Carried by their poise, grit, intense man to man defense,and another sensational offensive showing by Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb, the UCONN Huskies continued their most improbable season in Jim Calhoun's Hall of Fame career. This will be the Huskies fourth trip to the Final Four and their second in three seasons, this one following their worst season in Calhoun's tenure. The Huskies started the season under the cloud of an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations and in what everyone thought would be a rebuilding year; their roster included 7 Freshmen and in the early part of the season this group did not look like an outstanidng crop. The Huskies season was marked by ups and downs but slowly but surely Freshmen Roscoe Smith, Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb and Sophomore Jamaal Combs-Mcdaniels began to develop confidence and experience. After an early season high of a #4 national ranking the Huskies slowly slipped, lost four of their last five games and finished ninth at 9-9 in the Big East. They looked like they were headed for a quick ticket home in the Big Dance, however, not unnoticed was the emergence in the latter part of the season of Jeremy Lamb from a "diaper dandy" to a "PTPer" (in Dick Vitalespeak a prime time player). In addition, Roscoe Smith, although disappointing on offense, became a very good defender and defensive rebounder. Shabazz Napier, confident from the start, cut down on his turnrovers and was a reliable sometimes sensational point guard who could give Walker much needed minutes off the point. The constant was the sensational Kemba Walker, who both carried and helped develop the team simiultaneously.
Improbably, the young Huskies seemed to gel before our eyes as they won five games in five nights to win the Big East championship and added 3 more convincing wins going into last nights elite eight tilt against Arizona. This reporter had just settled into the press box, after rushing home from a professional commitment in New Haven only to watch Arizona open an 11-3 lead, led by fierce offensive rebounding and the play of their outstanding swingman, Derrick Williams.
The Huskies started to settle down and play their way into the game when the Wildcats Williams committed his second personal foul with the score 18-10. As Williams sat for 7 minutes Walker heated up and the Huskies went on 12-2 run to open up a 22-20 lead. Williams re-entered the game and quickly committed his third personal with 5:22 in first half. The Huskies went to the locker room with what looked like a comfortable 32-25 lead as Walker hit a three just before the buzzer.
With Williams back on the floor for the second half Arizona went on a 12-1 run to take back the lead at 37-36. The Huskies fought back after a Napier three they had what looked like an insurmountable 51-40 advantage with 10 minutes to go. In this fierce see-saw battle the Wildcats fought back once again and with 6;36 to go opened up a 55-52 lead. At this point Jeremy Lamb took over and moving incessantly without the ball, a la Rip Hamilton, freed himself for two baseline jumpers. Walker added a 15 fooot jumper and then Lamb made a cat-quick steal followed by a coast to coast (S)Lamb dunk to put the Huskies up 62-65. A Walker step back jumper with 1:17 left resulting in a 65-60 Husky lead looked like the last nail in the coffin. However, Williams hit a three, Shabazz missed a jumper and Arizona had the ball with 14.3 seconds left, down 65-63. Surprisingly, instead of working the ball inside Williams missed a long three, Arizona got the rebound and with 3 seconds left Horne missed an open three and the Huskies were in the Final Four.
Walker, again led the scoring with 20 hard earned points while Lamb added 19, 12 of which came at key moments in the second half. Napier played a solid 30 minutes and had ten points, including two treys while Oriakhi added 7 points and 6 rebounds.
UCONN will play the winner of the North Carolina-Kentucky East Regional final next Saturday night.In what my son Pete told me on the phone last night was the "worst timed vacation in history" I will be in Israel during the Final four. He suggested that "next time I plan a vacation, I might look at the NCAA basketball schedule". It is unlikely that I will be posting blogs but regardless of the outcome I will write one more wrap up blog about the "improbable season" The Huskies will have to step it up one more notch when they meet either Kentucky or North Carolina in the semi-finals with the likelihood of Kansas waiting in the finals on the other side of the draw. Can they do it? In this most "improbable season" who the heck knows. I assure everuone, I will find a TV in the middle of Israeli night and will be watching these games but will be counting on my followers to root in the Huskies.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
"
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Walker and Lamb lead Huskies into Elite Eight
The improbable season continues as offensive fireworks from Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb sparked UCONN's eighth consecutive win, this time over San Diego State 74-67. The win procured the Huskies a spot in the elite eight for the 10th time in their history. Walker was unstoppable as he scored 36 points on 12-25 shooting from the field including 4-8 from three point land. Lamb continued his red hot shooting from the floor as he hit 7-9 field goal attempts including three clutch treys for 24 points.
Both teams looked tight for the first four minutes of the game as Walker missed his first three shots, although he was getting good looks. At this point the Aztecs Kahwi Leonard picked up this second personal foul and Coach Steve Fischer sat him out for 7 minutes. When big man Malcolm Thomas also went to the bench with two fouls the Huskies had a great opportunity which they squandered with coninued cold shooting, including Walker's fourth straight miss. At 10:31 of the first half Shabazz Napier hit Walker with a beautiful back door pass and Walker layed it in to get off the schneid- he never looked back from there. Leonard came back in for the Aztecs but as walker started draining shots from all over the court the Huskies pulled away for a seven point half time lead. Of significance was that Oriakhi and Smith were controlling the defensive boards and consistently limiting the Aztecs to one shot. In addition, yet another team was letting Walker prove that he cannot be guarded one on one in a man defense.
San Diego State started the second half strongly and led 55-51 with about eight minutes left to play. At that point Walker just took the game over and scored 12 straight Husky points. Coming down the stretch he and Lamb scored the last 24 Husky points between them as UCONN pulled away for an emphatic 74-67 win.
The Huskies will take on a fast improving Arizona team who blew out the Region's #1 seed in the other West region sweet sixteen contest. Although Walker and Lamb were sensational, I still remained concerned that the Huskies aren't getting a bit more scoring from their big men and better balance on offense. On the other hand we might just be seeing a great, great college player carrying his team on his back and that is just how it will be.
"You heard it here first"
Steve
Both teams looked tight for the first four minutes of the game as Walker missed his first three shots, although he was getting good looks. At this point the Aztecs Kahwi Leonard picked up this second personal foul and Coach Steve Fischer sat him out for 7 minutes. When big man Malcolm Thomas also went to the bench with two fouls the Huskies had a great opportunity which they squandered with coninued cold shooting, including Walker's fourth straight miss. At 10:31 of the first half Shabazz Napier hit Walker with a beautiful back door pass and Walker layed it in to get off the schneid- he never looked back from there. Leonard came back in for the Aztecs but as walker started draining shots from all over the court the Huskies pulled away for a seven point half time lead. Of significance was that Oriakhi and Smith were controlling the defensive boards and consistently limiting the Aztecs to one shot. In addition, yet another team was letting Walker prove that he cannot be guarded one on one in a man defense.
San Diego State started the second half strongly and led 55-51 with about eight minutes left to play. At that point Walker just took the game over and scored 12 straight Husky points. Coming down the stretch he and Lamb scored the last 24 Husky points between them as UCONN pulled away for an emphatic 74-67 win.
The Huskies will take on a fast improving Arizona team who blew out the Region's #1 seed in the other West region sweet sixteen contest. Although Walker and Lamb were sensational, I still remained concerned that the Huskies aren't getting a bit more scoring from their big men and better balance on offense. On the other hand we might just be seeing a great, great college player carrying his team on his back and that is just how it will be.
"You heard it here first"
Steve
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
UCONN takes on San Diego State in Sweet Sixteen
The UCONN Huskies, ranked 3rd in the Western region will take on the San Diego State Aztecs ranked second in the region on Thursday night with coverage starting at 7:15 on CBS. The Huskies will go into the contest with a seven game winning streak and an overall record of 28-9, while the Aztecs are 34-2. This is the sixth NCAA tourney appearance for the Aztecs and the first time they have advanced out of the first round. Make no mistake about it, the Aztecs are for real; They have an RPI ranking of #3 in the country and a big,fast, athletic team.
This is a very good match up of two teams that are similar in some respects and very different in others. Both teams are tough defensively; the Aztecs are 6th in the nation in points allowed per game, 58.8 while the Huskies only give up 66.4. The aztecs opponents shoot 39.3% from the field while the Huskies opponents shoot 39.3.
While both teams are athletic and fast the Huskies rely on their backcourt for most of their scoring(Walker and Lamb) while four of the five top scorers for the Aztecs are front court players. UCONN is led by Kemba Walker at 23.3 ppg while San Diego State's top scorer is 6'7" Sophomore swingman Kahwi Leonared at 15.3 ppg.
The aztecs have three other players averaging in double figures including Senior Guard D.J Gay at 11.0, 6'9" Malcolm Thomas at 11.4, and 6'8" Bill White at 10.1.
Most of the pundits are predicting that San Diego State will win. I expect a very close, down to the wire contest in a low scoring game. (both teams in the 60's)
To me there are two keys in this game. The UCONN big men have to play an outstanding defensive game and force the Aztecs to shoot more from the outside than they like to do. They must control the defensive boards and stay out of foul trouble, particularly Oriakhi who tends to commit careless fouls and cry to the refs. The whining has to stop before he gets hit with a costly technical or quickly picks up two fouls and has to go to the bench for long stretches.
On offense, the Huskies have to get some points from their big men. If Oriakhi and Smith do not contribute offensively the Huskies will be in trouble. I look for Walker to have a good game and score 24 or more points. The Huskies need at least 12 from Lamb and another good game from JCM. Despite what most pundits are saying I am picking the Huskies by 3 points.
Since I will be flying back from pre-game scouting and will not get home until 7:00 on Thursday the Steep Hill Dome will not be open for this game. If the Huskies win and play in the Elite Eight on Sat. I will be importing a 50" HD screen for the game and everyone will be invited.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
This is a very good match up of two teams that are similar in some respects and very different in others. Both teams are tough defensively; the Aztecs are 6th in the nation in points allowed per game, 58.8 while the Huskies only give up 66.4. The aztecs opponents shoot 39.3% from the field while the Huskies opponents shoot 39.3.
While both teams are athletic and fast the Huskies rely on their backcourt for most of their scoring(Walker and Lamb) while four of the five top scorers for the Aztecs are front court players. UCONN is led by Kemba Walker at 23.3 ppg while San Diego State's top scorer is 6'7" Sophomore swingman Kahwi Leonared at 15.3 ppg.
The aztecs have three other players averaging in double figures including Senior Guard D.J Gay at 11.0, 6'9" Malcolm Thomas at 11.4, and 6'8" Bill White at 10.1.
Most of the pundits are predicting that San Diego State will win. I expect a very close, down to the wire contest in a low scoring game. (both teams in the 60's)
To me there are two keys in this game. The UCONN big men have to play an outstanding defensive game and force the Aztecs to shoot more from the outside than they like to do. They must control the defensive boards and stay out of foul trouble, particularly Oriakhi who tends to commit careless fouls and cry to the refs. The whining has to stop before he gets hit with a costly technical or quickly picks up two fouls and has to go to the bench for long stretches.
On offense, the Huskies have to get some points from their big men. If Oriakhi and Smith do not contribute offensively the Huskies will be in trouble. I look for Walker to have a good game and score 24 or more points. The Huskies need at least 12 from Lamb and another good game from JCM. Despite what most pundits are saying I am picking the Huskies by 3 points.
Since I will be flying back from pre-game scouting and will not get home until 7:00 on Thursday the Steep Hill Dome will not be open for this game. If the Huskies win and play in the Elite Eight on Sat. I will be importing a 50" HD screen for the game and everyone will be invited.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
Saturday, March 19, 2011
How Sweet(Sixteen) it is! UCONN 69-Cincinatti 58
In workman like fashion the UCONN Huskies knocked off the pesky Cincinatti Bearcats tonight 69-58 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen against San Diego State. Surprisingly, Bearcat coach Nick Cronin started and stayed in a man to man defense with no double teaming of Walker for 17 minutes of the first half. The Huskies looked a little tight for the first 10 minutes but then Walker started draining good shots and Lamb hit some clutch threes to give the Huskies a 36-28 half time lead. Three minutes before the break Cronin moved the Bearcats into a trapping zone and cut some points off the lead before the break.
Cincinatti stayed in the zone for most of the second half and it took the Huskies a good 9 minutes to solve it. During this time they turned the ball over several times and Cincy took the lead.UCONN finally solved the zone by finding JCM at the foul line where he made some nice dishes and hit a couple of 15 ft. jumpers. A good Husky run created a 8-10 point lead which they never relinquished. In the last four minutes of the game Cincinatti fouled UCONN every time up the court and Walker piled up points on a perect 14-14 from the foul line to finish with 33. Lamb was consistent and kept up this incredibly high shooing percentage- tonight he was 5-7 with two threes to finish with 13 points. JCM in a fine all around performace added 10.
I was concerned that Oriakhi did not score tonight and Smith had only 2 points after two break out performances. As the Huskies move on they will need points from their front line against the better teams.
There was a good crowd at the Steep Hill dome tonight as the Bucknell Bison himself, Mike Davis, showed up after having driven directly from the Verizon center in Washington D.C. to the Steep Hill Dome, stopping only to pick up his wife Suzanne. Alan And Marilyn Goldberg were there, with Marilyn looking a bit bleary eyed from having watched every game on today. What a Fan!
As most of you know by now I am a very modest man who eschews the spotlight. However, Alan Hopkins from the NSW awards committee insisted I include a quote from a blog I wrote two weeks before the regular season ended. "I would imagine that the Pittsburgh fans ( some of whom read this blog) have high hopes this year. Sadly, the Panthers will eat their annual Big Dance apple and it will get stuck in their throats. The choking sound will reverberate all the way to Weston, Ct."
"You Heard it Here First"
Cincinatti stayed in the zone for most of the second half and it took the Huskies a good 9 minutes to solve it. During this time they turned the ball over several times and Cincy took the lead.UCONN finally solved the zone by finding JCM at the foul line where he made some nice dishes and hit a couple of 15 ft. jumpers. A good Husky run created a 8-10 point lead which they never relinquished. In the last four minutes of the game Cincinatti fouled UCONN every time up the court and Walker piled up points on a perect 14-14 from the foul line to finish with 33. Lamb was consistent and kept up this incredibly high shooing percentage- tonight he was 5-7 with two threes to finish with 13 points. JCM in a fine all around performace added 10.
I was concerned that Oriakhi did not score tonight and Smith had only 2 points after two break out performances. As the Huskies move on they will need points from their front line against the better teams.
There was a good crowd at the Steep Hill dome tonight as the Bucknell Bison himself, Mike Davis, showed up after having driven directly from the Verizon center in Washington D.C. to the Steep Hill Dome, stopping only to pick up his wife Suzanne. Alan And Marilyn Goldberg were there, with Marilyn looking a bit bleary eyed from having watched every game on today. What a Fan!
As most of you know by now I am a very modest man who eschews the spotlight. However, Alan Hopkins from the NSW awards committee insisted I include a quote from a blog I wrote two weeks before the regular season ended. "I would imagine that the Pittsburgh fans ( some of whom read this blog) have high hopes this year. Sadly, the Panthers will eat their annual Big Dance apple and it will get stuck in their throats. The choking sound will reverberate all the way to Weston, Ct."
"You Heard it Here First"
Friday, March 18, 2011
UCONN plays Cincinnati tomorrow night at 9:40
The UCONN Huskies take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in round 2 of the Big Dance tomorrow night at 9:40. The Huskies defeated the Bearcats in Big East regular season play 67- 58 on February 27. The Bearcats have a very balanced attack with five players averaging between 8.1 and 11.8 ppg. Their leading scorer and rebounder is 6'7" Forward Yancy Gates who is scoring at an 11.8 ppg clip followed by Guard Dion Dixon at 11.6. No Big East opponent can be taken for granted but I am looking for the red hot Huskies to continue their fine play and win by at least 8 points.
The Steep Hill Dome at 27 Steep Hill Road will officially open doors tomorrow night at 9:00 P.M.when this reporter will lead a televised pre-game analysis along with Lou Carnesecca and Billy Packer. All who who receive my UCONN e-mails are invited along with spouses and SO's. Please RSVP to me at steliot@aol.com. if you plan on coming.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
The Steep Hill Dome at 27 Steep Hill Road will officially open doors tomorrow night at 9:00 P.M.when this reporter will lead a televised pre-game analysis along with Lou Carnesecca and Billy Packer. All who who receive my UCONN e-mails are invited along with spouses and SO's. Please RSVP to me at steliot@aol.com. if you plan on coming.
"You Heard it Here First"
Steve
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Huskies cruise past Bucknell in 1st round 81-52
The UCONN Huskies were simply too big, too fast and too athletic for a game but overmatched Bucknell Bison five. The Huskies controlled the tempo, boards and both ends of the court in a 81-52 blowout in the first round of the Big Dance at the Verizon center.
Bucknell could never get into an offensive rhythm as they were forced to rush shots all night by the quicker Huskies. On offense UCONN ran their sets at will and it was obvious that Kemba Walker decided early in the contest that this was a night to further develop his Freshmen teammates. Walker passed up at least 10 shots he would ordinarily take and probably make to pass off to Lamb, Smith and Olander. This paid off handsomely as Lamb continued to play like Walker's first lieutenant and scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting including 3 from downtown. Roscoe Smith had his second big game in a row, scored 17 points and had 7 rebounds, and is beginning to look like the recruit who was rated the 20th best in the nation pre-season. Tyler Olander clearly has some talent and is playing with a growing poise and Oriakhi had another good game with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Walker had the quitest 18 points, 8rebounds and 12 assists you'll ever see- the sure sign of a superstar.
Smith and Olander are coming on at just the right time. On Saturday, the Huskies will play the winner of Cincinnati to be played later tonight. The Steep Hill Dome will be officially open and hope some of you will attend.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Bucknell could never get into an offensive rhythm as they were forced to rush shots all night by the quicker Huskies. On offense UCONN ran their sets at will and it was obvious that Kemba Walker decided early in the contest that this was a night to further develop his Freshmen teammates. Walker passed up at least 10 shots he would ordinarily take and probably make to pass off to Lamb, Smith and Olander. This paid off handsomely as Lamb continued to play like Walker's first lieutenant and scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting including 3 from downtown. Roscoe Smith had his second big game in a row, scored 17 points and had 7 rebounds, and is beginning to look like the recruit who was rated the 20th best in the nation pre-season. Tyler Olander clearly has some talent and is playing with a growing poise and Oriakhi had another good game with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Walker had the quitest 18 points, 8rebounds and 12 assists you'll ever see- the sure sign of a superstar.
Smith and Olander are coming on at just the right time. On Saturday, the Huskies will play the winner of Cincinnati to be played later tonight. The Steep Hill Dome will be officially open and hope some of you will attend.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bracketology
Every year at this time I get many requests from my followers and also some less savory types for my opinions about various games as people compete in pools; Many people ask me to post my own bracket predictions or make suggestions for upsets. I hope you all understand that, by law, I have to refuse these requests. So this does not seem arbitrary, let me explain the reason.
The National Sports Writer's Association (NSWA) has been empowered by congress to monitor illegal gambling practices in sports. Their function is analagous to the SEC in the finalcial world. As part of this process they monitor all blogs in every major sport and identify those bloggers in each sport whose information is so accurate and of a quality that if applied to betting would be akin to "inside information" in the financial world. In College Basketball there are five bloggers from all over the country who are on that list including this reporter.
Consequently, if I did offer my opinion it would be akin to giving inside information punishable by loss of blog license, fines( up to $250,000.00 and at the judges discretion up to a 60 jail sentence.
I am sure you can all understand why I am constrained. Good luck with your bracketology and enjoy the Big Dance.
"You heard it here First"
Steve
The National Sports Writer's Association (NSWA) has been empowered by congress to monitor illegal gambling practices in sports. Their function is analagous to the SEC in the finalcial world. As part of this process they monitor all blogs in every major sport and identify those bloggers in each sport whose information is so accurate and of a quality that if applied to betting would be akin to "inside information" in the financial world. In College Basketball there are five bloggers from all over the country who are on that list including this reporter.
Consequently, if I did offer my opinion it would be akin to giving inside information punishable by loss of blog license, fines( up to $250,000.00 and at the judges discretion up to a 60 jail sentence.
I am sure you can all understand why I am constrained. Good luck with your bracketology and enjoy the Big Dance.
"You heard it here First"
Steve
Sunday, March 13, 2011
BIG EAST CHAMPS!
Running on fumes and heart in the second half the UCONN Huskies completed one of the most improbable feats in College Basket history last night when they beat the Louisville Cardinals 69-66 for their fifth win in five nights. Because of the expanded Big East Tournament format (all 16 teams were in) and their 9th place finish in the conference UCONN did not receive a bye and had to play in every round. Their last three opponents, on the other hand, finished in the top four in the Conference and received double byes; this meant that they did not start play until the third round. Uconn's(9th in the conference and #21 Nationallly) five game run included wins over Depaul, Georgetown (3rd in the conference #22 nationally, Syracuse(4th in the conference and #11 nationally) Pitt (1st in the conference and #3 Nationally and red hot Louisville(3rd in the conference and #11 Nationally). During the regular season UCONN had lost to Syracuse, Pitt and Louisville twice.
Louisville dictated a frenetic pace in the first half and UCONN, miraculously did not look tired, and ran as well as the Cardinals and shot nearly 60% from the field. Walker started smoothly and had 10 points when he had to go to the bench with slightly less than eight minutes to play when he received his second foul. In the last eight minutes of the first half Louisville cut the lead to six and the teams went into the locker room with UCONN up 38-36.
During the half-time break, when the initial adrenaline rush subsided the Huskies started to feel the toll of five games in five nights. Louisville came out quickly and took the lead as sweet shooting Preston Knowles began drainng threes for the Cardinals. UCONN hung tough but Walker and Lamb began to look absolutely exhausted; both players were bent over tugging their shorts during any play stoppage and Lamb started turning the ball over. Walker was having trouble getting shots and resting during some offensive sets. Fortuneately Roscoe Smith, who had been shooting poorly all year chose this game to have his coming out party and hit three timely jumpers including a trey to help the Huskies regain the lead. The exhaustion level clearly effected the shooting as the Huskies field goal percentage dropped below 40% in the second half. Play was ragged as both teams tired down the stretch.
With 33 seconds left on the clock the Huskies trailed by one when Kemba Walker drove the lane and dished off to a wide open Jeremy Lamb who converted the lay up to put the Huskies up 65-64. Walker stole the in-bounds pass and was immediately fouled; he drained both and the Huskies led 67-64 with about 8 seconds left. On the ensuing possession Walker fouled the Cardinals Marra on a 3 point shot. He made two, Napier got the rebound and was fouled with 3.6 seconds left on the clock. He made two from the charity stripe and the Cardinals Preston Knowles then missed a three point shot at the buzzer for the 69-66 final.
Rather than try to think of even more adjectives to describe Walker's MVP performance let's just look at his statistics. He played 190 of 205 minutes,and he scored 130 points (26.0ppg) shattering the Big East Tournament record by 46. What a performace!
In the final game, Jeremy Lamb who I now consider a star scored 13 and had 7 big rebounds, Roscoe Smith had 12 and the resurgent Alex Oriakhi had 10 points and 8 rebounds while he averaged a double-double for the tournament.
Most encouraging was the improved half court offense against the zone, the continuing development of the Freshmen and sophomores and the very positive team chemistry. This is a different team than the one that started this tournament as many disparate factors have come together. So where are the Huskies headed in the Big Dance. Based on this amazing week the Huskies will get a #3 or a#2 seed. Remember a Steve Eliot truism; teams that are hot at the end of the season go deep in the NCAA Tournament and that in both Husky National Championship years, 1999 and 2003, they also won the Big East Tournament. I am predicting that the Huskies will go at least to the Elite Eight with a very good chance of going to the final four. After that it's a crap shoot but the sky's the limit.
In all my years of following Husky Basketball I have to say that this was Jim Calhoun's best coaching job. He obviously bonded with his young Huskies and helped foster the develoment of Lamb, Napier, Smith, Olander, Oriakhi and Combs-Mcdaniel.
"you Heard it here here first"
Steve
Louisville dictated a frenetic pace in the first half and UCONN, miraculously did not look tired, and ran as well as the Cardinals and shot nearly 60% from the field. Walker started smoothly and had 10 points when he had to go to the bench with slightly less than eight minutes to play when he received his second foul. In the last eight minutes of the first half Louisville cut the lead to six and the teams went into the locker room with UCONN up 38-36.
During the half-time break, when the initial adrenaline rush subsided the Huskies started to feel the toll of five games in five nights. Louisville came out quickly and took the lead as sweet shooting Preston Knowles began drainng threes for the Cardinals. UCONN hung tough but Walker and Lamb began to look absolutely exhausted; both players were bent over tugging their shorts during any play stoppage and Lamb started turning the ball over. Walker was having trouble getting shots and resting during some offensive sets. Fortuneately Roscoe Smith, who had been shooting poorly all year chose this game to have his coming out party and hit three timely jumpers including a trey to help the Huskies regain the lead. The exhaustion level clearly effected the shooting as the Huskies field goal percentage dropped below 40% in the second half. Play was ragged as both teams tired down the stretch.
With 33 seconds left on the clock the Huskies trailed by one when Kemba Walker drove the lane and dished off to a wide open Jeremy Lamb who converted the lay up to put the Huskies up 65-64. Walker stole the in-bounds pass and was immediately fouled; he drained both and the Huskies led 67-64 with about 8 seconds left. On the ensuing possession Walker fouled the Cardinals Marra on a 3 point shot. He made two, Napier got the rebound and was fouled with 3.6 seconds left on the clock. He made two from the charity stripe and the Cardinals Preston Knowles then missed a three point shot at the buzzer for the 69-66 final.
Rather than try to think of even more adjectives to describe Walker's MVP performance let's just look at his statistics. He played 190 of 205 minutes,and he scored 130 points (26.0ppg) shattering the Big East Tournament record by 46. What a performace!
In the final game, Jeremy Lamb who I now consider a star scored 13 and had 7 big rebounds, Roscoe Smith had 12 and the resurgent Alex Oriakhi had 10 points and 8 rebounds while he averaged a double-double for the tournament.
Most encouraging was the improved half court offense against the zone, the continuing development of the Freshmen and sophomores and the very positive team chemistry. This is a different team than the one that started this tournament as many disparate factors have come together. So where are the Huskies headed in the Big Dance. Based on this amazing week the Huskies will get a #3 or a#2 seed. Remember a Steve Eliot truism; teams that are hot at the end of the season go deep in the NCAA Tournament and that in both Husky National Championship years, 1999 and 2003, they also won the Big East Tournament. I am predicting that the Huskies will go at least to the Elite Eight with a very good chance of going to the final four. After that it's a crap shoot but the sky's the limit.
In all my years of following Husky Basketball I have to say that this was Jim Calhoun's best coaching job. He obviously bonded with his young Huskies and helped foster the develoment of Lamb, Napier, Smith, Olander, Oriakhi and Combs-Mcdaniel.
"you Heard it here here first"
Steve
Friday, March 11, 2011
Walker Delights, Excites and Ignites UCONN in 76-71 OT win over Syracuse
Not even Walt "Clyde" Frazier could string together enough alliterative adjectives to describe the sensational play of Kemba Walker in Tonight's 76-71 Overtime win over Syracuse tonight at in the Big East Tourney Semi-Finals. Walker, in far and away, his best game of the season had all his awesome skills on display as he led the Huskies in scoring (33 pts),rebounding(12) and assists with 6. Walker has the straight ahead speed of a sprinter, the lateral quickness of a great halfback a la Barry Sanders and the ball and shooting skills of the great Bill Sharman of the Boston Celtics. Countless times tonight Walker beat everyone on the floor to go coast to coast and score on twisting, slicing drives. When he drove the lane his ability to move laterally away from defenders and either pull up or go all the way to the hoop was amazing. In addition, he had 12 timely rebounds including the last one in a crowd with 13 seconds left to seal the game.
Not only was this Walker's best game of the year but it was also the young Huskies most impressive win. Unable to beat 2-3 match up zones all year, tonight they beat the best. Finally, Calhoun changed the way they attacked the zone. From the opening whistle there was virtually no dribbling in the half court sets by Walker and Napier and and either Lamb, Oriakhi, JCM or Troy Olander (in a break out game) moved to the foul line took a pass from one of the guards and either turned and shot or passed down low or kicked out to an open guard. All night they were poised, had very good ball movement and got open shots against the Orange zone. Olander was particularly impressive, confident and continually made good passes to break the zone. Oriakhi, when in the middle hit several 15 foot jumpers and was ferocious off the boards and Lamb darted in and out of the middle either popping from the outside or hitting his trademark floaters. It was Lamb who put the Huskies up by three with time waning in overtime with a spectacular running floater.
This was a tough, exciting well played Big East contest. Neither team shot particularly well in the first half and the Huskies went to the locker room with a one point advantage. Walker and crew were drawing fouls while on defense they committed very few so ultimately the difference was in the Huskies 16 point advantage from the free throw stripe. With only 58 seconds left in regulation play, the Huskies led by 5 and it was impressive to see how calm the oft criticized Jim Boeheim remained as he started to effectively using trapping zones and the game was forced into OT. Incredibly Walker and Lamb seemed stronger in the OT than the Orange despite playing their fourth game in four nights. In addition to Walker's 33 points, Oriakhi added 15 and Lamb had 11. Olander added 7 and if he can continue this level of play in the big dance the huskies have finally found a versatile, good passer who can also score up front.
The Huskies will play the winner of Notre Dame-Louisville tomorrow night for the Big East Championship. Just five days ago this reporter was despondent and convinced the Huskies had come as far as they could and would go out early in both the Big East and Big Dance. Whether or not the Huskies pull off a miracle tomorrow night and win their fifth Big East game in five nights, they are entering the NCAA Tournament a different and a hot team. Remember my truism. Hot teams down the stretch go far in the Big Dance; lest you fear that if the Huskies win again tomorrow night they can't possibly keep it up in the NCAA's remember that in the two UCONN National championship years they also won the Big east Tournament.
On a humorous note, early in the season follower Pete Eliot posted a comment that Neils Giffey had made a very bad mistake when he told the broadcasters that the correct pronunciation of his name was Gif 'fay not Giffey. Pete predicted that this would be his downfall and in fact he has played poorly since then. Amazingly Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas had a five minute conversation about the correction of pronumciation and Raftery opined that Giffey was playing better before the change.
Well batten down the hatches for tomorrow night and the Big Dance. If Olander, JCM and Oriakhi play at a high level (we know that Lamb and Napier will) there is now no telling how far the red hot Huskies can go.
"you heard it here first"
Steve
Not only was this Walker's best game of the year but it was also the young Huskies most impressive win. Unable to beat 2-3 match up zones all year, tonight they beat the best. Finally, Calhoun changed the way they attacked the zone. From the opening whistle there was virtually no dribbling in the half court sets by Walker and Napier and and either Lamb, Oriakhi, JCM or Troy Olander (in a break out game) moved to the foul line took a pass from one of the guards and either turned and shot or passed down low or kicked out to an open guard. All night they were poised, had very good ball movement and got open shots against the Orange zone. Olander was particularly impressive, confident and continually made good passes to break the zone. Oriakhi, when in the middle hit several 15 foot jumpers and was ferocious off the boards and Lamb darted in and out of the middle either popping from the outside or hitting his trademark floaters. It was Lamb who put the Huskies up by three with time waning in overtime with a spectacular running floater.
This was a tough, exciting well played Big East contest. Neither team shot particularly well in the first half and the Huskies went to the locker room with a one point advantage. Walker and crew were drawing fouls while on defense they committed very few so ultimately the difference was in the Huskies 16 point advantage from the free throw stripe. With only 58 seconds left in regulation play, the Huskies led by 5 and it was impressive to see how calm the oft criticized Jim Boeheim remained as he started to effectively using trapping zones and the game was forced into OT. Incredibly Walker and Lamb seemed stronger in the OT than the Orange despite playing their fourth game in four nights. In addition to Walker's 33 points, Oriakhi added 15 and Lamb had 11. Olander added 7 and if he can continue this level of play in the big dance the huskies have finally found a versatile, good passer who can also score up front.
The Huskies will play the winner of Notre Dame-Louisville tomorrow night for the Big East Championship. Just five days ago this reporter was despondent and convinced the Huskies had come as far as they could and would go out early in both the Big East and Big Dance. Whether or not the Huskies pull off a miracle tomorrow night and win their fifth Big East game in five nights, they are entering the NCAA Tournament a different and a hot team. Remember my truism. Hot teams down the stretch go far in the Big Dance; lest you fear that if the Huskies win again tomorrow night they can't possibly keep it up in the NCAA's remember that in the two UCONN National championship years they also won the Big east Tournament.
On a humorous note, early in the season follower Pete Eliot posted a comment that Neils Giffey had made a very bad mistake when he told the broadcasters that the correct pronunciation of his name was Gif 'fay not Giffey. Pete predicted that this would be his downfall and in fact he has played poorly since then. Amazingly Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas had a five minute conversation about the correction of pronumciation and Raftery opined that Giffey was playing better before the change.
Well batten down the hatches for tomorrow night and the Big Dance. If Olander, JCM and Oriakhi play at a high level (we know that Lamb and Napier will) there is now no telling how far the red hot Huskies can go.
"you heard it here first"
Steve
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Kembaya, its a (S)Lamb Dunk! UCONN 76-74
Led by Kemba Walker's 24 and Jeremy Lamb's 17 points the UCONN Huskies advanced to the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament with a thrilling upset win over Pitt. Down about 10 points with 8 minutes left in the first half the Huskies went on a 10-2run keyed by their defense to close the gap to one at the half.
They again fell behind in the second half but led by a rejuvenated Alex Oriaki(`2 points the game was tied with 38 seconds left to play and the ball in UConn's hands. Walker drove the land and missed a pull-up jumper but JCM took the rebound in traffic and alertly called time out with about 18 seconds left on the clock. Surprisingly, Pitt stayed in their man to man and instead of double teaming Walker they were switching when he drove the lane. On the last possession he forced a switch which left Pitt's power Center Andy McGhee on Kemba one on one. Mcghee was no match for the lightening quick Walker who dribbled right at MCghee then jumped back and drained a jump shot one second before the buzzer.
Lamb and Napier continued to play very well and Oriakhi came out of his slumber. Lamb is emerging as a real star and had several spectacular hoops today. this team can break your heart and then surprise and delight. Who knows where it's going.
"You Hear it Here First"
Steve
They again fell behind in the second half but led by a rejuvenated Alex Oriaki(`2 points the game was tied with 38 seconds left to play and the ball in UConn's hands. Walker drove the land and missed a pull-up jumper but JCM took the rebound in traffic and alertly called time out with about 18 seconds left on the clock. Surprisingly, Pitt stayed in their man to man and instead of double teaming Walker they were switching when he drove the lane. On the last possession he forced a switch which left Pitt's power Center Andy McGhee on Kemba one on one. Mcghee was no match for the lightening quick Walker who dribbled right at MCghee then jumped back and drained a jump shot one second before the buzzer.
Lamb and Napier continued to play very well and Oriakhi came out of his slumber. Lamb is emerging as a real star and had several spectacular hoops today. this team can break your heart and then surprise and delight. Who knows where it's going.
"You Hear it Here First"
Steve
Monday, March 7, 2011
Huskies at Sea Level; Notre Dame 70-UCONN 67
The UCONN men's basketball team ended their regular season play by dropping a home game to Notre Dame 70-67. Kemba Walker scored 34 points on 11-22 shooting from the field and 10-10 from the charity stripe. No other Husky scored in double figures and the Husky "Big" (size only) of Oriakhi, Smith and Oakwondo scored a combined total of 8 points. Anything else I could say about this game would be a repeat of my last several blogs. Walker had a better game because the Fighing Irish inexplicably stayed in a man to man defense until the last 3 minutes when they finally went into a 2-3 zone and secured the win. Walker is far more effective against a man defense and reallly cannot be stopped one on one.
The Huskies finished the season 21-9 and 9-9 and tied for 9th in the Big East. They fell in the lastest polls to 19th in the Coaches Poll, 21 in the AP poll and 23 in the RPI. They did not have a player other than Walker who averaged in double figures.
They open their Big East Tourney tomorrow at Noon against the hapless DePaul Blue Demons.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
The Huskies finished the season 21-9 and 9-9 and tied for 9th in the Big East. They fell in the lastest polls to 19th in the Coaches Poll, 21 in the AP poll and 23 in the RPI. They did not have a player other than Walker who averaged in double figures.
They open their Big East Tourney tomorrow at Noon against the hapless DePaul Blue Demons.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Water Seeks it's Own Level; West Virginia 67-59
Does this sound familiar? UCONN loses by eight to a Big East opponent in a desultory performance. Their offense is stifled by a tough man to man defense with double and triple teams on Walker when he gets the ball alternated with a match up zone.
- Walker leads the team in scoring but is 8-23(34%) from the floor and takes many poor shots.
- Only one Freshman has a good game (Napier) and other than Walker and Napier no Husky scores more than five points
- The Husky big men (Oriakhi, Oakwondo, Olander, and Smith)score a total of 4 points.
- Oriakhi is horrendous on offense and does not score.
- Smith is scoreless and is beginning to look like a bust
- The Husky offense is helpless against the match-up zone and instead of putting JCM at the foul line the guards dribble aimlessly in circles looking for seams that don't exist.
- Calhoun yanks Giffey and then JCM in less than one minute of play each at their first mistake.
At some point in a season one has to give up the idea that there continues to be a lot of room for improvement and accept that what you see is what you get. And what we saw last night at The West Virginia University Coliseum was, in essence, this years version of the Huskies. One reliable scorer who has regressed as the year has gone on; Kemba has to take some responsibility for his aimless dribbling and forced shots. Five Freshman, each who have shown flashes of talent but none of whom are consistent with the possible exception of Napier; their development is impeded by Calhoun's policy of yanking players after one mistake which I believe is demoralizing. Virtually no inside scoring presence and a very disappointing Alex Oriakhi. A team that is poorly coached in their half court sets and are clueless against match up zones. The result was a 67-59 loss to a characteristically fierce Bob Huggins team. There is no more that can said about last night other than the pre-season pollsters who picked the Huskies 10th in the Big East were actually on target.
What's left? The Huskies end their season at home on Saturday against a red hot Notre Dame team. Win or lose the Huskies are going to the Big Dance, even though they could finish as low as 10th in the Big East if the lose on Saturday. If that is the case the Big East will probably get a record 9 bids and the Huskies will make it based on several key wins and a good strength of schedule. I don't see them winning more than one game, if that, in the Big East tournament and they would have to get red hot to make it past the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
I would imagine that the Pittsburgh fans ( some of whom read this blog) have high hopes this year. Sadly, the Panthers will eat their annual Big Dance apple and it will get stuck in their throats. The choking sound will reverberate all the way to Weston, Ct.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
- Walker leads the team in scoring but is 8-23(34%) from the floor and takes many poor shots.
- Only one Freshman has a good game (Napier) and other than Walker and Napier no Husky scores more than five points
- The Husky big men (Oriakhi, Oakwondo, Olander, and Smith)score a total of 4 points.
- Oriakhi is horrendous on offense and does not score.
- Smith is scoreless and is beginning to look like a bust
- The Husky offense is helpless against the match-up zone and instead of putting JCM at the foul line the guards dribble aimlessly in circles looking for seams that don't exist.
- Calhoun yanks Giffey and then JCM in less than one minute of play each at their first mistake.
At some point in a season one has to give up the idea that there continues to be a lot of room for improvement and accept that what you see is what you get. And what we saw last night at The West Virginia University Coliseum was, in essence, this years version of the Huskies. One reliable scorer who has regressed as the year has gone on; Kemba has to take some responsibility for his aimless dribbling and forced shots. Five Freshman, each who have shown flashes of talent but none of whom are consistent with the possible exception of Napier; their development is impeded by Calhoun's policy of yanking players after one mistake which I believe is demoralizing. Virtually no inside scoring presence and a very disappointing Alex Oriakhi. A team that is poorly coached in their half court sets and are clueless against match up zones. The result was a 67-59 loss to a characteristically fierce Bob Huggins team. There is no more that can said about last night other than the pre-season pollsters who picked the Huskies 10th in the Big East were actually on target.
What's left? The Huskies end their season at home on Saturday against a red hot Notre Dame team. Win or lose the Huskies are going to the Big Dance, even though they could finish as low as 10th in the Big East if the lose on Saturday. If that is the case the Big East will probably get a record 9 bids and the Huskies will make it based on several key wins and a good strength of schedule. I don't see them winning more than one game, if that, in the Big East tournament and they would have to get red hot to make it past the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
I would imagine that the Pittsburgh fans ( some of whom read this blog) have high hopes this year. Sadly, the Panthers will eat their annual Big Dance apple and it will get stuck in their throats. The choking sound will reverberate all the way to Weston, Ct.
"You Heard it here First"
Steve
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