Stop The Turnovers Or ELSE!
The Story: The UConn men will get back on the court on Tuesday when they host Cornell at the XL Center. The Huskies are 3-1 and actually received three votes in the Associated Press top 25 poll when one voter put them 23rd after beating Syracuse last week. That’s always nice to see.
STOP THE TURNOVERS! Dan Hurley laid the gauntlet down. No more careless turnovers. That’s what the goal should be tonight against Cornell. The Huskies are averaging 15 turnovers a game and had 35 in two games at MSG last week. That’s too many possessions to give up for Hurley’s liking. This is for Alterique Gilbert, Jalen Adams, and Christian Vital — take care of the ball!
“If we don’t learn to respect the ball more, then you give your guards less freedom and try to control the game more,” Hurley said, per the Hartford Courant.
CAN COBB CONTINUE HIS EMERGENCE? Eric Cobb has been a revelation this season and his two games at MSG last week, where he totaled 29 points and 20 rebounds, are a building block. Can he do it consistently? Cobb lost 40 pounds and looks, potentially, like that athletic rim protector and rebounder this team needs.
“Did we see it coming to the level at the Garden? Probably not. But he’s flashed moments. … For him, can you now add defensive rebounding and defense to giving us that type of offense? If he does, then we’ve really found something,” Hurley said, per The Day.
WHAT ABOUT CORNELL?: The Big Red (cool name) are 3-2 and have another Boeheim, Jimmy, on the team. The namesake Boeheim is averaging 15 points per game. We just hope the Ivy Leaguers can spell the leading scorer’s name right.
WHAT WE WANT TO SEE: An aggressive Adams. He is no longer ball dominant as Gilbert has taken over most of the ballhandling duties. But Adams can’t get lost in the offense and has to move and be aggressive. He is now a scorer and has to create offense for himself, or others off the ball.
On FB: Not Very Good Is Being Polite
The Story: We here at The UConn Daily don’t like to dwell on the negative, but we are determined to give you the news. So here goes: UConn has the worst defense, statistically, in the nation. That we know. But it is actually one of the worst in the history of FBS football. The Huskies need to hold Temple to -163 yards on Saturday to not be the worst defense in yards surrendered.
WHAT!?!: Allow us to take a shower after writing that and maybe another sip of our Irish Coffee. The Huskies will end their 1-10 season on Saturday against Temple — a team that they used to own in the 2000s — and are 29-point underdogs. Let that sink in for a moment. Randy Edsall went years without losing to a MAC team in his first stint at UConn. Now, the Huskies need a semi-miracle to keep it close.
HOW BAD IS THE DEFENSE, REALLY? Really bad. I mean, REALLY BAD. Let’s take a look at the numbers:
- 626.6 yards per game would eclipse Kansas’ 560.8 yards per game in 2015 as the most “prolific” defense in allowing yards.
- The Huskies’ 8.74 yards per play allowed this year is a full yard worse than any defense since 2004. The Huskies are the worst in yards allowed per play since ECU in 2004 and are a full yard-plus worse than Oregon State, which is allowing 7.49 yards a play.
- The Huskies are slated to give up more than 7,000 yards of offense and have given up 73 touchdowns in 11 games.
- Scoring defense is typically the true-tell sign, and UConn is also last in scoring defense giving up an average of 49.8 points per game.
EVERYONE IS UNDER FIRE: UConn wasn’t expected to have a great year, but no one foresaw this kind of defensive performance. Edsall has heard calls for his job, and the calls for the scalp of defensive coordinator Billy Crocker are also loud. The players feel the pressure, too.
Edsall has played the youngest defense in the nation and has said repeatedly that the freshmen aren’t ready to play — as in physically ready. What does that say about the upperclassmen? Many will move on even though there is eligibility remaining. If you can’t break the lineup on this defense, when will you ever? How can you run it back on defensive coaching staff without changes? Hard question to ask — it’s coaches’ livelihoods — but it’s the coaches, the players, or a combination of both. In a performance-based business, something has to give.
RECRUITING FIX? Edsall has been lamented for his five-year fix, but it is clear that the players recruited to play Bob Diaco‘s defense are ill-equipped to play the 3-3-5 employed by Crocker. Diaco’s defenses were solid, if not frustrating, in their passiveness, but they never gave up this kind of yardage (to be fair, no one has). He recruited big and tall players who appear too slow for spread offenses. The players have been replaced by freshmen who, on most teams, wouldn’t be even playing, let alone starting.
NO IMPROVEMENT? Perhaps the most perplexing aspect is the team hasn’t gotten any better on defense. The tackling and reads are poor and the team that was drilled in the season opener against UCF (understandable) gave up 55 points to ECU (not understandable). That lack of marginal improvement in production is concerning.
BACK TO THE 4-3: We think Edsall has seen enough of a 3-3 front. The Huskies will go forward with a classic 4-3 front from now on. The Huskies need more defensive linemen and will have to find them on the recruiting trail.
LAST THOUGHTS: This is embarrassing. Edsall knows it. The players know it. That said, it is not up to the players and coaching staff to entertain and play along with the national ridicule. UCF went 0-12 in 2015. Teams can turn around with right recruits and coaching. What we would like to see on Saturday is some pride. Perhaps it won’t make a difference, but play like you belong on that field.
Morning Read
JACKSON MAKES COMMITMENT: The Huskies picked up a commitment from Malik Jackson, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound tight end from Laurel, Maryland, on Monday. He’s the eighth player to tell Randy Edsall he’ll be on campus beginning this summer. (Hartford Courant)
WOMEN REMAIN SECOND: The UConn women remained No. 2 in the latest AP poll after defeating Vanderbilt last week. Games against Ole Miss, St. John’s and Purdue in the Paradise Jam are upcoming. (Associated Press)
NO. 3 RECRUIT BOSTON ANNOUNCES WEDNESDAY: The No. 3 ranked women’s basektball recruit, Aliyah Boston, is set to announce her college choice on Wednesday. The Worcester Academy product is considering UConn, Notre Dame, Ohio State and South Carolina.
DOUBLE MOTIVATION FOR COLLIER: Napheesa Collier is out to do something that doesn’t happen too often for the UConn women — average a double-double. (Journal Inquirer)
THE MAGICIAN OF ANN ARBOR: This hurts. Former defensive coordinator Don Brown, who spent two years at UConn under Paul Pasqualoni and produced a top-10 defense, has No. 3 Michigan as the No. 1-ranked defense in the nation in yards allowed. He also was Edsall’s defensive coordinator for one year at Maryland. We miss that defense, that’s for sure. (ESPN)
FLIGHT PROBLEMS: The UConn football not only gave up 55 points in a loss to ECU on Saturday. They had some plane issues and didn’t get home until 5:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. That’s called a rough trip. (Hartford Courant)
CROZIER A BRIGHT SPOT: The offense has been a bright spot for the Huskies and they can thank their senior center in Ryan Crozier for it. (New Haven Register)
BIRD FLIES TO DENVER: Sue Bird, the former UConn standout turned WNBA star, is now a member of the front office of the Denver Nuggets. Geno Auriemma isn’t surprised. (Hartford Courant)
WALKER ON TOP: Kemba Walker took over as the NBA’s scoring leader on Monday when he followed up his 60-point game against the Philadelphia 76ers with 43 points in the Charlotte Hornets’ win over the Boston Celtics. He passed Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and is averaging 29.6 points per game. “I just wanted to win, man,” said Walker, forever a winner. (Associated Press)
