In Defeat, Huskies Let AAC Know They Aren’t a Pushover
The Story: The men’s basketball team fell to Cincinnati 74-72 in overtime on Saturday in an entertaining and spirited game on the road. The only thing not to like about the Huskies’ effort was the final score.
NO MORAL VICTOIRES, BUT PLENTY TO BUILD ON: A four-time national champion does not ever have to feel like it accomplished something in a loss. How you lose matters, however, and the Huskies showed spirit, mettle and toughness in rallying from an 11-point deficit in the second half to force overtime. Alterique Gilbert scored 18 points, and while he wasn’t great from the field (5-of-15), he forced action and got to the free throw line. We still need a better shooting percentage from the Huskies’ point guard, but we liked how he played. Jalen Adams had 16 points despite fouling out and Christian Vital added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
TURNING POINT? The thing about the loss with Cincinnati is the Huskies showed progress when down in the second half and made plays even when Adams went out with foul trouble. That bodes well for this team the rest of the season. Suddenly, the game at Tulsa on Wednesday doesn’t look impossible, and if you take away the game at USF, the Huskies are competing. Still, they are 1-3 in the conference and 10-7 overall, and if they are going to turn it around, we would like to see it soon.
CARLTON’S RESURGENCE: Josh Carlton, hopefully, can build off a 10-point, nine-rebound performance. The Huskies outrebounded Cincinnati 38-30, and if it weren’t for a massive free throw disparity (more on that later), the Huskies would be in control. Production needs to come from their power forward and center, and against a physical team in Cincinnati, which is likely NCAA tournament-bound, we like that Carlton made an impact. We know he has talent and ability. Can he consistently produce for the Huskies? That’s what we want to find out.
CRONIN IMPRESSED: UConn was better than Cincinnati on Saturday and no one knows that more than Mick Cronin. The feisty and salty Cincinnati coach, who begrudgingly gives out compliments to other teams, wasn’t shy about his opinion of the Huskies on Saturday:
“We won on the scoreboard,” Cronin said, “and give UConn credit, they made some big shots to get back in the game. But lack of discipline defensively, getting outrebounded by eight in your own gym, you’re not the most physical team … it’s embarrassing.
“We want to flash our Cincinnati badge and think people are going to run away. I’ve got news for you: They’re not running anywhere. If I was UConn right now, I’d be thinking they’re going to blow us out when we go back there.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: We hate to ruin your Monday morning, but this game was lost on the free throw line. How it got to that point is debatable, but Cincinnati was 25-of-38 from the line while UConn was 13-of-16. When you lose a game in overtime and you are minus-12 from the free throw line, it’s worth exploring. The Huskies were good from 3-point range, going 11-of-27 for a cool 40 percent, and actually outrebounded Cincinnati 38-30. The box score looks decent, except for 15 turnovers, and the Huskies got 26 points in the paint and nine second-chance points.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I believe maybe now they have the confidence they can go on the road and beat a good team, have respect [and] walk around feeling good about themselves like they potentially have a team that, if we show up this way the rest of the year, we can have a season we can be proud of.”
FOULS, FOULS GALORE: UConn is going to commit more fouls due to its style of play, but we are with you if you think the Huskies are getting a bad whistle at times. There is nothing malicious, but the consistency of officiating in the Huskies’ games this year is maddening. Cincinnati is a physical team, one that former coach Jim Calhoun used to compare to a rock fight. How on earth does UConn, playing with three guards and undersized, get whistled for 28 fouls to the Bearcats’ 17? According to our friend Katie Sharp on Twitter, UConn is 0-5 this season when it has committed more than 24 fouls in a game. Even more, the Bearcats attempted 38 free throws and only 52 baskets, a ridiculous 73 percent free throw rate. So yes, Cincinnati won this game at the free throw line. Saying so doesn’t make you a UConn homer.
REMEDY IS TO STOP FOULING: UConn has the 19th-highest opponent free throw rate in the nation at 42.3 percent and it’s obvious referees do not like Hurley’s pressing and ball pressure defense. UConn isn’t getting a good whistle, especially in losses this year. What do we expect going forward? UConn isn’t going to stop pressing and Hurley isn’t going to stop yelling at officials. More technicals are in the Huskies’ future; Hurley has to find a way to get the officials to lay off the whistle.
NEXT UP: The Huskies continue their road trip on Wednesday at Tulsa (11-6, 1-3), which lost at SMU on Saturday.
Samuelson Hits 2,000; Starters Benched
The Story: Senior guard Katie Lou Samuelson scored 19 points, including the 2,000th of her career on a fast-break layup with 2:13 left in the third quarter, as the No. 3-ranked women’s basketball team rolled to a 63-46 win over USF yesterday at Gampel Pavilion.
CLIMBING THE LADDER: Samuelson moved into the top 10 all time in scoring at UConn, passing Renee Montgomery and Bria Hartley with her barrage against the Bulls. It will be a few games before she moves past the next legend, Rebecca Lobo, who scored 2,133 points in Storrs from 1992 to 1995.
BENCH BOMBERS: Upset with the performance of his starters, Geno Auriemma subbed them out en masse not even four minutes into the game — a very Roy Williams move that drew a rousing ovation from the crowd. Everyone played at least seven minutes, with Molly Bent matching a career high with six points in 20 minutes, making both 3-pointers she attempted.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Sometimes it just doesn’t look right. I was saying earlier that it’s gotten to the point where in coaching, you just make suggestions. You can’t tell people what you want them to do. You just make a suggestion, and if they want to do it, they do it. If they don’t, they don’t. So I suggested that they sit down.”
SILENT NIGHT: Freshman Christyn Williams had the first scoreless game of her career, finishing without a point after taking two shots in 21 minutes, and Napheesa Collier scored 12 points, a season low. Meanwhile, Megan Walker, continuing her aggressive shooting streak, made six of her 15 shots for 14 points.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: USF (10-7, 1-2), which dressed only eight players because of injuries, led for much of the first half but trailed 26-20 at the break. The Huskies shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57), but just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from 3-point range, and turned 23 turnovers into 24 points.
UP NEXT: The Huskies (14-1, 3-0) hit the road for a game Wednesday night at Tulane (13-3, 3-0), who have one of the better young teams in the conference and could pose a threat to … well, the rest of the AAC in coming years.
Morning Read
AKOK READY FOR SPRING: Men’s basketball recruit Akok Akok will enroll at UConn this week with the second semester set to start next Tuesday but will not play this season. (Adam Zagoria on Twitter)
BOUKNIGHT READY FOR FALL: Akok’s future teammate, James Bouknight, has been focusing on making an impact as soon as he joins the team in the fall. “I’m ready to be coached by Coach Hurley,” he said. (The Day)
INSTANT IMPACT? Ridgefield’s Jackson Mitchell expects to make his presence felt as a linebacker as soon as he steps foot on campus this summer. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
WOODS COMMITS…: The football team landed a commitment over the weekend from Jeff Woods, an offensive and defensive lineman from Fayetteville, North Carolina, who decomitted from ECU in early December. Woods also had an offer from Tulane. (Hartford Courant)
…DEWEAVER VISITS: East Mississippi Community College quarterback Messiah deWeaver made an official visit to UConn this weekend. DeWeaver, who led EMCC to the NJCAA national championship, has offers from a number of MAC and Sun Belt programs. (JuCo Football Frenzy on Twitter)
KING IS CROWNED: Matt King, formerly of Washington, was hired by the football team on Saturday to serve as its strength and conditioning coach. (Hartford Courant)
HAUSER-RAMSEY TO COLORADO: The Colorado Rapids selected defender Jacob Hauser-Ramsey in the second round of the MLS Draft on Saturday. The event continues later today with Dylan Greenberg and Abdou Mbacke-Thiam also likely to be selected. (The UConn Blog)
WARRIORS ROMP: Five different players scored for Merrimack, which defeated the men’s hockey team 5-2 at home on Saturday. (UConnHuskies.com)
MAKE IT SIX: The women’s hockey team ran its win streak to six games on Saturday by completing a two-game sweep of New Hampshire with a 4-1 win. The Huskies (13-9-1, 8-4) last won six in a row in 2009-10. (The Daily Campus)
