Cole’s Second Half Sparks Must Win
The Story: The men’s basketball team put an awful first half behind it thanks to R.J. Cole, who sparked the Huskies with 14 points in the second half as the Huskies rallied for a 70-57 win at Georgetown last night.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Cole, the Howard transfer, scored 17 points, with 14 in the second half, as his shotmaking and playmaking ignited the Huskies in his return to D.C. He shot 7-for-9 in the second half and, combined with James Bouknight’s team-high 20 points — 14 which came in the second half — the Huskies were able to bounce back from a first half that made us want to pull our hair out. UConn’s backcourt combined for 37 of its 70 points. Bouknight had a quiet double-double with 10 rebounds (he grabbed the 10th on Georgetown’s last miss) and showed energy in his pursuit of the ball. Bouknight plays with reckless abandon, which is his greatest strength, yet it scares us to death. He didn’t look comfortable and in sync for much of last night, but he remains productive and helps open things up for Cole and others.
COLE COMING ON: We like Cole playing off the ball, mostly because we want him to score, but he played his most complete game at point guard for the Huskies. In addition to his 17 points, Cole had seven assists, six steals and five rebounds. Dan Hurley benched Cole after 11 games, sending him a message that he has to be more productive and more impactful. This was the game Hurley was looking for.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I sat his butt. … It was more leadership and directing team and being a point guard and the leader the team needs. He received the message and been great since.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn didn’t shoot well from 3-point range, going 2-for-11, and instead attacked the Hoyas inside. The Huskies scored 50 points inside the paint and had 18 offensive rebounds. They also held a 46-30 advantage on the boards and blocked five shots and altered many more. UConn held Georgetown to 36 percent shooting and only 4 of 19 from 3-point range.
WHAT WAS THAT FIRST HALF? After two millennia, we now know why Oedipus Rex gouged out his eyes. He saw a premonition of the UConn-Georgetown first half. Yes. It was so bad we immediately thought of a Greek tragedy and found the connection amusing. UConn got out to a 10-0 lead in the first four minutes as Georgetown looked unprepared and sloppy. The last 15 minutes of the half? We don’t know what that was. UConn shot 35 percent for the half and made 11 turnovers. Georgetown? It shot 25 percent and led 26-25. Thankfully for our eyes, there was the second half.
HURLEY GOES DEEP: Cole and Bouknight played more than 30 minutes, but Hurley isn’t afraid to go deep into his bench. The Huskies played 10 players, with nine playing double-digit minutes. We saw Josh Carlton get some extended action after a DNP-CD last game and we continue to fawn over freshman Andre Jackson‘s passing ability and combination of size and athleticism. Jackson is like a doe learning to walk for the first time offensively, but whenever he is on the court, we’re always watching him. He is explosive and has a good feel for the game.
BOTTOM LINE: UConn likely needs to run the table to end the regular season if it doesn’t want to sweat out Selection Sunday. The Huskies are 11-6 and most prognosticators have them squarely on the bubble. If UConn can win its final three games, a 14-6 team heading into the Big East tournament with Bouknight healthy is a strong resume for the committee. The Huskies are in a position where they can control their own fate, and that is an enviable position to be in. Due to COVID-19, however, the margin of error is slim, and UConn can’t afford a slip late in the season and in the Big East tournament.
NEXT UP: UConn will host Marquette on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.
Geno Shops at McDonald’s
The Story: The No. 1 women’s basketball team doesn’t have to fret about its lack of depth. It is getting three McDonald’s All-Americans in the fold next year in Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme and Amari DeBerry.The game will not be played this year.
RICH GET RICHER: We haven’t seen this kind of collection of talent since LeBron James took his talents to South Beach. The Huskies have the best freshman we have seen since Diana Taurasi in Paige Bueckers and are the younges team Geno Auriemma has had in about 20 years. The freshmen are already title contenders and they are adding three All-Americans, including perhaps the best shooting prospect and the No. 1 player in Fudd? Yeah. The rest of the women’s college basketball world better find some way to slow Bueckers down next month because we don’t think it is going to be possible in the next three years.
FUDD A RAY ALLEN-LEVEL SHOOTER: We would say Fudd, a 5-foot-11 guard out of Washington, D.C., could be the next Ray Allen, but we like to think Fudd’s nearly flawless shooting motion is so beautiful that the only people who are equal to it are in the Curry family (old man Dell, Stephen and Seth). If you want to see a 30-minute shooting clinic by Fudd, check out her quarantine workout and listen to the cords of the net rip. Think about Bueckers going to the basket and kicking out to Fudd for the next three years.
THE REST AREN’T TOO SHABBY, EITHER: Ducharme is a 5-foot-10 guard out of Milton, Massachusetts, and has a scorer’s mentality out of a lead guard spot. Not to be outdone, Geno is also bringing in defensive toughness and size in DeBerry, a forward out of Williamsville, New York, who is ranked No. 15.
BOTTOM LINE: Bueckers is the best guard we have seen in a long time. What’s scary is she is going to have options on the wing to pass it to who are elite scorers, and that’s going to make her that much more dangerous. Get the Huskies this year because we smell another long dominant run coming.
Morning Reads
BRIMAH JOINS SCOREBOARD POD: Former UConn center Amida Brimah talks about his play in the G League bubble. (CT Scoreboard Podcast)
DOUBLE-DIP WITH MAINE: The men’s hockey team will host Maine on Friday and Saturday, Hockey East announced. Both games will be played at Freitas. (UConnHuskies.com)
