UConn being unable to pull away from Furman is reason why they were considered the weakest 2 seed. All other 2 seeds beat their 15-seeded opponents by at least 30
I think the Bruins are very fortunate to get the victory because UCF shot so horribly from the FT line (5-16 as a team, or 31%). Might also need UConn to underperform on some aspect of their game in order to give the Bruins a better chance for an upset. The Bruins can't seem to escape postseason injuries and bad/missed calls by the refs, either. Hope Clark can get his tooth repaired---I've never broken a tooth (yet?), so I wonder if it hurts like hell and also affects his ability to eat. I thought that the rough scrum for the loose ball (and tooth) and the obvious arm pull during Clark's drive near the basket both deserved whistles on UCF. The referees still sucked even though Tony Padilla wasn't even involved. Anyway, I think the Bruins will need to do much better than to play ugly again against UConn.
I’ve never seen worse vibes on social media coming off an ncaa tournament win without our best scorer. Looks like fans of both teams are upset with many UCF fans calling for Dawkins to be fired.
The idea that ucla will automatically get steamrolled by UConn is absurd. UConn had trouble with Furman until the final minutes. Their fans aren’t all up in despair about the next game. Kansas let Cal freakin Baptist go on a 18-0 run to tighten the game and Kansas fans don’t think the sky is falling. Duke beat Siena by 6, and statistically, no 1 seed has ever gotten out of the second weekend when their win over 16th seed is by 8 or less, and yet Duke and their fans remain as confident as ever. Kentucky needed multiple miracles and a gift from the refs to beat Santa Clara! And the difference between ucla and the previously mentioned programs is that those teams struggled against mid/low major programs while UCLA’s ugly win came against a team that finished in the top half of the Big 12 conference. It’s like people see “UCF” and still think they’re in conference USA instead of a team that competes in arguably the toughest conference in the country.
Anything can happen in the UConn game - ucla can get embarrassed, they can embarrass UConn or they play a close game that shortens our lives by a couple years but nothing about UCLA’s performance against UCF suggests a preordained result to me.
Chen, as you have noted, both UCLA and Uconn had sloppy outings and did not play to their capabilities. Our fan base has been treated to the best basketball this group has played the entire season……Watching this game, the level of play was clearly a regression for us (with the exception of forcing turnovers); thus there has been a lot of negative reaction. I don’t know if it was the game-time decision that Bilo would sit (which may have emotionally brought the team down a bit) and/or the fact that Donnie clearly was not 100% (that Euro-step, badly missed lay-up and several others that he would normally make were, signs of him fearing a full explosion off his calf to the basket). Thank God for ED and Book (who has been noticeably improving). If it wasn’t for their exceptional play, we would have been heading home Friday night.
Both UCLA and Uconn missed starters last game (Uconn’s point guard Demary-ankle- and wing Stewart-knee- have injuries) both are also “questionable”……I would think the caliber of play Sunday will be effected by how healthy Donnie, Bilo, Demary and Stewart are; and if they play, to what level of their abilities they can play at……I expect all will play Sunday given the finality of this game and the fact that they won’t play again until next Friday if they win. Whether Donnie and Bilo will hold up and perform to their abilities is a “crap shoot;” but it’s the same for Uconn’s starters. This will be a game of attrition as to those four……We absolutely need Trent and Skyy to play better and for ED and Book to bring their A-games again if we are to make it to the Sweet 16. Hopefully, our MASH Unit is better than their MASH Unit…..
It’s not just about losing to the bruins this year. In 10 years at UCF, Johnny Dawkins has made the ncaa tournament only twice, including this year. So that is definitely part of their frustration especially when they had a decent regular season
What about Wisconsin? They lost to High Point but there were teams that ucla beat that destroyed their first round opponents like Michigan State, Illinois, and Nebraska
Sounds like there's an outbreak of anti-Dawkins fever---UNC fans are apparently suffering from a similar infection after their 1st-round OT upset loss.
Hubert Davis’s tenure has been similar to Cronin’s: a miracle run to the third weekend of the tournament and then not much to show afterwards. Unlike Cronin though, since Davis’s FF run, he has only made the sweet 16 once and lost twice in the first round, so Cronin has had a tiny bit more success than Davis
The anti-Davis furor has more to do with the fact that Duke is experiencing a ton of success after transitioning away from Coach K, and while Davis gets credit for forever winning the rivalry on behalf of UNC by beating Duke in Coach K's last home game and in the Final Four, that only gets you so far when the replacement has been to a Final Four and has a 1 seed again.
Yep, even if UCLA and/or UConn had won their games in decisive fashion, any momentum could be carried onto the next game, but I think the outcome in tomorrow's matchup could still be hard to predict because the opponents are unfamiliar with each other, and the status of injuries will be a factor for both teams. But I don't expect UConn to shoot 31% at the FT line, so the Bruins will have to play more like the preseason AP #12-ranked team that we've seen for the past few weeks.
Bilo is still experiencing soreness in his knee. Likely a game time decision. I realize UConn has injury issues as well, so everything remains up in the air as to who will take the floor...
Regardless...
We will need major contributions from Book, B Wills, and Freeny, for EDJ and Dent to play out of their minds, and for Skyy and Perry to hit their shots, especially 3s.
Joe and Javonte are Cronin's kinda' players, so that bodes well. How much playing time they get as freshmen is to be determined by need and how well Mick hits the portal.
Furman only down by 4 at the half!
Cronin haters very quiet tonight
Sad UConn pulling away now
Hmm nevermind, still a single digit game
UConn being unable to pull away from Furman is reason why they were considered the weakest 2 seed. All other 2 seeds beat their 15-seeded opponents by at least 30
And with that, ucla will face UConn at 5:45pm Sunday
That dude Reed is a rebounding machine…
Prior to this game he averaged 8 rebs per game. More likely than not he reverts back to average for next game.
What’s more concerning for me will be whether both teams are back at full strength
I think the Bruins are very fortunate to get the victory because UCF shot so horribly from the FT line (5-16 as a team, or 31%). Might also need UConn to underperform on some aspect of their game in order to give the Bruins a better chance for an upset. The Bruins can't seem to escape postseason injuries and bad/missed calls by the refs, either. Hope Clark can get his tooth repaired---I've never broken a tooth (yet?), so I wonder if it hurts like hell and also affects his ability to eat. I thought that the rough scrum for the loose ball (and tooth) and the obvious arm pull during Clark's drive near the basket both deserved whistles on UCF. The referees still sucked even though Tony Padilla wasn't even involved. Anyway, I think the Bruins will need to do much better than to play ugly again against UConn.
Go Bruins!
I’ve never seen worse vibes on social media coming off an ncaa tournament win without our best scorer. Looks like fans of both teams are upset with many UCF fans calling for Dawkins to be fired.
The idea that ucla will automatically get steamrolled by UConn is absurd. UConn had trouble with Furman until the final minutes. Their fans aren’t all up in despair about the next game. Kansas let Cal freakin Baptist go on a 18-0 run to tighten the game and Kansas fans don’t think the sky is falling. Duke beat Siena by 6, and statistically, no 1 seed has ever gotten out of the second weekend when their win over 16th seed is by 8 or less, and yet Duke and their fans remain as confident as ever. Kentucky needed multiple miracles and a gift from the refs to beat Santa Clara! And the difference between ucla and the previously mentioned programs is that those teams struggled against mid/low major programs while UCLA’s ugly win came against a team that finished in the top half of the Big 12 conference. It’s like people see “UCF” and still think they’re in conference USA instead of a team that competes in arguably the toughest conference in the country.
Anything can happen in the UConn game - ucla can get embarrassed, they can embarrass UConn or they play a close game that shortens our lives by a couple years but nothing about UCLA’s performance against UCF suggests a preordained result to me.
Chen, as you have noted, both UCLA and Uconn had sloppy outings and did not play to their capabilities. Our fan base has been treated to the best basketball this group has played the entire season……Watching this game, the level of play was clearly a regression for us (with the exception of forcing turnovers); thus there has been a lot of negative reaction. I don’t know if it was the game-time decision that Bilo would sit (which may have emotionally brought the team down a bit) and/or the fact that Donnie clearly was not 100% (that Euro-step, badly missed lay-up and several others that he would normally make were, signs of him fearing a full explosion off his calf to the basket). Thank God for ED and Book (who has been noticeably improving). If it wasn’t for their exceptional play, we would have been heading home Friday night.
Both UCLA and Uconn missed starters last game (Uconn’s point guard Demary-ankle- and wing Stewart-knee- have injuries) both are also “questionable”……I would think the caliber of play Sunday will be effected by how healthy Donnie, Bilo, Demary and Stewart are; and if they play, to what level of their abilities they can play at……I expect all will play Sunday given the finality of this game and the fact that they won’t play again until next Friday if they win. Whether Donnie and Bilo will hold up and perform to their abilities is a “crap shoot;” but it’s the same for Uconn’s starters. This will be a game of attrition as to those four……We absolutely need Trent and Skyy to play better and for ED and Book to bring their A-games again if we are to make it to the Sweet 16. Hopefully, our MASH Unit is better than their MASH Unit…..
What does it say about the state of the UCLA program that UCF fans are calling for Dawkins' head because he couldn't beat the Bruins.
Also, what about Wisconsin?
It’s not just about losing to the bruins this year. In 10 years at UCF, Johnny Dawkins has made the ncaa tournament only twice, including this year. So that is definitely part of their frustration especially when they had a decent regular season
What about Wisconsin? They lost to High Point but there were teams that ucla beat that destroyed their first round opponents like Michigan State, Illinois, and Nebraska
Said in those terms, it sounds as if losing to UCLA was the final straw.
Sounds like there's an outbreak of anti-Dawkins fever---UNC fans are apparently suffering from a similar infection after their 1st-round OT upset loss.
Hubert Davis’s tenure has been similar to Cronin’s: a miracle run to the third weekend of the tournament and then not much to show afterwards. Unlike Cronin though, since Davis’s FF run, he has only made the sweet 16 once and lost twice in the first round, so Cronin has had a tiny bit more success than Davis
And this season is still not over yet for HC Cronin. ;-)
The anti-Davis furor has more to do with the fact that Duke is experiencing a ton of success after transitioning away from Coach K, and while Davis gets credit for forever winning the rivalry on behalf of UNC by beating Duke in Coach K's last home game and in the Final Four, that only gets you so far when the replacement has been to a Final Four and has a 1 seed again.
I think the Badgers are still in a state of shock...
Yep, even if UCLA and/or UConn had won their games in decisive fashion, any momentum could be carried onto the next game, but I think the outcome in tomorrow's matchup could still be hard to predict because the opponents are unfamiliar with each other, and the status of injuries will be a factor for both teams. But I don't expect UConn to shoot 31% at the FT line, so the Bruins will have to play more like the preseason AP #12-ranked team that we've seen for the past few weeks.
Bilo is still experiencing soreness in his knee. Likely a game time decision. I realize UConn has injury issues as well, so everything remains up in the air as to who will take the floor...
Regardless...
We will need major contributions from Book, B Wills, and Freeny, for EDJ and Dent to play out of their minds, and for Skyy and Perry to hit their shots, especially 3s.
That is all 🙏💙💛💙💛
So if we manage to get pass UConn, it's a rematch with Michigan State.
Super tough road, especially if Bilo doesn't play against UConn.
But one game at a time. If we have a few shining moments, I believe we can win!
💙💛💙💛
4* Montverde forward Joe Philon commits to UCLA. 6'8" 190#.
Let this snowball into more commits.
So excited about Joe and we also have Javonte Floyd arriving!
The beauty of those Four Letters.
💙💛💙💛
Joe and Javonte are Cronin's kinda' players, so that bodes well. How much playing time they get as freshmen is to be determined by need and how well Mick hits the portal.
Bye bye zags!
Too bad the Zags weren't the #3-seed team in the East Regional...
UCLA used up that luck in 2021 when they got to play Abilene Christian to get into the Sweet 16 haha