By Paul Gotham
Thoughts on UConn’s victory over Dayton.
He’s not just off the Boat(right)
Mark Titus made Club Trillion famous. The career Ohio State bench warmer logged enough zeroes per game to meet the qualification. UConn’s Ryan Boatright is the antithesis. The 6-0 guard makes stat sheet stuffing his job with 20 points on 6-12 shooting to with five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and yeah three turnovers. There is a zero next to his name for block shots. Pretty sure that is an error as he had one swat while doubling the post late in the game. What is not in the box score is Boatright’s presence. When he has the ball, off defenders have to take a step to him. When he doesn’t have the ball, you have to know where he is at all times.
UConn’s defensive transition
UConn limited Dayton to three layups in the second half (all three came on solid flex action). All of those came in half-court sets. UD scored 10 points off turnovers versus Texas A&M (as they did against UConn). But the Huskies took away these opportunities in the second half of Friday’s game by simply making a commitment to getting back and stopping the ball. UConn took away Dayton’s rhythm. They made the Flyers a jump shooting team, and they Flyers did not respond well.
Brimah
UConn’s Amida Brimah was given credit for five blocks yesterday. For anyone who watched the game, that number seems like a mistake. It felt like more especially considering the 7-0 center had three swats on one play which fetched this tweet:
I would be more than OK with Amida Brimah pulling out the Mutombo finger wag right about now.
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) November 21, 2014
Brimah affected that game as much as anyone.
Seesaw affair
The first 31-plus minutes saw seven ties and eight lead changes. A Rodney Purvis layup with 8:42 to go gave UConn a lead it never surrendered at 59-58.
Never nervous
Speaking of Purvis – at 205 pounds, the 6-4 sophomore (transfer from NC State) is a matchup nightmare. He went 8-15 from the floor including 2-4 behind the arc. Step out to defend him, and he goes to the basket shedding any defender who gets in his path.
Game changer that wasn’t
If UD pulled out this game, we might have pointed to a sequence at the 13:50 mark of the second half. After missing a jumper, Dyshawn Pierre swiped a pass at mid-court. Dayton’s 6-6 forward went to the basket and missed not just one but two layups before finishing, and getting an and-one for a four-point UD lead at 51-47.
Execution
On Thursday, Dayton had their way with inbound sets. That wasn’t the case Friday. Kevin Ollie’s UConn Huskies were prepared. As was Archie Miller’s crew. Neither team found first options open on out-of-bounds plays.
Deja Vu all over again
Dayton knocked off Gonzaga before losing to Baylor in the second round of the 2013 Maui Invitational. The confidence gained paved the way to a March run.
Moving on
UConn will meet West Virginia in the 2014 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Championship. A 6:30 pm start time is set for Sunday. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Dayton meets Boston College in a 4:30 tip.
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