2008-09 Men\'s College Basketball Thread

[Drew_Kingsley]

as a uconn fan, i\'m much more afraid of nova than marquette

True. I was just discussing Marquette because I hadn\'t seen them before last night. I have feared Scottie Reynolds since his 40-point game against the Huskies in his freshman season.

[NickNels]

Big-time Syracuse beat down in Storrs last night.  I was (a little) surprised that UCONN put such a whooping on \'Cuse even with the absence of Jerome Dyson.  Just speaks to our tremendous depth.  

Tough environment for the Orange to come into.  YOu know there isn\'t much hope when Boeheim was saying before the game that they had no chance of coming inside against CT.

Outclassed

[oldnewbie]

i went to the villanova game in hartford and the huskies played great that night...but the cats are getting very hot for sure. uconn,pitt,louisville,nova and marquette are for real in the big east imho....the rest are all pretenders.

[booztravlr]

Big-time Syracuse beat down in Storrs last night.  I was (a little) surprised that UCONN put such a whooping on \'Cuse even with the absence of Jerome Dyson.  Just speaks to our tremendous depth.  

Tough environment for the Orange to come into.  YOu know there isn\'t much hope when Boeheim was saying before the game that they had no chance of coming inside against CT.

Outclassed

Does UConn (specifically Thabeet) never get called for fouls? I counted numerous over the backs and body checks that went uncalled, then Syracuse would get called for a little love tap reach-in foul. I don\'t care how the refs want to call the game as long as it is consistent, which it wasn\'t last night.

Outclassed huh? You must have been watching a different game than me. Or are you referring to Thabeet when he threw a blatent elbow into Devendorfs face during a free throw then acted like nothing happened. Of course, the refs seemed to miss this somehow. This should have resulted in a loss of that FT attempt, a flagrant foul on Thabeet which gets Cuse 1 FT and the ball. Instead Devendorf tried to steal the ball and was called for a touch foul. The \'beatdown\' didn\'t happen until after this play when Devendorf was making a case with one of the refs for the elbow and was told to watch his mouth, which earned him a spot on the bench the rest of the night. What little momentum they had was lost then UConn rounded out their 10-0 or so run.

On top of all that, Cuse shot the ball like shit. So I guess there really isn\'t anyone else to blame but players. Hopefully A-O gets healthy before the Big East tournament so we can have another shot at UConn on a neutral court.

[Drew_Kingsley]

Outclassed huh? You must have been watching a different game than me. Or are you referring to Thabeet when he threw a blatent elbow into Devendorfs face

Thabeet should have done the classy thing and hit a woman, instead.

I actually didn\'t see the game, I just think the Syracuse/Devendorf situation represents the worst in college sports.

[SlimPickens]

This win did little to impress me, in fact it concerns me that they didn\'t dominate the Orange Boys more.  

Despite their one time top ten ranking Syracuse has had a miserable record of late, they\'ve completely fallen apart.

[zuke583]

uconn simply couldn\'t hold on to the ball last night. plus we lost our best shooter against a zone-oriented team...worst case scenario.  and we still beat them by double digits. is uconn really that good or is cuse really that bad? i say both

this uconn team is dominant. unfortunately the road to the title will lead through oklahoma (griffin) and/or unc (psycho-T). while our guards can hang with anybody, thabeet will find himself overmatched by the truly dominant big men unless he steps it up (which he has done in feb - averaging 13/13/6). the pitt games will be an excellent barometer for this team

[booztravlr]

Outclassed huh? You must have been watching a different game than me. Or are you referring to Thabeet when he threw a blatent elbow into Devendorfs face

Thabeet should have done the classy thing and hit a woman, instead.

I actually didn\'t see the game, I just think the Syracuse/Devendorf situation represents the worst in college sports.

So because Devendorf is a thug on and off the court means Thabeet can elbow him in the face during the game?

What about Calhoun getting in Harris\' and Devendorf\'s face during the game too? Way to keep your cool coach.

This win did little to impress me, in fact it concerns me that they didn\'t dominate the Orange Boys more.  

Despite their one time top ten ranking Syracuse has had a miserable record of late, they\'ve completely fallen apart.

They were top 10 based entirely on out of conference wins (Kansas, Memphis and Florida) and an easy schedule for 4-0 in the Big East. They\'re awful on the road in the Big East. Fortunately, they\'ve played the bulk of their road games and only have to travel to St John\'s and Marquette still, mixed in with 4 home games. It doesn\'t help they only play Pittsburgh and UConn (plus Marquette still) once each and all on the road. Onuaku has been hurt the past 5 games, last night being the only one he played in the second half. Ever since Rautins got hurt again 6-7 games ago he\'s lost his outside shot, which is all he\'s good for. They need to get healthy and Boeheim needs to whip them into shape. I didn\'t expect much higher than an 8 seed in the Big East tourny so I\'m not too worried right now. I\'m guessing a 4-2 finish to give them a 10-8 overall in the Big East would at least secure that.

[NickNels]

Big-time Syracuse beat down in Storrs last night.  I was (a little) surprised that UCONN put such a whooping on \'Cuse even with the absence of Jerome Dyson.  Just speaks to our tremendous depth.  

Tough environment for the Orange to come into.  YOu know there isn\'t much hope when Boeheim was saying before the game that they had no chance of coming inside against CT.

Outclassed

Does UConn (specifically Thabeet) never get called for fouls? I counted numerous over the backs and body checks that went uncalled, then Syracuse would get called for a little love tap reach-in foul. I don\'t care how the refs want to call the game as long as it is consistent, which it wasn\'t last night.

Outclassed huh? You must have been watching a different game than me. Or are you referring to Thabeet when he threw a blatent elbow into Devendorfs face during a free throw then acted like nothing happened. Of course, the refs seemed to miss this somehow. This should have resulted in a loss of that FT attempt, a flagrant foul on Thabeet which gets Cuse 1 FT and the ball. Instead Devendorf tried to steal the ball and was called for a touch foul. The \'beatdown\' didn\'t happen until after this play when Devendorf was making a case with one of the refs for the elbow and was told to watch his mouth, which earned him a spot on the bench the rest of the night. What little momentum they had was lost then UConn rounded out their 10-0 or so run.

On top of all that, Cuse shot the ball like shit. So I guess there really isn\'t anyone else to blame but players. Hopefully A-O gets healthy before the Big East tournament so we can have another shot at UConn on a neutral court.

Hmmm...I was watching the game where we beat you by 14 points without our best shooting guard.  

Are you really going to complain about the officiating?  That is the epitome of loser talk, but even if a few more calls went your way it wouldn\'t have mattered much.  The second half UCONN had complete control of that game.  I am all for team pride, but you have to give respect where respect is due.

At this stage of the game \'Cuse cannot compete on UCONN\'s level.  A big part of why Syracuse lost might have been because they shot the ball like shit, but if you live an die by the jump shot, that stuff is going to happen.  Look at Duke...they have ZERO inside game (Zubek is not that great).  When they shoot poorly from the field they are going to lose.  Having an inside presence is SO SO SO IMPORTANT.  Plus give UCONN some credit.  \'Cuse\'s poor shooting was as much a product of the Huskies\' defense than just bad shots.

When Onuaku develops more inside game \'Cuse will be much stronger.  It was the same way with Thabeet...it just takes time.

Oh...and maybe Devendorf should play a little defense.  It might help.

this uconn team is dominant. unfortunately the road to the title will lead through oklahoma (griffin) and/or unc (psycho-T). while our guards can hang with anybody, thabeet will find himself overmatched by the truly dominant big men unless he steps it up (which he has done in feb - averaging 13/13/6). the pitt games will be an excellent barometer for this team

I agree.  It will be tough for Thabeet against elite big men.  He seems to have trouble guarding Centers that can shoot the basketball.  When you draw Thabeet out from under the basket his defense does take a serious hit.  They have to handle the Hansboros and Griffins of the world the same way they did Harangody.  Let him take the long shots, but don\'t let him get the easy points under the basket.  Sticks, Adrien, and Edwards are going to have to play a huge role against teams like that.

[booztravlr]

When Onuaku develops more inside game \'Cuse will be much stronger.  It was the same way with Thabeet...it just takes time.

Oh...and maybe Devendorf should play a little defense.  It might help.

As physical as that game was, to only have 9 total fouls called against UConn seems a bit low.

Up until last night, Onuaku was leading the nation with 70% FG. So to see him go 2-9 def had something to do with the defense but most of his misses were just 4-5\' uncontested shots, which rarely happens. Again, he has been hurt and only playing 15-18 minutes/game over the last 5 so I think some of it was due to fatigue in the second half.

Devendorf has always sucked at defense. Rautins too. This is another reason why Boeheim never leaves the zone.

Good to see Ongenaet step it up and lead the team in rebounds, blocks and steals. Too bad he had a ball thrown in his face by Thabeet after he stepped out of bounds (though he prob didn\'t realize it right away). Aren\'t you supposed to aim for their feet?

[NickNels]

When Onuaku develops more inside game \'Cuse will be much stronger.  It was the same way with Thabeet...it just takes time.

Oh...and maybe Devendorf should play a little defense.  It might help.

Good to see Ongenaet step it up and lead the team in rebounds, blocks and steals. Too bad he had a ball thrown in his face by Thabeet after he stepped out of bounds (though he prob didn\'t realize it right away). Aren\'t you supposed to aim for their feet?

Yeah...I don\'t think he intentionally did that, but Thabeet should have at least appologized or at least did a "my bad" gesture or something.  He can be a prick sometimes...what are you going to do? :shrug:

[NickNels]

***UPDATE****

Jerome Dyson is out INDEFINITELY with a torn lateral miniscus in his right knee.

Doesn\'t look like we are going to see him back on the court this year

[zuke583]

***UPDATE****

Jerome Dyson is out INDEFINITELY with a torn lateral miniscus in his right knee.

Doesn\'t look like we are going to see him back on the court this year

well it\'s not like the team hasn\'t played without him before. it\'s going to be tougher, no doubt, but it\'s not as bad as losing thabeet or price. those two will need to step it up for sure. luckily, both players are much more clutch compared to last year. austrie has proven that he can step in and contribute. all we can ask is that he matches what he did last year. i don\'t think adrien can really step it up a notch...we just need him to stay consistent. there are two players who need to step it WAY up though: sticks and k-walk. sticks has shown flashes and he certainly has the tools, but he needs much more consistency. i feel like that\'s his major flaw though. maybe this will hammer it home.  k-walk is similar in that he hasn\'t shown the necessary consistency, but i think that\'s mainly because he hasn\'t had the playing time. i look for him to get a real increase in minutes.  hell he could be better than dyson....he\'s super talented. the rest of the big east season/tourney will show what he\'s made of. now let\'s just hope we don\'t have to play pitt four times in the next 15 games

[NickNels]

2/16/09

AP Top 25
 1. Connecticut (66) 24-1 1,794
 2. Oklahoma (4) 25-1 1,709
 3. North Carolina (2) 23-2 1,676
 4. Pittsburgh 23-2 1,589
 5. Memphis 22-3 1,465
 6. Michigan State 20-4 1,443
 7. Louisville 19-5 1,280
 8. Wake Forest 19-4 1,217
 9. Duke 20-5 1,048
10. Marquette 21-4 1,045
11. Missouri 22-4 1,041
12. Villanova 20-5 983
13. Clemson 20-4 939
14. Arizona State 20-5 830
15. Kansas 20-5 651
16. Xavier 21-4 646
17. Gonzaga 19-5 599
18. Illinois 21-5 589
19. Purdue 19-6 582
20. UCLA 19-6 473
21. Butler 22-3 373
22. Washington 19-6 334
23. LSU 21-4 294
24. Syracuse 19-7 207
25. Dayton 23-3 194
Others Receiving Votes
Texas 83, Utah State 72, Ohio State 45, Arizona 38, California 34, Utah 34, West Virginia 26, Florida State 18, Davidson 15, South Carolina 10, Minnesota 6, Boston College 5, Kentucky 5, Miami (FL) 2, Wisconsin 2, Tennessee 2, Robert Morris 1, Brigham Young 1.
Dropped From Rankings
Utah State 21, Ohio State 24, Florida State 25.


So Duke only drops 3 spots in the polls despite 2 losses this week?  Wow!  These guys must be good.

Pitt @ UCONN (-3.5) tonight.  Can\'t wait!

LET\'S GO HUSKIES!

[booztravlr]

That\'s cause everyone loves to blow Duke. They only win when they can shoot the 3 at 40% or better. Everyone will see how bad they really are when they don\'t make it out of the opening weekend come tournament time.

Big game tonight. UConn gives them breathing room and an inside track to the Big East title. A loss puts the top teams into a four way tie.