The first weekend of the 2014 NCAA tournament is behind us, and now that I’ve stopped hyperventilating, I’ve been able to come to some actual, practical conclusions:
1) Ollie makes the grade – To this point, there has been talk by some (read: me) that, while Kevin Ollie is an elite motivator, his tactical nous was still a work in progress. This was largely the result of UConn’s poor performance in 5 losses to Larry Brown’s SMU and Rick Pitino’s Louisville this season.
This weekend, UConn defeated St. Joseph’s and Villanova, led by veteran coaches Phil Martelli and Jay Wright, respectively. Between them, Martelli and Wright have 39 years of head coaching experience, 17 NCAA tournament appearances, 767 career wins, and 2 National Coach of the Year awards (Martelli in 2004, Wright in 2006).
More than just the resumes of his opponents, Ollie’s adjustments are what really impressed me in these games. The various small lineups he used to combat Villanova’s quickness are what got the team through the end of that game.
2) Shabazz Napier can’t be stopped – This is what most people wanted to talk about, especially after the Villanova game. Napier is in refuse-to-lose mode, which is good for UConn. Napier is playing well, and he’s been very aggressive. He’s been a very reliable first-option on offense, which is critical in these kinds of tournament games. He’s been a great leader both with his play and his willingness to play through pain. This grittiness has rubbed off on his teammates, as
3) The team is developing balance at the right time – In addition to headline performances from Shabazz, UConn has seen big-time performances this weekend from Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels, Niels Giffey, Lasan Kromah, and Terrence Samuel, with sold post play coming from Nolan and Brimah. This kind of balance has really helped when Shabazz has been on the bench with foul trouble or injury issues, and it could continue to carry the team through any dry spells Shabazz suffers.
4) Up next, Iowa State – While no Sweet Sixteen opponent could or should be taken lightly, I do feel pretty good about this matchup. Iowa State is playing without big man Georges Niang, out for the season with a broken foot. In his place, the Cyclones started 6-8 junior Daniel Edozie, who had only topped 5 minutes in a game 8 times this season, and who hadn’t played double-digit minutes since January. He played 16 mostly-forgettable minutes against UNC, as Iowa State went with three guards for a good portion of the game.
Iowa State managed to get past a tough UNC team this way, so obviously they can’t be dismissed. That being said, the most common lineup on the floor for Iowa State in this game featured guards DeAndre Kane (6-4), Monte Morris (6-2), and Naz Long (6-4), with forwards Dustin Hogue (6-6) and Melvin Ejim (6-6). This would seem to render them unable to exploit what has been the Huskies’ biggest weakness this season (inside presence), and may make them vulnerable to the length of Daniels (6-9), Nolan (6-10), and Brimah (7-0). UNC widebody Kennedy Meeks had one of his best games of the season against the depleted interior of Iowa State, so this is somewhere that Kevin Ollie should be looking to take advantage.
UConn is likely to be facing a pretty friendly crowd at MSG, but they’ll still have to contend with some excellent players in Ejim (18ppg, 8rpg) and do-everything guard DeAndre Kane (17ppg, 7rpg, 6apg), Iowa State’s answer to our own Shabazz Napier.
Good luck gentlemen, and let’s make this trip to NYC a good one.
*Thanks to Matt Jackson for compensating for my lack of photoshop skills.
