UCF Next On Revenge Tour
The Story: UConn men can own the state of Florida with a win over UCF at the XL Center tonight. UConn has beaten Florida and USF already this year.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies are playing for positioning in the American and are currently the No. 7 seed, tied with Temple. It would behoove the Huskies to stay out of the 8-9 seed, as that would possibly make a game in the AAC quarterfinals in Fort Worth, Texas against first-place Houston.
CAN UCONN GUARD? Dan Hurley has shifted from a super big lineup to begin the year with Tyler Polley, Akok Akok and Josh Carlton to playing four guards and a mobile/small big man in Isaiah Whaley. UConn, with its big lineup, is one of the best shot-blocking teams in the nation and masked a major deficiency — on ball defense. Hurley laments UConn’s struggles to keep dribblers in front and as the Huskies go small can they keep a team such as UCF out of the paint?
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “We’ve been brutal guarding the ball, individually. We’re getting driven way too much. Our one-on-one individual defense has got to get a lot better, because we just don’t have that second guy who can erase mistakes, along with Isaiah (Whaley).”
ABOUT UCF: UCF plays small, starting four guards and a forward in Colin Smith, the only starter scoring in double figures for the Knights at 12.5 PPG. The Knights are 14-12 and 5-9 in the American.
WHAT THE HELL IS THE AAC THINKING? We don’t get the American Athletic Conference. The UConn men play at 7 p.m. against UCF (ESPNU) and the women’s basketball team also plays at 7 p.m. at Cincinnati. Way to split the fanbase and decrease televisions ratings. Things like this can’t happen when UConn goes to the Big East.
Morning Reads
WOMEN AT CINCINNATI: The UConn women are playing at Cinncinnati tonight as they look to keep the undefeated AAC streak going. (Hartford Courant)
GRIFFIN ON DEFENSIVE: Aubrey Griffin has become a defensive stopper for the UConn women. (The Day)
OF VITAL VALUE: Christian Vital is an important player on this UConn team and that will be his legacy when he leaves. (Hartford Courant)
NIT IN THE FUTURE: Is UConn destined for the NIT? It depends on what happens over the next several games. We think “Yes”. (Hartford Courant)
JEREMY LAMB OUT WITH ACL TEAR: Jeremy Lamb is an important part of the Indiana Pacers, but he’s out for the season and maybe longer after tearing an ACL. (ESPN)
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS SPRING: Who’s at QB for the UConn Huskies. Right now it looks like Steve Krajewski. (Hartford Courant)
HOW CAN WOMEN’S OFFENSE IMPROVE? The UConn women have a lot of ways to get better come tournament time. (The UConn Blog)
A LOOK INSIDE UCF, UCONN: Central Florida is 15-5 when holding opponents under 75 points. (ABC7)
