Last night in Philadelphia, Kemba Walker gave us a glimpse of what might be as he scored a career high 29 points and added 9 rebounds in the Huskies upset of #3 ranked Villanova. In a spectacular showing Walker was 6-10 from the floor and 14-16 from the charity stripe; he led a season best showing by the Huskies who shot 67% from the field and 80% at the free throw line. The rest of the scoring was provided by Dyson with 15 and Robinson and Oriakhi with 10 each. Freshman Alex Oriakhi looked more aggressive on offense last night than he has all season and affirmed my sense that he will be a very good player over time. Defensively, Jerome Dyson did an incredible job on the Wildcats star guard, Scott Reynolds when he held him to only four points in the second half.
At the post-game press conference Coach Jim Calhoun was quoted as follows "We looked like a UConn team tonight," he said. "It was a terrific win for us at a terrific time against a terrific team." While Calhoun is certainly correct how do we assess what last nights win means. A turn-around inspired by Coach Calhoun's return setting up for a table clearing late season run? An indication that Kemba Walker, who has been a disappointment all year has finally come into his own? The fan in me hopes for a "yes" but the reporter says "no"
I think that Villanova is just the type of team that allows UCONN to play their best. Like the Huskies they like to run the floor and last night's contest was played at a very fast pace requiring a minimum of half court sets by UCONN. The Wildcats are a free wheeling offensive team but not known for great defense, particularly inside which allowed Walker and Dyson to drive the lane the entire game at will. All these factors created the oppurtunity for UCONN to shoot a very uncharacteristic 67% from the floor. In their five remaining conference games the Huskies will meet more typically Big East tough defensive squads and I believe their poor shooting will do them in.
Hats off to great Husky fan Dave Allen; I think his "vigil of hope" and refusal to utter a three letter acronym for a post season tournament other than the Big Dance may have influenced last night's outcome. I would like to hear opinions from all my followers about the significance of last night's game.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
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4 comments:
This is the fourth major upset in Big East men’s basketball in the last four days! I guess I should follow this conference more to see what will happen next!
EHOW said it right. Lots of upsets in the Big East this month. However, I still don't think the Huskies can do it. Who ever heard of 67% shooting these days. They were out of their minds. Also the Wildcats gave them too many opportunities at the line. Still think they're NIT bound.
Mike, I agree.
Steve
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