UCONN LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST USF
by Zach Smart
Jim Boeheim said it.
In a recent interview with SNY, the longtime Syracuse game general pointed out that South Florida copped their first conference win by giving Marquette--a team loaded with four standout 1,000-point scoring seniors--their first loss.
Anything can happen. In a conference filled with a buffet-line of promising talent, anyone can knock off anyone.
Heading into their matchup with UConn (24-2, 12-2) the Hasheem Thabeet phenomenon could have sent shivers down SFU's spine. But Thabeet was neutralized, significantly, on Monday night. He scored just four points and was a non-factor after getting into foul trouble during their 76-68 home loss to Pittsburgh.
The Panthers' DuJuan Blair, a sophomore strongman, took the ball to Thabeet early and often. He pounded his way into the paint. He put the ball on the deck and posted up on the 7-foot-3 mammoth of a man. He beat him to the boards and found various ways to score--putbacks, fallaway jumpers, refined back to the basket moves that Thabeet can't simulate, and so forth.
Unfortunately. South Florida does not have a Dujuan Blair on their roster. They don't even have a Kentrell Gransberry anymore. Gransberry, one of the most under-appreciated bigs in the conference last season, is playing professionally in France.
The Bulls have a 6-foot-10 center in Alex Rivas-Sanchez. Excluding games against Virginia, Notre Dame, and Marquette, the wiry big man from the Dominican Republic hasn't been much to write home about. He's averaging a meager 3.1 points and 4.3 boards in just 14.6 minutes for a squad that acknowledges the gap that was created when 2008 graduation claimed Gransberry.
Guard Dominique Jones (18.2 PPG, 4.0 APG), on the other hand, has been nothing short of a problem. We know you haven't heard much about him with the laundry-list of guards in the Big East--like Dominic James--that make headline after headline. In a guard-heavy Big East, Jones would be raved about if he didn't play for the cellar-dwelling Bulls.
Jones hung 35 on West Virginia, 29 on Providence, and 26 on DePaul. Prior to the 2008-09 campaign, Jones said a personal goal for his team would be to win every out-of-conference game. He's a realist when it comes to the talent level of the Big East and where his team stands this year.
While his wish didn't pan out--Niagara, Vanderbilt, Wright State, and Oral Roberts all had their way with SFU in the non-conference slate--Jones scored 15 points and handed out four helpers as the Bulls defeated Marquette in the upset of the century. It was South Florida's first-ever victory over a top-ten ranked opponent.
The Bulls, however, have tailed off the past two games--dropping a 10-point loss to a sleepwalking Notre Dame team before getting clubbed by a struggling Georgetown team, 65-40.
Jones is averaging just 13 points in the last two games. The kid who has yet to play under 32 minutes in a game this season--a pretty solid indicator that he's the heart and soul of this ailing program--will need to be at his best Saturday. While he's relied on to score the basketball, Jones means so much more. The 6-foot-4 guard can sky for rebounds (he turned in a 26 and 10 double-double in a nine-point loss to DePaul and combined for 17 rebounds in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Providence.
South Florida shoots 30 percent from beyond the confines of the arc. They will not have much of a choice on Saturday, as Thabeet's presence is felt all around the key.
Just ask Seton Hall. Thabeet loves to eat up guards that take the ball to the cup and changes the trajectory of a number of shots throughout the game.
-For UConn, A.J. Price has looked more and more like the player that took the Big East by storm last season. Price is averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 dimes, but is the guy the Huskies go to in the clutch or when in need of a timely trey. The Amityville, N.Y native hit big threes and showed resolve during the Pitt loss. Price had 29 during a crucial win over Villanova last month, but his streak ways have continued.
-Jeff Adrien, newly minted member of UConn's elite 1,000 and 1,000 club has been playing the best ball of his life. Averaging a double-double with 14 and 10, Adrien should get the Huskies kick-started tomorrow.
A Look Back: In 2006, when UConn was hanging around the No.1 mark and punishing teams not named the Wildcats during the regular season, they never let a bottom feeder close to them. This was of course, in Big East action. If you remember correctly, a SUNY-Albany team sporting t-shirts with "Why Not Us?" emblazoned on the back nearly became the first team in NCAA history to upset a no.1 team as a No.16. Some people have compared this team's success to that team. So, if the Huskies are anything like that dominant 2006 squad, which was robbed by George Mason in the elite eight, they will bludgeon South Florida tomorrow. They won't waste time in the early going, as they did during their cupcake non-conference schedule. They will get after it from the get-go, get a comfortable margin, and never let up.
But don't forget, this is the 2008-2009 Big East we're talking here...To paraphrase Kevin Garnett, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"
--------------------------------------------
NBE Blogger Prediction:
Connecticut 78
South Florida 53
UConn Men Anxious to Get Back to Work (TheDay.com)
Bull-fighting in Hartford (Journal Inquirer)
Thabeet and Co. Look to Rebound (Norwich Bulletin)
USF’s Jones Has Unbuckling Bond with Father (St. Pete Times)
Huskies Should be Ready to Go Today (Bristol Press)
UConn Neess to Rebound from Loss (CT Post)
Jim Boeheim said it.
In a recent interview with SNY, the longtime Syracuse game general pointed out that South Florida copped their first conference win by giving Marquette--a team loaded with four standout 1,000-point scoring seniors--their first loss.
Anything can happen. In a conference filled with a buffet-line of promising talent, anyone can knock off anyone.
Heading into their matchup with UConn (24-2, 12-2) the Hasheem Thabeet phenomenon could have sent shivers down SFU's spine. But Thabeet was neutralized, significantly, on Monday night. He scored just four points and was a non-factor after getting into foul trouble during their 76-68 home loss to Pittsburgh.
The Panthers' DuJuan Blair, a sophomore strongman, took the ball to Thabeet early and often. He pounded his way into the paint. He put the ball on the deck and posted up on the 7-foot-3 mammoth of a man. He beat him to the boards and found various ways to score--putbacks, fallaway jumpers, refined back to the basket moves that Thabeet can't simulate, and so forth.
Unfortunately. South Florida does not have a Dujuan Blair on their roster. They don't even have a Kentrell Gransberry anymore. Gransberry, one of the most under-appreciated bigs in the conference last season, is playing professionally in France.
The Bulls have a 6-foot-10 center in Alex Rivas-Sanchez. Excluding games against Virginia, Notre Dame, and Marquette, the wiry big man from the Dominican Republic hasn't been much to write home about. He's averaging a meager 3.1 points and 4.3 boards in just 14.6 minutes for a squad that acknowledges the gap that was created when 2008 graduation claimed Gransberry.
Guard Dominique Jones (18.2 PPG, 4.0 APG), on the other hand, has been nothing short of a problem. We know you haven't heard much about him with the laundry-list of guards in the Big East--like Dominic James--that make headline after headline. In a guard-heavy Big East, Jones would be raved about if he didn't play for the cellar-dwelling Bulls.
Jones hung 35 on West Virginia, 29 on Providence, and 26 on DePaul. Prior to the 2008-09 campaign, Jones said a personal goal for his team would be to win every out-of-conference game. He's a realist when it comes to the talent level of the Big East and where his team stands this year.
While his wish didn't pan out--Niagara, Vanderbilt, Wright State, and Oral Roberts all had their way with SFU in the non-conference slate--Jones scored 15 points and handed out four helpers as the Bulls defeated Marquette in the upset of the century. It was South Florida's first-ever victory over a top-ten ranked opponent.
The Bulls, however, have tailed off the past two games--dropping a 10-point loss to a sleepwalking Notre Dame team before getting clubbed by a struggling Georgetown team, 65-40.
Jones is averaging just 13 points in the last two games. The kid who has yet to play under 32 minutes in a game this season--a pretty solid indicator that he's the heart and soul of this ailing program--will need to be at his best Saturday. While he's relied on to score the basketball, Jones means so much more. The 6-foot-4 guard can sky for rebounds (he turned in a 26 and 10 double-double in a nine-point loss to DePaul and combined for 17 rebounds in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Providence.
South Florida shoots 30 percent from beyond the confines of the arc. They will not have much of a choice on Saturday, as Thabeet's presence is felt all around the key.
Just ask Seton Hall. Thabeet loves to eat up guards that take the ball to the cup and changes the trajectory of a number of shots throughout the game.
-For UConn, A.J. Price has looked more and more like the player that took the Big East by storm last season. Price is averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 dimes, but is the guy the Huskies go to in the clutch or when in need of a timely trey. The Amityville, N.Y native hit big threes and showed resolve during the Pitt loss. Price had 29 during a crucial win over Villanova last month, but his streak ways have continued.
-Jeff Adrien, newly minted member of UConn's elite 1,000 and 1,000 club has been playing the best ball of his life. Averaging a double-double with 14 and 10, Adrien should get the Huskies kick-started tomorrow.
A Look Back: In 2006, when UConn was hanging around the No.1 mark and punishing teams not named the Wildcats during the regular season, they never let a bottom feeder close to them. This was of course, in Big East action. If you remember correctly, a SUNY-Albany team sporting t-shirts with "Why Not Us?" emblazoned on the back nearly became the first team in NCAA history to upset a no.1 team as a No.16. Some people have compared this team's success to that team. So, if the Huskies are anything like that dominant 2006 squad, which was robbed by George Mason in the elite eight, they will bludgeon South Florida tomorrow. They won't waste time in the early going, as they did during their cupcake non-conference schedule. They will get after it from the get-go, get a comfortable margin, and never let up.
But don't forget, this is the 2008-2009 Big East we're talking here...To paraphrase Kevin Garnett, "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!"
--------------------------------------------
NBE Blogger Prediction:
Connecticut 78
South Florida 53
UConn Men Anxious to Get Back to Work (TheDay.com)
Bull-fighting in Hartford (Journal Inquirer)
Thabeet and Co. Look to Rebound (Norwich Bulletin)
USF’s Jones Has Unbuckling Bond with Father (St. Pete Times)
Huskies Should be Ready to Go Today (Bristol Press)
UConn Neess to Rebound from Loss (CT Post)
Labels: 2008-2009 Game Previews
posted by NBE Blogger @ 11:06 PM
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