Watching the Connecticut game and it’s amazing how their center has been outplayed by San Diego State’s big. It would be so helpful to have a 5 that can score and defend.
Connecticut
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During our game there were a couple of comments here comparing the UConn kid with Edey. They are not in the same league. Maybe in the future, as the UConn kid is a sophomore. But, right now, no comparison.
I’d love to see the matchup. We seemed to have no clue at times as to where Clingan was on the floor - 8 blocks against us was quite impressive. He’s younger and less filled out than Edey, but I don’t think the skills are markedly different. He was also an All-American.
Watching UConn dismantle SDSU in the second half makes me appreciate how hard NU played in their second half.......
He’s good and moves great for such a monster. But has a long way to go to get to Edey’s work off the ball, positioning, shielding. I’d also love to see them battle.
This UConn team is the most complete team I can remember in quite a while.
I am hoping NU ends up being the only team in the tournament to beat UCONN in a half of play.
Would love to revisit this conversation when the two teams meet. No way Edey gets his season averages against Clingan.
Braden Smith will pick up the slack. Unless the Refs screw PU as is so often the case.
/s
I was going to say that would require the Purdue guards to not go all Houdini, and disappear for a game. But you're right, it will be the refs, as usual, screwing them.
30 points difference in a sweet 16 game is scary good.
Uh…except for NU in second half…
We had a 5 that could defend and score at the right moments.
Come back Big Matt!
… said 99% of college basketball teams ever.
UCONN is just really, really good.
They are? Thanks for pointing that out.
As for the 99 percent … no.
I’m watching the Alabama center from North Dakota State light up North Carolina. San Diego State’s center outplayed Clingan. Baycot is pretty good.
In the B1G, you have Edey, Hawkins, Ware, Garcia, Crowl and Mast. They are not unicorns. We should be able to find one. It would be so helpful.
Yes a bit of hyperbole, but you don’t think that the vast-vast majority of college basketball programs pine for a two-way Big?
For the record, Edey is pretty shitty on defense save for some blocks because he’s really tall, Hawkins only a little better, then the rest are even worse on the defensive end.
Let’s not make big Matt out to be Bill Russell. He’s a good defender but he is outscored by almost every center we play. And every one of those guys is a better rebounder.
And Ware is a good defender. 2 blocks and 10 rebounds a game.
Not saying it’s easy. But we can do better. It shouldn’t be shocking when our 5 makes a basket that is not an uncontested shot.
Stick to football. You really don’t know what you are talking about. Seriously. I am absolutely not agreeing with you. You dismissed all those other centers as being bad defensively. I am guessing you have seen them play once or twice at best and have no statistical basis for making that claim.
No use debating this further with you. But Collins should be able to find a 5 that is not a defensive liability and can contribute offensively. Many college teams have them. Purdue, IU, Iowa and Wisconsin have had many of them through the years. We’ve had Pardon.
You do understand that teams have a natural letdown when they are blowing out a team at the half, right?
OK, man. You were literally pining for a legitimate two-way Big and I could probably count the number of those in college basketball on one hand. I’m not nearly the college basketball junkie that I am a college football junkie, but that’s not a terribly controversial take:
No he doesn't. You know, Gordie, every once in a while its ok to leave the koolaid in the frig.
My dream game would have been NU vs SDSU. I was impressed by NU’s 2nd half against UConn and was depressed by San Diego State’s 2nd half today. I believe the Aztecs having to travel across country to play in what was essentially a home game for the Huskies was a major factor. The Aztecs looked depleted in the 2nd half and UConn’s constant pressure on defense- they were amazing on the offensive boards and their shooting 3’s blew out the Aztecs. UConn is a complete team and will be hard to beat although they did look vulnerable in the 1st half when they had a long string of missed shots. San Diego State just couldn’t capitalize on it. UConn obviously deserved the overall #1 seed the way they have played their first 3 games. UConn should take down the Illini.
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Maybe just having a little fun…? But you know - I just can’t help myself and get way too excited about how NU basketball is so great all the time…?
And it’s fridge, not frig. Get it friggin right some time.
Except UConn led by 22 at the half and stretched the lead to 30 before NU made a comeback. So there was no letdown starting the second half. NU forced Hurley to take a timeout with 5:00 left because he was concerned about NU's run. Upon is a machine, they don't have "letdowns".
And in the past 2 NCAA Tournaments UConn has won by an average of 23 points. So they are built to blow teams out, it wasn't a first-time thing for them to have a big lead.
NU’s success is really getting under your skin, isn’t it combes?
Far be it from me to agree with the troll from Vassar, but yes, to hang our hats on playing a competitive second half after falling behind by 30 is, in a word, bizarre. I loved this teams heart and effort, but no. We were not in the same class as UConn from tip to final whistle.
Is any team the same class that’s missing two starters?
Tell that to the players and coaches out there on both sides and I wonder if you get use of the same adjective.
A lot of pressure on Illinois tomorrow to lose to UConn by less than "lowly" Northwestern did missing two starters.
I don't think anybody, or many, are saying the Cats are in UConn's class. I'm not sure anybody is in UConn's class, and if anybody is it's a very short list.
The reality is Uconn smoked NU inside on offense and made a lot of trouble for NU and Buie on defense. But NU still got good shots despite that. In the first half though, NU was just clanking shots they usually make, and the combination of that and Uconn's superiority caused it to get ugly. If NU made shots as normal, it would have been less ugly but still UConn controlled. In the second half UConn mostly kept playing hard but missed quite a few of their own shots and NU started hitting so we closed the gap a little. Playing hard and putting a good foot forward once the shots started to fall at least allowed us to finish the season with our head held high, it was a stinker for one of the best shooting teams in the country to finish our season not even shooting well.
With a chance to make a Final Four, I don’t think Brad and the team are concerned about a transitive property ‘loss’ to Northwestern. Losing by 1 or 30 hurts the exact same because it means the end of a special season.
I just think the moral victory act is bizarre. Managing to “win” the second half by 5, in a game where UConn dominated wire to wire, is just an odd thing to even make note of much less discuss for days afterward. Celebrate Boo, celebrate a good season and consecutive NCAAT berths, and day dream about what could be in future seasons. But acting like it matters that UConn got bored and didn’t run up the score any more is loser talk and it’s bizarre to me.
Extremely. He’s a good coach, no question. I’m not good at rankings, but he seems like he’s clearly in the top third of coaches in the Big Ten. I think he benefited the last couple years from the Big Ten being pretty down, but so have all the other teams in the top the last couple years. And we shouldn’t complain about Michigan, Ohio St, MSU etc. being bad. Big Ten will be down again next year, so there’s more opportunity to keep it going on the horizon.
I’ll still never understand how he fumbled the season after his first tourney appearance, but he seems to have learned a lot in the years since because the locker room clearly handled the success well and didn’t let it dull their edge at all. That season looks like an anomaly now, after the last two seasons.
I’m curious about life after Boo, but I think the hard part is over now and it’s reloading vs rebuilding.
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