Uconn vs. SMU

[the Blades]

vs. SMU @ Gampel- Thurs. DEC 10th 7pm ( TV- CBS Sports)

A must win with 2 road games on the horizon ( Cincy, Tulsa). This is the only team in the last 3 that Uconn isn't completely undersized against.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

SMU has recently won 8 of 9, including by 8 at Georgetown and then drilling East Carolina by 28 and also winning at Tulane. They are likely going to be favored in this game. If UConn doesn’t win this one they could be in an 0-4 hole out of the gate in AAC play. Which is not what you want.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

UConn is actually a 2 point favorite according to Vegas Insider.

 

[the Blades]

Nice W, for the good guys. Not surprising for a number of reasons. Despite SMU's win streak lately, they are similar size/height wise to alot of the mid-majors that Uconn has taken care of business against. The Carlton sighting (8 pts, 7 rebs) corresponded with him playing vs. the SMU's bigs he looked to have 3 inches on courtside ( despite their listed HT's). Uconn shot the lights out (52%/ 47 % on 3's) . Playing on their true home court @ Gampel has seemed to help their shooting lately. Despite Uconn getting killed on the boards overall, SMU was terrible from long range at 13%. Also TO's , Uconn kept it at 10, same as SMU. One final thought is that Jalen needs to demand the ball more in crunch time and he needs to be the lead guard rather than Rique. AG has been great as a kick to shooter, but seems more reckless when forced to make a play. Were as JA seems to be better at making something out of nothing off the dribble with the shot clock running out. Whether hitting his own shot or finding the right guy with a pass. JA came up clutch in the 2nd half to stop that SMU run. And why change him from a spot he was better at, PG, early in his career, that forces him to stay engaged ? Schedule gets tougher, because it's back to taking their undersized line-up on the road vs. a team with real sized bigs and wings @ Cincy.....

Uconn - SMU Box Score

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I noticed the same thing- SMU looked smallish and had a lot of skinny guys. They were not a team that physically was able to impose on UConn. They also shot the ball horribly, some of which was UConn’s D. I am kind of surprised they had won 8 of 9 and also including an 8 point win at Georgetown.

UConn has to have this game because the next 2 games at Cincy and at Tulsa are not going to be easy. Cincy needed OT to win at Tulsa last night.

 

[the Blades]

One final thought is that Jalen needs to demand the ball more in crunch time and he needs to be the lead guard rather than Rique. AG has been great as a kick to shooter, but seems more reckless when forced to make a play. Were as JA seems to be better at making something out of nothing off the dribble with the shot clock running out. Whether hitting his own shot or finding the right guy with a pass. JA came up clutch in the 2nd half to stop that SMU run. And why change him from a spot he was better at, PG, early in his career, that forces him to stay engaged ?

Regarding all this ^^^^^....DH just covered what I've been seeing in today's artcle from Mike Anthony. Jalen's won plenty of games in the past as the primary ball handler and AG still needs time....If that's the case as DH mentions a simple solution seems to be what I posted above...instead of JA being stuck down by the baseline corner standing around as the shot clock runs out. With the way AG been shooting it you'd think JA with the ball to AG for the catch and shoot could be as deadly as JA off the dribble to Brimah on the lobs were in the past.

From today's article on Alterique: “You see the dynamic [play], and you see the, ‘Why did he just try to drive that gap? What did he see there?'" coach Dan Hurley said. “You have to treat him like he’s a freshman. He hasn’t played college basketball. Plus, he hasn’t played basketball. He’s just been on the shelf. There’s just rust there. He’s going to continue to develop. He’s obviously a talented guy. His speed and 3-point shooting are impressive, and his on-the-ball defense. We just have to help him become a better decision-maker.”

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I think DH hits the nail on the head. He is sort of like Kemba his sophomore year with some of the decisions, wild and too fast play. You just hope he gets better. He shoots 3s better than Kemba but Kemba was way better going to the hole, taking contact and scoring. I never saw anyone improve from sophomore to junior year like Kemba did, and while it’s unrealistic to hope for that, Alterique will improve.

 

[the Blades]

I think DH hits the nail on the head. He is sort of like Kemba his sophomore year with some of the decisions, wild and too fast play. You just hope he gets better. He shoots 3s better than Kemba but Kemba was way better going to the hole, taking contact and scoring. I never saw anyone improve from sophomore to junior year like Kemba did, and while it’s unrealistic to hope for that, Alterique will improve.

Like I told Kemba's dad, when we were siting together out at the Maui tourney, " there is only one guy that can stop Kemba ......Jerome Dyson"