Agree 100%, having 4 guys standing around and Tomi go 1 v1 against the center made think it was over. We need to have more movement, even cutters. But 4 guys standing limits their ability. Need the type of offense that will work against NCAA top 10 teams, not the teams that will be overwhelmed by size and skill. UCONN deserved to win with all their complex movement. We can use the spread, but not as our only option.
UConn 71, Illinois 62 Postgame
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I must have imagined the middle being wide open and nobody cutting in for a layup. Or possibly imagine two guys picking up Keaton high so he didn't have much room to maneuver or pass to a guy being guarded at the 3 point line. Agree, this team was big but slow, and BU and coaches did a great job of trying hide this fact. We didn't pressure so we didn't foul, we rebounded, we defended inside, we gave up 3s. Our strength was getting fouled and making a high number of FTs. Next year, we hopefully retain the core group, but need to add two guards that can shoot but have speed. I like Jaylon Cox, but we need another one possibly Q Coleman fits the bill. Davis has a great 3 point shot, but from Penn through UCONN he had a hard time getting shots off against better teams and focused defenses. Next year, possibly she shoots fast like Sandifort or the Iowa player.
Great season and thrilled with how far we got. There is some very high level talent on this team and when they played well they were a joy to watch.
Having gotten that out of the way, the game plan and coaching in last night's game was absolutely atrocious. UConn had more open looks in 5 minutes than we had all night - if they would have had an average shooting night they beat us by 20. Michigan would have beaten us by 30. 3 assists for the entire game? You have to be kidding me. Where was the ball and player movement we saw earlier in the season? UConn is a good defensive team, but they aren't THAT good - our offensive game plan made their job easy.
Having gotten that out of the way, the game plan and coaching in last night's game was absolutely atrocious. UConn had more open looks in 5 minutes than we had all night - if they would have had an average shooting night they beat us by 20. Michigan would have beaten us by 30. 3 assists for the entire game? You have to be kidding me. Where was the ball and player movement we saw earlier in the season? UConn is a good defensive team, but they aren't THAT good - our offensive game plan made their job easy.
Absolutely agree. Jake was just not fast enough to get around a few staggered screens. The dagger Mullins three was just poor effort by Wagler around a pin down at the worst possible time.
Yall just can’t help yourselves.
It is, without fail, the only reason we ever lose games - schematics.
Extra ironic it was a final four game and you have a post just last month saying brads never gonna be a good enough to coach to get past the elite 8. Stuff like this was a wildly unfair (and just flat out wrong) mindset before this run, and some fans still can’t contain to stay on it.
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wtf game were you watching? We had 7 kills last night, held them to 35% shooting, out rebounded them, we missed wide open shots, had 7 shots bounce around the rim and not fall….to get assists shots have to go in.
Our offensive game plan was the same it has been all year. They defended it really well and we missed our shots. We also had a lot of open thress but we missed most of them. The ball movement wasn't great but UConn had a lot to do with that. The defense was good enough, though should have been better on stagger and pin down screens.
Yeah, our adjusted defensive efficiency was really close our season average, while the offensive end was way below. We certainly still could've won with AdjD similar to the Houston game, but the offense is what we've leaned on all season and just wasn't there against UConn
"UConn had more open looks in 5 minutes than we had all night" - really? Than how come they shot 26-62 (35%) from the floor?
Does a tip in or lay - up count as an open shot? I count we had we 16 last night (over 38% - 20 of our shots were from 7 feet and in and we missed 12 of them).
And what I want to know is how either stat ties into coaching?
Please give us the game plan that Brad and Company had how it was atrocious - when were you either in the locker room or had an opportunity to view video and the game plan?
You think you can just make things up to put people down? After the season these guys put together - none of us deserve your BS.
Very well said. That’s basketball, that’s sports, and really that’s just life. I can’t add much else except one thing.
For me, the loss to UConn in 24 hurt so bad because we were so close to getting back to the final four. Even after an incredible run.
This year, after another incredible run, it hurts so bad because we were so close to achieving the ultimate goal.
This program and its fans deserve so badly to be able to call themselves national champions and hang that banner. Reading about people like yourself wanting to take that dad/mom/son to the championship game hits home. My mom went through another round of chemo the last few months (what should fortunately be her last)…but I want nothing more than to go to another final four so we can go together and see us raise that championship trophy.
Hopefully it’s in her lifetime
Hope it all goes well with your mom. Lost mine to a glioblastoma this time last year. Tried to find handicap tickets to take my dad to the final four but were in short supply. He's had 4 retinal detachment surgeries the last 5 months trying to save both his eyes with differening success. Hoping they get him his championship before he loses the ability to watch it. Although there are more important things in life, it's amazing how much sports can bring families together and lift spirits.Very well said. That’s basketball, that’s sports, and really that’s just life. I can’t add much else except one thing.
For me, the loss to UConn in 24 hurt so bad because we were so close to getting back to the final four. Even after an incredible run.
This year, after another incredible run, it hurts so bad because we were so close to achieving the ultimate goal.
This program and its fans deserve so badly to be able to call themselves national champions and hang that banner. Reading about people like yourself wanting to take that dad/mom/son to the championship game hits home. My mom went through another round of chemo the last few months (what should fortunately be her last)…but I want nothing more than to go to another final four so we can go together and see us raise that championship trophy.
Hopefully it’s in her lifetime
Very well said. That’s basketball, that’s sports, and really that’s just life. I can’t add much else except one thing.
For me, the loss to UConn in 24 hurt so bad because we were so close to getting back to the final four. Even after an incredible run.
This year, after another incredible run, it hurts so bad because we were so close to achieving the ultimate goal.
This program and its fans deserve so badly to be able to call themselves national champions and hang that banner. Reading about people like yourself wanting to take that dad/mom/son to the championship game hits home. My mom went through another round of chemo the last few months (what should fortunately be her last)…but I want nothing more than to go to another final four so we can go together and see us raise that championship trophy.
Hopefully it’s in her lifetime
Spot on.
The closer you get, the losses become "sadder" more so than frustrating.
Years past, I couldn't wait to turn the page and just look at roster for next year. This time around, feel like I just wanna enjoy the moment a bit longer and sad its gone. Honestly, seems like Brad's reaction was the same.
So no foul was called here? 
I don't understand why refs allow this much contact in a basketball game.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
If it was Jeremy Fears those two might have been arrested.
To be fair, Hurley coached a masterclass.
They tired the living daylights out of Keaton. They were physical with him every moment on the ball. Hard to fault a kid who essentially played 40min while Hurley rested his starters for 5min in the middle of the 2nd half.
Hurley is a d-bag. But man does he know how to run his system. He coaches to every possible advantage.
Malachi Smith and Reiba foul very aggressively to set a very high physical bar to start the game. It’s essentially an anchoring negotiation tactic with the refs. He ensures his core cogs (Tarris, Karaban, Mullins) are mindful not to overtly foul.
Mullins picking up his 3rd early in the 2nd half was probably not exactly to plan. Or Demery picking up that foul vs. Tomi. But he gambled on maintaining a high physical Big East bar of refereeing as that benefits his team’s ability to trouble Wagler and Mirk (ie harass them on ball).
It was perfect 4D chess. Once a high physical refereeing bar had been established, they bumped our guys in the lane on every drive. This reduced our % FG for near-rim shots. And the refs were simply not going to call every hand or hip check. Even if you watched the AZ / UM game it was absolute carnage in the paint. Every rebound and layup was a battle.
That same logic was applied to any paint penetrator. If you’re gonna dribble into the paint expect pressure/hands (etc.). This is why you never really saw UConn try to drive to the rim all that much. Demery and Solo would shoot 3s or middys. Or they would penetrate and immediately kick to a shooter (Solo came off pin down curl, head faked a shooting motion at the 3pt line, penetrated into elbow and then dished to Karaban for corner 3) or to Tarris (Karaban comes off pin down curl, gets free of his chasing defender, draws the help and dishes to Tarris for a dunk - this triggered a timeout 3min into the game).
And besides the pin down curl offense they had their classic high-low with Tarris on a weak side ISO.
Hurley coached a masterclass on both sides of the ball. We weren’t lacking for talent. But his offensive plan best manipulated our defensive weaknesses (one-on-one defense and ability to switch). And on defense, they established a high physicality bar (early fouls in both halves), ran us off the 3 line and dared us to score inside while being able to hand/hip check (see point about physicality).
If/when we return to this stage, we need to:
- Better manage the meta game with refs
- Improve our defensive versatility (be able to stay in front and more effectively switch like Michigan and Duke). This boils down to better athletes (Coleman is a step in the right direction).
- Add some downhill, vertical, and power capability like we had with TSJ so as to counter UConn’s aggressive pressure D (blow by, draw fouls, finish through contact). You get more foul calls going stronger into defender chests vs. fading off contact.
I hate this is how basketball works now. If you can’t beat them, join them. We’re living in the world of Hurley and May.
As someone who played in the 60's when any contact was a foul, I find it hard to understand how they determine what is or is not a foul. It has to be frustrating for players. However, it appears that more and more teams are going with a foul every time approach because they can't call them all.
How many kills did they get on us? A missed shot qualifies to fit into a kill sequence (defined as stopping an opponent from scoring on 3 consecutive possessions). Is them missing open shots good defense on our part? By that logic was us shooting poorly good defense on their part?
I think this is where analytics alone don't determine how a game played out. How do we define open shots? Keaton was pulling up off the dribble from the midpoint between the 3pt line and the logo. Is that an open shot? Is missing that open shot the same as Hummer missing a wide open wing 3 in catch-and-shoot rhythm? Is Tomi shooting open 3s as effective as one of UConn's guards?
We have 3 players in a 9-man, high usage rotation (Kylan, Andrej, Big Z) who have by and large lost their ability to shoot away from the rim. This then puts pressure on the remaining guys to be more reliable from range. Mirk and Hummer made 1 each at 33% 3FG%. As a team we were 23%. Our team has been generally poor from 3 since the @Nebraska game against Quad 1 opponents. At some point, cannot keep calling it bad luck or an off night. Team's are D'ing up in a way such that they may be "open" looks but they're not "easy" looks.
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One question from last night - Sheila Johnson was on the court during the Basketball Hall of Fame recognition. She wasn't being inducted was she? I missed her intro. (And I was surprised she didn't get more of an ovation from the U of I crowd!)
I've got five fouls. #2 and #3 are the most obvious and not just physical play that's often allowed.
1. Mullins pins Wagler's right arm (maybe this isn't called on a typical drive since he releases it quickly, but here it ties up Wagler's right arm during Karaban's steal attempt)
2. Karaban slides his feet into Wagler's path, tripping Wagler
- Karaban reaches his left hand across (past) the ball, pinning the ball with his forearm
3. Karaban's and Wagler's left shoulders collide. Since Karaban slid in front of Wagler, this is a foul on Karaban
- The ball shifts, then just as Karaban moves his hand down to the ball:
- Karaban yanks on Wagler's left biceps with his elbow/forearm. UConn fans might argue that Wagler yanks too (or even hooks and holds), but Wagler is entitled to pin the ball against his own chest, and clenching his elbow is a reasonable instinct in that effort.
- The ball briefly sticks between Karaban's hand and Wagler's elbow/hand, then pops loose
5. While the ball is loose, Karaban pushes down on Wagler with his left arm/shoulder, creating an advantage on the loose ball
UCONN 3 pt made (12)
1st half (7) Mullins (guarded by Mirk), Mullins (guarded by Jake), Mullins (guarded by Hummer) Ross (Guarded by Mirk), Ross (guarded by Andrej), Ball (guarded by Andrej, Karaban (guarded Kylan)
2nd half (5) Demary (guarded by Mirk), Ball (no one guarded - run out), Ball (guarded by Keaton), Stewart (guarded by Hummer), Mullins (guarded by Keaton).
UCONN shot 29% in the second half. Our D was solid.
As for Jake, he played 17 minutes and was on the floor for 4 of the 12 three points shots made by UCONN.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Lmao, were you all “yo ima give it 23 hours, but then ima drop some straight moms basement basketball hot take real talk on Loyalty!”
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