Losing Close Games Is Wearing Thin
The Story: Another close game and another loss for the men’s basketball team. UConn dropped its fourth straight game with a 79-75 loss in overtime to first-place Tulsa at the XL Center yesterday afternoon. Martins Igbanu scored 28 points to lead Tulsa, which is now 6-1 in the AAC.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn losing games late, this one in overtime, has us wondering if this is some kind of WWE skit. The Huskies are on a four-game losing streak and have lost two in OT and two in the last minutes. They have lost those four games, to Wichita State, Villanova, Houston and now Tulsa, by a combined 17 points. The Huskies also lost a double-overtime game to Xavier and had a three-point loss to Indiana early in the season. That means six of their nine losses this season were one-possession games in the final two minutes. There are a lot of reasons why the Huskies are losing, and a lot of that is because they are short on talent, but losing so many close games really is grating. UConn is 10-9 and it clouds us when we make judgments on the actual play of the team.
VETERANS DON’T DELIVER: Part of the reason UConn falters in close games is the lack of veteran stewardship. We don’t question the effort of veterans Alterique Gilbert, Christian Vital and Josh Carlton, but we do criticize their production. Carlton had his second straight zero-point game and Gilbert struggled with a five-point affair on 2-of-8 shooting. Vital was 3 of 14, though he did force overtime with three clutch free throws in the final seconds of regulation.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “Great effort, toughness, grit can’t make up for not having the ability just to have a guy or two that down the stretch of a game can just take hold of it.”
GO YOUNG, HURLEY! Can we coach? How did the Huskies get back in the game and keeps things close? James Bouknight scored 16 points while Akok Akok was a defensive monster with 13 points, seven blocks and seven rebounds. Jalen Gaffney took a lot of minutes at point guard and had eight points and five assists in 29 minutes. The young players provided energy and athleticism that the older vets didn’t provide and we advocate strongly to see them on the floor more.
AKOK AT THE FIVE: Steve Lappas, the CBS Sports Network color guy and former Villanova coach, harped on Akok’s position on the floor, saying he belonged at center defensively. We hate to agree with anyone who coached at Villanova, but he’s right. Akok is most effective defensively playing the five instead of guarding perimeter players as a power forward. UConn is quicker, better on offense and better defensively with Akok playing the pivot. That leaves Carlton as the odd man out.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn’s 3-point shooting remains an issue. Against the Golden Hurricane’s 2-3 zone, UConn shot 9 of 33 from 3, good for 27.8 percent. That inability to score from the perimeter efficiently is making life difficult on offense, but there doesn’t appear to be a solution unless Vital returns to form and get hot.
BOTTOM LINE: We have a hard time figuring out where the program is going. We love the young players that Hurley brought in and are perplexed by the regression in play of Vital (shooting), Gilbert (decision-making) and Carlton (production). The time has come to cut bait on some of the upperclassmen and let the young guys get their minutes. That has already happened with Carlton and we saw it with Gilbert on Sunday. Vital is shooting nearly 90 percent from the free throw line, and that’s usually an excellent indicator of perimeter shooting ability. We would expect Vital to shoot as he did a year ago at above 40 percent, but he, like a lot of the veterans, is out of time.
Team USA On Tap!
The Story: The women’s basketball team hosts Team USA tonight in an exhibition game and it should be an excellent chance to see some former Huskies players hit the floor (7 p.m., ESPN2).
WELCOME BACK STEWIE: Breanna Stewart hasn’t played in a year since tearing an Achillies tendon and is slated to play tonight against UConn. It’s been a long road back for Stewart, who was one of the best players in the world when she went down in a game for her Russian professional team.
WHO WILL PLAY? There’s a who’s who of former UConn players on Team USA. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles and Katie Lou Samuelson will also suit up alongside Stewart tonight.
NICE DIVERSION FOR HUSKIES: UConn annihilated East Carolina on Saturday behind 26 points from Christyn Williams and 24 points from Anna Makurat, who went 8-for-10, all on 3s. While the Huskies aren’t expected to challenge Team USA, playing against the great talent should help the Huskies improve as they enter the season’s stretch.
Future FB Games With Michigan, Syracuse!
The Story: There’s lots of news coming out of the football program this weekend. There is a future buy game at Michigan and a home-and-home with Syracuse on the horizon. The Huskies also get a handful of football commitments and finally, Matt Peart played very well in the Senior Bowl.
MICHIGAN, SYRACUSE AND MORE: It isn’t official yet, but Barstool Sports’ Jack McGuire threw out a couple of tidbits about the future schedule. The Huskies are having a buy game at Michigan in the future (Thanks, Warde!) and then a home-and-home with Syracuse.
RECRUITING SCORES: UConn had a productive weekend with a trio of recruits committing. There is OL Remon Young, a 6-foot-2, 255-pounder from Moultrie, Georgia; RB/CB Devonta Houston, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound athlete from Alabama, and Juco defensive back Tre Wortham, a 6-foot-1, 185 pounder from San Jacinto JC. We are assuming Wortham can compete for time right away as a JC transfer.
PEART SHOWCASES AT SENIOR BOWL: Peart, UConn’s top offensive linemen this past year, didn’t disappoint with the NFL scouts during Senior Bowl week. Peart is considered one of the top-five offensive tackles in the draft and figures to be a top-100 selection. One team that could be looking at Peart? Bill Belichick and the Patriots appear to be doing heavy due diligence.
Morning Reads
UCONN FALTERS AT CT ICE FESTIVAL: UConn dropped both games in the inaugural Connecticut Ice Festival, losing 3-2 to Quinnipiac at Saturday and 3-2 to Yale yesterday. (SNY)
DEATH OF BRYANTS HITS HOME: The death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi hit home for the UConn women’s basketball team as they were huge fans. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
