Game stats: Georgetown 79, UConn 78 [2OT]

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            GEORGETOWN                      UCONN         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            32        29        61

Points          19        60        79          22        56        78   

Effic.         59.2     138.0     104.4        68.6     128.8     103.1  
 
eFG%           31.0      72.2      57.0        36.5      60.0      50.8  
TO%            28.1      13.8      19.8        28.1      20.7      23.8  
OR%            12.5      25.0      18.8        25.0      44.4      35.3  
FTA/FGA        38.1      30.6      33.3        15.4      25.0      21.2  
 
Assist Rate    66.7      57.1      59.3        66.7      68.4      67.9  
Block Rate      4.8      12.5       8.1        18.8      23.8      21.6  
Steal Rate     12.5       9.2      10.6         9.4       6.9       7.9  
 
2FG%           31.2      52.4      43.2        38.1      56.2      45.9  
3FG%           20.0      66.7      55.0        20.0      41.7      37.9  
FT%            75.0      72.7      73.7        75.0      80.0      78.6

more stats after the jump

Recap: Georgetown 58, Connecticut 44

Image from here

It's not every day around here that Alan and I would pull out the double reverse-jinx (not one, but two articles bemoaning the Hoyas play in-conference) to ensure a needed victory as Georgetown rolls into a tough stretch in the schedule.


After the first 3:24 of tonight's game against the Connecticut Huskies, the Georgetown Hoyas trailed 13-7. They had allowed Jeremy Lamb to score five points on two jumpers (one from behind the arc) and watched Andre Drummond have his way inside with two dunks and two layups; the Huskies only blemish was a missed 3FG by Roscoe Smith. Then the Hoyas turned up the defensive intensity while the Huskies obliged by settling for jump shots, and Georgetown used a 24-8 run to lead by 10 at halftime, then rode that lead the rest of the way for a 58-44 win tonight at the Verizon Center.


Allow me to return to that comment about the Huskies settling for jumpers:  let's break out their shot selection before and after the first 3:24 of the first half:

               Dunks    Layups  2pt J's    3FGs     FTs
First 3:24      2/2      2/2      1/1      1/2      0/1
Next 16:36      1/1      1/2      0/11     0/8      4/5

I'd love to tell you that the Georgetown defense was reminiscent of the 1984 Hoyas, but I'm mostly just shocked with how easily Hoyas were able to force UConn to settle for jump shots. If not for Jeremy Lamb making all of his free throws, that couldn't have gone much worse for Connecticut.

It didn't improve much for them in the second half [21 of 31 attempts were either from behind the arc or 2FG jumpers]. Credit Coach Thompson for playing large portions of the game in a 2-3 zone, especially once he recognized the shooting woes for the Huskies. 


As for the Hoyas, the obvious stars of the game were Hollis Thompson (think he was reminded to be aggressive this week in practice?) and Jason Clark. Henry Sims had a spectacular dunk and some nice moments late in the game, but don't be fooled - he is still struggling with turnovers [7 tonight] and shot selection [4/10 on 2FG, but 1/6 on jumpers].  Hopefully that late flourish is something he'll be able to build upon.

The underclassmen were led by Mikael Hopkins, whose driving layup was a revelation in the second half.  Otto Porter and Nate Lubick also did some nice things, albeit quietly.


The Hoyas next host the South Florida Bulls on Saturday morning before heading up to Syracuse for perhaps their final road game ever at the Carrier Dome.  If you look up "trap game" in the dictionary, you'll see two tickets for USF vs. Georgetown.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Connecticut         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            33        31        64
 
Points          31        27        58          21        23        44   

Effic.         93.8      88.1      90.8        63.6      75.0      68.9  
 
eFG%           48.1      50.0      49.0        29.3      33.9      31.7  
TO%            24.2      22.8      23.5        18.2      16.3      17.2  
OR%            31.2      14.3      23.3        18.2      40.0      28.6  
FTA/FGA        26.9      36.4      31.2        20.7      22.6      21.7  

Assist Rate    63.6      60.0      61.9        75.0      50.0      61.1  
Block Rate      5.3      14.3      10.0        15.8       0.0       8.6  
Steal Rate      9.1       9.8       9.4         6.1       6.5       6.3  
 
2FG%           42.1      50.0      45.7        36.8      42.9      40.0  
3FG%           42.9      33.3      38.5        10.0      10.0      10.0  
FT%            85.7      62.5      73.3        66.7      28.6      46.2

Recap: Connecticut 79, Georgetown 62

Image from here.

The expression "playing out the string" comes to mind as the Hoyas lost their fourth straight game with an injured Chris Wright today, 79-62.

Georgetown remains unable to score without Wright leading the offense - in the seven halves of basketball that Georgetown has played without Chris Wright (2nd half v. Cinci forward), the Hoyas have averaged 0.83 points per possession. In the 10+ games previous to his injury (thru 1st half vs. Cinci), G'town had averaged 1.09 points per possession.

The Hoyas defense was no great shakes today either, especially in the first half. The Huskies simply controlled their offensive board, grabbing 9 of their own misses and converting them into 10 points. Of course, part of the defensive issues were traceable back to the offense - UConn converted 7 steals into 12 points in the Lift-off half as well.

That about all the time I've got tonight, so the stats will have to speak for themselves.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      UConn         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            35        33        68
 
Points          30        32        62          42        37        79   

Effic.         86.2      95.7      91.3       120.7     110.7     116.3  
 
eFG%           51.9      42.3      47.1        54.8      52.2      53.7  
TO%            28.7      17.9      23.6        17.2      17.9      17.7  
OR%            28.6      31.6      30.3        45.0       9.1      32.3  
FTA/FGA        15.4      50.0      32.7        45.2      56.5      50.0  

Assist Rate    25.0      30.0      27.3        40.0      16.7      29.6  
Block Rate      9.1      15.0      11.9         6.7       0.0       3.3  
Steal Rate     17.2       6.0      11.8        20.1      12.0      16.2  
 
2FG%           60.0      53.3      56.7        50.0      60.0      54.8  
3FG%           27.3      18.2      22.7        44.4       0.0      33.3  
FT%            75.0      76.9      76.5        57.1     100.0      77.8

Recap: UConn 78, Georgetown 70

There are no healthy bodies at HP right now, so you'll have to live with a stats dump for last night's game.

That was Austin Freeman's second poor outing in three games (also at Syracuse).  Georgetown will have a hard time winning these types of games until he's right again.

But in the end, once again it was the poor defense that was the big driver in last night's loss.  Kemba Walker seemed able to drive the lane at will in the second half, and when multiple help defenders did collapse, he was usually able to find Jamal Coombs-McDaniel for an easy shot attempt.


Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Visitor                         Home      
.            Georgetown                      UConn         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            32        33        65

Points          37        33        70          36        42        78   

Effic.        115.5      99.5     107.4       112.4     126.7     119.6  
 
eFG%           52.9      45.2      49.2        56.9      58.3      57.6  
TO%            12.5      12.1      12.3        15.6       6.0      10.7  
OR%            35.3      30.0      32.4        26.7      29.4      28.1  
FTA/FGA         5.9      25.8      15.4        13.8      40.0      27.1  
 
Assist Rate    56.2      41.7      50.0        60.0      47.1      53.1  
Block Rate      5.0       8.0       6.7        21.7       9.5      15.9  
Steal Rate      9.4       0.0       4.6         6.2      12.1       9.2  
 
2FG%           52.2      38.1      45.5        60.0      64.0      62.2  
3FG%           36.4      40.0      38.1        33.3      20.0      28.6  
FT%            50.0      62.5      60.0        75.0      58.3      62.5

INDIVIDUAL NET POINTS STATS

Georgetown            Off     %           Pts      Def           Pts   
Player                Poss  Poss  O.Rtg   Prod     Poss  D.Rtg  Allow    Net Pts
Vaughn, Julian         52   22.0   89.4   10.2      51   113.2   11.5      -2.0  
Lubick, Nate           46   12.9  137.3    8.2      46   118.9   10.9      -0.8  
Wright, Chris          59   25.2  103.8   15.5      59   109.5   12.9      +0.8  
Freeman, Austin        57   28.1   77.2   12.4      56   103.3   11.6      -1.7  
Clark, Jason           46   15.4  125.3    8.9      48   113.4   10.9      -0.6  
Thompson, Hollis       40   12.6  150.6    7.6      41   124.9   10.2      -0.7  
Starks, Markel          6    0.0    -      0.0       5   110.0    1.1      -1.1  
Sanford, Vee            1    0.0    -      0.0       3   133.3    0.8      -0.8  
Sims, Henry            13   34.2   48.9    2.2      14   118.9    3.3      -2.1  
Benimon, Jerrelle       5    0.0    -      0.0       7    71.4    1.0      -1.0  
TOTALS                 65         100.0   64.8      66   112.6   74.3      -8.9  

UConn                 Off     %           Pts      Def           Pts   
Player                Poss  Poss  O.Rtg   Prod     Poss  D.Rtg  Allow    Net Pts
SMITH, Roscoe          34    5.0   84.4    1.4      36   113.1    8.1      -3.6  
ORIAKHI, Alex          53   13.1  141.6    9.8      54    99.9   10.8      +1.0  
OKWANDU, Charles        9    5.6  200.0    1.0       8   130.7    2.1      -0.4  
LAMB, Jeremy           50   20.6   63.2    6.5      48   102.0    9.8      -3.6  
WALKER, Kemba          66   39.9  129.8   34.2      65    98.2   12.8     +14.9  
BEVERLY, Donnell       29    6.4   94.5    1.7      28    94.1    5.3      -1.8  
COOMBS-MCDANIEL, J     64   17.6  149.4   16.8      62   100.4   12.4      +5.0  
GIFFEY, Niels           8   12.5    0.0    0.0       8   124.1    2.0      -1.6  
OLANDER, Tyler          9   11.1  200.0    2.0       7   173.0    2.4      -0.1  
NAPIER, Shabazz         8   15.3   45.5    0.6       9    91.8    1.7      -0.8  
TOTALS                 66         119.3   74.1      65   103.6   67.4      +8.5

BE Game of the Day: UConn 61, Villanova 59

In a truly shocking development, I actually got to sit down and watch a couple of non-Georgetown Big East games today.

Image lifted from here

The undercard:  Villanova at UConn

Vegas had the Huskies as 2-point favorites for the game, and that's just how it turned out.  Ken Pomeroy only had UConn as at -1, but we'll cut Ken some slack tonight since his computer didn't know that Dominick Cheek would have to sit this one out.

I'm not going to spend too much time discussing the basics stats for the game, as VBTN will undoubtedly turn out a massively in-depth recap soon.

I decided to run through the numbers of this game for a couple of reasons - besides the marquee match-up, this was UConn's third try at beating an upper-echelon Big East team (after losses at Pitt and Notre Dame) and I still wasn't convinced they were legit, even after the win at Texas.

Meanwhile, Villanova had lost Cheek in the Maryland game.  He was someone I thought could switch out on Kemba Walker to slow down his outside shot, but would also give Jeremy Lamb fits - I do think it's fair to discount the result tonight a bit, presuming Cheek returns soon.  And I wanted to watch Corey Stokes play, as he's having an amazing senior season (much like Austin Freeman last year, before the diabetes kicked in).


By my estimate, the pivotal sequence in the game started after the under-8:00 timeout in the second half with Maalik Wayns heading to the line to shoot free throws with the Wildcats up four points, 45-41.

He missed the second, and what followed was a terrible stretch for Villanova, as they committed three turnovers and attempted an end-of-the-shot-clock 3FG (to go along with a made dunk) over their next five possessions.  Meanwhile, UConn got in the paint every time down the court, with Alex Oriakhi making a couple of close-in shots, Walker hitting 3/4 FTs and Lamb adding a couple of layups.

Now, at the under-4:00 timeout, UConn lead 52-48 and never trailed the rest of the way.


In the end, it was Jeremy Lamb who was the revelation today, rather than Stokes.  Sure the headlines will be about Walker, who really didn't have a Kemba-Walker-like game until the last few seconds, and Corey Fisher, who had a tremendous game.  But Stokes didn't show up tonight - in fact, by my math only Roscoe Smith was a bigger negative in the game - while Jeremy Lamb did.  Which again make me wonder what would have happened if Cheek could have played.

Full stats package after the jump, for the curious.

BE Game of the Night: UConn at Pitt

The Big East season kicked off tonight on ESPN2 with UConn playing at Pitt.  Since I actually got a chance to watch most of the game, and since the play-by-play data was clean, I decided to run the game through my stats parser.

A few thoughts after running the numbers:

• Pitt won the game going away, 78-63, with ~66 possessions played.  Hats off to Ken Pomeroy, who wasn't very far off with his prediction (76-66 in 66 possessions).

• For UConn, the narrative coming into the game was whether they were worthy of the #4 ranking, or if their reputation was a bit inflated by Kemba Walker's hot outside shooting touch.  The answer appears to be the latter, as Walker struggled from outside tonight [3/11 3FG] while using fully 40% (!) of his team's possessions while he was on the court.

• A bit more on Walker:  it's easy to rip a guy who scores 31 points on 27 shots and only has 2 assists, but you need to consider the context.  Here is his shooting line for the game, compared to his teammates while he was on the floor:
  

  .               Pts  2PM-A  3PM-A  FTM-A   eFG%   TS%
  Walker           31   7-16   3-11   8-11    43    48
  Rest of team     27   6-18   1- 7  12-15    30    42

  The fact is that Kemba is actually a rational actor here - he's generally better off shooting than passing, at least for tonight.

•  If Walker is going to pass, his best options usually are Oriakhi, Lamb and Smith.  Tonight, Oriakhi was plagued with fouls (and lousy defense) and couldn't stay on the floor while Roscoe Smith couldn't make a shot (much to the schadenfreude-licious delight of Hoya nation).  Jeremy Lamb was about the only Husky that you could point to and say "Kemba should have passed him the ball more."

• Pittsburgh, meanwhile, looks as good as advertised.  What I was really impressed with tonight was how well they shared the ball.  The top six players in possessions played (5 starters plus Woodall) all used between 20 and 25% of available possessions, and only Gilbert Brown had much of an off night on offense.

• The Panthers won in spite of being out-rebounded by the Huskies, and only gathering (gasp) 41% of their own missed shots. Only Texas was previously able to pull off that trick against Pitt this season, and the rebounding margin [40.7% - 47.6% = -6.9%] was much worse tonight.  Pitt countered by making their shots, and once they stopped turning the ball over in the 2nd half their #1 ranked offense got rolling.

• I realize he doesn't shoot much, but why doesn't Dante Taylor get more burn?

All the gory stats products after the jump

Deep bench, short rotation

JT3 subs in five players - documented! (Joseph Silverman / The Washington Times)

Alan's excellent post about likely minutes for the upcoming season got me thinking about John Thompson III's reputation for playing a short rotation.  I think this rep was developed in his first two seasons, when the cupboard was mostly bare beyond the first 6 or 7 players on the roster.  But now that he's been coaching the Hoyas for six seasons, I wonder if this reputation is myth or reality.

But before I can dig into the question of whether JT3 goes with fewer players than he should, I need to work through some basics and find a reasonable measuring stick.

First, we need to decide what constitutes being part of the rotation for a player, rather than just playing garbage minutes.  Next, we need to have some meaningful comparison of the size of Georgetown's rotation versus what other coaches/teams run.  Finally, we'll need to consider what to do about injured/suspended players and their effect on the rotation.

More after the jump

UConn highlights

I slapped together some highlights from yesterday's game, for your viewing pleasure (higher quality version can be downloaded here):

Some stat pages were updated yesterday, the rest will be today.

Recap: Georgetown 72, Connecticut 69

After sleeping walking through a great part of the 1st half, Austin Freeman and the Georgetown Hoyas managed to erase a 19-point deficit on the way to a three point win at the Verizon Center.

Let's run the numbers:

TEMPO-FREE BOX SCORE
 
.            Home                            Visitor   
.            Georgetown                      Connecticut         
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            37        33        70
 
Effic.         67.1     142.0     102.2       107.4      87.6      97.9  
 
eFG%           33.3      56.6      46.9        55.9      44.0      50.8  
TO%            21.5       6.0      14.2        16.1      27.2      21.3  
OR%            10.0      52.6      30.8        33.3      31.2      32.4  
FT Rate        33.3      15.8      23.1        20.6      40.0      28.8  

Assist Rate    50.0      52.6      51.9        70.6      27.3      53.6  
Block Rate      7.7      14.3      10.6        11.8      17.9      15.6  
Steal Rate     10.7      18.1      14.2        10.7       3.0       7.1  
 
2FG%           35.3      50.0      44.4        50.0      52.4      51.1  
3FG%           20.0      50.0      35.0        50.0       0.0      33.3  
FT%            77.8      66.7      73.3        28.6      70.0      52.9

I'm posting up the stats now along with some quick comments, and will flush out the recap tonight.  If I have time tonight - and everyone behaves - I'll try to cobble together some highlights as well.

A few bullet points from the tempo-free box:

• The first half deficit (15 points at the half, 19 points with a minute left) was due mostly to inept offense, not bad defense.  Sure, you'd like to see UConn's off. efficiency to be under 100, but the Hoyas were scoring only about 2/3 of a point per possession in the half.
• During the tip-off half, Georgetown scored 2 points in a 16 possession stretch, on 2 FTs by Greg Monroe.  Surprisingly, the Hoyas had only 3 turnovers during those 16 possessions - that means 12 possessions ended without a score even though Georgetown got off a shot or got fouled.
• The blinking number there is the shockingly low turnover rate in the 2nd half - only 2 TOs on 33 possessions.  From my eye, and from the box score below, it appears that the Huskies are incredibly dependent upon fast-break points, and their inability to turn the Hoyas over in the 2nd half was a real problem.
• The Vesper half comeback was built on good defense and great offense.  Georgetown still gave up too many fastbreak FGs (4), but Austin Freeman's shooting (7/11 2FG, 4/6 3FG) was exceptional.
• Georgetown shot under 45% of 2FGs; that's likely thanks in part to the high block rate that UConn always strives for.
  

INDIVIDUAL NET POINTS STATS

Georgetown            Off     %           Pts      Def           Pts   
Player                Poss  Poss  O.Rtg   Prod     Poss  D.Rtg  Allow    Net Pts
Wright, Chris          66   28.1   68.8   12.8      66    99.7   13.2      -3.1  
Monroe, Greg           64   17.5  119.8   13.4      63    85.0   10.7      +3.3  
Freeman, Austin        64   31.2  127.5   25.4      65    83.7   10.9     +11.6  
Clark, Jason           46   10.5   37.9    1.8      44   104.1    9.2      -5.3  
Vaughn, Julian         53   17.8   99.2    9.4      54    92.1    9.9      +0.1  
Thompson, Hollis       40    9.9  102.5    4.0      41    85.9    7.0      -1.2  
Benimon, Jerrelle      22   10.4  109.1    2.5      22    81.8    3.6      -0.2  
TOTALS                 71          98.8   69.4      71    90.9   64.5      +5.2  

Connecticut           Off     %           Pts      Def           Pts   
Player                Poss  Poss  O.Rtg   Prod     Poss  D.Rtg  Allow    Net Pts
MAJOK, Ater            14    7.1    0.0    0.0      15   114.9    3.4      -2.3  
DYSON, Jerome          47   31.8   80.5   12.0      45    92.8    8.3      +0.9  
WALKER, Kemba          64   20.2   86.4   11.2      64   104.0   13.3      -2.2  
ROBINSON, Stanley      67   25.9   82.0   14.2      68    97.9   13.3      -0.9  
ORIAKHI, Alex          58   15.3  142.1   12.6      56    95.5   10.7      +3.0  
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     35   13.7  117.2    5.6      36    91.3    6.6      +0.1  
EDWARDS, Gavin         49   17.3   83.0    7.0      47   102.7    9.7      -2.1  
OKWANDU, Charles       21    7.8  204.3    3.4      24    96.8    4.6      +0.2  
TOTALS                 71          94.4   66.0      71    98.6   70.0      -3.5

While shooting out the lights, Austin Freeman used 31% of the possessions he played - that may be a record for him.  He also played solid defense in the game.

Greg Monroe also had a solid game, albeit with far fewer possessions used.  He had some real defensive issues in the 1st half (not shown), although to be fair all the starters put up poor defensive stats in the 1st half except Freeman.

Chris Wright had a poor game today, shooting only 3/11 on 2FGs.  He had four of those shots blocked, as he tested the strength of UConn's defense and lost.  The main point here, I think, is that the Hoyas can win against upper-level Big East teams with only two of the Big Three playing well, but will need all three to be on their game consistently to become an elite team in the league.

Julian Vaughn had a nice workman-like effort.  His key offensive rebound and tip-in with 0:52 left turned out to be the shot to put Georgetown up for good (yeah, I'm giving him credit for it, even if he didn't get much of it).

Jason Clark struggled again today.  After a great start to the season, Clark's offensive game has mostly been absent since the game against Butler.  His defense wasn't too hot today either - mostly cheap fouls, I suspect.

The bench (Thompson, Benimon) contributed with low-usage, efficient offense and solid defense.  Would have liked to see a bit of Henry Sims, but oh well.

Connecticut vs Georgetown
01/09/10 12:00 at Verizon Center
Final score: Georgetown 72, Connecticut 69

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
MAJOK, Ater            07:57  - 7   0/ 9  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/10  0/ 4  0/15  0/14  0/ 8  0/ 8  0/10   2
DYSON, Jerome          27:18  - 1  12/44  6-11  0- 0  0- 0 11/36  4/12  1/45  5/47  1/31  0/19  4/28   4
WALKER, Kemba          35:29  - 9   9/59  2- 6  0- 1  5- 8  7/55  6/22  1/63  5/63  0/39  1/35  2/33   2
ROBINSON, Stanley      38:04  - 8  16/64  5-10  2- 8  0- 0 18/56  3/19  2/67  3/66  3/43  1/34  7/37   0
ORIAKHI, Alex          32:03  - 6  11/52  4- 6  0- 0  3- 7  6/50  0/17  1/55  0/57  0/34  5/33  5/31   3
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     19:09  + 9  11/40  2- 2  2- 3  1- 2  5/30  1/12  0/35  1/34  0/22  0/17  1/19   0
EDWARDS, Gavin         26:21  + 5   8/54  4- 9  0- 0  0- 0  9/39  1/17  0/46  1/48  2/30  1/20  7/22   3
OKWANDU, Charles       13:39  + 2   2/23  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/19  0/ 9  0/24  0/21  1/18  2/ 9  0/15   1
TOTALS                 40:00       69    24-47  4-12  9-17    59 15/28  5/70 15/70  7/45 11/35 27/39  15
.                                        0.511 0.333 0.529       0.536 0.071 0.214 0.156 0.314 0.692    

Georgetown              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Wright, Chris          36:44  - 4  14/65  3-11  2- 5  2- 2 16/57  4/19  2/65  3/65  0/44  0/34  1/31   4
Monroe, Greg           35:25  - 4  15/63  6-12  0- 1  3- 7 13/56  2/17  3/62  3/63  1/43  1/35  9/31   3
Freeman, Austin        36:31  + 8  33/69  7-11  5- 9  4- 4 20/61  2/14  3/64  3/63  0/42  2/35  5/33   0
Clark, Jason           25:59  + 8   0/51  0- 1  0- 4  0- 0  5/47  0/19  0/44  0/46  0/32  2/29  1/23   4
Vaughn, Julian         30:40  +15   6/62  3- 7  0- 0  0- 0  7/54  3/22  0/54  1/53  4/35  3/29  4/27   1
Thompson, Hollis       22:40  - 4   2/34  0- 2  0- 0  2- 2  2/32  3/13  2/40  0/39  0/24  1/20  0/18   2
Benimon, Jerrelle      12:01  - 4   2/16  1- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/18  0/ 4  0/21  0/21  0/15  1/13  3/12   2
TOTALS                 40:00       72    20-45  7-20 11-15    65 14/27 10/70 10/70  5/47 12/39 24/35  16
.                                        0.444 0.350 0.733       0.519 0.143 0.143 0.106 0.308 0.686    

Efficiency: Georgetown 1.029, Connecticut 0.986
eFG%: Georgetown 0.469, Connecticut 0.508
Substitutions: Georgetown 22, Connecticut 24

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Georgetown 1-1, Connecticut 6-6
Layups/Tips: Georgetown 12-23, Connecticut 15-24
Jumpers: Georgetown 7-21, Connecticut 3-17

Fast break pts (% FG pts): Georgetown 10 (16.4), Connecticut 18 (30.0)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Georgetown 14 (140.0), Connecticut 7 (140.0)
Seconds per poss: Georgetown 18.1, Connecticut 16.0

---------------------

Stats pages will get updated tonight or tomorrow.

Three Questions for UConn

Is this your father's UConn team?

Well, in a lot of ways it is. Offensively, they still don't take a lot of threes (3PA/FGA 343rd in the nation -- there's 347 teams in D-1). They are fundamentally an offense started by driving to the hoop from their perimeter players, letting their big men score mostly off offensive rebounds and dishes.

On defense, they still block more shots than anyone despite losing Thabeet (lending credence to my longstanding theory that the UConn scorer is very, very generous with the stat). They don't try to cause turnovers and they never, ever foul.

They are a little different this year. For one, they simply aren't as good a team as last year, which is nice. Two, they don't offensive rebounds nearly as well as they have in the past.

That sounds pretty lopsided for the Hoyas.

Well, it's not an awful matchup for us and has been pretty good in recent years. During III's reign, the Hoyas are just 3-4 versus the Huskies, but they've won the last three.

That said, it isn't all roses. They may not shoot a lot of threes, but they make them at a decent rate. Since the Hoyas defense seems to almost encourage them, this may not work in our favor.

Connecticut may not rebound like they used to, but they still offensive rebound better than Marquette and I still remember the second half of Wednesday's game.

Lastly, somewhere along the way, Stanley Robinson got good. He's turned into a quality scorer when he used to be only an athlete. At least by the stats -- I'm curious to see how much of that is still reliant on his athleticism.

So, what do the Hoyas need to do?

It's the same old yarn: watch the turnover and rebound. More important, though, is the latter, since the Huskies don't really try to force turnovers. The team just got out-rebounded by Marquette. We had a better start this year on the boards, but the game versus the Golden Gold brough back memories of last year. Gavin Edwards and Alex Oriakhi will try to push our players around -- how much will determine who wins.

Well, that or another crazy performance from three.

Big East HD Box Scores 09-10: Connecticut

Go to:

Cincinnati | UConn | DePaul | Georgetown | Louisville | Marquette | Notre Dame | Pitt
Providence | Rutgers | St. John's | Seton Hall | S. Florida | Syracuse | Villanova | W. Virginia

What's an HD box score? Invented by Ken Pomeroy, it shows both counting stats and opportunities for those stats; see here for more info about HD box scores. If you're looking for a team without a live link, here's why it's not available.

Big East Schedule:

Date        Visitor         Home              HD Box?
30-Dec-09   Connecticut     Cincinnati           No
02-Jan-10   Notre Dame      Connecticut         Yes
06-Jan-10   Seton Hall      Connecticut         Yes
09-Jan-10   Connecticut     Georgetown          Yes
13-Jan-10   Pittsburgh      Connecticut         Yes
20-Jan-10   St. John's      Connecticut          No
27-Jan-10   Connecticut     Providence
30-Jan-10   Marquette       Connecticut
01-Feb-10   Connecticut     Louisville
06-Feb-10   DePaul          Connecticut
10-Feb-10   Connecticut     Syracuse
13-Feb-10   Cincinnati      Connecticut
15-Feb-10   Connecticut     Villanova
20-Feb-10   Connecticut     Rutgers
22-Feb-10   West Virginia   Connecticut
28-Feb-10   Louisville      Connecticut
03-Mar-10   Connecticut     Notre Dame
06-Mar-10   Connecticut     South Florida

---------

Big East Conf. games only - updated 1/18/10

Player                 Min      On    Off     On/40 Off/40  Net/40
MAJOK, Ater           35:35    -  8  + 15     - 9.0  + 4.8   -13.8
ROBINSON, Stanley     149:32   +  5  +  2     + 1.3  + 7.6   - 6.3
ORIAKHI, Alex         117:28   - 11  + 18     - 3.7  +16.9   -20.7
DYSON, Jerome         139:16   + 11  -  4     + 3.2  - 7.7   +10.9
WALKER, Kemba         147:20   +  7  +  0     + 1.9  + 0.0   + 1.9
BEVERLY, Donnell      10:48    -  6  + 13     -22.2  + 3.5   -25.7
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J    43:53    + 16  -  9     +14.6  - 3.1   +17.7
EDWARDS, Gavin        122:04   + 14  -  7     + 4.6  - 7.4   +12.0
OKWANDU, Charles      31:12    +  9  -  2     +11.5  - 0.6   +12.2
SMITH, Darius         02:52    -  2  +  9     -27.9  + 2.3   -30.2

See here for more info on this table; plus-minus stats only tracked for games with available HD box scores.

-------------

30-Dec-09
No substitution data available with play-by-play

--------------------

Notre Dame vs Connecticut
1-2-10 12:00 p.m. at XL Center  Hartford, Conn.
Final score: Connecticut 82, Notre Dame 70

Notre Dame              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Nash, Tyrone           21:34  - 2  11/41  5-11  0- 0  1- 1 11/42  2/11  2/39  1/39  0/23  6/27  2/13   2
Abromaitis, Tim        32:15  -11   8/57  1- 3  2- 6  0- 0  9/58  1/20  1/60  2/60  0/35  1/36  3/22   4
Harangody, Luke        39:14  -12  31/68 13-23  1- 4  2- 2 27/69  0/13  1/70  3/72  0/48  3/44  6/32   2
Jackson, Tory          39:14  -14   6/68  0- 2  2- 5  0- 1  7/69  8/25  1/71  2/72  0/48  0/44  3/32   4
Hansbrough, Ben        38:06  -11  14/68  1- 6  3- 5  3- 4 11/68  2/23  2/68  0/68  0/47  1/43  2/32   5
Peoples, Jonathan      12:06  - 3   0/19  0- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/17  1/ 7  1/21  3/23  0/17  0/12  1/15   1
Brooks, Joey           00:46  + 0   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 1  1/ 1  0/ 2  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  1/ 1   1
Broghammer, Mike       00:46  + 2   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1   0
Scott, Carleton        15:13  -11   0/23  0- 2  0- 1  0- 0  3/24  2/10  0/27  0/28  1/22  0/14  1/16   1
Cooley, Jack           00:46  + 2   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 0  0/ 1   0
TOTALS                 40:00       70    20-48  8-22  6- 8    70 17/28  8/72 12/73  1/48 13/44 21/33  20
.                                        0.417 0.364 0.750       0.607 0.111 0.164 0.021 0.295 0.636    

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
MAJOK, Ater            04:02  - 6   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 7  1/ 7  1/ 7  0/ 4  1/ 6   2
ROBINSON, Stanley      35:31  +11  22/74  6-13  3- 6  1- 2 19/53  1/17  2/64  2/64  2/45  4/30 12/41   1
ORIAKHI, Alex          23:37  + 4   4/40  1- 6  0- 0  2- 2  6/38  0/15  0/43  1/43  4/31  4/23  6/25   1
DYSON, Jerome          39:31  +12  20/80  6-10  0- 3  8-10 13/60 10/24  2/72  0/71  2/46  0/33  2/41   4
WALKER, Kemba          37:52  +14  11/80  3- 4  0- 1  5- 6  5/57 10/26  1/68  6/68  1/45  0/31  4/42   0
BEVERLY, Donnell       02:27  - 2   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 6  0/ 5  0/ 5  0/ 2  1/ 5   0
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     15:47  +14   2/39  0- 0  0- 2  2- 2  2/22  0/12  0/32  1/31  0/17  0/12  0/18   1
EDWARDS, Gavin         27:17  + 7  13/61  6-10  0- 0  1- 1 10/39  1/16  1/51  1/49  0/33  1/19  1/30   2
OKWANDU, Charles       13:56  + 6  10/30  5- 5  0- 0  0- 0  5/23  0/ 8  0/22  1/22  1/11  3/11  2/12   2
TOTALS                 40:00       82    27-48  3-12 19-23    60 22/30  6/73 13/72 11/48 12/33 31/44  13
.                                        0.562 0.250 0.826       0.733 0.082 0.181 0.229 0.364 0.705    

Efficiency: Connecticut 1.139, Notre Dame 0.959
eFG%: Connecticut 0.525, Notre Dame 0.457
Substitutions: Connecticut 20, Notre Dame 25

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Connecticut 4-5, Notre Dame 1-2
Layups/Tips: Connecticut 10-12, Notre Dame 10-19
Jumpers: Connecticut 13-31, Notre Dame 9-27

Fast break pts (% FG pts): Connecticut 10 (15.9), Notre Dame 14 (21.9)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Connecticut 5 (83.3), Notre Dame 13 (162.5)
Seconds per poss: Connecticut 15.0, Notre Dame 18.3

------------------

Seton Hall vs Connecticut
01/06/10 9:00 p.m. at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Conn.
Final score: Connecticut 71, Seton Hall 63

Seton Hall              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
POPE, Herb             23:15  -10  10/36  5-13  0- 0  0- 0 13/49  2/10  0/41  1/40  1/30  3/35 11/18   4
MITCHELL, Robert       29:39  -12   7/45  2- 5  1- 2  0- 0  7/58  1/16  0/50  1/50  1/34  2/39  2/21   2
GARCIA, John           17:43  + 0   4/28  1- 4  0- 0  2- 2  4/29  0/10  0/27  0/29  0/21  1/18  0/15   2
LAWRENCE, Keon         24:43  - 6   4/37  2- 9  0- 2  0- 0 11/52  4/13  1/42  0/43  2/31  2/37  1/21   2
HAZELL, Jeremy         33:44  - 3  13/56  3-12  2- 8  1- 2 20/67  2/20  1/56  0/56  0/35  2/42  1/22   0
THEODORE, Jordan       24:50  + 2   4/42  2- 4  0- 2  0- 0  6/40  4/16  2/39  0/38  0/32  2/20  1/20   1
HARVEY, Eugene         06:46  - 2   0/11  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 8  1/ 5  0/11  3/10  0/ 6  0/ 3  1/ 5   1
JACKSON, Jamel         01:37  - 4   0/ 0  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/ 4  0/ 0  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 2   0
HALL, Ferrakohn        07:10  +10   4/16  2- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/16  0/ 6  0/11  0/11  0/ 4  0/ 6  0/ 2   1
ROBINSON, Jeff         30:33  -15  17/44  7-11  0- 1  3- 4 12/57  0/12  2/54  1/50  0/38  4/37  5/24   5
TOTALS                 40:00       63    24-60  3-16  6- 8    76 14/27  6/67  7/66  4/47 19/48 23/30  18
.                                        0.400 0.188 0.750       0.519 0.090 0.106 0.085 0.396 0.767    

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Majok, Ater            13:40  + 8   3/25  1- 2  0- 0  1- 1  2/21  0/ 9  0/23  0/21  3/18  0/11  2/18   1
Robinson, Stanley      37:19  +10  10/67  5- 8  0- 1  0- 0  9/50  3/21  0/62  4/63  1/56  2/28  2/46   0
Oriakhi, Alex          30:01  + 2  12/51  5- 9  0- 0  2- 4  9/38  0/15  0/51  0/52  5/51  1/22  6/41   2
Dyson, Jerome          37:08  + 8  16/69  5-11  1- 2  3- 4 13/50 10/21  1/60  5/63  0/53  0/27  9/41   1
Walker, Kemba          37:06  + 8  15/67  2- 6  1- 3  8- 9  9/50  3/23  1/62  3/63  2/57  1/28  3/48   2
Beverly, Donnell       03:25  + 0   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  1/ 1  1/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 1   0
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     05:02  - 2   0/ 6  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 6  0/ 1  0/ 9  0/ 8  1/10  0/ 5  0/ 8   0
Edwards, Gavin         35:00  + 5  15/62  7- 9  0- 0  1- 1  9/46  2/17  0/56  1/58  1/51  0/26  4/36   1
Okwandu, Charles       01:19  + 1   0/ 4  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 1  0/ 0  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 0  0/ 1  0/ 1   0
TOTALS                 40:00       71    25-47  2- 6 15-19    53 19/27  3/66 13/67 13/60  7/30 29/48   7
.                                        0.532 0.333 0.789       0.704 0.045 0.194 0.217 0.233 0.604    

Efficiency: Connecticut 1.060, Seton Hall 0.955
eFG%: Connecticut 0.528, Seton Hall 0.375
Substitutions: Connecticut 26, Seton Hall 33

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Connecticut 7-7, Seton Hall 2-3
Layups/Tips: Connecticut 12-18, Seton Hall 15-26
Jumpers: Connecticut 6-22, Seton Hall 7-31

Fast break pts (% FG pts): Connecticut 26 (46.4), Seton Hall 10 (17.5)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Connecticut 6 (200.0), Seton Hall 8 (133.3)
Seconds per poss: Connecticut 16.3, Seton Hall 19.8

-------------

Connecticut vs Georgetown
01/09/10 12:00 at Verizon Center
Final score: Georgetown 72, Connecticut 69

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
MAJOK, Ater            03:30  - 4   0/ 5  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 2  0/ 6  0/ 6  0/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 5   0
DYSON, Jerome          16:51  - 9   8/26  4- 7  0- 0  0- 0  7/20  1/ 6  1/26  4/27  0/23  0/11  2/16   2
WALKER, Kemba          17:10  -21   6/24  1- 3  0- 1  4- 5  4/23  0/ 8  0/28  3/29  0/23  1/16  0/15   1
ROBINSON, Stanley      20:00  -18   4/29  2- 3  0- 3  0- 0  6/25  2/ 9  0/32  0/33  3/28  0/16  0/19   0
ORIAKHI, Alex          15:32  -16   8/21  3- 5  0- 0  2- 3  5/22  0/ 5  0/25  0/26  0/22  3/16  1/15   2
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     05:59  - 6   1/ 8  0- 0  0- 0  1- 2  0/ 7  0/ 3  0/10  1/10  0/10  0/ 5  0/ 7   0
EDWARDS, Gavin         15:18  -12   2/24  1- 3  0- 0  0- 0  3/19  0/ 8  0/25  1/26  2/20  1/11  5/11   1
OKWANDU, Charles       05:40  - 4   0/ 8  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 8  0/ 8  0/ 9  0/ 1  0/ 7   1
TOTALS                 20:00       29    11-21  0- 4  7-10    25  3/11  1/32  9/33  5/28  5/16  9/19   7
.                                        0.524 0.000 0.700       0.273 0.031 0.273 0.179 0.312 0.474    

Georgetown              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Wright, Chris          18:58  +16   5/45  0- 3  1- 3  2- 2  6/35  4/17  2/32  1/31  0/21  0/17  1/15   3
Monroe, Greg           18:49  +20  10/47  5-10  0- 1  0- 2 11/36  1/14  2/31  1/31  1/20  1/18  4/16   2
Freeman, Austin        19:06  +16  28/45  7-11  4- 6  2- 2 17/37  2/ 7  1/32  0/30  0/21  2/18  3/16   0
Clark, Jason           13:46  +20   0/36  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/28  0/14  0/22  0/23  0/14  2/15  0/13   2
Vaughn, Julian         16:51  +19   4/42  2- 3  0- 0  0- 0  3/33  1/15  0/29  0/27  2/19  2/16  2/16   0
Thompson, Hollis       10:04  + 1   0/18  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/16  2/ 8  1/16  0/15  0/ 8  1/ 8  0/ 4   2
Benimon, Jerrelle      02:26  - 2   0/ 2  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 0   0
TOTALS                 20:00       47    14-28  5-10  4- 6    38 10/19  6/33  2/32  3/21 10/19 11/16   9
.                                        0.500 0.500 0.667       0.526 0.182 0.062 0.143 0.526 0.688    

Efficiency: Georgetown 1.469, Connecticut 0.879
eFG%: Georgetown 0.566, Connecticut 0.440
Substitutions: Georgetown 10, Connecticut 10

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Georgetown 1-1, Connecticut 3-3
Layups/Tips: Georgetown 10-15, Connecticut 7-12
Jumpers: Georgetown 3-12, Connecticut 1-6

Fast break pts (% FG pts): Georgetown 8 (18.6), Connecticut 8 (36.4)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Georgetown 8 (133.3), Connecticut 2 (200.0)
Seconds per poss: Georgetown 19.5, Connecticut 17.5

--------------

Pittsburgh vs Connecticut
01/13/10 7:00 p.m. at XL Center Hartford, Conn.
Final score: Pittsburgh 67, Connecticut 57

Pittsburgh              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Robinson, Nasir        16:12  +10   2/32  1- 3  0- 1  0- 0  4/28  1/10  0/25  2/30  0/20  4/17  2/13   3
McGhee, Gary           28:30  +16   8/53  3- 5  0- 0  2- 2  5/42  1/15  0/47  1/46  2/32  3/25  6/25   2
Gibbs, Ashton          36:44  +12  19/61  3-10  3- 5  4- 5 15/56  3/16  2/58  4/59  0/44  0/37  4/31   1
Wanamaker, Brad        30:43  +15  19/61  5- 9  0- 1  9-10 10/47  3/15  3/52  1/54  0/39  2/30  2/25   2
Dixon, Jermaine        36:30  +12   6/61  3-11  0- 3  0- 1 14/55  1/19  0/58  1/58  1/44  3/36  4/31   2
Woodall, Travon        13:17  - 9   0/12  0- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/16  0/ 4  0/17  1/19  1/16  1/13  0/ 8   1
Brown, Gilbert         26:38  + 0  11/41  3- 6  1- 1  2- 2  7/34  1/ 9  0/42  2/41  0/33  1/24  0/20   3
Taylor, Dante          11:26  - 6   2/14  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/17  0/ 4  1/16  1/18  0/17  1/13  3/ 7   2
TOTALS                 40:00       67    19-47  4-12 17-20    59 10/23  6/63 14/65  4/49 19/39 21/32  16
.                                        0.404 0.333 0.850       0.435 0.095 0.215 0.082 0.487 0.656    

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
MAJOK, Ater            09:56  - 3   4/18  2- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/10  0/ 5  1/16  0/15  2/11  1/ 4  0/ 7   2
ROBINSON, Stanley      38:38  - 8  19/57  8-14  1- 3  0- 1 17/53  0/16  1/62  2/61  0/44  0/31  2/36   3
ORIAKHI, Alex          31:47  -11   4/39  2- 4  0- 0  0- 2  4/44  0/15  0/51  1/51  2/38  5/29  4/32   3
DYSON, Jerome          35:19  - 8  14/49  5-13  0- 1  4- 8 14/49  3/17  0/58  6/58  0/41  0/30  1/36   4
WALKER, Kemba          36:53  - 6  10/53  4-10  0- 1  2- 2 11/50  7/20  2/60  2/56  0/41  2/29  5/36   2
BEVERLY, Donnell       04:56  - 4   0/ 6  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 6  0/ 2  0/ 7  0/ 8  0/ 8  0/ 4  1/ 4   0
COOMBS-McDANIEL, J     03:55  - 5   0/ 5  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 9  0/ 9  0/ 6  0/ 5  0/ 5   0
SMITH, Darius          02:52  - 2   0/ 6  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 3  0/ 2  0/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 1  0/ 2   0
EDWARDS, Gavin         33:26  - 3   6/46  3- 6  0- 0  0- 0  6/46  0/19  1/52  2/49  3/39  3/26  7/35   4
OKWANDU, Charles       02:18  + 0   0/ 6  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 5  0/ 4  0/ 3  0/ 1  0/ 2   1
TOTALS                 40:00       57    24-49  1- 5  6-13    54 10/25  5/65 13/63  7/47 11/32 20/39  19
.                                        0.490 0.200 0.462       0.400 0.077 0.206 0.149 0.344 0.513    

Efficiency: Pittsburgh 1.031, Connecticut 0.905
eFG%: Pittsburgh 0.424, Connecticut 0.472
Substitutions: Pittsburgh 26, Connecticut 25

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Pittsburgh 0-1, Connecticut 3-3
Layups/Tips: Pittsburgh 16-24, Connecticut 11-20
Jumpers: Pittsburgh 3-22, Connecticut 10-26

Fast break pts (% FG pts): Pittsburgh 6 (12.0), Connecticut 16 (31.4)
Pts (eff.) after steal: Pittsburgh 8 (133.3), Connecticut 8 (160.0)
Seconds per poss: Pittsburgh 20.1, Connecticut 17.6

-------------

20-Jan-10
No substitution data available with play-by-play

The cleanup continues . . .

Here's the next installment in the highlight packages from last season: the Big East opener at UConn.

It's remarkable to think that this game (played Dec. 29th) represented the high-water mark for the Hoyas last season, as they came away with an impressive road win against the #2 ranked - and eventual Final Four - team. This win propelled Georgetown to the #1 overall ranking in KenPom.com's ratings . . .

Then, the wheels came off.

But we've dwelt on the '09 portion of the '08-'09 season already around here, so now let's just enjoy the highlights (to download a higher quality version, click here).

Recap: Georgetown 74, UConn 63

Well, that was a nice way to start off the Big East season.

Georgetown jumped out to a 15-1 lead to start the game, and never relinquished it on the way to an impressive road win against the #2 ranked UConn Huskies. There will likely be a great deal of press coverage for this game, so check the front page of HoyaSaxa.com in the morning for a blow-by-blow recap and collected links.

In the preview of tonight's game, SFHoya99 wrote:

At the end of the day, the formula for a win at Connecticut seems somewhat of a long shot. But here it is:

• Minimize the rebounding damage.
• Go at Thabeet early to try to draw some fouls
• Hope the Hoyas are making their threes

To find out if this game plan worked, let's run the numbers:

.            Visitor                         Home     
.            GU                              CONNECTICUT
.            1st Half  2nd Half   Total      1st Half  2nd Half   Total
Pace            30        32        63

Effic.        116.9     117.0     117.0        87.7     110.9      99.6

eFG%           56.2      47.6      52.8        43.8      52.0      48.0
TO%            19.5      24.6      22.1        26.0      27.7      26.9
OR%            44.4      41.7      43.3        37.5      61.5      48.3
FT Rate         6.2      90.5      39.6        37.5      52.0      44.9

Assist Rate    43.8      33.3      40.0        33.3      23.1      27.3
Block Rate      6.2       4.3       5.1        20.8      25.0      22.5
Steal Rate     16.2      18.5      17.4        16.2      15.4      15.8

2FG%           50.0      43.8      47.5        37.5      56.5      48.7
3FG%           50.0      40.0      46.2        37.5       0.0      30.0
FT%             0.0      94.7      85.7        66.7      76.9      72.7

The game was clearly played at Georgetown's pace, as the ~62 possession game was the slowest this season for the Huskies, while the Hoyas have played three previous games at roughly this speed (Maryland, American, FIU).

The 9-point lead with which G'town ended the first half was effectively the difference in the game, so how did they do it? The Hoyas played well on both sides of the ball:

• Georgetown made 4/8 3FGs for the half, lead by D. Summers (2/3). A general rule is when the Hoyas make half of their three's, the opposition is in for a very long night.

• G'town didn't get to the FT line (0/2 FTs) - credit the Huskies smart defense that has been stingy with fouls and FTs all season.

• For the half, Georgetown actually outrebounded UConn, getting 8 of 18 own available misses and 10 of 16 UConn misses. This was frankly shocking, as the Hoyas came in a mediocre to poor rebounding team while the Huskies are a very good one.

• In conjunction with the strong rebounding, G'town did a good job minimizing the damage Connecticut could do inside the arc, with UConn making 1/2 dunks (H. Thabeet's monster dunk miss), 3/5 layups and tips and 2/9 on 2-pt. jumpers. Meanwhile, Georgetown had more near in (7/13 dunks/layups/tips) than outside (4/10 jumpers) from 2FG.

The 2nd half was nearly an even affair (38-36 GU), but both teams' offensive strategy was completely different.

Undoubtedly the UConn locker room was an unpleasant spot for halftime, but the Huskies came out with a more aggressive inside game, pounding the ball in to J. Adrien (4/6 2FG, 3/4 FT) and crashing the offensive glass (OReb = 8/13 = 62%). By the box score, J. Dyson struggled in the Vesper half, shooting 1/8 on 2FG, 0/1 3FG, but 6 of his 8 missed shots were actually rebounded by the Huskies. This game plan was likely, in part, an attempt to exploit G. Monroe, who picked up two late fouls in the 1st half.

JTIII countered two ways:

• Much to the consternation of Shulman & Bilas, Monroe and J. Vaughn switched out at nearly every stoppage for most of the 2nd half, in an attempt to maximize Monroe's offensive possessions while relying on Vaughn to play adequate defense and to rebound. Check the off. & def. possessions played by each in the Ind. Net Pts. table below to see how well Coach Thompson did.
  

• The Hoyas relentlessly attacked inside, earning 19 FTs (and making 18) in the half to grind out a stalemate and secure the win. A. Freeman started the attack with about 13 minutes left in the game, getting and making 5 FTs (including an and-1) in about 2:30 of game time. J. Clark (2/2), Monroe (2/2), C. Wright (3/4) and Summers (6/6) followed suit. For the game, UConn drew more fouls and shot more FTs, but the Hoyas outscored the Huskies 18-10 at the line in the 2nd half.
  

INDIVIDUAL NET POINTS STATS

GU                    Off    Poss           Individ     Def             Individ             
Player                Poss   Used    ORtg   Pts Prod    Poss    DRtg   Pts Allow   Net Pts
Summers, DaJuan        53    16.2   113.8    18.4        55    101.6     11.2       +7.3
Monroe, Greg           47    11.5   128.9    14.9        40     77.3      6.2       +8.7
Wright, Chris          53    10.1   121.4    12.3        54     87.7      9.5       +2.8
Freeman, Austin        54     9.8   130.0    12.7        55     92.2     10.1       +2.6
Sapp, Jessie           55     5.1   100.5     5.1        57     92.1     10.5       -5.4
Clark, Jason           11     1.6   221.7     3.6        10    131.1      2.6       +1.0
Vaughn, Julian         13     4.2    67.4     2.9        21    123.4      5.2       -2.3
Wattad, Omar           19     0.0     -       0.0        18    107.2      3.9       -3.9
TOTALS                 61    58.6   119.3    69.9        62     95.4     59.1      +10.8 

CONNECTICUT           Off    Poss           Individ     Def             Individ          
Player                Poss   Used    ORtg   Pts Prod    Poss    DRtg   Pts Allow   Net Pts
ADRIEN, Jeff           54    12.8   115.5    14.8        53    109.9     11.6       +3.1
THABEET, Hasheem       54     5.6    96.7     5.4        52    122.9     12.8       -7.4
DYSON, Jerome          44    11.3    60.4     6.8        43     91.8      7.9       -1.1
PRICE, A.J             54    11.9   115.6    13.8        52    119.6     12.4       +1.3
AUSTRIE, Craig         26     2.1   200.0     4.3        25    137.0      6.8       -2.6
WALKER, Kemba          36    10.4    98.0    10.1        35    102.6      7.2       +3.0
ROBINSON, Stanley      28     6.6    75.9     5.0        31    122.4      7.6       -2.6
EDWARDS, Gavin         14     1.5   164.9     2.4        14     99.4      2.8       -0.4
TOTALS                 62    62.1   100.7    62.6        61    113.4     69.2       -6.5 

While J. Sapp continues to struggle with his shot (1/4 2FG, 1/3 3FG), the other four starters all played strong games to earn the win.

A. Freeman had his typical quietly effective offensive game, except for an acrobatic up-and-under for an and-1 in the 2nd half. He had a bit of trouble on defense, since he was often matched up against Adrien in the paint, but his 4 def. rebounds actually led the team.

C. Wright played a similar game to Freeman. His great speed was put on display several times, such as his two hustle steals immediately after Georgetown had a committed a turnover of their own. I'm going to give Mr. Wright a demerit, however, for giving the Hoyas their only 2nd half FT miss.

D. Summers ended up leading the team in points produced, in spite of 3/9 2FG shooting. He made half of his 3FGs (much to HoyaHoops surprise), and lead the team in FTs attempted and made (6/7). As mentioned above, the FT shooting was critical to G'town's continued success in the 2nd half. Summers did use up 5 more possessions than any teammate to get his points, but I don't think this high usage is any sort of trend to worry about.

Finally, the player of the game is . . . Greg Monroe. Let's get this out of the way first - UConn has now watched Georgetown's centers shoot 3/3 on 3FGs in the last two games played. While Monroe's 2nd half was pedestrian (by his terms) as he played more passively to avoid fouls, his 1st half showed a national audience what a singular talent he is, with 3/5 2FG, 1/1 3FG, 3 A and 3 S. This may have actually been a nightmare scenario for Hoyas fans, as Monroe showed that, until saddled with foul trouble, he was clearly the best player on the court in front of 31 (?) NBA scouts.


One fun fact about UConn: as a reader, you might look at the defensive efficiency and net points total for H. Thabeet and decide that I'm clueless. Well, you may be right, but I was also surprised so I went and checked how a player with 7 blocks could be considered a defensive liability.

Turns out, Georgetown was able to recover 5 of those 7 blocked shots, thereby keeping the possession alive. The Hoyas ended up shooting 12/20 on dunks, layups and tip-ins, as they recognized that, while Thabeet's blocks are flashy, they don't serve as a hinderance to an effective inside scoring game.

HD BOX SCORE

GU vs CONNECTICUT
12/29/08 7:00 p.m. at XL Center  Hartford, Conn.
Final score: GU 74, CONNECTICUT 63

GU                      Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Summers, DaJuan        34:47  + 4  18/59  3- 9  2- 4  6- 7 13/41  3/15  1/55  2/53  1/32  2/23  2/25   3
Monroe, Greg           27:25  +22  16/58  4- 8  2- 2  2- 3 10/39  4/14  3/40  3/47  0/22  1/21  2/19   3
Wright, Chris          35:20  +12  14/64  4- 8  1- 1  3- 4  9/41  2/16  3/54  3/53  0/33  0/22  2/26   2
Freeman, Austin        36:05  +11  13/68  4- 8  0- 1  5- 5  9/48  1/18  2/55  1/54  1/35  2/27  4/24   2
Sapp, Jessie           36:22  + 5   5/61  1- 4  1- 3  0- 0  7/49  0/21  2/57  1/55  0/33  2/28  3/26   2
Clark, Jason           06:41  + 1   4/15  1- 1  0- 0  2- 2  1/13  0/ 3  0/10  0/11  0/11  1/ 9  0/ 6   2
Vaughn, Julian         11:35  -13   2/14  1- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/12  0/ 3  0/21  2/13  0/16  2/ 8  0/ 9   3
Wattad, Omar           11:45  + 3   0/21  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/17  0/ 6  0/18  0/19  0/13  0/12  0/10   0
TOTALS                 40:00       72    18-39  6-13 18-21    52 10/24 11/62 13/61  2/39 13/30 15/29  17
.                                        0.462 0.462 0.857       0.417 0.177 0.213 0.051 0.433 0.517 

CONNECTICUT             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
ADRIEN, Jeff           35:04  -12  15/52  5- 8  0- 0  5- 7  8/43  1/14  3/53  2/54  1/34  3/26  2/27   2
THABEET, Hasheem       33:55  -11   4/52  2- 4  0- 0  0- 1  4/40  0/16  0/52  1/54  7/31  3/24  4/22   2
DYSON, Jerome          27:59  + 1   4/47  1- 8  0- 2  2- 4 10/37  3/16  4/43  4/44  0/27  3/21  2/21   3
PRICE, A.J             33:11  - 4  16/58  4- 7  2- 4  2- 2 11/43  2/15  0/52  3/54  0/33  0/24  5/24   2
AUSTRIE, Craig         17:57  - 2   4/30  2- 4  0- 1  0- 0  5/20  0/ 9  0/25  0/26  0/12  1/10  0/ 8   1
WALKER, Kemba          22:02  - 8  14/29  4- 6  1- 2  3- 4  8/27  0/ 4  1/35  4/36  0/23  1/20  1/20   2
ROBINSON, Stanley      20:03  -14   4/29  1- 2  0- 1  2- 2  3/22  0/ 9  1/31  3/28  0/24  2/12  3/18   1
EDWARDS, Gavin         09:49  + 5   2/18  0- 0  0- 0  2- 2  0/13  0/ 5  1/14  0/14  1/11  1/ 8  0/10   1
TOTALS                 40:00       63    19-39  3-10 16-22    49  6/22 10/61 17/62  9/39 14/29 17/30  14
.                                        0.487 0.300 0.727       0.273 0.164 0.274 0.231 0.483 0.567 

Efficiency: GU 1.180, CONNECTICUT 1.016
eFG%: GU 0.519, CONNECTICUT 0.480
Substitutions: GU 35, CONNECTICUT 35

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: GU 1-1, CONNECTICUT 2-3
Layups/Tips: GU 11-19, CONNECTICUT 9-17
Jumpers: GU 6-19, CONNECTICUT 8-19

Fast break pts: GU 6 (0.111), CONNECTICUT 6 (0.128)
Seconds per off. poss: GU 22.2, CONNECTICUT 15.8

Connecticut Preview

Here are the current four factors for Connecticut:

.                    Offense         Defense
Adj. Efficiency      120.5 (6)       87.4 (28)

eFG%                 54.9 (29)       43.8 (33)
Turnover %           17.4 (18)       18.3 (297)
Off Rebound %        38.3 (41)       27.9 (24)
FT Rate              39.3 (5)        18.3 (1)

Looking at the numbers for Connecticut, four thoughts immediately come to mind, some encouraging and some not so encouraging:

• Connecticut, like last year, isn't nearly as good a defensive team as they should be.

• Connecticut is probably the best offensive rebounding team we've faced so far this year.

• Unlike against Memphis, Georgetown's newfound ability to get fouled is not matched against a weakness in an opponent's defense.

• For the first time this year, the Hoyas will face a team that draws fouls.

It's somewhat surprising that UConn isn't a dominant defensive team when you look at personnel. They have 7'3" shotblocker Hasheem Thabeet, a good cast of rebounders and plenty of athleticism. But like last year, they just aren't a great defensive team. I certainly don't watch a lot Huskies games, but it could be as simple as the players not committing to defense as well as offense.

One consistent aspect of their weak defense is that the Huskies don't force turnovers. They didn't last year with similar personnel, and they don't this year. That's probably a coaching choice due to having Thabeet in the middle.

The Huskies also don't defend against the three well. That was true last year as well. However, this year, their shot-blocking is down and opponents are making many more twos than last year, even with Thabeet in the middle. Some of that may change if Calhoun goes more to a standard lineup with Stanley Robinson back -- the three guard lineup with Price, Dyson and Walker may have been hurting that.

That's the good news. The Hoyas should be able to protect the ball and should be able to get some good shots -- especially from outside.

Now for the rest of the news.

It may be a bit of the weak competition playing havoc with the numbers, but Hasheem Thabeet has turned into a rebounding machine. Both on offense and defense, where he's nearly twice as productive as he was last year. Pair him with Adrien, a strong if somewhat overrated rebounder and a very strong rebounding group of guards, and the Huskies are going to get a ton of second chance points. And keep the Hoyas from getting very many at all. I don't think there's much chance of winning the rebounding battle, but the Hoyas must minimize the damage.

Against Memphis, the Hoyas were able to offset this rebounding disadvantage by getting to the line. That's not likely to happen against Connecticut. For one, the game is on the road. More importantly, Connecticut doesn't foul much at all. Even in the Gonzaga game, the Zags had a fairly low FT Rate (in the 30s, much like Wisconsin did against UConn). They just happened to hit Thabeet with a number of those fouls. Can the Hoyas go after Thabeet? Sure. But systematically getting to the line isn't likely to happen.

On the flip side, Connecticut draws as many fouls as the Hoyas do. Like the Huskies, Georgetown does not foul very much. Both teams are coming into the game drawing a lot of fouls but not committing them. It's hard to tell which way each matchup will break, though Connecticut has the advantage of being at home.

Who would foul trouble hurt more? Both teams are actually very thin at center, neither having a real backup, though Connecticut has more bodies, period. Connecticut's extra depth -- Gavin Edwards/Stanley Robinson have proved more than Sims and Vaughn, and Austrie gives them an edge over Wattad -- makes the foul situation an advantage for them if the game is called tight.

But at the end of the day, Monroe and Thabeet are both at risk and key to each team. And who has the edge there? The junior at home or the freshman in his first road game?

At the end of the day, the formula for a win at Connecticut seems somewhat of a longshot. But here it is:

• Minimize the rebounding damage.
• Go at Thabeet early to try to draw some fouls
• Hope the Hoyas are making their threes

I realize that's not exactly a strong plan. Thompson will undoubtedly come up with something better. But the reality is, the Hoyas need to execute extraordinarily well in the halfcourt -- on offense and defense -- to win. And even if they do that, they are likely to need a strong shooting day. The formula that worked against Memphis won't work against UConn on the road.

Big East HD Box Scores - UConn

Go to:

Cincinnati | UConn | DePaul | Georgetown | Louisville | Marquette | Notre Dame | Pitt
Providence | Rutgers | St. John's | Seton Hall | S. Florida | Syracuse | Villanova | W. Virginia

See here for more info about HD box scores.

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Big East Schedule

Date       Time        Home Team      Road Team     Location           HD Box?
29-Dec-08  7:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Georgetown    Hartford, Conn.      Yes
03-Jan-09  7:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Rutgers       Storrs, Conn.        Yes
06-Jan-09  7:00 p.m.   West Virginia  Connecticut   Morgantown, W.Va.     No
10-Jan-09  4:00 p.m.   Cincinnati     Connecticut   Cincinnati, Ohio      No
15-Jan-09  7:00 p.m.   St. John's     Connecticut   New York, N.Y.        No
18-Jan-09  2:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Seton Hall    Hartford, Conn.       No
21-Jan-09  7:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Villanova     Hartford, Conn.      Yes
24-Jan-09  7:00 p.m.   Notre Dame     Connecticut   Notre Dame, Ind.
28-Jan-09  9:00 p.m.   DePaul         Connecticut   Rosemont, Ill.
31-Jan-09  4:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Providence    Storrs, Conn.
02-Feb-09  7:00 p.m.   Louisville     Connecticut   Louisville, Ky.
11-Feb-09  7:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Syracuse      Storrs, Conn.
14-Feb-09  12:00 p.m.  Seton Hall     Connecticut   Newark, N.J.
16-Feb-09  7:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Pittsburgh    Hartford, Conn.
21-Feb-09  2:00 p.m.   Connecticut    USF           Hartford, Conn.
25-Feb-09  7:00 p.m.   Marquette      Connecticut   Milwaukee, Wis.
28-Feb-09  2:00 p.m.   Connecticut    Notre Dame    Notre Dame, Ind.
07-Mar-09  12:00 p.m.  Pittsburgh     Connecticut   Pittsburgh, Pa.

GU vs CONNECTICUT
12/29/08 7:00 p.m. at XL Center  Hartford, Conn.
Final score: GU 74, CONNECTICUT 63

GU                      Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Summers, DaJuan        34:47  + 4  18/59  3- 9  2- 4  6- 7 13/41  3/15  1/55  2/53  1/32  2/23  2/25   3
Monroe, Greg           27:25  +22  16/58  4- 8  2- 2  2- 3 10/39  4/14  3/40  3/47  0/22  1/21  2/19   3
Wright, Chris          35:20  +12  14/64  4- 8  1- 1  3- 4  9/41  2/16  3/54  3/53  0/33  0/22  2/26   2
Freeman, Austin        36:05  +11  13/68  4- 8  0- 1  5- 5  9/48  1/18  2/55  1/54  1/35  2/27  4/24   2
Sapp, Jessie           36:22  + 5   5/61  1- 4  1- 3  0- 0  7/49  0/21  2/57  1/55  0/33  2/28  3/26   2
Clark, Jason           06:41  + 1   4/15  1- 1  0- 0  2- 2  1/13  0/ 3  0/10  0/11  0/11  1/ 9  0/ 6   2
Vaughn, Julian         11:35  -13   2/14  1- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/12  0/ 3  0/21  2/13  0/16  2/ 8  0/ 9   3
Wattad, Omar           11:45  + 3   0/21  0- 0  0- 1  0- 0  1/17  0/ 6  0/18  0/19  0/13  0/12  0/10   0
TOTALS                 40:00       72    18-39  6-13 18-21    52 10/24 11/62 13/61  2/39 13/30 15/29  17
.                                        0.462 0.462 0.857       0.417 0.177 0.213 0.051 0.433 0.517 

CONNECTICUT             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
ADRIEN, Jeff           35:04  -12  15/52  5- 8  0- 0  5- 7  8/43  1/14  3/53  2/54  1/34  3/26  2/27   2
THABEET, Hasheem       33:55  -11   4/52  2- 4  0- 0  0- 1  4/40  0/16  0/52  1/54  7/31  3/24  4/22   2
DYSON, Jerome          27:59  + 1   4/47  1- 8  0- 2  2- 4 10/37  3/16  4/43  4/44  0/27  3/21  2/21   3
PRICE, A.J             33:11  - 4  16/58  4- 7  2- 4  2- 2 11/43  2/15  0/52  3/54  0/33  0/24  5/24   2
AUSTRIE, Craig         17:57  - 2   4/30  2- 4  0- 1  0- 0  5/20  0/ 9  0/25  0/26  0/12  1/10  0/ 8   1
WALKER, Kemba          22:02  - 8  14/29  4- 6  1- 2  3- 4  8/27  0/ 4  1/35  4/36  0/23  1/20  1/20   2
ROBINSON, Stanley      20:03  -14   4/29  1- 2  0- 1  2- 2  3/22  0/ 9  1/31  3/28  0/24  2/12  3/18   1
EDWARDS, Gavin         09:49  + 5   2/18  0- 0  0- 0  2- 2  0/13  0/ 5  1/14  0/14  1/11  1/ 8  0/10   1
TOTALS                 40:00       63    19-39  3-10 16-22    49  6/22 10/61 17/62  9/39 14/29 17/30  14
.                                        0.487 0.300 0.727       0.273 0.164 0.274 0.231 0.483 0.567 

Efficiency: GU 1.180, CONNECTICUT 1.016
eFG%: GU 0.519, CONNECTICUT 0.480
Substitutions: GU 35, CONNECTICUT 35

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: GU 1-1, CONNECTICUT 2-3
Layups/Tips: GU 11-19, CONNECTICUT 9-17
Jumpers: GU 6-19, CONNECTICUT 8-19

Fast break pts: GU 6 (0.111), CONNECTICUT 6 (0.128)
Seconds per off. poss: GU 22.2, CONNECTICUT 15.8

RUTGERS vs Connecticut
1/3/09 7:00 p.m. at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, Conn.
Final score: Connecticut 80, RUTGERS 49

RUTGERS                 Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
ECHENIQUE, Gregory     13:55  -12  12/24  2- 4  0- 0  8- 8  4/21  0/ 4  1/27  0/27  0/16  2/15  0/ 6   2
NDIAYE, Hamady         08:12  - 5   2/14  1- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/11  2/ 4  0/18  1/17  1/10  0/ 6  2/ 5   3
CHANDLER, Corey        11:34  - 3   0/22  0- 4  0- 0  0- 0  4/17  0/ 5  1/22  0/23  0/13  1/12  0/ 4   0
FARMER, Anthony        15:19  - 3   2/31  1- 3  0- 0  0- 0  3/24  1/ 8  0/30  1/31  0/19  0/15  0/ 7   2
ROSARIO, Mike          11:39  -18   7/13  1- 2  1- 3  2- 2  5/17  1/ 2  0/23  3/22  1/16  0/13  2/ 8   3
PETTIS, Earl           08:26  -17   3/ 9  0- 0  1- 1  0- 0  1/12  0/ 3  0/16  1/15  0/13  0/ 8  0/ 7   1
INMAN, JR              12:23  -15   5/15  2- 6  0- 0  1- 1  6/16  0/ 1  0/20  0/22  0/15  0/13  1/ 5   1
JACKSON, Patrick       04:36  - 2   0/ 9  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 5  0/ 1  0/ 7  0/ 8  0/ 4  0/ 4  0/ 0   0
COBURN, Mike           08:26  -17   0/ 9  0- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/12  1/ 4  0/16  2/15  0/13  0/ 8  0/ 7   1
GRIFFIN, Jaron         05:30  - 8   0/ 9  0- 1  0- 1  0- 0  2/10  0/ 4  0/11  0/10  0/11  0/ 6  1/ 6   0
TOTALS                 20:00       31     7-24  2- 5 11-11    29  5/ 9  2/38  8/38  2/26  4/20  6/11  13
.                                        0.292 0.400 1.000       0.556 0.053 0.211 0.077 0.200 0.545

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
ADRIEN, Jeff           14:40  +17   8/39  2- 2  0- 0  4- 5  2/24  1/13  0/29  1/29  1/19  1/11  5/16   1
ROBINSON, Stanley      09:46  + 9   4/24  2- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/15  1/ 8  0/20  0/20  1/14  1/ 7  4/13   0
THABEET, Hasheem       09:26  +20  11/27  4- 5  0- 0  3- 4  5/14  0/ 6  0/18  1/19  1/11  1/ 6  0/11   1
DYSON, Jerome          12:53  +10   4/33  1- 4  0- 1  2- 4  5/17  2/11  1/25  0/26  0/12  0/ 6  1/ 9   2
PRICE, A.J             13:34  +11   3/33  1- 2  0- 0  1- 2  2/21  6/12  1/27  1/28  0/18  0/10  3/15   0
BEVERLY, Donnell       02:06  + 4   0/ 6  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 3  0/ 3  0/ 2  0/ 0  1/ 2   0
WALKER, Kemba          09:37  + 9   7/25  2- 3  1- 1  0- 0  4/13  1/ 6  2/17  0/17  0/ 9  0/ 4  1/ 6   0
AUSTRIE, Craig         10:43  +13   4/28  2- 2  0- 0  0- 0  2/15  2/ 8  0/20  0/18  0/15  1/ 6  0/13   0
HARALSON, Scottie      01:21  + 4   0/ 4  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 1  0/ 1  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 0  0/ 2   0
EDWARDS, Gavin         13:17  + 1  10/30  4- 6  0- 0  2- 2  6/16  0/ 7  0/25  2/24  0/16  1/ 5  1/11   3
OKWANDU, Charles       02:37  + 2   0/ 6  0- 0  0- 0  0- 0  0/ 2  0/ 2  0/ 4  1/ 4  0/ 2  0/ 0  0/ 2   1
TOTALS                 20:00       51    18-26  1- 2 12-17    28 13/19  4/38  6/38  3/24  5/11 16/20   8
.                                        0.692 0.500 0.706       0.684 0.105 0.158 0.125 0.455 0.800

Efficiency: Connecticut 1.342, RUTGERS 0.816
eFG%: Connecticut 0.696, RUTGERS 0.345
Substitutions: Connecticut 18, RUTGERS 14

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks: Connecticut 8-8, RUTGERS 3-3
Layups/Tips: Connecticut 6-9, RUTGERS 3-7
Jumpers: Connecticut 4-9, RUTGERS 1-14

Fast break pts: Connecticut 16 (0.410), RUTGERS 4 (0.200)
Seconds per off. poss: Connecticut 13.4, RUTGERS 18.4

6-Jan-09
UConn 61, WVU 55
No play-by-play available


10-Jan-09
Connecticut 81, Cincinnati 72
No substitution data in play-by-play.


15-Jan-09
UConn 67, St. John's 55
No play-by-play available


18-Jan-09
UConn 76, St. John's 61
No play-by-play available

Villanova vs Connecticut
1/21/09 7:00 p.m. at XL Center  Hartford, Conn.
Final score: Connecticut 89, Villanova 83

Villanova               Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
Pena, Antonio          31:04  -17  12/54  5-11  0- 0  2- 2 11/49  0/14  1/61  1/56  1/33  3/31  5/22   2
Anderson, Dwayne       31:03  + 2  15/68  4- 6  1- 3  4- 4  9/53  3/18  3/58  1/58  0/32  3/31  5/23   3
Cunningham, Dante      14:08  + 4   6/30  2- 5  0- 0  2- 2  5/27  0/ 8  2/27  1/27  3/16  2/17  1/11   5
Reynolds, Scottie      32:07  - 7  14/66  3- 6  1- 5  5- 6 11/52  5/19  0/54  3/60  0/37  2/30  0/25   3
Redding, Reggie        21:38  - 2  12/45  4- 8  1- 2  1- 3 10/39  1/11  2/42  2/42  1/22  2/23  2/13   4
Fisher, Corey          23:01  + 6   9/52  3- 8  1- 2  0- 0 10/36  3/14  1/45  4/49  0/30  0/18  2/28   4
Clark, Shane           17:23  - 9   1/33  0- 1  0- 0  1- 2  1/20  1/12  1/32  1/30  1/22  0/10  1/16   3
Stokes, Corey          24:51  - 6  12/56  0- 0  3- 6  3- 3  6/39  0/17  0/49  2/46  0/28  0/19  2/22   2
Tchuisi, Frank         04:45  - 1   2/11  1- 1  0- 0  0- 0  1/ 5  0/ 3  0/ 7  0/ 7  0/ 5  0/ 1  1/ 5   0
TOTALS                 40:00       83    22-46  7-18 18-22    64 13/29 10/75 15/75  6/45 13/36 19/33  26
.                                        0.478 0.389 0.818       0.448 0.133 0.200 0.133 0.361 0.576  

Connecticut             Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF
ADRIEN, Jeff           36:28  +11  12/86  3-10  0- 0  6- 6 10/53  0/23  0/68  1/67  1/40  4/30 10/32   4
ROBINSON, Stanley      27:49  + 6   2/57  1- 2  0- 1  0- 0  3/37  2/19  1/51  3/50  2/30  0/20  2/26   1
THABEET, Hasheem       17:13  + 1  10/39  3- 4  0- 0  4- 5  4/24  0/11  1/32  0/30  3/22  2/10  1/20   4
DYSON, Jerome          30:42  + 4  19/66  6-10  0- 1  7-10 11/40  1/14  3/59  2/58  0/36  1/22  3/31   4
PRICE, A.J             33:30  +12  29/80  6- 7  4- 6  5- 6 13/47  5/13  0/63  6/65  0/41  2/27  3/33   2
WALKER, Kemba          15:26  + 1   6/36  1- 3  0- 1  4- 6  4/26  2/ 8  0/28  1/31  0/16  1/19  0/ 8   0
AUSTRIE, Craig         26:53  + 2   7/57  2- 7  0- 3  3- 4 10/40  2/13  0/50  0/51  0/31  1/27  1/23   1
EDWARDS, Gavin         11:59  - 7   4/24  1- 2  0- 0  2- 2  2/18  0/ 7  2/24  1/23  2/14  0/10  1/ 7   1
TOTALS                 40:00       89    23-45  4-12 31-39    57 12/27  7/75 14/75  8/46 14/33 23/36  17
.                                        0.511 0.333 0.795       0.444 0.093 0.187 0.174 0.424 0.639  

Efficiency:  Connecticut 1.187, Villanova 1.107
eFG%:  Connecticut 0.509, Villanova 0.508
Substitutions:  Connecticut 36, Villanova 47

2-pt Shot Selection:
Dunks:  Connecticut 3-4, Villanova 1-2
Layups/Tips:  Connecticut 11-18, Villanova 10-21
Jumpers:  Connecticut 9-23, Villanova 11-23

Fast break pts:  Connecticut 10 (0.172), Villanova 8 (0.123)
Seconds per off. poss:  Connecticut 16.7, Villanova 15.2

Analysis: Georgetown 72, UConn 69

With just seconds left on the shot clock and the game in the balance, Georgetown turned to its best three point shooter (2-2, 1.000) to bury an open 20-footer and pull out a hard-fought win at the Phone Booth against the Connecticut Huskies.

In a game where offensive leader Jon Wallace struggled mightily with his outside shot (1-7 3FG), Roy Hibbert led with way with 20 points and 8 rebounds (both game highs). Pat Ewing and DaJuan Summers helped out in the 1st half with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 10 points, 2 rebounds respectively, while Austin Freeman stepped up in the 2nd half with 9 points on 3-4 3FG shooting.

Let's run the numbers:

	Offense				Defense
	1st Half	2nd Half	Total		1st Half	2nd Half	Total
Pace	33	29	63
Eff.	125.5	103.3	115.2		113.6	106.8	110.4
eFG%	58.3%	42.6%	50.9%		56.3%	52.2%	54.3%
TO%	12.0%	13.8%	12.8%		14.9%	20.7%	17.6%
OR%	35.3%	31.6%	33.3%		7.7%	33.3%	20.0%
FTA/FGA	33.3%	33.3%	33.3%		54.2%	34.8%	44.7%
FTM/FGA	23.3%	25.9%	24.6%		45.8%	30.4%	38.3%
Assist Rate	60.0%	66.7%	62.5%		75.0%	54.5%	65.2%
Block Rate	21.1%	33.3%	26.5%		12.5%	6.7%	9.7%
Steal Rate	9.0%	6.9%	8.0%		14.9%	13.8%	14.4%
2FG%	52.6%	26.7%	41.2%		56.3%	60.0%	58.1%
3FG%	45.5%	41.7%	43.5%		37.5%	25.0%	31.3%
FT%	70.0%	77.8%	73.7%		84.6%	87.5%	85.7%

  UCONN vs Georgetown  
  01/12/08 2:00 p.m. at Verizon Center  
  Final score: Georgetown 72, UCONN 69
     
  UCONN                   Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF  
  ADRIEN, Jeff           36:58  - 5  18/59 7 -13 0 -0  4 -4  13/44 2 /13 1 /59 0 /59 2 /31 2 /25 4 /34  2   
  DYSON, Jerome          19:46  - 3  8 /32 4 -6  0 -2  0 -0  8 /26 1 /8  2 /34 4 /35 0 /17 0 /15 1 /21  4   
  PRICE, A.J             36:55  - 2  17/62 1 -3  2 -8  9 -11 11/41 9 /17 0 /58 2 /59 0 /33 0 /22 4 /33  1   
  ROBINSON, Stanley      34:16  - 6  2 /59 1 -2  0 -3  0 -0  5 /40 2 /18 1 /56 2 /56 2 /29 0 /22 7 /30  3   
  THABEET, Hasheem       29:00  + 0  7 /53 2 -2  0 -0  3 -4  2 /35 0 /18 0 /47 2 /46 5 /26 0 /16 2 /29  3   
  WIGGINS, Doug          25:20  + 8  15/50 3 -4  3 -3  0 -0  7 /30 1 /11 1 /38 2 /37 0 /20 2 /13 4 /23  0   
  KELLY, Curtis          03:10  - 6  0 /2  0 -1  0 -0  0 -0  1 /4  0 /1  0 /5  0 /5  0 /5  0 /3  0 /2   0   
  AUSTRIE, Craig         03:43  - 6  0 /4  0 -0  0 -0  0 -0  0 /4  0 /1  0 /6  0 /5  0 /3  0 /3  0 /1   0   
  MANDELDOVE, Jonathan   05:39  + 4  2 /9  0 -0  0 -0  2 -2  0 /6  0 /1  0 /8  0 /8  0 /3  0 /5  1 /4   1   
  EDWARDS, Gavin         05:13  + 1  0 /15 0 -0  0 -0  0 -0  0 /5  0 /4  0 /9  0 /10 0 /3  0 /1  0 /3   2   
  TOTALS                 40:00       69    18-31 5 -16 18-21    47 15/23 5 /64 12/64 9 /34 5 /25 24/36  16  
                                           0.581 0.312 0.857       0.652 0.078 0.188 0.265 0.200 0.667      
    
  Georgetown              Min   +/-   Pts  2PM-A 3PM-A FTM-A  FGA    A    Stl    TO   Blk    OR    DR   PF  
  Wallace, Jonathan      29:27  + 0  5 /53 1 -1  1 -7  0 -0  8 /44 4 /15 2 /48 2 /49 0 /24 0 /29 1 /17  3   
  Summers, DaJuan        23:26  + 4  12/43 1 -5  2 -4  4 -4  9 /35 2 /10 1 /36 2 /39 1 /21 1 /22 4 /16  2   
  Freeman, Austin        33:37  - 3  13/56 2 -4  3 -5  0 -0  9 /50 2 /15 2 /57 0 /55 0 /27 1 /33 1 /22  2   
  Sapp, Jessie           35:44  + 11 6 /65 1 -4  1 -4  1 -2  8 /49 4 /19 3 /56 3 /57 1 /26 1 /31 5 /24  2   
  Hibbert, Roy           36:00  + 7  20/68 6 -13 1 -1  5 -7  14/54 2 /16 0 /56 1 /57 1 /28 4 /33 4 /23  3   
  Macklin, Vernon        04:00  - 4  0 /4  0 -2  0 -0  0 -0  2 /3  1 /1  0 /8  0 /7  0 /3  0 /3  1 /2   0   
  Rivers, Jeremiah       14:49  - 5  2 /26 1 -2  0 -0  0 -0  2 /21 0 /9  0 /24 0 /22 0 /12 0 /12 0 /9   1   
  Ewing, Patrick         22:57  + 5  14/45 2 -3  2 -2  4 -6  5 /29 0 /11 1 /35 1 /34 0 /14 2 /17 3 /12  3   
  TOTALS                 40:00       72    14-34 10-23 14-19    57 15/24 9 /64 9 /64 3 /31 12/36 20/25  16  
                                           0.412 0.435 0.737       0.625 0.141 0.141 0.097 0.333 0.800      
     
  Efficiency: Georgetown 1.125, UCONN 1.078
  eFG%: Georgetown 0.509, UCONN 0.543
  Substitutions: Georgetown 24, UCONN 25
     
  2-pt Shot Selection:  
  Dunks: Georgetown 0-0, UCONN 3-3
  Layups/Tips: Georgetown 10-27, UCONN 6-11
  Jumpers: Georgetown 4-7, UCONN 9-17

Witty and/or elucidating bullet-pointed half-thoughts:

• Georgetown's first half offensive efficiency was attributable as much to the low turnover rate (4 in 33 possessions) and offensive rebounding as the eFG%, which was actually lower than the Hoyas' season average entering the game (60.6%).

• The Hoyas held UConn to 20% OReb rate for the game. The Huskies had entered the game averaging 40.2%, 18th out of 341 teams, and this was an important component of their offense (see the correlation table at the bottom of the link).
  

• Holy crap! In the 2nd half, Hasheem Thabeet and friends blocked fully 1-in-3 2FGAs attempted, effectively shutting down Georgetown's inside game; by my count, the only points in the paint scored by the Hoyas in the 2nd half by someone not named Roy Hibbert was the pirouette, possible four-step prayer by Pat Ewing to tie the score at 69-69 (and that was a goaltending call).

• Coming into the game, Jon Wallace had shot 28-55 (511%) on 3FGs, while Doug Wiggins was 11-40 (27%). Wallace went 1-7, Wiggins 3-3 on 3FG for the game.

• Roy Hibbert's 5-7 (71%) FT shooting was his best performance of the year; previously, his best was 8-12 (67%) against Alabama.

That's all for now, but here are the last second highlights, Chvotkin-style (downloadable high-quality video here):