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
Monday, March 14, 2011
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
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Calhoun rumored to have Read my Blog; UCONN 67-Cincinnati 59
Anyone who read my particularly insightful blog about Thursday night's loss to Marquette and then watched today's workmanlike Husky win over Cincinnati would have to believe the rumors in today's issue of a well know Connectict newspaper. It was reported from an undisclosed source that when Calhoun returned to Campus to re-join the team he requested a copy of my blog from Thursday. I can't be sure myself but he certainly incorporated my main suggestions from the get-go.
As I implored, Calhoun had either Lamb or Napier at the point the entire game, with Walker on the wing;this allowed Walker to preserve energy and prevented him from over dribbling. Both Frosh were very effective; Lamb played 38 minutes and had 17 points on 7-10 from the field, including 3-4 from 3 point land. Napier played 26 minutes as opposed to 11 against Marquette and scored 11 points in addition to running the offense well. I also made a very strong case that Calhoun had to commit totally to incorporating his Freshman into the offense if this team did not want an early trip home to Storrs. In fact, Walker took a season low 11 shots but made 5; his shot selection was better, he did not force the action and as a result Lamb, Napier, and Smith ( who had his best offensive showing of the campaign) got more shots. This resulted in better point distribution with Walker plus Lamb, Napier and Smith in Double figures. JCM also got more time on the floor and had a fairly quiet scoring night but played his usual effective all court game. Since Smith was hot, hit 3 treys and scored 11 JCM did not have a lot of minutes.
The Huskies were in control from start to finish and went home with a 67-59 win.
tonights win gives the Huskies a 9-7 conference record and with two to play the worst case scenario is a .500 record which makes them a lock for a dance card because of the quality wins early in the year and their strength of schedule. Their remaining games are Wednesday at West Virginia and Saturday at home against Notre Dame. These games are very important since if the Huskies run the table they will get a one round bye in the Big East Tournament. Of note is that both years the Huskies won the National Championship, 1999 and 2003, they also won the Big East Tournament. One would think that winning the conference tournament might be draining but this points to one of Steve Eliot's truisms. Teams that are hot and playing well at the end of the season do well in the Big Dance;conversely teams that are playing badly down the stretch do not turn it around in the NCAA's. For all you bracketologists entering pools put your money on teams that are hot in the stretch.
I think a great dark horse for the final four this year is Louisville. they continued their hot play today when they upset Pitt.
One last observation. I would say that Alex Oriakhi has been inconsistent and disappointing this year. I have concluded that his upside is much more limited than most people had hoped. Here is the reason; He is a slow jumper. By that I mean he is slow to get off the floor and as a result has a lot of shots blocked or deflected and misses opportunities for put-backs. he reminds me a lot of Jeff Adrien who had the same problem and was not drafted( although he just got a 10 day trial with I forget who) Oriakhi's slow jumping was evident at 16:00 of the first half when he was far ahead of the field and took a full court pass from Lamb. By the time he got off the ground for what should have been an easy dunk the shot was blocked.
"You Heard it here First"
steve
As I implored, Calhoun had either Lamb or Napier at the point the entire game, with Walker on the wing;this allowed Walker to preserve energy and prevented him from over dribbling. Both Frosh were very effective; Lamb played 38 minutes and had 17 points on 7-10 from the field, including 3-4 from 3 point land. Napier played 26 minutes as opposed to 11 against Marquette and scored 11 points in addition to running the offense well. I also made a very strong case that Calhoun had to commit totally to incorporating his Freshman into the offense if this team did not want an early trip home to Storrs. In fact, Walker took a season low 11 shots but made 5; his shot selection was better, he did not force the action and as a result Lamb, Napier, and Smith ( who had his best offensive showing of the campaign) got more shots. This resulted in better point distribution with Walker plus Lamb, Napier and Smith in Double figures. JCM also got more time on the floor and had a fairly quiet scoring night but played his usual effective all court game. Since Smith was hot, hit 3 treys and scored 11 JCM did not have a lot of minutes.
The Huskies were in control from start to finish and went home with a 67-59 win.
tonights win gives the Huskies a 9-7 conference record and with two to play the worst case scenario is a .500 record which makes them a lock for a dance card because of the quality wins early in the year and their strength of schedule. Their remaining games are Wednesday at West Virginia and Saturday at home against Notre Dame. These games are very important since if the Huskies run the table they will get a one round bye in the Big East Tournament. Of note is that both years the Huskies won the National Championship, 1999 and 2003, they also won the Big East Tournament. One would think that winning the conference tournament might be draining but this points to one of Steve Eliot's truisms. Teams that are hot and playing well at the end of the season do well in the Big Dance;conversely teams that are playing badly down the stretch do not turn it around in the NCAA's. For all you bracketologists entering pools put your money on teams that are hot in the stretch.
I think a great dark horse for the final four this year is Louisville. they continued their hot play today when they upset Pitt.
One last observation. I would say that Alex Oriakhi has been inconsistent and disappointing this year. I have concluded that his upside is much more limited than most people had hoped. Here is the reason; He is a slow jumper. By that I mean he is slow to get off the floor and as a result has a lot of shots blocked or deflected and misses opportunities for put-backs. he reminds me a lot of Jeff Adrien who had the same problem and was not drafted( although he just got a 10 day trial with I forget who) Oriakhi's slow jumping was evident at 16:00 of the first half when he was far ahead of the field and took a full court pass from Lamb. By the time he got off the ground for what should have been an easy dunk the shot was blocked.
"You Heard it here First"
steve
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