A Quick Look At the Matchup with Arizona
by llimllib on Mar 25, 2011 11:56 AM EDT
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PrintHere's the kenpom breakdown:
Some quick thoughts: Arizona's defense, though superbly effective at stopping the three, is not very good inside the arc; since UConn is 248th in percentage of points from behind the arc, that shouldn't be much of a problem.
Arizona almost never forces turnovers, and UConn almost never turns it over, so don't look for that to change.
Arizona gives up a decent number of free throws, so UConn will want to try and take advantage of that, especially if they can manage to get the exceptionally studly Derrick Williams into foul trouble.
On the other side of the ball, UConn has played only middling 3 point defense this year, and Arizona loves to shoot the three. Derrick Williams hits an astounding 58% of his three point attempts, and the team has three more guys who shoot over 40% from behind the arc. Whoever guards Derrick Williams (probably Roscoe Smith) will have to do an excellent job on the perimeter and rely on his teammates for help inside. Not going up for shot fakes is crucial.
Both teams are fast and athletic; UConn has a bit of a height advantage, which is one reason why they have been a better defensive team so far this season.
The main key in this game is going to be how UConn plays against the force of nature named Derrick Williams. Roscoe Smith is going to need to play the defensive game of his life, and get help from everybody else on the floor.
Just because I don't think you can overemphasize how important Derrick Williams is, here are the top 4 offensive rating players in the country who use >28% of their teams' possessions:
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One thing I missed:
Arizona’s an excellent defensive rebounding team, and UConn deeply relies on its offensive rebounding. The key, as we thought it would be against SDSU, is Oriakhi.
(Side note: I didn’t realize he grabbed 13 boards tonight. Go Warriakhi!)
ESPN
has Oriakhi with 9 boards and only 5 points. So if we want to beat zona he’s going to have to step it up because we all know what Kemba and Williams are going to do.
oh right, I misread the box score.
Anyway, SDSU has better rebounders than does Zona. I think he actually had a really effective game, and we need him to do it again against Zona. He’ll probably have the chance to score a few more, as this game should be played less on the perimeter.
I will not be watching
again… you are welcome…
If this was Puke, I have good mojo watching us play them in the post season. Close matchups, not so much.
Don't touch it, it's EVIL!
Your sacrifice is much appreciated
Way to take one for our superstitious team!
18-1
Nuck Fova
Edsall: Thanks for building the program, but you are a huge douche (and I hope you fail miserably in Maryland.) correction...it may have been partly Hathaway's fault, but still could have told your players in person...So I'll change my stance to: "I don't care what you do in Maryland."
1967: Embrace it
by derbyguy on Mar 25, 2011 8:22 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
+1
"...Don't talk black to me. How do you even talk black? End words with izzle..." Modern Family
by kemba walker is my hero... on Mar 25, 2011 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Things I like about this game
unlike Cincy (who had seem him before) Arizona is going to be left with only a day or so to prepare for Walker. I figure that bodes well for us. Of course, the converse is that we’ll have only a day or so to prepare for Williams. Still, I put my faith in Kemba.
I also don’t know if Arizona can sustain the level of play they showed vs. Duke in the 2nd half/
Things I don’t like:
This will again be a road game, which worked out well against SDSU but historically is a tough road to hoe.
Williams is an absolute beast and we don’t have anyone who can match up well. A bigger guy like Oriakhi won’t be able to deal with him outside, whereas someone like ’Scoe would be pushed around inside.
I have similiar concerns
Hopes with Williams:
- He has a tendency to foul a lot (~2.7 PF per game I believe) meaning he only averages ~30 mpg. Him fouling is not a very good thing to relie on but considering his average minutes he pribably gets taken out quite frequently. In which case we have to take advantage with him out.
- Williams will get his. there is no doubt about that, the key is going to be stopping everyone else. And really no one else scares me on that team, well except for that 3pt shooting thing I guess. Their advantage is they run a very deep bench and try to wear the other team down, so hopefully yhe number games Uconn has played doesnt catch up…
18-1
Nuck Fova
Edsall: Thanks for building the program, but you are a huge douche (and I hope you fail miserably in Maryland.) correction...it may have been partly Hathaway's fault, but still could have told your players in person...So I'll change my stance to: "I don't care what you do in Maryland."
1967: Embrace it
by derbyguy on Mar 25, 2011 10:29 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
i think you play him like Kawhi
and make him beat you from outside.
yeah i know he can shoot a bit, but i’d rather force him to do that than have him run rampant in the post and foul out all our guys trying to stop him.
"I suggest more bike" ~KSK
that's what Duke did
and IIRC he was 5-5 from 3 in the first half, his shots were the only thing keeping AZ in the game.
Not that I have a better plan, just saying, Kawhi is a terrible outside shooter and DW is an excellent one. UConn has not faced a player this good all year.
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