Notes & Quotes: Houston Drops UConn at Gampel
STORRS, Conn.—Damyean Dotson and Devonta Pollard combined to score 39 points as Houston beat UConn, 75-68 in front of 9,667 at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Here is a look at what went right and what went from for the Huskies (20-8, 10-6 AAC):
WHAT WENT WELL
1. DANIEL HAMILTON’S SHOOTING: Sophomore Daniel Hamilton scored a team-high 20 points, his second 20-point performance of the season, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-8 from three. Hamilton’s ability to burry shots kept UConn close down the stretch as the offense was once again stagnant down the stretch of the second half. The sophomore also added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals to his final stat line.
HOUSTON HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON: “The biggest surprise was Hamilton, we wanted to 3-2 zone them some and play off of Hamilton, he didn’t make that look like a good idea. He made those four threes and that kept them in it, really. We were on the verge of getting some separation but he kept them in it banging those threes.”
UCONN HEAD COACH KEVIN OLLIE: “I love Daniel to death, it is 20 points but I don’t care if he scores 40 points—you can’t give up 60 percent shooting in the second half. Yeah, I clap for Daniel that’s 20 points but we couldn’t guard nobody in the half court and Dotson got 22.”
2. AMIDA BRIMAH’S ENERGY ON THE BOARDS: Center Amida Brimah was a force in the middle all afternoon. The big man was tied with a team-high seven boards to go along with his 10 points and two blocks, helping the Huskies to a 36-26 advantage in the paint. UConn won the rebound battle, 35-30 and had a 16-12 edge in second-chance points.
WHAT NEEDS WORK
1. END OF HALF EXECUTION: The Huskies ended the game hitting just two of their final nine shots, with three turnovers in the final four minutes. Houston closed the game on a 12-4 run in the final 3:35 to steal a road win from a UConn team it is likely to see in the AAC tournament. The Cougars ended the first half on an 8-0 run and then made all five of their final shots from the floor to close out the game, including a dagger three from Dotson with 1:08 to go.
OLLIE’S TAKE: “It was all turnovers, we weren’t playing solid, there was a lack of leadership. It is the three-minute segments—you go to the Temple game. I can’t dribble, I can’t pass, my assistant coaches can’t do that, there is just a lack of focus. I don’t know what else I should say…It would’ve been a great victory for us to keep the momentum going down to SMU and you just let it slip through your fingers and that’s very, very hard to swallow. For a coaching staff to try to prepare guys and players trying to go out and play the right way but we didn’t play the right way at all, at all. It is very disappointing, I’m disappointed for our fans to see that in the second half and to see that to close out the first half. It is unacceptable.”
DANIEL HAMILTON’S TAKE: “In that first half in that three-minute stretch the same thing happened with Cincinnati: we got down, turned the ball over. I think it is just coming down to turnovers—we got to get solid possessions and just execute our offense when it comes down to the last couple minutes of the halves.”
2. LACK OF INITIATIVE: UConn’s late-half collapses appear to stem from a lack of an on-court leader. No one player is taking control in crunch time leaving the Huskies in a frantic state while trying to execute their offense when the game is on the line.
OLLIE’S TAKE: “There has got to be some consistency, there has got to be some ownership…You can’t play like that and you should not put the UConn jersey on if you’re playing like that.”
HAMILTON’S TAKE: “Definitely a lack of leadership, we got to come out and just play for each other, that’s the main thing. But definitely a lack of leadership—I’ve got to do a better job and some of my teammates have to do a better job as well.”
BRIMAH’S TAKE: “We just have to learn how to stay solid as a team and when we are up we just have to keep playing they way we are playing…we can’t be playing selfish basketball.”
3. TRANSITION DEFENSE: The Huskies opened the game with a 5-0 advantage on the break but were outscored 18-4 in transition the rest of the way. Houston had an 18-9 edge in fast break points and routinely exploited the UConn defense that struggled to stop the ball or find open shooters.
OLLIE’S TAKE: “We couldn’t keep [anybody] in front of us, we couldn’t get back in transition and we didn’t play with any heart—that’s the summary of the game…You can’t give up 18 points on fast-break points—we [get a] three and we give the guy a run, literally he takes the ball out of bounds, gets an outlet, makes a layup.”
HAMILTON’S TAKE: “I think we just have to talk more to each other, be more connected with each other, playing for each other. I think that is the most important thing we got to do.”
BRIMAH’S TAKE: “Defensively as a whole we did a bad job locating the ball in transition and we did a bad job getting back on defense.”
4. OVERALL DEFENSIVE EFFORT: UConn allowed Houston to shoot 60 percent in the second half and 51.9 percent overall. The fifth-ranked defense in the country according to kenpom.com struggled against Dotson and Pollard despite limiting the AAC’s leading scorer Rob Gray Jr. to just two points.
SAMPSON’S TAKE: “UConn wants you to play on the strong side, side pick-and-rolls they send the ball down and they want you to play their way. I thought what we did today was get the ball to the other side and then back to the first side.”
OLLIE’S TAKE: “[Dotson] dominated the whole game, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds. I don’t know how many times he came off the pin down, we wanted our players to send it down but it just comes down to toughness and wanting to stop my man. That’s pretty much what it comes down to and a lack of effort we showed out here is very disappointing but it’s been like that the whole year. You get up high then you down low and there is just a lack of focus, lack of leadership and we got to get better the next two games.”
HAMILTON’S TAKE: “We just wasn’t communicating, getting back on defense and talking to each other. I have to go back and watch film. Dotson, I was guarding him in the second half and he was getting a lot of easy, pin-down jumpers and I should’ve adjusted to send it down. But it was kind of tough I just got to watch film and get better from it.”