The UConn Blog

The Nova Blog

2010-03-11T16:18:20Z

The Nova Blog

Shortly after the founding of this digest, we began to correspond with the fine folks over at "I Bleed Blue and White," a Villanova blog. Despite beings fans of the cursed Wildcats, the gentlemen over there are an all around good bunch, and so I am happy to note that they are now part of our little corporate SBNation family. They have, however, changed their name (I assume out of admiration for us) to "The Nova Blog." Anyway, civil people that we are, feel free to head over there way and say hello. Also, this means that whatever you do, you should avoid picking 'Nova to go far in March because as we know all too well, the SBNation curse is real.

At some point I will get around to commenting on yesterday's disaster and this season as a whole,...

2010-03-10T18:32:08Z

At some point I will get around to commenting on yesterday's disaster and this season as a whole, but that point is not today, and it probably will not be for a while. In the meantime, I'm going to try and distract myself by learning about, watching and commenting on women's basketball. At least the other UConn basketball team won't break my heart (in theory). I suppose we can start with this video from Jeremy Schapp talking about the comparatively little recognition the women have gotten for their dominance. Deadspin chimed in here, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

UConn quits, gets run off the court by St. John's

2010-03-09T21:36:06Z

More photos » Mike Carlson - AP

Needs more scowl. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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I love Jim Calhoun, but he didn't follow through on his promise to bench the seniors. And true to recent form, those seniors came up with a whole bunch of nothing. (Neither did anyone else, but the kids weren't the ones Calhoun called out on Saturday).

St. John's 73, UConn 51. It's not hyperbole to call this the program's lowest moment in years. UConn's record is 17-15, the worst (win-percentage wise) since 1987, Calhoun's first season, when UConn went 9-19. An NIT invite isn't guaranteed, and I'm not even sure Calhoun should waste his time trying to coach this group for another two weeks.

Maybe later we can talk about where it all went wrong this year. Maybe later we can speculate on the future of Calhoun, the recruiting class, the hopes (or lack thereof) for next year.

Today, I'd prefer to exert exactly as much effort talking about the game as the team did playing the game.

TheOpenThread: UConn-St. John's, Big East Tournament Day 1

2010-03-09T17:15:56Z

A reasonable man would assume that at this point, UConn's season is over. Yes, the team will likely play a few days in the Big East Tournament and then burnout early in the NIT, but that is hardly a dignified way to end a season.

However, as it happens, I am not a reasonable man. No, I am a delusional homer, so I refuse to admit the season is over. Not ten minutes after the USF loss I was already plotting UConn's way back into tournament contention. For you see, when I look at this team, I can see its flaws, but I also see its talent, and even, on occasion, have seen them use that talent. I know I am about to have my heart broken, but I am willing to buy in anyway.

UConn starts its march back toward relevance today at 2:30 against St. John's. Please join us in the comments and share your thoughts.

(Ed.: May as well make this a day-long Open Thread, so if you feel the need to comment on the South Florida-DePaul thriller, or the NEW JERSEYYYYYY double-shot night session, go right ahead.)

(Ed. #2: Meacham here. Porter obviously wrote this, but I think if I had to sum up his feelings, this video - courtesy of ZLS44 - would do so:)

TheOpenThread: Women go for 71

2010-03-08T23:34:31Z

The UConn women are currently working toward what will undoubtedly be their record 71st straight win. I'm not going to be around for the game, and Meacham has no way to watch it, but we'll have some thoughts on the complete and utter dominance of the women's team later tonight. For now, feel free to mark history in the comments.

A public service announcement

2010-03-08T23:00:14Z

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly announce that I, Andrew Porter, will not be present for UConn's game against St. John's tomorrow in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. In addition, should the team advance, I have no intention to attend any subsequent games the team may participate in.

As longtime readers know, I attended the Big East tournament for all four of my years as an undergraduate, and, in each of those years, the Huskies were eliminated in their first game, with last year's six overtime loss serving as the cherry on top of my misery sundae. I can only hope and pray that with my absence, the Huskies can once again win in the Big East tournament, and perhaps, if fate is kind, return to their former glory by dominating it. That is all.

Dyson, Walker named Third Team All-Big East

2010-03-07T23:36:30Z

Dyson, Walker named Third Team All-Big East

Oriakhi also selected to the conference's all-rookie team

Well, that's all finished: South Florida 75, UConn 68

2010-03-06T21:23:17Z

More photos » Joe Raymond - AP

7 days ago: Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun watches his team in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Notre Dame Wednesday, March 3, 2010, in South Bend, Ind. Connecticut lost 58-50. (AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

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The Jerome Dyson-Stanley Robinson-Gavin Edwards troika sat on the bench for the last 16 minutes of UConn's 75-68 loss to South Florida today. Frankly, it might have been about 10 games too late for that tactic.

The NCAA Tournament hopes are done. Finished. Kaput. The words "NCAA Tournament" and "UConn" will not be used in the same sentence on this blog until April. UConn's not even a lock for an NIT home game at this point, having lost three winnable games against middling Big East teams in the final seven days of the season.

I don't think there can be any doubt now that UConn will be better off next year without Dyson and the suddenly-invisible Robinson. Their replacements performed admirably in cutting a 14-point USF lead down to two with 30 seconds left.

It's almost like the kids didn't have to worry about getting subbed and just went out and played basketball. My God, how refreshing.

Kemba Walker, Donnell Beverly, Darius Smith, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Alex Oriakhi, Charles Okwandu, Ater Majok: they can all be proud of their effort. And I'll be very happy to have them all around next year (along with hopefully some talented freshmen).

They were hungry, they showed some heart. They weren't quite good enough to overcome that deficit on the road today, but I already feel 90% better about the 2010-11 Huskies.

UConn drops to 17-14, just as they were in 2006-07. They'll be the 12th seed in the Big East tournament, just as they were in 2006-07. They'll get to play St. John's, the one team they actually can beat in Madison Square Garden, Tuesday afternoon. If Dyson doesn't play, I think I'll be OK with that. I'll be sadder to see Stanley and Gavin play their final game of any meaning Tuesday or Wednesday night, but I'd like to see how the kids will do for a full 40 minutes.

The seniors had their chance to finish in a nice way. Simply enough, they failed. It happens. We wish the seniors well, but their era at UConn, much like their Big Dance hopes, is over.

Long live Kemba.

TheOpenThread: UConn at South Florida

2010-03-06T17:35:00Z

Well, here we are. After four months, 30 games and innumerable flip-flops between rejoicing and melting down in fits of despair, it's all (sort of) come down to this.

This is UConn's last chance to dance (barring a five-games-in-five-days miracle in MSG next week). Win, and UConn is still alive (and probably on the good side of the bubble, since everyone apparently sucks). Lose, and UConn equals its W-L record (17-14) from that evil, nasty 2006-07 season that didn't happen.

No pressure.

Use this thread for your freak-outs, complaints, passionate declarations for or against Jerome Dyson and, in the unlikely event UConn actually plays well, some calm, level-headed praise.

Go Huskies.

Friends with bennies: A Q&A with USF blogger Voodoo 5

2010-03-06T15:56:12Z

More photos » Alex Brandon - AP

Well, I don't agree with Dominique Jones' "UConn-beating" policy, but I DO agree with his "Georgetown-beating" policy. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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In advance of today's important UConn-USF game (2:00, SNY/MyTV9/ESPN360), we decided to get some input from the one Big East school that isn't a miserable freezing hellhole four to six months of the year.

So we were enlisted by the mysterious "Voodoo 5" of the USF blog of the same name. The name, explained below, comes from an unsuccessful play call in the waning moments of the 2005 nationally televised UConn-USF game, which the Huskies won.

Good. More teams should have blogs dedicated to UConn's absolute dominance in football, in advance of our upcoming 2010 Big East title and Orange Bowl forfeit victory (which will come after UConn leads Virginia Tech by 70 points after six minutes of game time.)

I should note that "Voodoo 5" is not the name of the gentlemen who answered my questions. He prefers to stay anonymous, although thanks to the miracle of Gmail listing your actual name, I was able to easily pinpoint his identity.

Finally, I will end this over-long introduction by noting that Voodoo 5 will soon be among the latest Big East blogs to sell out to SBNation, so congratulations to them. Beware the SBNation curse, gentlemen. It will cause your team to get off to a great start, only to completely crap out the second half of the season. And you thought Jim Leavitt was gone.

Enough dilly-dallying. You can check out my answers to his questions right here. On with the Q&A:

TUB: Dominique Jones has put up gaudy numbers in his first two seasons in Tampa, but I feel like he didn't really enter the popular conscience until that ridiculous 46-point game against Providence in January. What makes him so effing good? Does he need to score for USF to win?

V5: That was impressive and it looked good on SportsCenter, but I thought he played even better when he dropped 37 on Pittsburgh, which is more than the rest of the team had combined. He carried them to that win.

Anyway, Jones is the complete offensive package. He can get to the rim and is willing to take contact and go to the foul line. (God help the opposing team if he's getting calls.) If Jones doesn't make it all the way to the basket, he can hit a variety of floaters, teardrops, and bank shots. He makes his free throws. He's an OK outside shooter. He finds other ways to contribute if his shot isn't falling. And he has confidence in himself. Even after shooting 3-for-17 against DePaul and missing a lot of shots he normally makes, he had no problem taking - and making - the go-ahead 3 at the end.

If you take Jones away, then you let Mike Mercer and Chris Howard and Gus Gilchrist pick up the slack for him. It does become harder for USF to win, but certainly not impossible.

TUB: Besides Jones, which players should UConn fans look out for? What kind of mad skillz will the Bulls be dropping this week? What are USF's strengths and weaknesses on offense and defense?

V5: USF thrives on dribble penetration. They often play with three or four guards - Jones, Howard, Mercer, and sometimes Anthony Crater as well - and try and get to the rim to set up the offense. Mercer is probably the second-best finisher on the team behind Jones. They also like to try and break out on missed shots. Occasionally they will dump it into the post for Gilchrist or Jarrid Famous, but no one on the Bulls has a fully developed post game right now. Gilchrist has three-point range and is more comfortable facing up his man, or shooting off cuts and the pick and pop. Famous is a garbageman on the boards. He gets most of his points off putbacks and loose balls.

But they're a poor outside shooting team, so everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) sets up a zone against them. The Bulls showed some flashes of a zone offense in the last couple of games, but executing against DePaul and Providence is a little different than doing it against UConn. If you throw a zone at them and they start tossing the ball around the perimeter and settling for bad shots, then things aren't going well.

Defensively the Bulls play mostly man-to-man. Anthony Crater is the speedy shutdown defender and he will likely be matched up against Jerome Dyson. USF plays good perimeter defense and helps out well when they have time to set up. Gilchrist, Famous, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, and Alex Rivas all do a decent job defending post players and collecting rebounds. Jones also sneaks down to get rebounds to try and fire up the transition game. But they are vulnerable in the paint if you beat them off the dribble. (Ed. note: Yay!) And quick ball movement will get you plenty of open shots. (Ed. note: Crap.) Basically just watch the Providence games, they carved us up.

TUB: The Bulls had that nice four-game win streak at the end of January, and appeared in good shape for an NCAA berth. What happened over the last couple weeks to stop that momentum and, in your opinion, can USF still grab an at-large bid?

V5: Anytime you come up with a new wrinkle it's usually good for 3-4 games. Then the video gets out and people start adjusting. Basically that's what happened - we're a lousy outside shooting team, so teams started playing zone and collapsing in the paint. We can't shoot our way out of zones most nights, so that slowed down our momentum.

There's still a chance for USF to reach the tournament. Obviously they have to beat UConn, and then win the 8/9 game on Wednesday. That puts them at either 20-11 or 21-11, depending on whether or not they get a bye on Tuesday. Assuming a loss against Syracuse, 20-12/21-12 could be enough to get in, but it would be really close. Of course, if they pull the shocker and beat Syracuse then I think they're good.

Even if USF comes up short I think we're all satisfied with how this season is turning out. Getting to any postseason play is a big step forward. If we come up short on the NCAAs, we'll get a high NIT seed and some more home games, and that's not bad.

TUB: How's the Big East treating USF? More fun now that the basketball team is competing and winning a bit more? Do USF fans worship at the altar of Mike Tranghese for picking them in 2005?

V5: This is a topic I'm going to fully explore during the offseason. There's an article in the Tampa Tribune today about the 1990 Bulls earning USF's first trip to the NCAAs by winning the Sun Belt tournament. Incredibly, we've been in four different conferences since then. We are the social climbers of the NCAA, and unfortunately it means we are short on rivalries and grudge matches. (Important note: Like most USF fans with any intelligence, I do not consider UCF a rival no matter how loudly they claim they are.) So I hope we stick around awhile and finally build up some legitimate hatred. Now that our basketball team doesn't suck, it should make things easier. As far as potential rivals, UConn is pretty high up on my list since you've put more brutal losses on USF than anyone else in the Big East so far. In fact, we got the name of our blog from a disastrous play call during a football loss to you all back in 2005.

I could explain how much better the Big East is, but this picture says it all:

TUB: What's your score prediction?

V5: Knowing that the Huskies are struggling on offense and that USF can't handle a decent zone, I am predicting a rock fight of a game where neither team can score very much. Give me USF 58-56 with lots of complaining about the officials.

TUB: If UConn were to win this game, would you be willing to consent to at least 12 hours' worth of "JUST LIKE FOOTBALL" heckling on Twitter?

V5: Only if we completely hose the clock in the last minute of the game and give you enough time to beat us, just like football. If they'd said that was the reason Leavitt got fired, I might have approved. It was an atrocity.

TUB: Wasn't that time y'all almost beat us in basketball totally awesome? I think so.

V5: YOU SON OF A BITCH, I HAD ALMOST COMPLETELY REPRESSED THAT. I watched the end of that game in an airport in Houston. My wife and I were heading out for our honeymoon, from Dallas to Houston to Paris. The weather was so bad that we got to Houston hours ahead of time - local flights get canceled all the time but international flights never do, and we did not want to miss that plane. I watched Austrie go coast to coast in some crappy gift shop. Then I had to sit around and stew for another four hours before we got out of there. Bad times.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Tee. And hee. Anyway, thanks to the mysterious Voodoo 5 for helping us out, and look for them on SBNation in the coming weeks or months. Given how long it took for us to transition over here, you might be seeing them just in time for next year's NCAA Tournament.

Cleveland Melvin decommits from UConn (Zags Blog)

2010-03-05T01:57:02Z

Cleveland Melvin decommits from UConn (Zags Blog)

I always get confused on UConn's scholarship situation, but I believe this move opens a scholie up for one of the coveted three point guards, now that the Dove has decided to stick around.

Notable in the Zagsblog story: Melvin wanted to be a wing, UConn wanted to make him a power forward. Thus, Melvin will be plying his not-for-profit trade elsewhere next year.

In or out?: The quest to save face, Part V

2010-03-05T00:58:52Z

Because there are precious few times left for us to use this photo in a semi-relevant context.

A day-after-gameday (and occasionally day-after-day-after-gameday) look at UConn's NCAA Tournament resume. Read Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV.

Most were left a bit ... raw following UConn's dispiriting loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday.

I, however, am simply writing it off as our comeuppance for this. Unfortunately, simply having to endure this soul-crushing season wasn't enough for the karmatic gods.

But no matter how you're dealing with the loss -- I suggest punching an Irishman, or at least someone 4 feet or shorter -- the reality is UConn's NCAA Tournament outlook is now a mess. Somehow messier than before, even. Messier than Mark Messier.

My take is similar to one discussed in the comment fields of the posts partly intended to slowly lower Jerome Dyson's self esteem (luckily he has enough of it; hi-oh!): The Huskies still have a decent shot of making it, but they'll have to at least come away with wins against South Florida on Saturday and in their first game at next week's Big East tournament. A third win would greatly help and maybe even sort of lock things up (depending on the opponent).

However, some of the people who spend their days toiling over beakers, Bunsen burners and flow charts to project these things aren't as confident. So for this edition, we'll forgo the yucks and just get down to business.

Info from BB State and ESPN Inside RPI, because we here at TheUConnBlog are equal-opportunity pillagers.

UConn Huskies

Record: 17-13, 7-10 Big East (11^th)
SOS: #2
RPI: #49
Big wins: vs. Texas (88-74), at Villanova (84-75), vs. West Virginia (73-62)
Bad losses: at Michigan (68-63), at Providence (81-66)
Vs. RPI 1-50: 3-8
Vs. RPI 51-100: 6-3
Vs. RPI 101-200: 6-2
Vs. RPI 150+: 5-0
Road record: 2-7
Last 12: 5-7
Scoring margin: +4.8
Games left: 1(ish) (USF, Big East Tournament)
Those with greater platforms than this ones' take:

Joe Lunardi, ESPN.com: In as a No. 12 seed in the West (Salt Lake City) region, but also No. 2 in the "Last Four Out" list.

In almost any other year, there's no way UConn would still be in the bracket. But this season's bubble really is that weak.

Well, that's sort of encouraging ... I think.

Mark Schlabach, ESPN.com: In.

The Huskies didn't have much room for error, so their at-large chances are probably on life support after they lost their second consecutive game, 58-50 at Notre Dame on Wednesday night. [...]To have any chance for an at-large bid, the Huskies will have to win at South Florida on Saturday and make a sustained run in next week's Big East tournament.

Bracketology 101: Slightly cynical, most likely out.

UConn, meanwhile, will need a minor miracle to get in at this point. [...] The Huskies' only hope for a bid at this point is to win at South Florida this weekend and then to win three games in the Big East tournament. Their first round game won't help their resume at all, and their second round game won't be against a real marquee team either. They need one more marquee win to get a bid, and a trip to the semifinals is the only way they're going to get that.

Note: If there's another Bracketologist out there I missed, let me know in the comments field.

The worst UConn game I have ever seen

2010-03-04T15:33:12Z

More photos » Joe Raymond - AP

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I am 23 years old and have been a UConn fan for each and every day of my life. My grandfather went to UConn, my father went to UConn and ultimately, I went to UConn. I was raised on UConn basketball and have followed the team with a fervid devotion.

I spent a good amount of my youth in Colorado, but would often spend holidays in Connecticut, which allowed me a chance to see the team I adored in person. Such was the case in 2001 when I received a pair of basketball tickets for Christmas. The game was scheduled for Dec. 28, the team was undefeated at the time and by a small stroke of luck, my father was able to get the best seats we had ever had for a UConn game, half-court, second row. I was thrilled. The Huskies were led by a standout ~~freshman~~ sophomore named Caron Butler and, as always is the case with UConn's late-December scheduling, the team was set to thrash whatever cupcake had agreed to play them.

As it happened, that cupcake was a small school from New York called St. Bonaventure and instead of the game being part a lovely winter evening that turned into a fond holiday memory, it became a nightmare. St. Bonaventure destroyed UConn, coasting to an easy win, 88-70. The Huskies were outhustled and looked overmatched. Jim Calhoun called it one of the worst home losses of his career. It was the worst UConn game I had ever seen. Until last night.

I am trying very hard not to drift into hyperbole, but I have watched more UConn games then I can count and have spent more time thinking about UConn basketball then I care to admit, and I cannot recall a game where the Huskies played worse than they did in the horror show last night.

The boxscore has most of the grisly details, chief among them the lines of Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson. Dyson went 2-14 and still, somehow, found the time to commit 5 turnovers. Robinson, a player I have defended over and over again, picked the worst possible time to revert to his worst tendencies. Apparently he was on the court for 35 minutes, but I find that hard to believe seeing as he only managed 4 shots and 6 points.

I imagine the most work Robinson did last night came when he mustered a straight face to give this quote to the Courant: "There was nothing we could do," Robinson said. "We could have played harder ... but they wore us down."

The team only scored 50 points and in a 40-minute game managed to only hit 17 field goals. In one 18 minute stretch they were held to just 6 points and did everything they could to give aid and comfort to a Notre Dame team that at times seemed to be begging UConn to beat them.

No one is without blame. As we saw against Villanova and West Virginia, if Kemba Walker wants to take over and lead the team, this group can be great. Well last night Walker decided to take a pass on that responsibility. He was able to score 15 points and did not commit a turnover, but despite being a point guard he was only able to muster two assists.

As for the big men, I'll just say two quick things. First, with the exception of Gavin Edwards, every single one of them was outrebounded by the 6'1" (ha!) Walker. Second, Charles Okwandu's line is emblematic of the way the entire front court played. In his seven minutes, Okwandu took one shot (he missed), grabbed no rebounds, blocked no shots and contributed nothing beyond allowing UConn to have the requisite amount of players on the court.

The numbers alone are dispiriting, but the context is what really makes this game sting. One week ago, UConn was flying high on a three-game win streak that included wins over two top-10 teams. Sunday's loss to Louisville hurt, but the Cardinals are at least a competent squad and UConn did not look awful. The Huskies were still in good position, helped by the weakness of the bubble. A win last night probably would have sealed their NCAA bid and allowed the seniors to avoid the indignity of missing the tournament twice in their four years. Hell, even a competent performance would have kept UConn in good position to go dancing. But the Huskies did not get a competent performance. Not even close. Like always, when this team had to show up, had to show they wanted to win, they didn't.

Notre Dame did everything they could to hand UConn this game. They rely on the outside shot and went 3-15 from behind the arc. They did not have their best player. They forced (key word) almost no turnovers. They only scored 17 points in the first half. Even a mediocre performance would have allowed UConn to steal the game, brush the sweat from their brow, and move on.

In a lot of ways, I still cannot process just how bad this loss was. At a time when UConn teams traditionally play their best, this team is doing the exact opposite. For nine long years, St. Bonaventure has haunted my memories. No longer. Congratulations Notre Dame, from now on, when I think of being tormented by a basketball game, I'll be thinking of you.

Postgame discussion thread: Notre Dame 58, UConn 50

2010-03-04T02:01:11Z

The Blue-White football game is just a month away!

/anger

/sarcsam

/ORANGEBOWL!

UConn can still make the NCAA Tournament with a couple wins, but HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA if you think that's happening.

TheOpenThread: UConn-Notre Dame

2010-03-03T23:30:20Z

The worst part about losing to Louisville was not the loss itself. It was that it meant UConn's game against Notre Dame tonight turned into a defacto must-win. Be sure to check out our preview and the SBNation Notre Dame blog Rakes Of Mallow. The game tips off at 7, please join us in the thread below and share your thoughts.

Unfortunately, do to a previous obligation, I won't be able to join until about 7:30 or so, I'm not suer of Justin's status and Meacham may or may not be checking in, so you may have to keep yourselves amused for awhile. Please be on your best behavior Hawtin.

Welcome to the NCAA Tournament's new Pre-Preliminary Round: A UConn-Notre Dame preview

2010-03-03T17:21:35Z

More photos » Fred Beckham - AP

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The last time UConn played Notre Dame, the football team was preparing to get blown away by South Carolina's SEC speed, this blog was still in its old home (without the SBNation curse) and UConn was thought to be the 10th best team in the country. Obviously things have changed a lot since then.

Tonight's matchup features two teams desperately fighting to stay on the right side of the bubble. Most predictions still have UConn in the dance and the Irish just barely missing the cut, so whoever wins tonight should be able to breathe just a bit easier going forward. As for the loser? Let's just say you do not want to be the loser.

Back on Jan. 2, the Huskies beat the Irish 82-70 in Hartford, thanks to Stanley Robinson's 22 points and 16 rebounds, plus 10 points from one-game-wonder Charles Okwandu. Kemba Walker was still an out of control youth (6 turnovers). The Irish were led by erstwhile player of the year candidate Luke Harangody, who, like always, destroyed UConn, putting up 31 points.

Harangody is expected to miss tonight's game with a knee injury, but that might not wind up hurting the Huskies. Hit the jump for more.

The game: UConn (17-12, 7-9 Big East) at Notre Dame (19-10, 8-8 Big East)

The place: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, South Bend, IN

The time: 7 p.m.

The media: TV: ESPN; RADIO- WTIC 1080-AM, WOR 710-AM (in NJ)

The Vegas favorite: Notre Dame, by 2

Series history: UConn leads, 16-6.

Last meeting: UConn 82, Notre Dame 70 (Jan. 2), part of a glorious day where the UConn men won, the women destroyed Seton Hall and the football team dismantled South Carolina, all at the same time. Women's hockey won too.

State of the Huskies: Uncertain and worrisome. After a three-game winning streak that included wins over two top-10 teams, the Huskies looked like they were finally back on track. Then they played Louisville. All of the Huskies bad habits kicked in and the team looked like it forgot what was working. Instead of letting Kemba Walker run the show, Jerome Dyson became a ball-swallowing black hole and the Huskies lost a heartbreaker on Senior Day.

A win tonight will right the ship and should leave the Huskies feeling very confident as they head to South Florida to wrap up their season. A loss probably moves UConn back to the wrong side of the bubble and will make winning at least one game in the Big East Tournament a necessity.

So, tell me a little bit about the Fighting Irish: Like I mentioned before, Notre Dame's senior leader Luke Harangody is not expected to play. In theory, that should work in the Huskies favor, but it looks like the Irish are playing their best basketball of the season without Harangody. The team is 2-2 since he sat out, but one of those losses was an OT loss at Louisville and their two most recent games were wins over Pittsburgh and Georgetown. Gulp.

Reports indicate that since 'Gody went down, the Irish have been trying to slow down the tempo of their games and play a lot from the perimeter. Neither of those things sound good for the Huskies who have repeatedly shown that A) They can't defend the 3 to save their life and B) Their best chance to win comes when a team tries to run against them. In Harangody's abscense, the team has turned to Connecticut's own Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough, little brother of you know who.

Check out the game notes: UConn's are here, while Notre Dame's are here.

The preview: We start, as is custom, with a look at the Four Factors, courtesy of KenPom.com

	UConn	Notre Dame
Overall Rank	38	52
Off. Efficency	108.7	122
Def. Efficency	89.9	103.5
Pace	69.3	65.9
Off. EFG%	48.8	55.1
Def. EFG%	43.7	50.4
OReb%	38.1	35.2
Def. OReb%	34.2	30.6
Off. TO%	21.4	15.9
Def. TO%	18.1	15.7
Off. FT Rate	47.1	38.7
Def. FT Rate	25.6	27.8

According to these numbers, this one might as well be a tossup. UConn is a much better defensive and rebounding team, but Notre Dame's offensive efficiency numbers are off the charts. If the Huskies can't step up the perimeter D and this becomes a shootout, forget about it. The one thing that gives me some hope is that Notre Dame is one of the worst teams in the country when it comes to forcing turnovers. UConn, of course, can turn the ball over like nobody's business, so let's hope ND's weakness allows the Huskies to self-correct a bit.

The Joyce Center is a tough place to win on any night, and tonight is the Irish's Senior Night. Still, as we saw on Saturday, Senior Night is no guarantee of a victory or even a great performance. Both teams desperately need this game, and though the Louisville game has made me gun shy, on balance, I still really like what the Huskies have done the past two weeks. This is a good team. It is a better team than Notre Dame. Tonight they just need to play like it. As Ater Majok would say, I DONT SEE WHY NOT?

The prediction:

UConn 79, Notre Dame 75

In or out?: The quest to save face, Part IV

2010-03-03T04:14:34Z

A day-after-gameday (and occasionally day-after-day-after-gameday) look at UConn's NCAA Tournament resume. Read Part I, Part II and Part III.

In a recent episode of Family Guy, a weekly notebook chronicling the struggle of the modern family in a world fraught with economic challenges and tension abroad, Stewie and Brian, in an homage/ripoff of The Simpsons, use a remote control to travel to alternate realities.

They visit to all types of zany places -- one where dogs assume the roles of humans and vice versa, another where they are depicted as Disney characters -- and fun is had by all.

There's also one where each person has two heads: one sad, one happy. At the time I first saw it, this portion seemed a bit odd. Sort of funny ... but mostly odd.

However, it wasn't until I re-watched the episode a day ago that I realized there was something familiar about it.

Then, it hit me: This is the reality we live in post-Louisvillocalypse. To prove my point, I've provided a brief example, as well as the usual Tourney data, after the jump:

All info from BB State, mostly because I thought it was a site for BB gun enthusiasts.

UConn Huskies

Record: 17-12, 7-9 Big East (11^th)
SOS: #2
RPI: #42
Big wins: vs. Texas (88-74), at Villanova (84-75), vs. West Virginia (73-62)
Bad losses: at Michigan (68-63), at Providence (81-66)
Vs. RPI 1-50: 3-7
Vs. RPI 51-100: 6-3
Vs. RPI 101-200: 6-2
Vs. RPI 150+: 5-0
Road record: 2-6
Last 12: 6-6
Scoring margin: +5.5
Games left: 2 (at Notre Dame, USF)
Justins' takes, with the voice of Sad Justin played by Eeyore, and Happy Justin by Andrew Porter:

Sad Justin: Sigh ... UConn lost again. Woe is me.

Happy Justin: Yeah, but Joe Lunardi, the guy who got 63 of the 65 teams right last year, has us in! We're dancing, baby!

Sad Justin: But we still have two games to play ... and no room for error. ... Plus, his hair is weird.

Happy Justin: But Luke Harangoofy's gone for the year! And USF has lost four of its past six and has virtually no shot at making it any more!

Sad Justin: Did you watch the end of Louisville game? ... We stink. ... And Jerome Dyson playing basketball makes me hurt on the inside. No way we beat both. Good bye, cruel world.

Happy Justin: Yeah, but have you SEEN Dyson slam it? He's so athletic, and ... um ... seriously, he can slam it! And what about Stan? Have you SEEN Stan? He's going to be a lottery pick (somehow), and he's scored in double-figures in every game this year. Ahhh. You hear me, me?! AHHHHHH!

Sad Justin: They stink ... and so do we. ... Sigh. ... No way we win in MSG. New York hates us and we shout unnecessarily mean things at things at people as they try to enjoy their breakfast parfaits.

Happy Justin: Six Overtimes!

Sad Justin: Six losses by five points or less.

Happy Justin: COACH CAL!

Sad Justin: ... George Blaney.

Happy Justin: AHHHHH!

Sad Justin: Sigaaahhhhhh ...

Verdict: Still in.

Your one stop shop for Hasheem D-League news

2010-03-01T20:05:16Z

Your one stop shop for Hasheem D-League news

Like many of you, I'm still feeling the pain from yesterday's brutal loss. I have next to no desire to talk about UConn today, so I thought I'd share this instead. As we all know, Hasheem Thabeet, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies, has been demoted to the NBA's D-League. I never spent a lot of time thinking about the D-League before last week, but since it was brought to my attention, I've found myself sucked into SBNation's D-League blog "Ridiculous Upside" (or, if you prefer Hasheem ThaBlog). The guys over there really know their stuff, plus there is a ton of Thabeet coverage, so go check it out, if only to get your mind off yesterday's debacle.

That old familiar feeling: Louisville 78, UConn 76

2010-02-28T21:58:45Z

More photos » Thomas Cain - AP

You know when you feel really angry and really sad at the same time? So does Coach Cal. (AP Photo/Thomas Cain)

Browse more photos »

This one hurts.

UConn blew a 13 point lead to Louisville in a game they needed to win (AT HOME!). UConn had the ball in a tie game with 60 seconds to go, and Jerome Dyson failed to come up with a play in the clutch (driving into four defenders underneath the basket, and somehow thinking he could complete a pass). UConn's opponent had the ball in a tie game in the final seconds, and they came through (Edgar Sosa blowing by Kemba Walker, who was otherwise spectacular).

If all that seems familiar, it's because it is. This was UConn's seventh loss of five points or fewer this season, and I'm inclined to believe it's not luck. It's because UConn's senior leader, Dyson, still plays like a freshman. It's because UConn's frontcourt is unbelievably terrible on offense. It's because the many flaws of this team are magnified at winning time.

UConn is what it is at this point, 29 games into a 31-game regular season. Talented, but ridiculously flawed. Capable of outrebounding Louisville by 25, and capable of turning the ball over 22 times. Capable of going up 39-26 after 18 minutes, and capable of giving up 29 points over the next six minutes of game time.

Maddening.

The good news: Even at 17-12, UConn still very much controls their Tournament destiny. Three more wins (at Notre Dame, at South Florida, BET preliminary game) put them in. Two more and I'd wager that UConn is on the very edge of the bubble, but SOS and RPI put them in.

The bad news: Do we have any reason to suspect that this schizophrenic team won't melt down on the road in one of their two remaining regular season games? That they won't fold in MSG, as these players have done in each of the last three seasons?

I think we've been burnt too many times to think otherwise.

Poll

How does UConn finish the regular season?

TheOpenThread: UConn vs. Louisville

2010-02-28T17:39:29Z

Try not to tear up too much, but this is the final Connecticut game for Gavin, Jerome and Stanley. Also, it's kinda important with regard to the Huskies' NCAA Tournament hopes.

Once you've read the preview, come on over and use this thread for all your in-game commenting needs.

Go Huskies.