Can Hurley Crack Creighton?
The Story: The No. 18-ranked men’s basketball team can clinch a top-three seed in the Big East tournament and pick up another Quad 1 win as it ventures to Omaha, Nebraska, to take on Creighton tonight (8:30 p.m., FS1.)
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies have never beaten Creighton. They were 0-2 last year and played their worst game of the season this year at the XL Center when they lost 59-55. It’s annoying and we don’t like losing to a team that is in the Big East but is literally smack in the middle of the country.
• The Huskies (21-7, 12-5 Big East) are playing for NCAA Tournament seeding now. Various sites, including ESPN, have the Huskies as a No. 4 seed.
• Can they move higher? Sure, that will take some more wins, but any scenario requires a win tonight.
LAST ROAD TEST: As odd as it seems, this is the last road game of the year for the Huskies, and they figure to have home court again in the Big East tournament as fans have nearly a decade of angst built up for it.
• Creighton has a loud and raucous college atmosphere and the Bluejays (19-9, 11-6 Big East) desperately need to win the game.
• They are one game back of the Huskies in fourth place and need some work to do to secure an NCAA bid. Creighton is likely in at this point, but a couple of stumbles down the stretch will put it back on the bubble.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “This is a life-or-death game for them tomorrow. … We want to go into New York next week with great momentum.”
CAN UCONN SCORE? The Huskies average nearly 77 points per game, but in the Feb. 1 loss to Creighton, they scored only 55 points and shot 30 percent. The Huskies have won six straight and are a different team than they were a month ago.
• Adama Sanogo struggled last time out against Georgetown with six points and five fouls. The Huskies aren’t facing Georgetown again and it’s hard to find a way in which they get a win unless Sanogo is himself.
COLE SNUBBED: We’ve always maintained that R.J. Cole is one of the more underrated guards in America. He is averaging 16 points per game, shooting 42 percent and carries the Huskies. But as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award? Cole wasn’t anywhere near the finalist list. Cole’s just as good as one of those players on this list.
Morning Reads
• The women’s basketball team, even if it wins the Big East tournament, doesn’t look like it will be playing NCAA Tournament games in Bridgeport. Such is life when you aren’t a No. 1 seed. (Hartford Courant)
• Only at UConn can a tweet turn into a challenge to make a $5,000 donation. All hail UConn fans on Twitter. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The women’s hockey team plays in the Hockey East semifinals tonight against Vermont. (UConnHuskies.com)
