Huskies Fall Short vs. Spartans
The Story: The men’s basketball team couldn’t hold on to a five-point lead in the final 1:41 as Michigan State, with a hand from the referees, gave the Huskies 64-60 loss in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis yesterday afternoon. UConn will play in the third-place game against VCU today at 1:30 p.m.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn led 60-55 and didn’t score again. The Huskies once again failed to execute offensively down the stretch as Michigan State went on a 9-0 run to close the game.
• They settled for two long jump hooks from Adama Sanogo and received a crucial turnover from Tyrese Martin, and Jalen Gaffney tried a low-percentage 3 to tie the score. UConn’s inability to close the game late allowed poor officiating to affect the outcome.
NOW, THE REFS: Michigan State had an eight-point lead at the end of the first half but had attempted zero free throws. Tom Izzo walked made sure the referees knew his team hadn’t been to the foul line.
• What happened in the second half? The Spartans shot 19 free throws and two crucial plays in the final two minutes went against the Huskies, including a fifth foul called on R.J. Cole that resulted in Michigan State taking the 61-60 lead with 27 seconds left.
• Cole didn’t create the contact on the drive, had all ball on the strip attempt and didn’t commit a foul. The worst part was that an official shielded from the play 30 feet away called the foul, not the one on the baseline.
WHAT DID DAN HURLEY SAY? “I watched it. It’s a jump ball. But, listen, we lost because we made a lot of mistakes and Michigan State did not.”
SANOGO GOOD, NOT GREAT: Sanogo had 18 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, but he can be better. Are we a tough crowd? Yes, but he’s one of the best big men in the country and a low-post savant. Sanogo can score, but he needs to know to pass when his shot isn’t there and to make decisions quicker. The next step for the sophomore power forward is freeing up shots for others, especially when he doesn’t have a great shot.
WHERE’S THE BENCH? Isaiah Whaley did not play after he fainted at the end of the double-overtime win over Auburn on Wednesday. The Huskies received scant production from the replacements.
• Akok Akok started for Whaley and did not have an impact in 18 minutes as he only took one shot and had four rebounds.
• Gaffney, Tyler Polley and freshman Jordan Hawkins combined for only seven points on 2-of-14 shooting. Polley was 0-for-5 with zero points after he exploded for 23 points against Auburn.
• UConn was a paltry 2-for-16 from 3-point range.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Huskies’ offense and passing came to a crawl against the Spartans. The Huskies had only six assists on 23 made field goals. UConn couldn’t get out on the break much as it had only 15 fastbreak points and shot only 35.6 percent, including 8-of-31 (25 percent) in the first half.
UP NEXT: The Huskies will play VCU, which took No. 6 Baylor to the limit yesterday evening. VCU is 3-3 and has wins over Syracuse and losses to Chattanooga and Wagner. (How far has Syracuse fallen?) VCU is an excellent defensive team but it struggles offensively and is led by Vince Williams, who is averaging 10.6 points per game.
SPONSORED
Black Friday/Cyber Monday at Homefield!
The Story: Homefield will be running its Black Friday deal starting today and running through Monday!
ORDER EARLY: All items will be 20 percent off for the duration of the sale and they’re subject to sell out, so order as early as possible to allow the warehouse and shipping carriers to get merchandise to your homes for the holidays.
• Some of Homefield’s long-awaited items will be back in stock, including tri-blend gray crewnecks and oatmeal hoodies.
• If you’re a fan of more than just UConn, Homefield has apparel from more than 125 other universities. You’ll easily find the perfect gift for any sports fan, but if you still can’t choose, consider purchasing a Homefield gift card.
WHAT IS HOMEFIELD? An Indianapolis-based company, Homefield has incredibly comfortable, high-quality, university-licensed apparel that includes vintage college designs.
• Do you remember the 1980s-era curvy UConn logo? How about the realistic dog head from the 1990s? Who can forget Sad Jonathan? You won’t believe some of the UConn designs they have unearthed!
• We’ve gotten quite a few compliments when we wear our UConn sweatshirt around town, so not only do we feel good, we look good, too!
Another Football Season Draws to a Close
The Story: The football team will mercifully play its final game of the season tomorrow, meaning the Randy Edsall/Lou Spanos era will finally end with a home game against No. 24 Houston (noon, CBS Sports).
MORA TAKES OVER: Unofficial state ambassador Jim Mora will take over as UConn’s head coach on Monday. We’ve already gone through the countless ways in which he’ll have to improve the program, but his first task will be to win over and keep as many players as he can.
• The Huskies already had their first high-profile departure Wednesday morning when their best cornerback, Jeremy Lucien, decided to transfer. Lucien, a junior, started all nine games in which he played this season and had two interceptions.
• Between the ease of the transfer portal, the ability to play immediately upon transferring and the extra year of eligibility granted by the pandemic, Mora faces a challenge in keeping his top players. He has to convince them they can continue to excel at UConn and that the team will improve significantly — and do so quickly.
• Luckily for Mora, the transfer portal goes both ways. He may lose some impact contributors (every team does), but he will also have the chance to woo players at some top schools who are unhappy with their roles.
HOUSTON A PROBLEM: The Cougars (10-1) have come a long way in the two years since coach Dana Holgorsen decided he “couldn’t [expletive] coach this [expletive].”
• The Cougars are on a 10-game win streak after they lost their opener to Texas Tech. They’re fifth in the country with 294.6 yards per game allowed and they rank 12th in the nation with 38.2 points scored a game. They’ll play Cincinnati in the AAC championship game.
• Junior quarterback Clayton Tune has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 246.5 yards a game and 22 touchdowns. True freshman running back Alton McCaskill is averaging 71.8 yards a game and has run for 15 touchdowns, and sophomore wide receiver Nathaniel Dell is far and away Tune’s top target with 65 catches for 965 yards (87.7 a game) and nine touchdowns.
TOUGH CHALLENGE: Look, we can’t overlook that UConn was going to be up against it this season. We were so aptly reminded of that when it lost 38-28 to Holy Cross on Sept. 4. But as it turned out, the Huskies played a rather tough schedule.
• Six of their 10 FBS opponents won at least seven games and only UMass (1-10) and Vanderbilt (2-9), each of which beat UConn, won’t have a chance this weekend to finish the season with a winning record.
• UConn’s overall strength of schedule entering this week’s games was 61-48 (.560), or 58-29 (.667) when taking away the two doormats. Nobody reliably tracks strength of schedule in the FBS, and we, uh, had more important things to do yesterday than pore over a spreadsheet, but that has to be up there in difficulty.
• Next year’s schedule doesn’t look any easier, either. UConn’s 11 FBS opponents averaged six wins and that includes UMass and FIU, who each entered this week with just one win this season each. Uh oh.
Morning Reads
• We at the Daily are big volleyball fans, so we’ll be glued to our live stats this afternoon as Big East setter of the year McKayla Wuensch leads the Huskies against No. 2 seed Marquette in the first round of the four-team Big East tournament. The Huskies, who have never reached the Big East final, would face top-seeded Creighton or No. 4 seed DePaul in the championship on Saturday if they win. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The Nutmeg Classic will take place at the Freitas Ice Forum this weekend, with the women’s hockey team opening this afternoon against Sacred Heart and then playing Quinnipiac or No. 6-ranked Yale tomorrow. (UConnHuskies.com)
