Providence-UConn postgame discussion: In which we accept our mediocrity

Man, it didn't take long for that Texas game to be meaningless, did it?

Absolutely pathetic effort from UConn tonight on all sides. That's about all I need to say, but for some slightly more in-depth instant reaction, hit the jump.

On offense, UConn reacted to the Providence zone by shooting 3-pointers. They do not do this well.

Jerome Dyson had a complete inverse of his night on Saturday (3-for-14 shooting, five turnovers), UConn got absolutely nothing from anyone not named Jerome, Stanley, Kemba or Gavin. Once again, UConn showed itself to be a turnover machine, giving up the ball as if it were going out of style.

Defensively, that might have been the worst effort I've seen from a UConn defense in years. I lost count at the number of dunks and easy layups and un-blocked-out offensive rebounders. Packing five guys around the hoop and watching Providence make 20 3-pointers would've been a much less frustrating way to lose this.

So here's where we stand: UConn is 3-4 in the Big East, tied with Seton Hall for 10th place in the league, facing an absolute must-win against a good Marquette team on Saturday. This team still has no road wins, one win against the top 25, and two hideous losses in the last week and a half. Whatever optimism we had on Saturday is done-zo.

Coach Cal will likely be back soon, and he'll return to a team that showed once again that it doesn't belong in the Top 25, and once again showed that it may not be deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid. Stuff can turn around quickly (witness how happy we were at the beginning of the open thread tonight!), but the trend line is not very pretty to look at. The more evidence we get, the more this is looking like a lost season.

We are in trouble, folks.