worked as hard as Napheesa on the floor, they would be a lot better than they are,” coach Geno Auriemma told reporters.
NEXT UP: The Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, with games against Ole Miss on Thursday, St. John’s on Friday and Purdue on Saturday. Let’s hope the Huskies think of us shivering back home when they’re hamming it up on the beach.
Morning Read
MEN’S SOCCER’S SEASON OVER: UConn men’s soccer’s return to the NCAA tournament ended on Sunday with a 4-0 loss to No. 2 seed Indiana on Sunday. (Indianapolis Star)
ROUGH WEEKEND FOR THE ICE BUS: The Huskies lost twice to UMass-Lowell, falling 5-2 at home and 3-0 on the road on Friday and Saturday. The Huskies are 5-6-1.
AKOK ‘WEIGHING THE OPTIONS’: Putnam Science Academy forward Akok Akok said he’s taking it day by day when it comes to his recruitment, though he said getting to the NBA is his goal. Dan Hurley has made securing a commitment from the 6-foot-9, 200-pounder a priority. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: Incoming guard James Bouknight is a guard from New York, and you know what that means: He’s got something to prove. (Hartford Courant)
MENSAH MEANS BRILLIANT: Despite the doldrums of a losing season, running back Kevin Mensah has developed into one of UConn’s most reliable players. (Hartford Courant)
CAN-DO KEMBA: Kemba Walker dropped 60 points on the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, joining LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and James Harden in a group of select few players to reach that mark. That’s further evidence the Charlotte Hornets should keep him with a max contract after the season. (Charlotte Observer)
