Attack of the Clones

This game was won on the glass. UConn’s superior front line held back the army of Georgia Tech’s clones. They were running in fresh bodies like Peacock, Lawal, Clinch, Miller, Causey and Smith. They all played 16 or more minutes and Bell and Morrow played 31. Every player shot 5 or more times, pulled down some boards and scored. UConn pulled it off by walling off the paint and attacking the tin. The front line players, including Robinson, crashed the boards and came down with 10 offensive boards and shot 16 out of 26 from the line.

A.J. is going to see this type of pressure defense until Dyson returns. Georgia Tech played aggressive and was defending chest to chest all day. They had the deep bench to withstand the fouls that would mount up by playing such an aggressive defense. Price still found a way to make plays, hitting Uconn’s only threes, dishing out 5 dimes, and creating 3 steals. He has supplanted himself as the best point guard in The Big East.

Austrie has a shooter’s mentality and stuck with his shot even though they weren’t sinking. He did have 4 assists with no turnovers. With the new two point guard look, UConn is able to run Price as the two guard and create mismatches. Wiggins made sure to shoot more and took 7 shots but couldn’t hit. His confidence isn’t there yet and didn’t take several threes when open. But he made 8 for 8 from the line and had 4 assists. All three guards were able to collapse the defense and find the open big men for easy baskets. Its good to see the them protect the weak side and rebound. The three totaled 10 boards.

Robinson had a tough game and fell quickly into foul trouble. He needs to defend better without fouling, though Georgia Tech kept throwing players at him. He is a great defender but creates to much contact with the body. His shot might not be where he wants it to be, but he knows that he can contribute on the glass. Lurking in the paint all day, he pulled down 6 boards. He has started taking his man off the dribble and pulling up for a jump shot and they are falling with more consistency, but he needs to take more than 2 shots.

Thabeet might have the line of the year so far with 15 boards, 6 blocks, and 24 points. He was awesome. The Yellow Jackets couldn’t match up with him and he had free reign inside. He has been playing much better defense and staying home more and not getting caught in no man’s land. He hasn’t rebounded this well all year and he is finishing plays around the rim with authority.

Adrien also had a monster night. He made a living at the line, going 9 for 15. Someone needs to check his sneakers for springs, because he is dunking from two or three steps away from the rim. That one-handed power slam was impressive.

Mandeldove, Edwards, and Kelly combined for 1 board, 1 assist, and 1 turnover in 6 minutes. All the stats were recorded by Kelly. Beverly had a better game then he had against Syracuse. He didn’t force the action and pushed the ball up.

Up next is the rematch with Notre Dame. UConn is a different team now then when they last met. The perimeter defense if much better and Price and Adrien are playing outstanding. They need to keep playing stellar perimeter defense and avoid getting bombarded from outside. Connecticut is entering the last quarter of their season playing their best ball. It will be the next several games that will tell where this team is going to be come March.