Another Road Test for Huskies
The Story: The No. 6-ranked men’s basketball team is in a familiar position tonight with a road game against No. 25 Marquette, a Big East contender that will pull out all the stops to win (7 p.m., CBS Sports).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn is playing its fourth straight game, and third on the road, against a team ranked in KenPom’s top 30. It lists Marquette at No. 15 as the Big East once again proves to have quality depth.
• The Huskies, of course, are 1-2 in their last three games and are coming off a 69-60 win over Creighton, which is No. 17 in KenPom. The Big East has four teams in the Associated Press poll and five teams in KenPom’s top 50.
• The Huskies (15-2, 4-2 Big East) still remain highly regarded by advanced metrics and are No. 3 in the nation according to KenPom. They are favored on the road as they have a 58 percent chance of victory and are -2 on the betting line.
THE HUSKIES’ SHOOTING WOES: The Huskies haven’t exactly lit the nets on fire in Big East play. They have shot 39.6 percent, 41.8 percent, 36.5 percent and 35 percent over their last four games.
• UConn got the ball inside to Adama Sanogo, who had 26 points in the win over Creighton on Saturday. The rest of the team’s shooting and scoring remains inconsistent as the Huskies aren’t quite as efficient on offense as they were early in the season.
ABOUT MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles like to pressure teams under coach Shaka Smart, who is in his second year. They force 16.7 turnovers a game and have one of the best distributors in the nation in Tyler Kolek, who is averaging more than eight assists a game.
• Kam Jones is fifth in the Big East with 16.1 points per game and second in 3-pointers made with 2.8 per game.
Dailey: Fudd May Return Tonight
The Story: The No. 4-ranked women’s basketball team could get a boost from the return of Azzi Fudd, who may be ready to return to the court tonight when UConn heads to the Islanders’ arena in Elmont, N.Y., to face St. John’s (8 p.m., SNY).
UNCERTAINTY REMAINS: Dailey said Fudd, who injured her right knee in the Huskies’ loss at Notre Dame on Dec. 4, will make the call as to whether she feels healthy enough to play against the Red Storm (14-1, 5-1 Big East).
• Fudd has warmed up before each of the Huskies’ last two games but did not play. She’d provide a boost for a team that is going to be at or near the Big East-minimum seven healthy scholarship players — a threshold it could not meet Sunday, forcing the postponement of its home game against DePaul.
WHAT DID DAILEY SAY? “Azzi would be a gametime decision, as it’s been the whole time. Nothing’s changed with her situation. It’s just a matter of where she is and how she feels.”
EDWARDS TO RETURN: Junior forward Aaliyah Edwards, who injured her right ankle while diving for a loose ball in the win at Butler on Thursday, will be able to play against St. John’s.
• Dailey said Edwards, who did not play in the second half against Butler, has had her minutes limited in practice this week, but the hope is that a lessened load will allow her to play better tonight.
GENO STILL OUT: Geno Auriemma will not coach against St. John’s, marking his third consecutive game away as he takes a leave of absence. This will be the 18th game Dailey has coached in his place.
• “He’s not been at practice. He’s not been around,” Dailey said. “He’s been really good about allowing us to do what that what we need to do, but we’ve talked to him and he’ll ask how practice goes and things like that.”
ABOUT ST. JOHN’S: The Red Storm are off to a heck of a start behind redshirt senior guard Jayla Everett, who transferred from Pitt, has scored more than 20 points six times and is averaging 17.3 points per game.
• Redshirt senior guard Kadaja Bailey, the Preseason Big East Freshman of the Year in 2018-19, is averaging 13.6 points per game, and redshirt senior forward Jillian Archer, a transfer from Georgetown, is averaging 8.9 points and nine rebounds per game.
• St. John’s is holding opponents to 54.5 points per game, partly because it loves to milk every second of its possessions. It is shooting 35.5 percent from 3-point range and is only committing 11.9 fouls per game, the second-best mark in Division I.
DEPAUL GAME RESCHEDULED: The Huskies’ game against DePaul will now be played on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. That means its game against Seton Hall, scheduled for Jan. 19, has been moved to Jan. 17 to ease congestion.
Morning Reads
• Defensive back Tre Wortham and linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle are participating in the Hula Bowl Classic in Orlando, an excellent place to take off for the NFL Draft. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The Hook C logo is typically used by the baseball team, but it found its way onto the men’s hockey team’s uniforms at Fenway Park last weekend. (The UConn Blog)
Top photo: Andre Jackson dribbles the ball against Georgetown. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
