UConn Loses To Cincinnati 58-57
UConn Men Vs. Cincinnati

Dom Amore Contact Reporter

HARTFORD – The Huskies matched Cincinnati push for shove, but in the end could not match them basket for basket.

In a grueling game so typical of this series, the Bearcats wrestled away a 58-57 victory over UConn before a packed XL Center on Thursday night.

Gary Clark scored for Cincinnati, drawing a blocking foul from Shonn Miller and making the free throw to give the Bearcats a 58-57 lead with 12.1 seconds left. The Huskies called time and drew up a play with 10.2 to go. Sterling Gibbs tried a tough shot from the lane, Miller couldn’t put in the rebound and Adams tried a desperation shot at the buzzer, which also missed. And time ran out, a dramatic, but disappointing finish for the Huskies.

Clark and Farad Cobb each scored 13 for Cincinnati. Gibbs scored 14, Miller and Adams 11 each for UConn. But in the end UConn’s shooting in the second half, 9-for-32, did the Huskies in.

UConn is 15-5, 4-3 in the American Athletic Conference, losing a chance to vault into good tournament shape. Now, they start over at Central Florida on Sunday. The Bearcats (16-6, 6-3) were only 10-fo-26 in the second half, but it was enough to overcome a seven-point UConn lead.

UConn trailed by six early, then led by seven early in the second half before Cincinnati surged back. Rodney Purvis scored on the fast break to tied the game at 50 with 8:51 to play, setting up a typically tense UConn-Cincinnati finish.

The Huskies finished the half with a hot shooting spree, but came unhinged offensively in the second half. But they were playing tough defense again, and when Purvis forced a turnover and tossed it up ahead to Sterling Gibbs for a fast-break basket. That gave UConn the lead, and the normally stoic Gibbs let out his emotion, high-fiving the fans courtside, getting the big XL crowd on its feet with 6:22 left. Gibbs, fouled on the play, hit his free throw to make it 55-53, with 6:22 to play.

The Huskies, though, had shot-clock violations on their next two possessions. The Bearcats didn’t score, either. After a fifth consecutive stop, UConn scored again on Jalen Adams drive through the lane to make it 57-53 with 1:37 left.

But Adams made a bad pass, converted into a fast-break basket by the Bearcats’ Jacob Evans III as Cincinnati ended a 6-minute scoring drought. When UConn failed on its next possession, Cincinnati got a chance to tie, or win, with 26 seconds left.

UConn was stonewalled by Cincinnati’s match-up zone defense at the outset, and was trailing 6-0 before Daniel Hamilton’s lob pass to Shonn Miller got the Huskies on the board. Phil Nolan and Kentan Facey both picked up two fouls in the opening minutes, forcing UConn to go to a small lineup, but their quickness challenged the Bearcats. Rodney Purvis scored on the break to finish a 7-0 run and give the Huskies their first lead, 9-8.

The Huskies continued to attack, but, as has been the case recently, had trouble finishing. But it opened the floor, and Sterling Gibbs took, and made, wide-open three-point goals on three consecutive possessions to give UConn a 29-27 lead. Purvis hit a three, and Miller a short runner, and UConn took a 36-31 lead to the half. After its 2-for-10 start, the Huskies made 12 of their last 18 shots in the half.

The Bearcats, though outrebounding UConn’s small lineup, turned the ball over eight times against the Huskies’ effective ball pressure. Gibbs finished the half with 11 points, Purvis with 10.

Hamilton was 0-for-4 in the half, but had five rebounds and seven assists. He finally scored on the first possession the second half to extend the UConn lead to seven. Hamilton hit a three-pointer to make it 43-36, but the Bearcats edged back after a couple of UConn misses, cutting it to two on Troy Caupain’s three and tying it at 43 on Farad Cobb’s jumper with 14:32 to play.

After Cincinnati took the lead, Nolan tied it for UConn with a tip-in. Miller grabbed an offensive rebound and put UConn back on top, 48-46, with 11 ½ left, but Cobb hit a three off a screen to restore the Bearcats to the lead. That kind of game. Nolan picked up his fourth foul with 9:56 left, so the Huskies headed down the stretch with a key to their defense on the bench.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-mens...story.html

UC Bearcats rally past UConn, 58-57
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 9:16 p.m. EST January 28, 2016


HARTFORD, Conn. – Sophomore forward Gary Clark came up huge in the final seconds for the Cincinnati Bearcats here Thursday night, as UC scored one of its most important wins of the basketball season.

UC beat Connecticut 58-57 as Clark made a conventional three-point play with 12.1 seconds left. Clark scored from the lane to tie it 57-57, and he was fouled. Clark made the go-ahead free throw, with an XL Center crowd of 13,242 screaming at him.

UConn was able to get off a few late shots but could not convert, sending UC players racing around the floor with victory hugs.

UC (16-6, 6-3 American Athletic Conference) moved into second place in the AAC behind SMU (7-1 AAC). Clark and senior guard Farad Cobb led UC with 13 points each and senior forward Octavius Ellis scored 10.

UConn (14-6, 4-3 AAC) had been second in the league, entering the night.

The Bearcats have been sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble, with ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi projecting them as a No. 11 seed and CBS Sports analyst Jerry Palm listing UC among the “First four out.” Thursday night’s win should certainly elevate the Bearcats in the eyes of many.

UConn entered the night No. 63 and UC was No. 70 in the NCAA RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) standings, which rank teams based on wins and losses and strength of schedule.

UConn fell to 10-2 in home games this season, including 5-2 at the XL Center and 5-0 on campus at Gampel Pavilion.

It was UC’s first win in Connecticut since Jan. 18, 2012 at Gampel Pavilion. UConn plays home games at both Gampel and Hartford’s XL Center, with the latter being the site Thursday.

UC had won only once in six previous games at the XL Center.

Eight of the last nine UC-UConn meetings had been decided by seven points or less, and Thursday followed suit.

A low-scoring game appeared inevitable. UConn ranks No. 6 nationally in field goal percentage defense (37.3) and UC is No. 29 (39.3).

UC also now has its first three-game winning streak since opening the season 7-0.

UC senior forward Shaq Thomas went down with a lower right leg injury with 17:35 left in the game. Thomas was grimacing, clearly in pain as he was helped off the court. He did not return to the game.

Earlier, UC freshman wing Jacob Evans III crashed hard to the floor about midway through the first half while pursuing an offensive rebound.

Evans was down for a few moments before being helped up, and he was able to walk off the floor. He returned to the game shortly thereafter.

UC trailed 36-31 at halftime.

The Bearcats led by as much as six points early in the game, including 8-2 at the start.

UC was up 25-20 with just under four minutes left in the first half, but a 16-6 closing run put the Huskies ahead by five at the break. UConn guard Sterling Gibbs fueled the surge by hitting three consecutive 3-point shots within a two-minute span.

UC fell behind 43-36 at the start of the second half, then tied it 43-43 with a 7-0 surge.

Evans put UC ahead 53-30 on a 3-pointer with 7:14 left. UConn answered and went back ahead 54-53, as the crowd again sprang to life.

The UC defense forced four shot-clock violations, one reason the Bearcats were able to stay close late in the game.

The game was a brutal grinder inside, with both teams often struggling just to get a shot off, especially inside.

UConn took a 57-53 lead on a layup by guard Jalen Adams with 1:42 left.

UC was in the midst of a scoring drought of more than six minutes before Evans hit a layup with 59 seconds left, narrowing UConn’s lead to 57-55.

UC now is off until Thursday Feb. 4, when the Bearcats play host to South Florida.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../79471494/

Big win in front of a big crowd. Puts the Cats back on track for the tourney.

Jeff Jacobs: Romance And Reality Clash, And It's An Ugly Loss For UConn


Jeff Jacobs Contact ReporterJeff Jacobs

The reality of this game? UConn can't make the big plays

HARTFORD — The romance was there. Oh, man, the romance was there for the taking.

There was Shabazz Napier, the drama king of the 2014 national champions, sitting behind the UConn bench Thursday night at the XL Center. The Magic play in Boston against the Celtics on Friday night, and there Shabazz was with Orlando teammate Victor Oladipo. Napier's mom, a regular at UConn games, was sitting nearby.

Napier, the irresistible guard from Boston, didn't invent the last-second shot at Storrs, but he sure came close to perfecting it.

And now here was the rebound of Shonn Miller's missed put-back attempt bouncing way out for freshman Jalen Adams to frantically track down with 1.2 seconds left in this fierce, maddening game against Cincinnati. They're all fierce and maddening and ugly against Cincinnati, aren't they?

Adams is a guard like Shabazz. Adams is from Boston like Shabazz. And as he turned in front of Napier among 13,242 fans and the ball left his hands from 30-odd feet with .5 seconds remaining … these thoughts flashed through the mind.


Remember Shabazz against Villanova?

Remember Shabazz against Florida?

Was this Shabazz Redux by Shabazz Jr?

When the ball left Adams' hands, it looked to be on line, but, no, the shot lacked enough steam and veered to the right off the rim.

"I thought it was going in," Adams said. "I wish it did."

Romance turned into reality in a heartbeat.

Final score: Cincinnati 58, UConn 57.

As the buzzer went off, UConn coach Kevin Ollie, wanting a call, wanting somebody — anybody — on his team to make a godforsaken layup, followed the refs across the court. He was yelling. He thought Miller had been fouled.

The funny — or not so funny — thing about one-point games is you can pick a number of spots in a game and call it a definitive moment. Ollie had his. With 1:04 left in the game, Adams had a pass picked off by Jacob Evans for a layup to make it 57-55.

"Jalen played good," Ollie said. "I didn't like the turnover when we were up four. They make a layup. I think that's the crucial play of the game."

You want the biggest truth? The Huskies missed a ton of shots at the rim. These are big-time Division 1 players. They got to knock down some. Good defense. Bad offensive finish. You know the drill, Huskies fans.

"We just missed layups," Ollie said. "Getting right to the rim and missed layups. I can't do nothing else. You've got to make the layups. For me, you've got to draw up other plays, I just don't know. We've got to create something when we get to the rim.

"We can't have out two best players 2-for-11 (Daniel Hamilton) and 5-for-17 (Rodney Purvis. You're just not going to win like that."

The Huskies, finding more than their share of problems against the Bearcats' matchup zone, managed only one field goal in the final 6 minutes, 23 seconds. Nothing seems to be going in for Hamilton these days.

"I can't get [Hamilton] back on track," Ollie said. "He's just got to keep taking good shots and try to get him different looks within the offense. [Cincinnati] makes it tough on you. They play the matchup zone. It's not conventional man on man where we can get you shots. He had some good looks. He just didn't make them.

"It starts with myself and the team setting better screens for him. Rebounds. It starts with him finishing plays. It's everybody. But I can't do it. I'm just the coach on the sidelines. It's for me to draw plays and then hopefully we can set some more screens, get some rebounds, he can get some fastbreak points. See the ball going in a little bit, get to the free throw line a little bit more."

But that's the big picture. We know about stagnant offenses. We know about missed shots down the stretch. That is becoming one of the painful narratives of this 14-6 season that will leave UConn battling down the stretch for a NCAA bid.

Instead, let's focus in on the last play.

After Gary Clark completed a three-point play off a foul by Miller (more on that in a minute) to put Cincinnati up by one, Ollie called a timeout. What was the UConn coach looking for on the last possession?

"I was trying to get penetration and trying to get a foul," Ollie said. "I thought we got fouled. The ref didn't call it."

Sterling Gibbs took the inbounds pass, headed for the lane and took a shot that bounced off the right side of the rim with five seconds left. Miller went up above a tangle of bodies and pulled in the offensive rebound. Could he have been called for over the top? Maybe. Miller went up for the put back. The shot missed.

"Shonn was fouled," Adams said.

"I've got to finish the layup," Miller said.

And the foul call again him on the Clark three-point play?

"I shouldn't have let him go in the middle," Miller said. "I let my man go middle. That lost us the game."

There you go. Miller had his own definitive moment.

Ollie, like many of the UConn fans, didn't see the equity. If that one call was a foul, should the other have been, too?

"The ref called the foul on one end and didn't call one on the other," Ollie said. "I haven't seen the tape but I didn't think [Clark] got fouled. I thought Shonn got hit harder than that. I'm not going to go back and forth with the refs, but I don't think he got fouled. But I'm biased. I want UConn to win.

"But I thought Shonn got fouled just as hard as Clark got fouled. If that's what you want me to say until I watch the tape of it, no I don't think [Clark] got fouled, but I could be wrong."

I was sitting at the other end from the Clark play and haven't had a chance to examine the video of that play carefully. Can't say for sure. The Miller play happened right in front of me and my first reaction was that, yeah, there were banging bodies as he went up. I also saw the replay a number of times and his arms weren't hit. There was no obvious hack. There wasn't anything egregious. I also can understand UConn fans' displeasure.

But it was there, the romance was there. That last desperation shot was meant to go in … or maybe not. This isn't 2014.

http://www.courant.com/hc-jacobs-column-..._flag=true

Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

Not trying to be negative, but Mick did go there after the second Temple game.

(01-29-2016 06:55 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  Not trying to be negative, but Mick did go there after the second Temple game.

And all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks were all over his tiny ass.

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

(01-29-2016 08:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

(01-29-2016 08:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

You are not being argumentative at all. I see where you are coming from. I think some fan bases can get very critical at times. In football I have seen this from Auburn/Bama/LSU/OSU fans after a big loss or an ugly win. In basketball I have witnessed the same from UK,OSU,UNC even AZ fans. Even the perceived Pollyanna fanbases, such as Eggs, have their moments. As recently as the beginning of this season, a segment of the Eggs fan base was not happy with Mack.

(01-29-2016 05:11 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Jeff Jacobs: Romance And Reality Clash, And It's An Ugly Loss For UConn

UConn Huskies forward Kentan Facey (12) looks to rebound a foul shot while boxed out by Cincinnati Bearcats forward Gary Clark (11) and Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) in the second half at the XL Center Thursday. Cincinnati won, 58-57. (Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant)

Jeff Jacobs Contact ReporterJeff Jacobs

The reality of this game? UConn can't make the big plays

HARTFORD — The romance was there. Oh, man, the romance was there for the taking.

There was Shabazz Napier, the drama king of the 2014 national champions, sitting behind the UConn bench Thursday night at the XL Center. The Magic play in Boston against the Celtics on Friday night, and there Shabazz was with Orlando teammate Victor Oladipo. Napier's mom, a regular at UConn games, was sitting nearby.

Napier, the irresistible guard from Boston, didn't invent the last-second shot at Storrs, but he sure came close to perfecting it.

And now here was the rebound of Shonn Miller's missed put-back attempt bouncing way out for freshman Jalen Adams to frantically track down with 1.2 seconds left in this fierce, maddening game against Cincinnati. They're all fierce and maddening and ugly against Cincinnati, aren't they?

Adams is a guard like Shabazz. Adams is from Boston like Shabazz. And as he turned in front of Napier among 13,242 fans and the ball left his hands from 30-odd feet with .5 seconds remaining … these thoughts flashed through the mind.

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Farad Cobb (21) blocks the shot by UConn Huskies forward Shonn Miller (32) as Cincinnati Bearcats forward Octavius Ellis (2) looks on in the second half at the XL Center Thursday. Cincinnati won, 58-57.

Remember Shabazz against Villanova?

Remember Shabazz against Florida?

Was this Shabazz Redux by Shabazz Jr?

When the ball left Adams' hands, it looked to be on line, but, no, the shot lacked enough steam and veered to the right off the rim.

"I thought it was going in," Adams said. "I wish it did."

Romance turned into reality in a heartbeat.

Final score: Cincinnati 58, UConn 57.

As the buzzer went off, UConn coach Kevin Ollie, wanting a call, wanting somebody — anybody — on his team to make a godforsaken layup, followed the refs across the court. He was yelling. He thought Miller had been fouled.

The funny — or not so funny — thing about one-point games is you can pick a number of spots in a game and call it a definitive moment. Ollie had his. With 1:04 left in the game, Adams had a pass picked off by Jacob Evans for a layup to make it 57-55.

"Jalen played good," Ollie said. "I didn't like the turnover when we were up four. They make a layup. I think that's the crucial play of the game."

You want the biggest truth? The Huskies missed a ton of shots at the rim. These are big-time Division 1 players. They got to knock down some. Good defense. Bad offensive finish. You know the drill, Huskies fans.

"We just missed layups," Ollie said. "Getting right to the rim and missed layups. I can't do nothing else. You've got to make the layups. For me, you've got to draw up other plays, I just don't know. We've got to create something when we get to the rim.

"We can't have out two best players 2-for-11 (Daniel Hamilton) and 5-for-17 (Rodney Purvis. You're just not going to win like that."

The Huskies, finding more than their share of problems against the Bearcats' matchup zone, managed only one field goal in the final 6 minutes, 23 seconds. Nothing seems to be going in for Hamilton these days.

"I can't get [Hamilton] back on track," Ollie said. "He's just got to keep taking good shots and try to get him different looks within the offense. [Cincinnati] makes it tough on you. They play the matchup zone. It's not conventional man on man where we can get you shots. He had some good looks. He just didn't make them.

"It starts with myself and the team setting better screens for him. Rebounds. It starts with him finishing plays. It's everybody. But I can't do it. I'm just the coach on the sidelines. It's for me to draw plays and then hopefully we can set some more screens, get some rebounds, he can get some fastbreak points. See the ball going in a little bit, get to the free throw line a little bit more."

But that's the big picture. We know about stagnant offenses. We know about missed shots down the stretch. That is becoming one of the painful narratives of this 14-6 season that will leave UConn battling down the stretch for a NCAA bid.

Instead, let's focus in on the last play.

After Gary Clark completed a three-point play off a foul by Miller (more on that in a minute) to put Cincinnati up by one, Ollie called a timeout. What was the UConn coach looking for on the last possession?

"I was trying to get penetration and trying to get a foul," Ollie said. "I thought we got fouled. The ref didn't call it."

Sterling Gibbs took the inbounds pass, headed for the lane and took a shot that bounced off the right side of the rim with five seconds left. Miller went up above a tangle of bodies and pulled in the offensive rebound. Could he have been called for over the top? Maybe. Miller went up for the put back. The shot missed.

"Shonn was fouled," Adams said.

"I've got to finish the layup," Miller said.

And the foul call again him on the Clark three-point play?

"I shouldn't have let him go in the middle," Miller said. "I let my man go middle. That lost us the game."

There you go. Miller had his own definitive moment.

Ollie, like many of the UConn fans, didn't see the equity. If that one call was a foul, should the other have been, too?

"The ref called the foul on one end and didn't call one on the other," Ollie said. "I haven't seen the tape but I didn't think [Clark] got fouled. I thought Shonn got hit harder than that. I'm not going to go back and forth with the refs, but I don't think he got fouled. But I'm biased. I want UConn to win.

"But I thought Shonn got fouled just as hard as Clark got fouled. If that's what you want me to say until I watch the tape of it, no I don't think [Clark] got fouled, but I could be wrong."

I was sitting at the other end from the Clark play and haven't had a chance to examine the video of that play carefully. Can't say for sure. The Miller play happened right in front of me and my first reaction was that, yeah, there were banging bodies as he went up. I also saw the replay a number of times and his arms weren't hit. There was no obvious hack. There wasn't anything egregious. I also can understand UConn fans' displeasure.

But it was there, the romance was there. That last desperation shot was meant to go in … or maybe not. This isn't 2014.

http://www.courant.com/hc-jacobs-column-..._flag=true

Reading that article if you had removed all the identifiable information about the teams, i would have thought that it was an article written about any one of the Bearcats losses (save for some of the "going to the hoop" references). i suppose one can take solace in the fact that a solid team with championship bona fides has to deal with the same issues that we do.

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Ollie should have been T'd up on Uconn's last shot

He was so far out on the court he was in front of the official

Hoard posted the pic on twitter. Crazy

I have watched a couple of UConn games, and Ollie is one of the biggest whiners in college basketball right now. Of course, as another school looking to get out of the AAC, he may have good reason for some of it.

(01-29-2016 11:17 AM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:11 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Jeff Jacobs: Romance And Reality Clash, And It's An Ugly Loss For UConn

UConn Huskies forward Kentan Facey (12) looks to rebound a foul shot while boxed out by Cincinnati Bearcats forward Gary Clark (11) and Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) in the second half at the XL Center Thursday. Cincinnati won, 58-57. (Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant)

Jeff Jacobs Contact ReporterJeff Jacobs

The reality of this game? UConn can't make the big plays

HARTFORD — The romance was there. Oh, man, the romance was there for the taking.

There was Shabazz Napier, the drama king of the 2014 national champions, sitting behind the UConn bench Thursday night at the XL Center. The Magic play in Boston against the Celtics on Friday night, and there Shabazz was with Orlando teammate Victor Oladipo. Napier's mom, a regular at UConn games, was sitting nearby.

Napier, the irresistible guard from Boston, didn't invent the last-second shot at Storrs, but he sure came close to perfecting it.

And now here was the rebound of Shonn Miller's missed put-back attempt bouncing way out for freshman Jalen Adams to frantically track down with 1.2 seconds left in this fierce, maddening game against Cincinnati. They're all fierce and maddening and ugly against Cincinnati, aren't they?

Adams is a guard like Shabazz. Adams is from Boston like Shabazz. And as he turned in front of Napier among 13,242 fans and the ball left his hands from 30-odd feet with .5 seconds remaining … these thoughts flashed through the mind.

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Farad Cobb (21) blocks the shot by UConn Huskies forward Shonn Miller (32) as Cincinnati Bearcats forward Octavius Ellis (2) looks on in the second half at the XL Center Thursday. Cincinnati won, 58-57.

Remember Shabazz against Villanova?

Remember Shabazz against Florida?

Was this Shabazz Redux by Shabazz Jr?

When the ball left Adams' hands, it looked to be on line, but, no, the shot lacked enough steam and veered to the right off the rim.

"I thought it was going in," Adams said. "I wish it did."

Romance turned into reality in a heartbeat.

Final score: Cincinnati 58, UConn 57.

As the buzzer went off, UConn coach Kevin Ollie, wanting a call, wanting somebody — anybody — on his team to make a godforsaken layup, followed the refs across the court. He was yelling. He thought Miller had been fouled.

The funny — or not so funny — thing about one-point games is you can pick a number of spots in a game and call it a definitive moment. Ollie had his. With 1:04 left in the game, Adams had a pass picked off by Jacob Evans for a layup to make it 57-55.

"Jalen played good," Ollie said. "I didn't like the turnover when we were up four. They make a layup. I think that's the crucial play of the game."

You want the biggest truth? The Huskies missed a ton of shots at the rim. These are big-time Division 1 players. They got to knock down some. Good defense. Bad offensive finish. You know the drill, Huskies fans.

"We just missed layups," Ollie said. "Getting right to the rim and missed layups. I can't do nothing else. You've got to make the layups. For me, you've got to draw up other plays, I just don't know. We've got to create something when we get to the rim.

"We can't have out two best players 2-for-11 (Daniel Hamilton) and 5-for-17 (Rodney Purvis. You're just not going to win like that."

The Huskies, finding more than their share of problems against the Bearcats' matchup zone, managed only one field goal in the final 6 minutes, 23 seconds. Nothing seems to be going in for Hamilton these days.

"I can't get [Hamilton] back on track," Ollie said. "He's just got to keep taking good shots and try to get him different looks within the offense. [Cincinnati] makes it tough on you. They play the matchup zone. It's not conventional man on man where we can get you shots. He had some good looks. He just didn't make them.

"It starts with myself and the team setting better screens for him. Rebounds. It starts with him finishing plays. It's everybody. But I can't do it. I'm just the coach on the sidelines. It's for me to draw plays and then hopefully we can set some more screens, get some rebounds, he can get some fastbreak points. See the ball going in a little bit, get to the free throw line a little bit more."

But that's the big picture. We know about stagnant offenses. We know about missed shots down the stretch. That is becoming one of the painful narratives of this 14-6 season that will leave UConn battling down the stretch for a NCAA bid.

Instead, let's focus in on the last play.

After Gary Clark completed a three-point play off a foul by Miller (more on that in a minute) to put Cincinnati up by one, Ollie called a timeout. What was the UConn coach looking for on the last possession?

"I was trying to get penetration and trying to get a foul," Ollie said. "I thought we got fouled. The ref didn't call it."

Sterling Gibbs took the inbounds pass, headed for the lane and took a shot that bounced off the right side of the rim with five seconds left. Miller went up above a tangle of bodies and pulled in the offensive rebound. Could he have been called for over the top? Maybe. Miller went up for the put back. The shot missed.

"Shonn was fouled," Adams said.

"I've got to finish the layup," Miller said.

And the foul call again him on the Clark three-point play?

"I shouldn't have let him go in the middle," Miller said. "I let my man go middle. That lost us the game."

There you go. Miller had his own definitive moment.

Ollie, like many of the UConn fans, didn't see the equity. If that one call was a foul, should the other have been, too?

"The ref called the foul on one end and didn't call one on the other," Ollie said. "I haven't seen the tape but I didn't think [Clark] got fouled. I thought Shonn got hit harder than that. I'm not going to go back and forth with the refs, but I don't think he got fouled. But I'm biased. I want UConn to win.

"But I thought Shonn got fouled just as hard as Clark got fouled. If that's what you want me to say until I watch the tape of it, no I don't think [Clark] got fouled, but I could be wrong."

I was sitting at the other end from the Clark play and haven't had a chance to examine the video of that play carefully. Can't say for sure. The Miller play happened right in front of me and my first reaction was that, yeah, there were banging bodies as he went up. I also saw the replay a number of times and his arms weren't hit. There was no obvious hack. There wasn't anything egregious. I also can understand UConn fans' displeasure.

But it was there, the romance was there. That last desperation shot was meant to go in … or maybe not. This isn't 2014.

http://www.courant.com/hc-jacobs-column-..._flag=true

Reading that article if you had removed all the identifiable information about the teams, i would have thought that it was an article written about any one of the Bearcats losses (save for some of the "going to the hoop" references). i suppose one can take solace in the fact that a solid team with championship bona fides has to deal with the same issues that we do.

I can't believe how many games in the UConn-Cincinnati series has come down to the final play. Six games have been decided at the buzzer since 2008 with has led to even split as well in those games. Even the Bearcat victories at the buzzer had a great UConn play that lead to eventual UC victory. Kemba hits a game tying three before Lance gets fouled with .7 seconds in the 2009-2010 season. Shabazz hits a game tying three before SK nails it from way down town in 2012. We probably want to forget last two conference tournament losses and the 2008 game where they call a foul on the inbounds that led to one point UConn victory. That list doesn't even include a Bearcat OT loss at UConn and five point win during SK's junior year.

How To Start Your Very Own Blog

(01-29-2016 08:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

You mean like excoriating fans who disagree with you?

Yup... That does seem to happen on this board from time to time.

(01-29-2016 01:30 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 08:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

You mean like excoriating fans who disagree with you?

Yup... That does seem to happen on this board from time to time.

On the upside, it's much better than it used to be...believe it or not.

Seriously, if I'm having a bad day, I avoid this board. I don't need more bad news. Conversely, if I need a pick-me-up, I head over to 247 and read the random available posts from all the dreamers that reside over there.

(01-29-2016 01:30 PM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 08:12 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 07:48 AM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 06:27 AM)ctipton Wrote:  

(01-29-2016 05:56 AM)JPBearcat3 Wrote:  Ollie sure whines about the refs. I guess if you win a NC, you've earned some leeway - but could you imagine if Cronin had said the same quotes in his post-game presser?

Were he to do that, all the "Fire Tubby"/"Mick sucks" folks would be all over his tiny ass.

You would hear more noise from non-UC fans in Cincy, as well as the typical culprits in the Cincy media.

Not to be argumentative, but I think the debbie downers on this board are much worse on our own team and coaches than the media or from competing teams. Here on the Bearcat board, we obviously eat our own.

You mean like excoriating fans who disagree with you?

Yup... That does seem to happen on this board from time to time.

No, not all. Only every 10th debbie downer.