Game would have been different if refs didn't mess up call in first half. Ball out of bounds was called our ball, then changed to a jump ball. The result was we didn't get ball to start the second half. If we score first in 2 nd half we can keep lead for a few minutes and pressure UConn, instead 4 pt play to start the half and the bottom fell out. Hurley got his team many many open shots today on pick and rolls in the 2 nd half he made an adjustment, our adjustments in the 2 nd half were.....
So frustrating. What do these programs have that we don’t? Happy for all of them, but man it would be nice to break through and win a tourney game at some point.
They got good matchups and the teams they played shit the bed. It's not a coincidence that Virginia and Purdue are both on this list twice.
Yeah, this.
There weren't any teams beating this UConn team in the first round. I think we had the offensive firepower to do it, but it would've required a different defensive approach.
The only thing that irks me with this loss is that those who haven't followed this Iona team all season come away from this game thinking we didn't have the goods. There were only a few teams heading into this tournament that scared me, which I thought were in a different league than the Gaels, which I would've hoped to avoid or at the very least, run into in the Sweet 16 or later, and would've required an almost perfect game to beat: Kansas (with Bill Self), UCLA (healthy with Clark), and UConn. And we just happened to land in a region with all three, lol.
Put us in the East region, we have a legit shot at the Final Four. Purdue was the No. 1 seed in that bracket for crying out loud. It's all about matchups, and Iona drew the worst one. Having followed RP at every stop, I've observed it's become a recurring theme, so call it a coincidence or not. Even when he won a title in 2013, his team was the overall number one seed and the damn committee still threw the best two seed (Duke) in its region without explanation.
Game would have been different if refs didn't mess up call in first half. Ball out of bounds was called our ball, then changed to a jump ball. The result was we didn't get ball to start the second half. If we score first in 2 nd half we can keep lead for a few minutes and pressure UConn, instead 4 pt play to start the half and the bottom fell out. Hurley got his team many many open shots today on pick and rolls in the 2 nd half he made an adjustment, our adjustments in the 2 nd half were.....
Yeah that was a botched call. Jefferson made a great defensive play, clearly off UConn's leg.
I agree about the second half. Sanogo was a one-man wrecking crew. This goes back on RP's stubbornness to not play his matchup zone all season, and playing Sanogo straight up was a death wish.
We shouldn't have allowed it to turn into a track meet. I would've called off the press and focused on trying to lock them up in the half-court. I knew if UConn scored more than 70, we were gonna be cooked. Seton Hall defeated the Huskies 67-66. Creighton defeated them 56-53. That's the pace we needed to pull it off. The first half was more fool's gold. That style wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes. You cannot wear a team out anymore with a press. Teams don't get tired. The 1990s aren't walking through that door. RP and Masiello didn't seem to figure that out all season.
They got good matchups and the teams they played shit the bed. It's not a coincidence that Virginia and Purdue are both on this list twice.
Yeah, this.
There weren't any teams beating this UConn team in the first round. I think we had the offensive firepower to do it, but it would've required a different defensive approach.
The only thing that irks me with this loss is that those who haven't followed this Iona team all season come away from this game thinking we didn't have the goods. There were only a few teams heading into this tournament that scared me, which I thought were in a different league than the Gaels, which I would've hoped to avoid or at the very least, run into in the Sweet 16 or later, and would've required an almost perfect game to beat: Kansas (with Bill Self), UCLA (healthy with Clark), and UConn. And we just happened to land in a region with all three, lol.
Put us in the East region, we have a legit shot at the Final Four. Purdue was the No. 1 seed in that bracket for crying out loud. It's all about matchups, and Iona drew the worst one. Having followed RP at every stop, I've observed it's become a recurring theme, so call it a coincidence or not. Even when he won a title in 2013, his team was the overall number one seed and the damn committee still threw the best two seed (Duke) in its region without explanation.
Let’s show a better performance than a 20 point loss to UConn in the tourney before we start proclaiming ourself a Final Four team in other regions.
Other than OSU in 2013, this was our biggest margin of defeat in any NCAA game, and we have played Duke, UNC, Maryland, all the blue bloods.
Kind of similar to our NCAA loss to LSU, I think we had the lead at half and got physically dominated in the second half.
LSU,UNC,Alabama, UCONN. This is our new NCAA story, no more heartbreakers as we had almost all of the first half of our NCAA history.
Side note:: have to say I hate Dan Hurley, really unlikeable. Whines at every call, somehow allowed to be near center court screaming acting like he is playing defense in the middle of the game. Pressing with 2 minutes left up 20, putting a 7 foot 2 center in up 20. Jerk!
It's hard to have an answer for those bigs.... Credit to Nelly for keeping it close in the first half. I have to imagine he was exhausted for round 2. Too much weight to carry. Those guys were tall and solid.
If we had Glover down low with Nelly it would have been a different game. That's the difference with a 13 seed!
It's hard to have an answer for those bigs.... Credit to Nelly for keeping it close in the first half. I have to imagine he was exhausted for round 2. Too much weight to carry. Those guys were tall and solid.
If we had Glover down low with Nelly it would have been a different game. That's the difference with a 13 seed!
Might have needed Glover, Laury and Jordan Wash with Nelly to contain their bigs. Zanago and Clingan (spellings) played a combined 38 mins and scored 40 points.
Kind of similar to our NCAA loss to LSU, I think we had the lead at half and got physically dominated in the second half.
LSU,UNC,Alabama, UCONN. This is our new NCAA story, no more heartbreakers as we had almost all of the first half of our NCAA history.
Side note:: have to say I hate Dan Hurley, really unlikeable. Whines at every call, somehow allowed to be near center court screaming acting like he is playing defense in the middle of the game. Pressing with 2 minutes left up 20, putting a 7 foot 2 center in up 20. Jerk!
Hurley is a twerp. Wouldn’t have changed the result but he should have been T’d for repeatedly running onto the court and stamping his feet for 5 or more seconds.
I don't blame you. Agree, I want him to return. But that link you just shared before doesn't sound good. Or fox-sports is just throwing out click-bait. Journalism died a long time ago, so that's possible too.
As a retired journalist, I've got to agree with you. Real journalism is gone.
Kind of similar to our NCAA loss to LSU, I think we had the lead at half and got physically dominated in the second half.
LSU,UNC,Alabama, UCONN. This is our new NCAA story, no more heartbreakers as we had almost all of the first half of our NCAA history.
Side note:: have to say I hate Dan Hurley, really unlikeable. Whines at every call, somehow allowed to be near center court screaming acting like he is playing defense in the middle of the game. Pressing with 2 minutes left up 20, putting a 7 foot 2 center in up 20. Jerk!
Agree 100% on the Hurley comments. Really lost a lot of respect for him. There is a difference between being intense and being obnoxious on the sidelines.
It does suck that the 20 point loss in the NCAA has become our story. I think part of that is because when you play a superior team you have to take risks and gamble in many situations in order to win these types of games. So if the gamble doesn’t pay off you lose by a significant margin. I think most people felt that one of two results were possible last night. An Iona win or a 20+ loss. No I’m between.
Last night Iona was clicking offensively, making tough shots, and getting contributions from many guys. I’d have to think that at least 7 guys scored in the first half and we were only up 2. UConn was dominating in transition. I don’t think Sanogo scored a basket in the half court during the first 20 mins . Iona gambled on the press and was getting burned with dunk after dunk. In the second half UConn wasn’t getting it as much in transition but more in the half court. Many times we tried to gamble by jumping passing lanes knowing if those passes are connected in certain positions that the matchup favored UConn physically. I know it’s tough to swallow a 20+ loss on the biggest stage. But I can live with knowing we went into the game trying to win not just trying to lose by less the 20. Overall great effort. Proud of the guys and the season they had. If the group can stay together there could be something very special here.
This team went to battle with effort and heart. Just out gunned and worn down with the depth of their front court. I do not get upset by the margin of the losses, because I know the effort was there. Our coaches have had the teams prepared as evidenced by the first half performances. Trying to overcome the drop-off in the second halves will be hard as it is hard to have the depth the high majors have to allow starters to recover. I appreciate seeing Iona coming out the gate ready to play and not intimidated. If the program can continue its consistent high level of play I feel the NCAA win will eventually come. For the disgruntled Iona fans, would you rather not be in the hunt almost every year?
Kind of similar to our NCAA loss to LSU, I think we had the lead at half and got physically dominated in the second half.
LSU,UNC,Alabama, UCONN. This is our new NCAA story, no more heartbreakers as we had almost all of the first half of our NCAA history.
Side note:: have to say I hate Dan Hurley, really unlikeable. Whines at every call, somehow allowed to be near center court screaming acting like he is playing defense in the middle of the game. Pressing with 2 minutes left up 20, putting a 7 foot 2 center in up 20. Jerk!
We played our starters up 20 often this year,so I guess 2 jerks were coaching
