Bouknight A Game-Time Decision!
The Story: The men’s basketball team has lost three of four games and is only 5-4 in the Big East but could be getting some major help this afternoon against Providence as James Bouknight will be a game-time decision. It’s a bizarre 4 p.m. start for the Huskies on FS1.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Bouknight pushed to play in Saturday’s loss to Seton Hall and the doctors said no. Unless there is a setback, we think it is going to be difficult for Dan Hurley to keep the star sophomore off the floor. The Huskies could sorely use Bouknight and his scoring ability. They have had significant offensive lulls in the past month that he has been out and they have led to deficits that couldn’t be overcome. The combined margin of defeat in UConn’s last three losses is 19 points. Bouknight averaged 20.6 points per game before he went down with an elbow injury on Jan. 5 against Marquette.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “At this point, it’s [Bouknight’s] ability to get to a point where he’s feeling good enough to play.”
HOW GOOD IS BOUKNIGHT? We want Bouknight to play, so we are moving forward like he is going to come back. It’s been so long since we saw him play that he is starting to fade from memory. Well, just to jog your memory, he entered the game against Marquette averaging 23.6 points per game, and only two games earlier, he scored 40 in a loss to Creighton. He was, after Iowa’s Luka Garza, probably the second-best player in the country in the early portion of the season. Bouknight injured the elbow in the first half and had his worst game of the year, finishing with only six points on 3-of-12 shooting. We haven’t seen him since. Bouknight’s beginning of the season was no fluke, either. He ended last year on a tear, reaching double figures in scoring in 12 of his final 13 games. When you look at UConn, and its struggles to score points (it’s last in the Big East in scoring), Bouknight reaching double digits elevates the Huskies to another level.
TEAM IS READY-MADE FOR BOUKNIGHT: We would have preferred Bouknight played all season, of course, and led the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament on his way to All-American honors. But his absence has allowed other players an opportunity, and some of them have really stepped into bigger roles. Chief among them is Adama Sanogo, who is averaging 11.7 points over his last four games. Sanogo is a bona fide inside post-up player who has shown an ability to hit the 15-foot jumper facing up. Add his rebounding prowess and his meteoric rise offensively and we think a breakout scoring game is coming — if the refs let him stay in the game. After Sanogo, we are impressed by the play of Tyrese Martin. Martin is more of a garbage man and gets his points in transition, but has scored in double digits in his last six games since going scoreless against Marquette. Bouknight will demand attention on defense, and that is where the Huskies will get open looks for R.J. Cole and sneaky rolls to the basket by Isaiah Whaley. Getting a healthy Bouknight on the floor changes everything.
THE PC RIVALRY: If you are an avid reader of this newsletter, you understand we regularly take shots at old Big East rivals Boston College, Syracuse and, in any chance we can get, Rutgers. In fact, here’s the highlight of Syracuse’s season so far. But there is one school in New England we don’t even acknowledge, though, and that is Providence. UConn holds a 44-28 all-time lead over the Friars and we swear all 28 of those losses hurt. UConn, even in great seasons, has often had issues with Providence. In 2004, when the Huskies essentially coasted to the national title with Emeka Okafor, the Friars knocked off the Huskies at the XL Center. We’ve had the Ryan Gomes fiasco (we miss you, Dave Solomon), and with Ed Cooley in charge, there’s been a lot of headbutting on the recruiting trail.
We don’t know how the Friars are immune to UConn’s greatness, but the last two games against PC were overtime victories in 2013. There was an exhibition game between the schools a couple of years ago that didn’t count. We’ll take that trend and reluctantly look forward to playing PC for years to come. Thankfully, this game is on campus and not at the tin can that is Dunkin’ Donuts Arena.
ABOUT PC: Cooley has done a good job with five NCAA Tournament appearances in eight years. The Friars, along with Seton Hall, probably saw the most success from the split of the Big East eight years ago. The school has rebuilt its basketball program and is regularly in the mix for the NCAA Tournament. The Friars have somewhat underperformed relative to expectations this year. They were picked to finish third in the Big East before the season and are 9-10 overall and 5-8 in the conference. David Duke, a 6-foot-5 guard who is averaging 17.5 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range, is their top player. The Friars do play with size with 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior Nate Watson, who is averaging 17.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season. The Duke/Watson inside-out tandem is going to be difficult for the Huskies to handle.
Seton Hall The Encore?
The Story: If there is ever such a thing as a downer in sports, it would happen tonight when the women’s basketball team takes on Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. on SNY.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Can Paige Bueckers do anything that was as riveting as scoring 31 points against the No.1 team in the country on Monday? The caliber of play and the production of Bueckers is something to behold with three straight 30-point games. Her play has the women’s basketball world, and beyond, abuzz. Before it settles, we get to see another performance. UConn probably doesn’t need 30 points from her to win, so we doubt she gets there. How about a letdown after beating No. 1? It’s possible, but when has Geno Auriemma ever allowed a letdown? The biggest letdown will be on our couches as very little that fires us up about a rematch with a team the Huskies beat by 27 points earlier in the season. UConn is playing nearly every other day to get in games because of COVID-19 stoppages. Fatigue could be a concern for Geno and his notorious tight leash.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “I don’t know how much we can actually [practice] given how many minutes each of them played [Monday]. Some of the guys who didn’t play as much will get a workout in, and the other guys will watch some film and try to get ready.”
WHAT IS AT STAKE? UConn will end up being the No. 1 team in the country next week, assuming it wins the next two game, and while we don’t think the Huskies are the best team in the country, we think they have the best player in the freshman Bueckers — and that counts for something. We feel the Huskies will stay atop the polls for a very very long time.
FATIGUE AN ISSUE? UConn played seven players against South Carolina and no one who played logged less than 22 minutes. Aaliyah Edwards and Aubrey Griffin, who is recovering from a bruised knee, were the only ones to play off the bench. Players such as Mir McLean and Nika Muhl will some extended and early action against Seton Hall. Bueckers played 45 minutes against South Carolina. We don’t think we will see that again. If we do, that’s a big story.
ABOUT SETON HALL: The Pirates are 8-3 on the season and led by former UConn guard Andra Espinoza-Hunter. Espinoza-Hunter transferred from UConn to Mississippi State before returning close to home to play for Seton Hall this season. She’s averaging 21.1 points per game since becoming eligible to play in December.
#Icebus stalls in OT
THE STORY: The No. 20-ranked men’s hockey team lost to UMass-Lowell 3-2 in overtime yesterday but did secure a point on the night.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies trailed 2-1 entering the third period before Ryan Tverberg tied it at the 10:42 mark of the third period. In overtime, Andre Lee had his shot deflect off a UConn stick to beat goalie Tomas Vomacka. UConn is 8-7-2 in Hockey East and third in the conference, tied with Providence.
PROVIDENCE THIS WEEKEND: Hockey East is the premier conference in the country and the Huskies get no reprieve this weekend. UConn and PC have 30 points in the standings and the Huskies are set up with a home-and-home against the No. 16 Friars.
Morning Reads
MONTY CALLS IT A CAREER: Former UConn star Renee Montgomery announced her retirement from pro basketball yesterday to pursue a career in social justice. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
RECORD RATINGS: The women are a draw as FS1 had its highest audience ever for a women’s basketball game on Monday. (John Ourand on Twitter)
GOLFERS WIN MATCH PLAY: While it snows here, the men’s golf team gets to play golf — and it did so pretty well yesterday with a win in a match-play event. (UConnHuskies.com)
