Villanova Is The Game We Want
The Story: The men’s basketball team will play at No. 10 Villanova tomorrow afternoon as the rivalry, which has been heated over the years, looks like it is about to ramp up one more time (1 p.m., Fox).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Villanova is the torchbearer in the Big East. We know it is hard to hear because while Villanova and UConn always had some great games, the Huskies would never cede anything to Villanova. A lot has changed in the Big East since UConn left and the Wildcats went from a very good team that challenged for the Final Four in good years to a two-time national champion over the last four years. It is a UConn-esque run of late and the Wildcats, at 13-3, are a top-10 team with the goods to win the national title even though Saddiq Bey left early for the NBA (to torture the Boston Celtics, apparently).
HUSKIES HAVE HIT THE DEDUCTIBLE: No more doctor visits please. This is the team we expected. The Huskies have come a long way in a week. It looks like they’re finally rounding into form and things are clicking. Having James Bouknight, who we think is as good as any player we have seen in the country, made things so much easier for Tyrese Martin and R.J. Cole on the perimeter on Tuesday against Providence. Add in the energy that Andre Jackson and Akok Akok bring and it looks like the Huskies made trades at the deadline. They have elite scoring and a ton more athleticism than they did a month ago. We expect Bouknight to start in place of Jackson, but we want to see the freshman out there for food minutes. He makes things happen with this athleticism and energy.
GAME OF CHAMPIONS: Villanova holds a 36-30 record all time in the series and the two programs have combined for seven national championships and a ton of NBA players.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: UConn is on the NCAA Tournament bubble. At 10-5, there are five games left and this is easily a chance to get a vaunted Quad 1 win. The season was derailed by Bouknight’s injury, and if the Huskies can knock off Villanova, that win is going to carry a lot of weight in the NCAA deliberation room. With five games left and the Big East tournament, the Huskies probably need four wins. A win tomorrow counts double in our book, and it probably does for the committee as well.
VILLANOVA HASN’T CHANGED, JUST GOTTEN BETTER: Villanova likes to spread the floor and shoot 3s, and few do it better. The Wildcats have five players averaging double figures and they all shoot 3-pointers. Forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl averages 15.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Watch out for sharpshooter Colin Gillespie (14.1 points per game, 37 percent from 3), Jermaine Samuels (11.4 points per game, 46.2 percent from 3) and Caleb Daniels (10.6 points per game, 43.1 percent from 3). The Wildcats can shoot as well as any team in the country and are lethal from the foul line.
FOX PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS: OK. You want to get fired up? We have Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery on play-by-play. This could be special. Too bad there is no live audience.
Huskies’ Road Show Heads To Xavier
The Story: After annihilating St. John’s on Wednesday, the No. 1-ranked women’s basketball team will head to Cincinnati for a game tomorrow against Xavier (3 p.m., SNY).
ANOTHER BLOODBATH: The Huskies won 106-59 when the teams played on Dec. 19, and the Musketeers, who have been beset by COVID-19 delays this season, have only played twice since Jan. 3. One of those games was Wednesday, when they lost 83-75 to DePaul in their first game in three and a half weeks. We’re not expecting anything else but a whoopin’ tomorrow afternoon.
BIG EAST = AAC? Now, we’re not willing to go that far, but a case can be made that maybe the quality of play in the Big East isn’t quite what we expected. We originally thought the Huskies would have a few solid matchups against DePaul and maybe Marquette when they returned to the Big East, but we knew nothing would compare to the early 2010s, when Rutgers, Louisville, Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame all provided a challenge. Instead, the Huskies are 14-0 in the Big East this season, and after they went 118-0 in seven years in the AAC, they haven’t lost a regular-season conference game since March 4, 2013. Is there a chance the Big East could end up getting only two bids to the NCAA Tournament? It certainly won’t be more than four.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: We’re kind of tired of trotting out the same old storylines, but they’re valid. How well will Christyn Williams play? She has rebounded from her struggles, it seems, by scoring 21 points at St. John’s after finishing with 19 points at Georgetown a week ago. Will Paige Bueckers continue to put up points? She hit 20 points for the sixth time in seven games on Wednesday. Will the freshmen get more run? It was nice to see the bench players take control during the fourth quarter against St. John’s. Namely, it’s up to the Huskies to use these last four regular-season games to build momentum for the postseason.
Huskies’ Road Show Heads To Xavier
The Story: After annihilating St. John’s on Wednesday, the No. 1-ranked women’s basketball team will head to Cincinnati for a game tomorrow against Xavier (3 p.m., SNY).
ANOTHER BLOODBATH: The Huskies won 106-59 when the teams played on Dec. 19, and the Musketeers, who have been beset by COVID-19 delays this season, have only played twice since Jan. 3. One of those games was Wednesday, when they lost 83-75 to DePaul in their first game in three and a half weeks. We’re not expecting anything else but a whoopin’ tomorrow afternoon.
BIG EAST = AAC? Now, we’re not willing to go that far, but a case can be made that maybe the quality of play in the Big East isn’t quite what we expected. We originally thought the Huskies would have a few solid matchups against DePaul and maybe Marquette when they returned to the Big East, but we knew nothing would compare to the early 2010s, when Rutgers, Louisville, Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame all provided a challenge. Instead, the Huskies are 14-0 in the Big East this season, and after they went 118-0 in seven years in the AAC, they haven’t lost a regular-season conference game since March 4, 2013. Is there a chance the Big East could end up getting only two bids to the NCAA Tournament? It certainly won’t be more than four.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: We’re kind of tired of trotting out the same old storylines, but they’re valid. How well will Christyn Williams play? She has rebounded from her struggles, it seems, by scoring 21 points at St. John’s after finishing with 19 points at Georgetown a week ago. Will Paige Bueckers continue to put up points? She hit 20 points for the sixth time in seven games on Wednesday. Will the freshmen get more run? It was nice to see the bench players take control during the fourth quarter against St. John’s. Namely, it’s up to the Huskies to use these last four regular-season games to build momentum for the postseason.
Can Huskies Make A Run To CWS?
The Story: The baseball team opens the season today at No. 5 Virginia, and no one else but Jim Penders has set the stakes high.
A BASEBALL SCHOOL: Is there any coach who has done more with such a geographic disadvantage than Penders? For the last decade, the Huskies have consistently played well and finally have a new stadium to replace the glorified high school field they played at. Somehow, Penders has been able to recruit ultra-talented players with pro designs and this may be his best season yet. The Huskies have so much talent, Penders has even been talking up a College World Series run.
LOADED TALENT: The Huskies had four players on the preseason all-Big East team in sophomore outfielder Kyler Fedko, redshirt freshman designated hitter Reggie Crawford, junior second baseman Christian Fedko and redshirt sophomore reliever Caleb Wurster. The Huskies will also start hard-throwing transfer Ben Casparius today and have Pat Winkel, one of the top catchers in the nation, back after missing last season following elbow surgery.
WHAT DID PENDERS SAY? “Ultimately, we want to win a national championship. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. If we had six freshmen starting this weekend, I would not want to be scheduling the University of Virginia in the first weekend. … This year, we have a relatively veteran group that I think can handle it. They expect to win, no matter who we’re playing.”
FIRST OF 17 ROAD GAMES: This is our favorite part about the baseball team: The Huskies will play 17 games away from Elliot Ballpark in warm-weather places (except for, you know, the massive snowstorm hitting Virginia). We would feel bad for the Huskies, but Penders has turned these southern trips into proving grounds. It’s a three-game set for the Huskies, and they will return home before heading to Mississippi next week.
HOW ABOUT POLONIA? Senior right-hander Randy Polonia nearly lost his life in a car accident in June, as Jeff Jacobs so poignantly recalled. Imagine what it will be like the next time he enters a game? Regardless of what happens, we’re pulling for him.
Morning Reads
I WISH I COULD QUIT YOU: The football team may win the AAC after all! UConn has scheduled its final game next season against Houston, which will visit PAWSARF on Nov. 27. (UHCougars.com)
SUCKS TO BU: The men’s hockey team looks to end its two-game skid when it takes on No. 11 BU for the first time this year in a home-and-home series beginning today in Boston. (UConnHuskies.com)
CAVANAUGH SPEAKS: Men’s hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh joined Jared Kotler to talk about the state of the team. (SoundCloud)
TAKE TWO: The softball team will try to open its season again this weekend after last week’s tournament was canceled with five games scheduled to be played in Fort Myers, Fla. (UConnHuskies.com)
MOVING ON: Former Huskies star Renee Montgomery has retired from playing and is continuing her basketball career as a broadcaster with the Atlanta Hawks. (The Athletic)
