Huskies’ Final Push is Here
The Story: The No. 21-ranked men’s basketball team blasted Georgetown 86-77 yesterday in Washington as it moves into the final week of play jockeying for a top 3 seed in the Big East tournament.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies were never really in trouble as they handed the Hoyas their 18th straight loss. R.J. Cole scored 18 points and made up for a foul-plagued affair from Adama Sanogo, who had six points and three fouls in the first half and ended up fouling out. Isaiah Whaley added 14 points for the Huskies and made two 3s.
• UConn led by as many as 20 points, but the Hoyas kept pressing during garbage time and finished with a brutal backdoor cover as they lost by 9 and left UConn bettors at -11 crying foul. The Huskies were never challenged and the game showcased the depth UConn has going into March.
HAWKINS STARS: Freshman Jordan Hawkins is hit or miss off the bench and was a big hit in a homecoming game. He scored 11 points and had a monstrous dunk in the first half that was one of the best dunks we have seen a UConn player have this season.
• The Huskies sorely need Hawkins to be a consistent scoring force as they head into March as the freshman is averaging 5.8 points per game. He’s looking more confident as of late and his shooting and scoring ability are apparent. It’s the other parts of his game that are coming along, including defense.
SANOGO’S STRUGGLES: Sanogo’s six points and five fouls had us thinking of two things. One, how careless is the Huskies’ star center? Sanogo is a linchpin for the Huskies, but he has a penchant for getting in foul trouble. He had three in the first half and took himself out of the game. And, in a one-and-done scenario in March, we can only cringe at the thought of Sanogo on the bench as UConn’s season in the balance.
• That said, even though it was Georgetown, the Huskies put up 86 points largely without Sanogo. That at least gives us hope that the Huskies can win in multiple ways.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: How about that bench? UConn received a 30-point bench effort with 11 points from Tyler Polley. Jalen Gaffney also came back from exile to score eight points. UConn doesn’t have the depth we hoped for before the season, but Akok Akok played meaningful minutes in his return from a sprained foot in addition to Polley, Hawkins and Gaffney. The more options the better for Dan Hurley at this point.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “The scoring punch of the bench and Jordan off the dribble today was fantastic. Plus 3-point shooting, plus both guys have been sturdier defensively in a game where we didn’t necessarily have Adama.”
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Huskies (21-7, 12-5 Big East) have won five straight and head into the final week of the regular season with a chance at securing a top-three seed in the Big East tournament. They are one game ahead of fourth-place Creighton, which lost by 21 to Big East regular-season champion Providence on Saturday.
• The Huskies lost to Creighton earlier in the season and will have a crucial game for seeding on Wednesday on Omaha. UConn, as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed, would play in the night session of the Big East tournament next Thursday and a potential matchup with Villanova in the semifinals.
WHAT’S THE POTENTIAL? We are at the point of the season when UConn has to start looking at seeding. Can the Huskies make a run? They certainly can.
• UConn has one of the best big men in the country in Sanogo and perhaps the most underrated guard in the country in Cole at the point. It has a lot of shooting with Cole, Hawkins and Polley and athleticism and toughness with Whaley and Tyrese Martin.
• The defense is one of the best in the country as it controls the paint with size, speed and athleticism.
• One downside: The Huskies never developed another capable point guard, and they rely on Cole to create when things break down.
• We’d give UConn a No. 4 or No. 5 seed right now, depending on how the next two weeks play out. If the Huskies win out, they are likely looking at a No. 3 seed heading into the NCAA Tournament. If they stumble at the finish, a No. 5 or No. 6 seed could be the result. There is plenty to play for and that makes this week intriguing.
UP NEXT: The Huskies are at Creighton on Wednesday and close out the regular season on Saturday at home against DePaul.
Four Goodbyes, One Massive Win
The Story: Seniors Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook and Dorka Juhasz said goodbye to the crowd at Gampel Pavilion, which watched as the women’s basketball team put on a show with an 88-31 dismantling of Providence yesterday afternoon.
BUECKERS STARTS: The Huskies (22-5, 16-1 Big East) welcomed Paige Bueckers after nearly two and a half months in a 93-38 win against St. John’s on Friday in which she had eight points and two rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. She returned to the starting lineup yesterday, played another 13 minutes and had two points, five assists and three rebounds.
• Bueckers’ limited action was a result of Geno Auriemma trying to ease her back into the lineup. She did not wear a brace (though she appeared to have her left knee covered by some type of compression sleeve that was under her kneepads) and showed no real ill effects from her long layoff.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “I thought she would take it slow — and she has. I thought she would be very methodical, very cautious and not take a lot of chances, which she hasn’t, and I thought she would do exactly what she did. She would come out and pass the ball. She does that when she’s healthy, so I would expect her to come back after not having played and testing out her new knee that it would be more of the same. Pass first and worry about scoring later. Nothing surprising about what she’s done.”
POIGNANT MOMENT: Williams, Nelson-Ododa and Westbrook were all joined by their families for Senior Day festivities, but Juhasz, the graduate transfer from Hungary, did not have her family in attendance. Instead, the rest of her teammates escorted onto the court, and Hungary’s national anthem was played over the loudspeakers for Juhasz, who was moved by the gesture.
• Juhasz had 14 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Williams had a team-high 16 points, Azzi Fudd scored 14 points in 26 minutes off the bench and Nelson-Ododa had 13 points and eight rebounds.
• UConn trailed 4-1, then led 25-4 at the end of the first quarter and 51-10 at halftime. Providence (11-18, 6-14 Big East) shot an unfathomable 10-for-55 (18.2 percent).
UP NEXT: The Huskies get a few days of rest before the Big East tournament, which kicks off Friday and will be played at Mohegan Sun. UConn, as the No. 1 seed, will play its first game Saturday at noon. Its opponent hasn’t been determined, but it’ll still likely win by 40, so it doesn’t matter, if we’re being honest.
Morning Reads
• The men’s hockey team dropped a pair of games against No. 15 Northeastern this weekend, following a 3-1 road loss on Friday with a 5-2 loss at the XL Center on Saturday. (The UConn Blog)
• Morgan Wabick scored a third-period goal and had an assist as the women’s hockey team advanced to the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament with a 3-1 win against Boston University on Saturday. The Huskies will face Vermont on Wednesday. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Zach Bushling‘s 10th-inning sac fly gave the baseball team a 5-3 win at North Florida yesterday afternoon and allowed it to complete the sweep of the three-game series. (The UConn Blog)
• Rosie Garcia drove in Brianna Marcelino with the winning run as the softball team capped five wins in five games with a 7-6 win against Appalachian State at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Sydney Watson and Lia LaPrise each scored five goals as the No. 25 women’s lacrosse team won 23-10 at New Hampshire yesterday afternoon. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Even though he’s going to finish out the season on the bench, Kemba Walker said he’s not interested in having his contract bought out by the Knicks so he can play elsewhere. (NBC Sports)
• An afterthought in the James Harden/Ben Simmons trade, Andre Drummond has made an impact already in his first days with the Nets. (New York Post)
