Tuesday Morning Shootaround

In the big game of the night, UConn went into Louisville and dominated what was arguably the hottest team in the country, beating them 68-51. The biggest reason was the biggest guy on the court. Back in November, I wrote a column about Hasheem Thabeet being the most valuable player in the country. Last night was a perfect example of why I believed that. His presence completely changed what Louisville wanted to do offensively. They didn't attack the basket. They didn't get the ball into the post (calling Samardo Samuels a non-factor would be giving him too much credit, and aside from the last ten minutes when the game was essentially decided, the same could have been said about Terrence Jennings). And that completely went against what they wanted to do.

Louisville is a team that needs to get the ball into the paint to be successful. Whether it is via a post touch or penetration, when they get to the lane, they are either able to score or kick the ball out to their shooters. They are not the greatest shooting team in the world, but they can knock down open jump shots. Last night, when they got the ball into the paint, they couldn't score and they couldn't find open shooters. The reason for that? UConn didn't need to help off of guys on the perimeter because they knew that they had Thabeet under the rim. All told, Thabeet finished with 14 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks, but his influence was so much more. Perfect example - with about five minutes to play, Preston Knowles got by his man and into the paint. Instead of challenging Thabeet, who came over from help side, Knowles fired a blind, wrap-around pass for Jennings that didn't come close to getting there. Turnover.

Overall, UConn outscored Louisville 40-18 in the paint.

It also didn't help that Terrence Williams was the only guy that came to play. He finished with 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. T-Will was also 11-19 from the floor. The rest of the Cardinals? 11-45 from the floor, scoring just 25 points. Earl Clark might have played two worst game of his career. He scored just five points on 2-16 shooting from the floor. He settled for jumpers the entire game, and basically shot Louisville out of the game in the first half.

The difference in this game was the last six minutes of the first half. Jeff Adrien scored seven points in a 15-2 run that gave UConn a 12 point lead heading into the half. Louisville wouldn't get closer than 10 the rest of the way. Adrien finished with 18 points and 7 boards, Jerome Dyson had 14 points, and AJ Price added 11 and 8 boards.

One last note about this game - Stanley Robinson picked up his second foul just two minutes into the game. He wouldn't get off the bench the rest of the way, as Calhoun went with a three guard line-up. I've been reading a lot of the CT papers this morning, and from what I can tell it isn't a punishment benching. Calhoun had planned on using a three guard line-up (the handle the press and better attack a zone defense). It was very effective in the first half, and Calhoun never went away it. His decision was made easier when because Sticks got torched by T-Will in those two minutes - he scored the first seven Cardinal points.

The rest of last night's games:

• Kansas 75, Baylor 65: Sherron Collins had 17 points and 6 assists to lead the Jayhawks to their first credible win in Big XII play. That said, is the Baylor win even credible at this point? I've been a huge Baylor supporter since before the season, but they are now 3-5 in the conference with four straight losses to the class of the Big XII - Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, and Kansas. The biggest issue for Baylor right now is that they cannot defend anyone. Kansas scored basically at will down the stretch. Until they start playing some defense, they will just be another run-of-the-mill Big XII team.
  
• Pitt 92, Robert Morris 72: Sam Young led four players in double figures with 23 points, and Levance Fields added 12 points and 13 assists as Pitt cruised to the non-conference win.
• UW-Green Bay 75, Butler 66: The Bulldogs drop their first game in Horizon League play. Green Bay used a 12-4 run early in the second half to open up a 10 point lead, and Butler never got closer than four the rest of the way. Ryan Tillema scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Pheonix.
• Davidson 89, Western Carolina 65: Steph Curry had 26 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists to lead Davidson to their 42nd consecutive Southern Conference win.
• Siena 74, St. Peter's 63
• UNC-Asheville 103, VMI 95 OT