Finding a Way

It wasn’t the prettiest of games. At times, it looked down right horrible, but in the end, with a combination of good outside shooting and rebounding, UConn was able to crawl back into the game and secure their tenth win in a row. The offense at times looked stagnant and the defense looked sloppy. If Connecticut doesn’t fix their lax transition defense, then faster up-tempo teams are going to kill them. The perimeter defense was phenomenal and held DePaul’s talented back court to 9 for 26 shooting.

It will be interesting to see how Calhoun deals with Austrie when Dyson returns. Austrie has earned the right to start. His defense is stifling the opponents best player. Draelon only made 2 out of 9 from three. The greatest weakness in UConn’s early games, their perimeter defense, is now their strength and that has to do a lot with Austrie. He is also starting to knock down shots with consistency and is stretching defenses, opening up the big men down low.

Price had an off night, the worst of this 10 game stretch. He still came out and attacked the defense and had 7 assists. It’s a good sign that Price only scored 6 points and they still pulled out a victory. It shows that this isn’t a one trick pony. Wiggins is finding his stride and made several big shots. His spectacular diving defensive stop was the catalyst that sparked their comeback. His decision making has improved also, dishing out 4 dimes to only 1 turnover.

Robinson was on a mission to become more assertive in his offense and took 10 shots, though he only made 3. It is a good sign. I can’t remember the last time he had taken the most shots then anyone else on the team. He still attacked the boards and pulled down 7 rebounds and had 3 blocks.

Thabeet had a monster first half but faded during the beginning of the second half. He nearly pulled off the triple double with 16 points, 13 boards, and 8 blocks. 7 offensive rebounds is amazing, but he has regressed at the line. His post play has improved but it seems to me that he doesn’t palm the ball. He seems to fumble with it when taking a shot. Adrien also had a solid night with 12 points and 11 boards. He was able to lose his defender and get to the rim often.

Kelly made a brief appearance and didn’t show much, only 1 board, but its good to see that he still exists. Gavin took 3 shots but clanked them all. Calhoun used a small bench in this game and gave his reserves only 8 minutes total.

Its great to see UConn win but they are not playing well at all. They are giving up to many easy buckets and are playing sloppy in stretches. They should be able to win these games by double digits, with their superior talent but they are unable to pull away from teams. They have won only 2 games by double digits in this 10 game win streak. They are going to need to fix their transition defense and sloppy execution on offense if they want to make a run in the tournament.

Up next is Villanova, a team that is a cornered animal, playing for their tournament lives. They need wins and a bunch of them to get into the 8th spot and I don’t know if they even have a chance to get there. It will be a tough road test for the pups. Luckily it will be on a station that everyone can get, ESPN.