- Loudest crowd of year. Down 17 and 18 late and nobody's leaving and it got even noisier!
- Best comeback in years: UConn missed free throws and turned it over. Chances to win at end.
- Speaking of turnovers, had 3 fewer than UConn, 3 more steals, 3 more blocks. Real hustling!
- UConn fans the worst: 2000 rowdy Huskiies: think Trump, but without his charm. Damn Yankees
- Two quick offensive fouls called on Tacko first 90 second, though ball 25 from him in each case and he was getting hit. Ref handed game to UConn before any scoring.
- Didn't score first 6 min, pulled ahead 16-9, but without Tacko, UConn closed half with 25-6 run!
- Physical: guys got beaten up. Tank went out, and with it our offense (except for Nicks 3 threes).
- Team never gave up, scared a swaggering team with a long tradition. So proud of players, fans!
- Baby race toward mothers took longer than some pregnancies. Infants happy to sit in the middle
Turning point game tonite? Maybe
- Thread starter UCFProf
- Start date
Northeast region has the biggest bunch of loud mouths in the world. They run around yelling then ask for a safe space.
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When you lose it's not a comeback...it's losing. We lost as soon as Tacko picked up 2 fouls in 90 seconds, both of which were his fault. With him in the game we looked dominant and could keep them off the boards. They outboarded us by like 13 in the first half, mostly with Tacko out. By the end of the game rebounds were even. They had a sick run of making baskets as well...kudos to them. They were 8 of 10 from 3-point land in the first half. Again, quality depth hurt us. When Tacko was in, I thought it might have been his best game. He was physical, aggressive, and actually moved around well. The paint was pretty much gone for UConn when he was in. Brimah became a non-factor on the offensive end. The stats say Tacko only had one block. That can't be right???
Nick had an outrageous game, playing center in the first half, 2 blocks, making his 3s. Chad had two blocks. AJ had two blocks. UConn's Purvis ate us alive in the first game as well. We shut him down in the second half after his 5 threes in the first half. UConn has tremendous shooters and they may not lose another conference game.
One of the primary reasons for our less than .500 conference record is that we don't have 5 guys on the floor contributing for 40 minutes...in the preseason we regularly got considerably more productivity from the 5 guys on the floor.....not so since conference started....
It's primarily been Nick and AJ who have struggled this conference season....but, in a turn of events, both played very well yesterday along with Tank....however, in a disturbing turn, Matt went 3-17 and BJ 6-19 from the field....and you don't beat good teams when your leading scorers shoot like that....so again, we didn't have 5 guys contributing for 40 minutes....
Consistency and depth have put a lid on this season....maybe with next year's additions, we'll have 5 guys contributing the entire game and this team can be a factor in conference play...
And Prof, Connecticut is very liberal, Hillary won the state and Trump only got 40% of the vote...so I'd liken the UConn fans to Hillary with exactly her personality!
It's primarily been Nick and AJ who have struggled this conference season....but, in a turn of events, both played very well yesterday along with Tank....however, in a disturbing turn, Matt went 3-17 and BJ 6-19 from the field....and you don't beat good teams when your leading scorers shoot like that....so again, we didn't have 5 guys contributing for 40 minutes....
Consistency and depth have put a lid on this season....maybe with next year's additions, we'll have 5 guys contributing the entire game and this team can be a factor in conference play...
And Prof, Connecticut is very liberal, Hillary won the state and Trump only got 40% of the vote...so I'd liken the UConn fans to Hillary with exactly her personality!
Actually, a lot of folks left around the 7 min mark and I really wanted to win the game just so those fans would be miserable.
What's the rush? Where were they going at 7 45 pm? Going home to watch Matlock?
That one ref that called both offensive fouls on Tacko 80 ,seconds into the game basucalky sealed UCF's fate as that limited Tacko to only 17 mins. He was also the same clown who called a blindsided call on Baynard block, even though he couldn't see it.
Yeah. That call was horrible. Almost as bad a call was when we were down by 5 late, BJ got the ball and when he went to plant his foot it slid and they called traveling. It was 100% obvious his foot slid because he hit a wet spot, and refs usually won't call that. There wasn't a guy draped on him defensively. Instead of us getting the ball and perhaps cutting the lead to 3 or 2, they went down and hit a last second shot stretching the lead to 7. We couldn't reel them in after that.
With regards to Tacko, the first foul was 100% him. He lowered his shoulder and plowed into Brahima for no reason. It was a dumb play.
The call that got the crowd really roused up was Nick's clean ball swipe! The replay board showed it twice, and the boos got louder and louder. The players really responded from then on with frenetic energy. From the 11 minute to 3 1/2 minute mark of the second half, UConn scored 2 points! What a run by a team that still had trouble shooting. It was all defense on the full-court pressing.
I didn't see the student section leave or any from our sideline section. Perhaps it was UConn some supporters thinking they had it all wrapped up. Our fans are really loyal this year (for a change) and hungry for this brand of top-quality basketball. The AAC is much better at basketball than football, and the coaches may now be the best group in the nation! Home wins over Houston and Memphis and taking SMU and UConn to the last minute make this easily the best UCF team ever. The rest of the schedule favors us and some of us are hoping to attend the conference tournament.
My thoughts, in no particular order.
Once again, a whole bunch of Club Seat ticket holders sold their tickets to U Conn fans rather than show up and support the team. I get that money is money, but God Damn.
Students showed up and eventually filled in most of their section. But a majority are still not engaged. Somebody step up. Get them organized. They could be a lethal force. This could be an ugly place to play for visiting teams.
That bald, Frances Dollarhyde looking M'Fer of a ref is a worthless POS. I am really tired of us getting jobbed by the refs this year. There were some egregious calls in that game. Net effect, the officials F'd us. No continuation call late in the game when they hacked BJ on the drive. No T's when their player shoved BJ in front of the U Conn bench, or when their coach kept standing on the floor.
There are about 5 of us in the first rows of 115 that get loud. The rest ... golf claps.
Number 15 for U Conn, Purvis, is an azzhole. At one point in the first half, a bunch of people in 115 and 114 were getting on him. He spent the entire time out staring at the fans and pointing at the score board. He scored one point the rest of the game. On a free throw. Not sure if that one finger was his IQ or his sperm count.
The two immediate fouls on Tacko were a killer. He did them both. We are one team when he's in, and an entirely different team when he's out. We have no other real 'big' this year. Damn, I miss Justin. But Tacko is beginning to have the mean streak he so desperately needs. Last home game, I saw him kick the chair when he got pulled at about the six minute mark in the first half. He's tired of getting hacked without calls. He's getting a 'tude. Stop bringing the ball down and putting the ball on the court. Spring, learn the vertical leap. Learn to play with your back to the basket. Practice spin moves, pivots, hooks. Rotate to the side of the key with the ball so the guards can pass it in. Learn to whack the defender in the solar plexus or the nuts with your hand or elbow down low where it's less visible.
We've got to learn the art of the entry pass to the center. And we've got to learn the one-two, in-out game from the pivot.
Tacko is not going to the NBA this spring. Or next spring.
Chad Brown is a power forward.
A J Davis is just not the same guy he was last year. He's rebounding, but we've only seen flashes of the guy who slashed to the basket last year. Let's get him back where he was. When he's chipped in 10 or more a game, we've generally won this year.
We keeping getting in a weird space where we can't hit the floor with our hats. We shot just under 29% in the first half against U Conn. We shot 29% against Cincy for the game. That will kill you every time. If we hit the outside shot the first couple possessions, we play with confidence and we play well. We miss the first couple outside shots, and it snowballs. We are playing defense at a level where we can win ANY game. But we can't score consistently.
Lack of depth is wearing us down. There are stretches of each game where we look tired. The defense suffered, and Against U Conn, you didn't see Nathan until about the 13 minute mark (maybe later). When he comes in, we play four on five on offense. When we are tired, guys stop moving on offense, and we hesitate one beat too long on our perimeter passes.
We are three games better than last year, and will probably end up six (or seven with a tourney win) better than last year. But really, we are light years better than last year. This team can actually play defense. This team can actually inbound the ball. We can (usually) hit a reasonable number of foul shots. I've not seen this team quit.
The Yankee pot roast in the club was awesome.
Once again, a whole bunch of Club Seat ticket holders sold their tickets to U Conn fans rather than show up and support the team. I get that money is money, but God Damn.
Students showed up and eventually filled in most of their section. But a majority are still not engaged. Somebody step up. Get them organized. They could be a lethal force. This could be an ugly place to play for visiting teams.
That bald, Frances Dollarhyde looking M'Fer of a ref is a worthless POS. I am really tired of us getting jobbed by the refs this year. There were some egregious calls in that game. Net effect, the officials F'd us. No continuation call late in the game when they hacked BJ on the drive. No T's when their player shoved BJ in front of the U Conn bench, or when their coach kept standing on the floor.
There are about 5 of us in the first rows of 115 that get loud. The rest ... golf claps.
Number 15 for U Conn, Purvis, is an azzhole. At one point in the first half, a bunch of people in 115 and 114 were getting on him. He spent the entire time out staring at the fans and pointing at the score board. He scored one point the rest of the game. On a free throw. Not sure if that one finger was his IQ or his sperm count.
The two immediate fouls on Tacko were a killer. He did them both. We are one team when he's in, and an entirely different team when he's out. We have no other real 'big' this year. Damn, I miss Justin. But Tacko is beginning to have the mean streak he so desperately needs. Last home game, I saw him kick the chair when he got pulled at about the six minute mark in the first half. He's tired of getting hacked without calls. He's getting a 'tude. Stop bringing the ball down and putting the ball on the court. Spring, learn the vertical leap. Learn to play with your back to the basket. Practice spin moves, pivots, hooks. Rotate to the side of the key with the ball so the guards can pass it in. Learn to whack the defender in the solar plexus or the nuts with your hand or elbow down low where it's less visible.
We've got to learn the art of the entry pass to the center. And we've got to learn the one-two, in-out game from the pivot.
Tacko is not going to the NBA this spring. Or next spring.
Chad Brown is a power forward.
A J Davis is just not the same guy he was last year. He's rebounding, but we've only seen flashes of the guy who slashed to the basket last year. Let's get him back where he was. When he's chipped in 10 or more a game, we've generally won this year.
We keeping getting in a weird space where we can't hit the floor with our hats. We shot just under 29% in the first half against U Conn. We shot 29% against Cincy for the game. That will kill you every time. If we hit the outside shot the first couple possessions, we play with confidence and we play well. We miss the first couple outside shots, and it snowballs. We are playing defense at a level where we can win ANY game. But we can't score consistently.
Lack of depth is wearing us down. There are stretches of each game where we look tired. The defense suffered, and Against U Conn, you didn't see Nathan until about the 13 minute mark (maybe later). When he comes in, we play four on five on offense. When we are tired, guys stop moving on offense, and we hesitate one beat too long on our perimeter passes.
We are three games better than last year, and will probably end up six (or seven with a tourney win) better than last year. But really, we are light years better than last year. This team can actually play defense. This team can actually inbound the ball. We can (usually) hit a reasonable number of foul shots. I've not seen this team quit.
The Yankee pot roast in the club was awesome.
This was a fun game to attend. I am glad the boys didn't give up when we got down by 16+ points. The fire they played with in the final 12 minutes of the game was awesome and I wish we could see that type of play more out of this team. GO KNIGHTS!
Temple holds off Memphis after Temple went on a 23-2 run at Memphis, going from down 7 to up 17. So Memphis has 4 losses now. Big SMU-Cincy face off at 4PM today.
Did you notice how Tacko was surrounded to the left of the basket and emerged somehow around them to put the ball in? Incredible move!
Can't know until he does. Too much info we ain't privy to (family economic needs, performance the final 6 to 10 games, interest by media/scouts/NBA owners, advice by Dawkins). Recall how Isaiah seriously tested the draft (you're allowed to do that) after his junior year when he was still a project, but then returned for another year (when he still wasn't drafted).
Sounds like you really got into his head. He scored like 25 against us up at UConn.
Yes, but he was a key on the press during the big run late. His only two buckets of the game were breakaway slams after steals!
Perhaps at GW I'm told. I doubt we'll lose against a Tulane in the conference tourney. Team was in free fall and open rebellion the second half of last year (often led by Justin). When a team with all previous starters improves this much, it's gotta be the new coaching (and the player's willingness to work and change their attitude). It's so much more fun to watch, instead of frustration, indecision, and waiting for them to self destruct. Fans expecting and getting a lot more.
My take.........
-Why did we leave them open for the 3 so much?
-WHY oh WHY is Tacko bringing the ball down to his stomach??? I figured Johnny would be working on this day and night with Tacko. Forbid him and teach him!
-Turnovers again......
-OK, so Johnny starts his usual escape plan when we can't hit any shots.......start driving and drawing the fowl. I think he started that plan a bit too late. Also, this plan works if you can hit your free throws.
-UCONN just really has better athletes period. To go on the road and beat us at home is pretty impressive.
-Why did we leave them open for the 3 so much?
-WHY oh WHY is Tacko bringing the ball down to his stomach??? I figured Johnny would be working on this day and night with Tacko. Forbid him and teach him!
-Turnovers again......
-OK, so Johnny starts his usual escape plan when we can't hit any shots.......start driving and drawing the fowl. I think he started that plan a bit too late. Also, this plan works if you can hit your free throws.
-UCONN just really has better athletes period. To go on the road and beat us at home is pretty impressive.
Left open first half with Tacko on the bench and even Chad had to rest at times. With Tacko playing the second half, they were 1-3 as we kept them from getting 3s off.
Nope. One of UCF's fewest turnovers totals of the year (11) and almost none in the second half. UConn had 3 more than us!
UConn only team to embarrass us this year. This time, lost by 3. UConn hot: 7-2 since losing first 3 AAC games due to injuries. They're only 1 1/2 games out of 3rd in AAC!
I thought it was UConn that missed all those free throws during UCF's run. We out them at the line. Also, had more steals and blocks. But shooting was off except Nick, Tank
