George Mason Jitters

UConn’s post season is about to be underway and looking back on the regular season, they have been a little inconsistent with their play. Some nights they are hitting the outside shot, others the big men were having their way, a few they both were working, and some neither were. UConn’s most inconsistency has been from the defensive end. They have let players score in bucket loads. Their 68.6 points allowed a game is about middle of the pack in the conference, San Diego’s is 63.4. And Connecticut’s lack of figuring the match up zone gets them frustrated and prone to turnovers.

For the pups to go deep into this tournament, they’ll need a few things to happen. Adrien and Price will need to make plays. Austrie and Wiggins have to hit one or two threes with good percentages. Thabeet needs to stay out of foul trouble and get fouled. Stanley has to be hunting for offensive boards. Dyson needs to attack the rim and not turn the ball over. And lastly, defend the three point line. If they do these things, then they can take on any team in the bracket, even UCLA. They have shown that this can be done in the Cincinnati game. The talent is there but the confidence isn’t yet. Once they find that, then this team is a title contender.

A few things they need to concentrate on in this upcoming game is containing Brandon Johnson and Gyno Pomare. De’Jon Jackson is an emerging scorer and led the team in points, with 24 points and 16, in 2 of the last 3 games. UConn is the stronger and deeper team and must flex their muscle inside with second chance points and easy put backs. The pressure will be on the guards. They need to fight through screens and not let shooters have clear looks at the basket. Their hands need to be up at all times, playing tight, and giving up the drive to the basket to funnel the ball towards Thabeet.

I think I’m having George Mason jitters facing these small schools with deadly shooters. This team is totally different than the one that was here last but that bad taste still lingers. They have heart and play hard, but they lack that one element to push them to the next level. Be it as it may, I’ll take the All-American point guard and the 7 foot 3 blocking machine.