First Loss Makes for Unhappy New Year
The Story: The men’s basketball team didn’t fall too far in the Associated Press poll yesterday as it checked in at No. 4 after its first loss on Saturday at Xavier.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Huskies fell 83-73 to now-No. 18 Xavier in a hotly contested and entertaining affair. The Musketeers were outstanding, but what marred the game was the bane of Dan Hurley‘s existence — Dan Hurley.
• Hurley received a technical with less than three minutes to go and the Huskies trailing 73-71 after he appeared to tell the officials that a foul call was “unbelievable.” The four-point swing put the Huskies behind the 8-ball and they couldn’t rally. Xavier outscored UConn 9-2 after the technical to close the game.
• The Huskies struggled defensively against the Musketeers, who entered the game with the best offense in the Big East. Xavier shot 58 percent in the first half and 54 percent for the game. Colby Jones and Zach Freemantle scored 16 point each while Jerome Hunter and Jack Nunge each had 15. Five players scored in double figures.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “Put yourself in my shoes. You’re aware of the free throw discrepancy while the game is going on. You look at the first half and they’ve got one team foul through 15 or 16 minutes. So, you see that, that’s factoring into your brain.”
WHAT GIVES WITH HURLEY? Hurley’s legendary temper got to him again. He was a changed man in the first 14 games of the season and even touted how he wrote on his hand to “coach your team” to prevent himself from getting into fights with the refs. Against Xavier, the 22-9 foul disparity and 28-9 discrepancy in free throws were too much to keep his emotions in check.
• This is a problem with Hurley — so much so that officials are openly revolting against his antics, per Jeff Goodman.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn shot 13-for-37 from beyond the 3-point line as Xavier packed the paint. Is that too many? Perhaps, but most were good shots. Andre Jackson went 4-for-13 from the perimeter as Xavier gave him one too many open looks.
• UConn’s inside game wasn’t there as it was outscored 40-28 in the paint.
• Jackson had an excellent game with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
UP NEXT: UConn is on the road at Providence tomorrow.
Back In the Top 5 and Streaking
The Story: The women’s basketball team continues to get healthy as the new year begins and is up to No. 5 in the AP poll as it takes on Butler tonight in Indianapolis (7 p.m., SNY).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn fought off a tough challenge from Marquette on Saturday, winning 61-48 despite missing Aubrey Griffin due to COVID-19. Lou Lopez-Senechal scored a game-high 22 points and Caroline Ducharme, who got the start with Griffin out, added 19 points.
• UConn will have Griffin back for tonight’s game to at least give Geno Auriemma more of a bench.
WHAT ABOUT FUDD? Azzi Fudd, who suffered a knee injury on Dec. 4, was cleared for basketball activities last week and, according to Geno, is close to returning to the Huskies’ lineup.
• Could the sophomore guard be back as early as tonight? Her recovery timetable was four to six weeks, and a return would be more than four weeks since injuring the knee at Notre Dame. If not tonight, perhaps either Thursday at Xavier or UConn’s next home game, Sunday versus DePaul, is likely.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION: Geno probably had a nice glass of his wine for the new year and made one resolution: to cut down on the turnovers.
• UConn is averaging 17.4 turnovers per game, an un-UConnlike 240th in the nation out of 350 teams.
• The good news? Butler is averaging 17.1 turnovers a game, so if sloppy basketball is your thing, tune in.
ABOUT BUTLER: The Bulldogs were 1-27 last season but are 6-8 this season and 1-4 in the Big East. Rachel McLimore leads the Bulldogs with 11.8 points per game.
Morning Reads
• The curious case of guard Corey Floyd Jr., who transferred from UConn to Providence after redshirting last season, still has us flummoxed. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The men’s hockey team ended the calendar year on a good note with a sweep of LIU in a home and home. (The UConn Blog)
Top photo: Dan Hurley’s technical ended the Huskies’ chances of winning at Xavier on Saturday. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
