(M) Game UCF at Arizona 2024/2025

[AZCatGirl]

Tommy has a lot to go over with his guys. Major brain farts to end the game.

Always good to have a win with a lot to learn though.

[cats101]

6 straight wins is nice

[Chicat]

Watched a movie with the family with the plan to watch the whole game delayed after but ended up accidentally turning it on live with five minutes to go in the second half and watched us turn the ball over 5 or 6 times and not make a single shot. Reminded me of our other second half collapses but it seemed UCF didn’t have enough time to take advantage.

[pc in NM]

CTL had some really good comments after the game:

https://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketbal ... b1IRSEfR7w

On how Arizona played: "I'm upset with how dumb we played. We were dumb. Our fundamentals were poor. Our late-game execution was poor, and it’s not acceptable. Hey, I love the result, and I told the staff and the players, if somebody would’ve told me when we got back to Tucson after the UCLA debacle, that we’d be 4-0 in conference, I probably wouldn’t believe you. So, I love where we’re at, but I’m also going to fight for where we’re going, and Arizona basketball does not play dumb at the end of the game. We just weren’t good enough at the end of the game.

"Whether it’s disrespecting the game or getting casual, whatever you want to call it, we’ve got to be better. Those guys that are playing heavy minutes, they’ve got to be better. At the end of the game, they have to be better. There’s no other way to put it. I could try to put them in better positions, and maybe the best position might be off the court. So, you know, those are conversations we’re going to have. Winning is important and we need to value those opportunities."

On late game mistakes: "It’s frustrating. We come out and get off to a great start, a great start. I thought our energy was good. I thought the defense was okay, you know, offensively, I thought we were clicking. Then it’s like we get a little bit of a lead, and if you go back, and if you watch possession by possession, it’s just like are we really making the best play for the team? When we’ve struggled this year, we haven’t made the best play for the team. We’ve been good when we’ve made the best play for the team. It’s really not complicated, and I think that’s probably most all teams across the board. So we got to be better. We got to be better at those moments. We got to be better in that first half.

On why similar mistakes keep being made: "It’s being nonchalant, maybe a little bit selfish. Those moments, you know, Hey, we’re up, maybe this is a great opportunity for me to do something. We don’t need to be a me program. We need to be an us program."

On the recurring theme of blowing big leads: "You’re playing high level games against high level teams. Like I said, leads don’t exponentially grow. Teams are going to come back. So I think the common theme is that your opponents are really good. You need to respect the opponents. Now you build a lead, so you must be pretty good to build a lead on a good team. Now, respect it. How do you handle it? I don’t need the lead to grow from 14 to 20, but I don’t need to do it from 14 to zero. That’s where we got to get better. Maybe you got to get better possession by possession, because they all add up. All these possessions add up. It’s something we talked a lot about and worked on, and that’s why I was a little bit frustrated tonight. I think we did a great job of seizing the opportunity and seizing the moment. It’s a teaching moment for us. And you know what? I do love teaching after a win, I will admit that."

On UCF outrebounding Arizona: "They kicked our ass on the glass. Kicked our ass. They’re relentless. I gotta go back and watch the film. I heard there were some good block outs. When the assistant coaches are telling you there’s some good block outs that means there’s a lot of really bad block outs. A few good ones stuck out so it stood out. We got to get better. Some of these guys playing heavy minutes, it’s their job. They don’t get to just do what they want to do. Shoot shots they want to shoot, dribble the ball when they want to dribble it and not rebound. It’s not how it works, not on good teams. So we got to figure that out."

On Dell’Orso’s performance and in-game passion: "He’s fiery but he’s still finding his way and figuring it out. Ever since we started him, it’s not like he’s played great, but our team’s played pretty good, so there’s probably something to that. KJ has played really good in his role. So I feel good about that. Carter’s played good in his role. I feel good how the pieces are fit together, and I know it’s only a matter of time til Delle steps up and have some moments like that. We want him hunting shots. We want being aggressive because he’s a great shooter and he’s a good offensive player.

"Now, the one thing I do want from him, I want to be at the ball out of his hands a little bit quicker. Some of these pick and rolls, maybe one or two dribbles too many. He’s a guy that can be a great little dime dropper that kind of initiates our action and gets our flow going. We need to get better at that with him.'

On Caleb Love’s performance: "Caleb was great to start. Was not good enough at the end, whether it’s shot selection or dribble down the sideline that gets a trap. Caleb’s played college basketball for five years. He knows better than that. Falling down, okay, this stuff shouldn’t happen. I’m counting on this guy to be like an All-American level player. I love Caleb, and I’ve given him a lot. He’s got to be better. Bottom line, he’s got to be better."

On what practice will look like following the win: "Lots of rebounding drills, boxing out drills. We’ll watch film first and translate it to practice and stuff like that. Coach is a great coach. He knows what it takes to win, so he’s gonna hold us to a high standard."

On the outlook for the rest of the season: "I think from the beginning, we thought we were never out of it, despite the losses. I think continually throughout the season, we’ve been building, and I think we’ve seen some of that stuff come to fruition as of late. We still have areas in which we still need to build and grow as players, individually and collectively, as a team. So I would say right now, we’re right where we want to be. We’re not perfect."

[TheCat]

New worry against the press. That as not been an issue this year but we are playing tentative against it right now. Fast turnaround to Baylor.

Baylor really struggled against ASU, so at least they'll be on short rest as well.

People are not going to like to hear this but ASU has two potential NBA players on its team. I believe their center was the number 1 ranked player at his position in HS and has springs for legs. They won't be a pushover.

[84Cat]

We're favored by 5.5

[azgreg]

Only 16 more hours until tip.