Double OT Depression
The Story: Temple knocked off the men’s basketball team in double OT, 93-89, the third double-overtime loss for the Huskies this season. Monty Scott scored 25 points and Nate Pierre-Louis added 23 for Temple. Christian Vital led UConn with 21 points and Isaiah Whaley had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn is 1-4 in overtime games this year, 0-3 in double OT, and those four losses are by a combined 12 points (thanks for the stat, Frank M.!). UConn rallied to force OT, nearly won it in the first overtime and lost in the second. It was a terrific game and Dan Hurley has somehow got a team playing only eight scholarship players looking dangerous.
HOW CLOSE TO NCAA? At 15-12 and 5-8 in the AAC, the Huskies have 10 losses by less than 10 points this year and nine by seven points or less. There is also seven losses by four or less points, which, per stats guru Katie Sharp, puts UConn in Washington and UNC territory. These were all 50-50 games. Hurley is due a luck streak in 2021-22.
BOUKNIGHT BAD IN FIRST HALF: James Bouknight had two points in the first half and exploded for 14 in the second half and overtime for 16 points. It’s the 10th straight game for Bouknight in double figures and he has become a must-watch performer on the floor. Imagine if he starts putting an entire game together?
WHERE HAS WHALEY BEEN? We love Whaley. Why? Because he was a bit player for two years and isn’t going to ever be a star. Did he transfer despite not being a rotation player? No, he worked and waited for his time. Now UConn needs him and he is taking advantage with his first start and a monster 18 points and 14 rebounds and hit the OT-forcing shot in regulation. He is quick, and that causes problems for slower bigs. UConn loses a lot of rim protection — and we mean a lot — but we liked the smaller lineup with Whaley at the five. Our theory of hoops is to play as quick as you can and still rebound and defend. UConn’s doing it with Whaley at the five.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Huskies are running and crashing the floor more. UConn did have 18 turnovers, but had 20 fastbreak points and added 17 second-chance points. The Huskies are smaller with no Akok Akok and no Tyler Polley, but with Whaley at the five, the team appears to be more dangerous.
OUR TAKE: We love the fight of the team. That Hurley can get Whaley to play like that is a credit to him not burying players on the bench. UConn has looked and played much better in February than early January and while the record doesn’t show it, it is one of the tougher teams to play in the AAC. What’s missing? Talent. Things don’t come easy for the Huskies and they have to be on their game to win. Then, it is still in doubt. Hurley’s done about as good a job as he can and we like the direction. Do we like losing? No. But at a minimum, it is fun to watch and easy to root for the team. We are bullish on a March run, either in the AAC tournament or deep into the NIT.
Women (Already) Say Goodbye to Seniors
The Story: The women’s basketball team will say goodbye to five seniors — Crystal Dangerfield, Kyla Irwin, Molly Bent, Batouly Camara and Evelyn Adebayo — when it faces UCF at Gampel Pavilion tomorrow afternoon (1 p.m., SNY).
MISSING A RING: One of the knocks of last year’s graduating class is that it was not able to win a national championship after its first season, when Breanna Stewart paved the way. This year’s class could be the first since the group that graduated in 2008 — Charde Houston, Mel Thomas, Ketia Swanier and Brittany Hunter — to leave Storrs without a national title. That’s … incredible, isn’t it?
DANGERFIELD’S DISTINCTION: We give all the credit in the world to Dangerfield, who we admittedly didn’t think had the personality or ability to put the Huskies on her back this season after three in the shadow of Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson. Boy, were we wrong. The point guard enters the weekend averaging 15.1 points and 4.0 assists per game, and she’s shooting 46 percent overall and 41.9 percent from 3-point range. With 1,380 points, she just passed Sue Bird on Wednesday for 35th on UConn’s all-time scoring list (seriously, how is Bird only 35th?) and will likely pass Jamelle Elliott and Carla Berube tomorrow. And, with 574 assists, she’s sixth all-time at UConn and could pass Bird for fifth place at some point next week. (Catching Renee Montgomery, in fourth, will be close.)
SOLID CONTRIBUTORS: Of the four other seniors departing, Irwin garnered the most attention, with her high offensive IQ and her defensive presence earning her, for much of the season, a role in the starting lineup. Bent admirably stepped in when Dangerfield was injured earlier in the season, and Adebayo, a transfer from Murray State, never got going in her graduate season. We also need to tip our cap to Camara, who scored her first points of the season on Wednesday. She battled a number of knee issues during her time at UConn and it’s good to see her go out on the floor.
Morning Reads
WALKER A LOCKDOWN DEFENDER: Megan Walker is known for her scoring, but her defense has caught up. (Journal Inquirer)
WHO AT QUARTERBACK? We can’t wait for football season for some reason. And, that means we may see a new QB at the helm with Steve Krajewski battling Jack Zergiotis. Micah Leon isn’t practicing in 11-on-11 just yet. (Hartford Courant)
BASEBALL TRANSFER DENIED: Ben Caparius, a former CT Gatorade State Player of the Year, had his petition for immediate eligibility to play at UConn from North Carolina denied for some reason. He will appeal. (Dom Amore on Twitter)
MSWIM KEARSEY SETS A RECORD: Will Kearsey set a personal best and AAC record in the 50M. (UConnhuskies.com)
XL CENTER WILL NEVER BE ECONOMICALLY VIABLE: The XL Center is due for a $100 million facelift but a study of the arena anticipates it will still operate in the red, just less than before. (Hartford Courant)
HOW LONG WILL AKOK BE OUT? What is ahead for Akok Akok? Here’s a breakdown from some surgeons. (Hartford Courant)
