Lots of positive to take away from the way our guys fought tooth and nail today. As hard as we played to take this to 2 OTs, that never would have been necessary had the refs not called this game so grossly unevenly. UConn got every 50/50 call. Even worse, it was like watching 2 different games based on who was in possession of the ball. They allowed UConn to repeatedly mug us in the open court with no call while whistling us for touch fouls when we were on D. They called fouls on us for clean blocks while letting them literally tackle KD as he made the bucket to send it to OT. We played poorly at many times in this game to dig ourselves into a hole, but once we started playing well the refs carried UConn. Beating a good team is tough as it is, but it's nearly impossible when the refs are determined to make you beat them as well.
Can't possibly say enough about KD today. He earned a starting spot the first 3 games and cemented that today. Jabari is our most talented player, but KD is the most valuable guy we can put on the floor right now. His determination, toughness, and aggressiveness are off the charts. His performance today is one of the best by an individual player in the Bruce era, imo. He did everything possible to carry us to this W and damned near did it. He made key baskets every time we needed it and played lights out on D. If the refs call the most obvious foul imaginable on the drive below where KD scored to tie it with 3 seconds left, he would have been on the free throw line to win it.
Jabari was phenomenal in the 2nd half today. When he decided to take over the game, he was nearly unstoppable. He was a perfect 12/12 on the line and should have had a few more trips if the refs called the same fouls they were whistling us for on the other end. By SEC play, he will be able to flip that switch whenever he wants and he will be as dominant of a player as any in the country.
Kessler with a double double and his best game to date. Still need him to be a little more aggressive on the offensive end, but much better in that regard today than the first 3 games. Every minute he's on the floor he's changing the game with his size on defense.
Wendell with a great bounce back game coming off the bench after struggling against USF with his highest point total of the year (19) on 4/7 shooting from 3 along with a solid 5 assists. Either he or Zep needs to seize the PG1 role by being the best facilitator on the team.
This is a tough loss to swallow in an epic game, but we learned way more about our team today than we would have if we beaten Uconn by 20. This team has toughness and won't let mistakes or horrible calls by the refs cause them to give up. Play as well as we did the last 10 minutes of this game and we will have a great shot to come out of this trip with 2 wins. Biggest challenge tomorrow will be to not allow the hangover and tiredness from a double OT loss to carry over to the game against Loyola.
Can't possibly say enough about KD today. He earned a starting spot the first 3 games and cemented that today. Jabari is our most talented player, but KD is the most valuable guy we can put on the floor right now. His determination, toughness, and aggressiveness are off the charts. His performance today is one of the best by an individual player in the Bruce era, imo. He did everything possible to carry us to this W and damned near did it. He made key baskets every time we needed it and played lights out on D. If the refs call the most obvious foul imaginable on the drive below where KD scored to tie it with 3 seconds left, he would have been on the free throw line to win it.
Jabari was phenomenal in the 2nd half today. When he decided to take over the game, he was nearly unstoppable. He was a perfect 12/12 on the line and should have had a few more trips if the refs called the same fouls they were whistling us for on the other end. By SEC play, he will be able to flip that switch whenever he wants and he will be as dominant of a player as any in the country.
Kessler with a double double and his best game to date. Still need him to be a little more aggressive on the offensive end, but much better in that regard today than the first 3 games. Every minute he's on the floor he's changing the game with his size on defense.
Wendell with a great bounce back game coming off the bench after struggling against USF with his highest point total of the year (19) on 4/7 shooting from 3 along with a solid 5 assists. Either he or Zep needs to seize the PG1 role by being the best facilitator on the team.
This is a tough loss to swallow in an epic game, but we learned way more about our team today than we would have if we beaten Uconn by 20. This team has toughness and won't let mistakes or horrible calls by the refs cause them to give up. Play as well as we did the last 10 minutes of this game and we will have a great shot to come out of this trip with 2 wins. Biggest challenge tomorrow will be to not allow the hangover and tiredness from a double OT loss to carry over to the game against Loyola.
