The Preseason is Over for Hurley
The Story: The men’s basketball team wrapped up the nonconference portion of its schedule on Saturday with a 74-64 win over St. Bonaventure. R.J. Cole led the Huskies with 15 points. Next up? Big East play begins this weekend with Providence at the XL Center.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn is 9-2 and could easily/should be 10-1 or even 11-0 (we are giving the Huskies a win over Baylor because we can). UConn has shown, clearly, it is a top-25 team, and if it’s healthy and develops a little more, it could be in line for a top-16 ranking. On Saturday, without Adama Sanogo and Tyrese Martin and coming off a tough loss at West Virginia, the Huskies found offense, defense and maybe a path forward. UConn’s not the favorite in the Big East (that would be Villanova), but the Huskies are going to be a very popular alternative.
IS THE DEPTH GONNA SHOW? One game after we criticized UConn for not having depth, it got some big performances from the supporting cast against the Bonnies. They were without leading scorer Kyle Lofton, but UConn was without two of its top three players, so the scales were even. UConn doesn’t get the W without the play of some of the beleaguered role players.
• Akok Akok had one of the most impactful games of his career with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks, and he made a pair of 3-point shots from the corner. Akok altered many more as we saw the shooting, physical play and athleticism that had him considering going to the NBA out of prep school. He still has a long way to go to live up to that type of promise, but he’s 6-foot-9 with length and muscle, and if he can continue playing that well, he’ll be one of the better bigs playing off the bench in the country. Offensively? He’s gaining confidence in his shot and is 8-of-13 from 3-point range (61.5 percent) on the season. Right now, he either dunks or takes a 3-pointer, but that’s OK since he only shoots wide-open 3s.
• Tyler Polley added 13 points, including a killer 25-foot 3-pointer, and his shot looked good. Polley is good when he is in rhythm and his feet are set, and he isn’t afraid to take big shots.
• Andre Jackson had a splendid game with nine points, 11 rebounds, five assists and only one turnover. He doesn’t shoot nearly enough as he went 3-for-3, but he’s a clever passer and plays fast. Now, sometimes he plays too fast, but on a team that slows down when things don’t go well, we like his pace. Once Jackson develops a rudimentary offensive game (honestly, just one attack move off the dribble), he’s going to be a different style of player.
• Jordan Hawkins was 0-for-13 over two games before he hit three consecutive shots in about a two-minute span. Hawkins finished with 11 points and proclaimed himself “back.” From where? We don’t know, but it’s nice to see that the disappearance of his jump shot is no longer the lead story on “Unsolved Mysteries.”
R.J.’S A BAD ******* MAN! In a good way. Dan Hurley is a lunatic on the sidelines. He argues with refs, coaches, fans and opposing players and isn’t afraid to call out his own players. When they do something he likes? He’s more fired up than Cole’s family. Just one time in our life we want to be as fired up for something as Hurley was for Cole on Saturday after Cole drove to the basket and hit a deft floater that drew a foul and forced a timeout. Cole, always cool and composed, had to take a step back so his coach wouldn’t headbutt him. What did Hurley say? We won’t say. Just read his lips.
OUR TAKE: That’s a good win for the Huskies. Yes, Lofton was not playing for the Bonnies, but that is another Quad 1 win for NCAA Tournament seeding. The Huskies are ranked No. 16 in the country in Team Rankings and are No. 22 in the KenPom rankings.
• What does that look like come March? The Huskies are a 4-6 seed with health and the Big East schedule will allow them to raise their profile into March. Can the Huskies be a Sweet 16 team or better? Of course. There is a lot of luck involved in March, but we are going to find out if they have the talent to do it in the next two months.
‘Ugly Basketball’ Reigns in UConn’s Win
The Story: The women’s basketball team got the job done Saturday in a 71-61 victory over UCLA in Newark, N.J., avoiding a consecutive loss for the first time since 1993, but Geno Auriemma cautioned after the game that “it’s not going to look pretty for a long time.”
HOW DID WE GET HERE? The Huskies have been in a bit of a malaise in recent games following an injury to Paige Bueckers, who is now considering having surgery on her broken left leg. If she does, she is not expected to return to the team until late February had the earliest, delaying her timetable by one month. UConn has also been without Aubrey Griffin, Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl because of injury.
• The Huskies looked just as unorganized as they did in the embarrassing loss to Georgia Tech in the earlygoing before breaking things open against UCLA in the third quarter. But that doesn’t mean they were without their challenges, as they shot 5-for-17 in the first and fourth quarters and had a 14-point lead cut to four with 37 seconds remaining.
• “You don’t like the fact that we grinded it out, that we got it down to where free throws could ice it, blow it out, then miss the free throws,” Geno said. “That obviously has to get better. But we did what we set out to do. It’s not going to look pretty anymore. Not for a long time. It’s not going to look pretty for a long time, and that’s OK. That’s OK. We played so much pretty basketball over the years that we’re entitled to play some ugly basketball.”
PULLING THROUGH: Evina Westbrook carried the Huskies with a team high 17 points, as well as seven assists and seven rebounds in 39 minutes. She wasn’t perfect, but she showed grit and resilience and was willing to step up to get the Huskies moving in the second half. UConn doesn’t beat UCLA without her effort and poise.
• Dorka Juhasz had her best game with UConn as she finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds in 29 minutes. We thought she would provide a stabilizing presence in the middle when she decided to transfer from Ohio State after last season, but she’s been up and down so far. That kind of performance is what UConn needed from her.
• All five starters scored at least 10 points. And that includes Caroline Ducharme, who started for Aaliyah Edwards and had 14 points for the second time in three games.
• Edwards had three points and four rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. The only other player to step on the court was Amari DeBerry, who played five minutes and grabbed two rebounds.
WHAT’S NEXT? The Huskies will have the week off for final exams and return to the court on Sunday, when they face No. 7 Louisville at Mohegan Sun.
• It’s not optimal timing for the Huskies, who could use a strong week of work after they weren’t able to practice between Thursday’s loss at Georgia Tech and Saturday’s game in New Jersey.
• Westbrook stepping up was good for the Huskies, who need her veteran presence to steady them now over the next two-plus months. She will need to help establish a halfcourt offense that can play with some measure of consistency, especially because the Huskies are not a strong rebounding team and cannot always expect to be able to push the pace on transition.
• Speaking of consistency, the Huskies desperately need Christyn Williams to live up to her talent with Bueckers out. Williams is shooting 44 percent this season, but she has shot just 30 percent in her past three games. unfortunately for the Huskies, this is the time of the year when the senior starts to descend into unproductivity for a bit, so she needs to avoid that happening.
• The good news is that the Huskies could get Fudd and/or Griffin back for the game against Louisville. Fudd, who has been battling a stress fracture in one of her feet, would provide another scoring option. Griffin, who has not played all season because of foot and back injuries, would be the athletic stopper the Huskies haven’t had all season.
Morning Reads
• The volleyball team’s run through the NIVC ended Friday night as it lost 3-0 (28-26, 27-25, 26-24) to Valparaiso in the Final Four. The Huskies still finished 24-11 for their most wins in a season. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Jim Mora has not only begun making inroads with in-state players. He has gone about trying to reconnect with players who had decommitted from UConn and gotten them back in the fold in recent weeks. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
