Defense a No-Show at Marquette
The Story: The No. 6-ranked men’s basketball team’s struggles against good teams on the road continued last night as No. 25 Marquette rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit to knock off the Huskies 82-76 in Milwaukee.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn (15-3, 4-3 Big East) has lost three of its last four games with Xavier, Providence and Marquette emerging at the top of the conference.
• UConn’s most effective players were freshmen center Donovan Clingan, who had a monster game with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, and forward Alex Karaban, who, despite some defensive limitations, is a terrific offensive player and showed that again with 17 points.
• Marquette scorched UConn in the second half by shooting 60 percent (15-for-25), going 16-for-19 from the foul line and scoring 49 points. Oso Ighodaro scored a team-high 19 points, Olivier Maxence-Prosper had 17 points and Kam Jones added 15 for Marquette (14-4, 6-1 Big East).
• UConn’s perimeter players continued to struggle. Jordan Hawkins scored eight points on 1-of-8 shooting and Tristen Newton added seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. Go to the bench? There wasn’t much there as Joey Calcaterra Hassan Diarra and Nahiem Alleyne combined for five points on 2-for-8 shooting.
WHAT ABOUT SANOGO? You want us to go there, don’t you? Adama Sanogo had 10 points and five turnovers and played only 19 minutes as Dan Hurley had to go with Clingan, and his defense and activity, in the second half.
• Sanogo struggled to pass out of double teams and move the ball. Defensively, he was not his physical or active self and provided little protection at the rim.
• Clingan was a dominant force inside for lobs and provided some defensive help when the guards, who continue to struggle defensively, allowed penetration to the basket.
• Do we want Sanogo benched? Of course not. He remains one of the top big men in the country, but his defense and rim protection weren’t up to par against Marquette. Clingan, with his sheer size, is able to control the paint. The Huskies played better with Clingan in the middle.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “It also feels like everything that we’re doing from an offensive standpoint is scripted in a way where it has to be something that we call. We’re not getting enough creativity and enough people that can just go and make a play for you at a critical moment, either in transition or when some initial thing doesn’t work.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:: The Huskies’ numbers aren’t bad. They outrebounded Marquette, had 44 points in the paint and scored 15 fastbreak points. Where did it go wrong?
• Marquette had 34 points in the paint, shot nearly 51 percent, and went over 80 percent from the foul line.
• Ighodaro entered the game shooting 40 percent from the free throw line but was a perfect 6-for-6.
• Marquette had 24 fastbreak points and scored 20 points off 16 turnovers.
OUR TAKE: Not good for the Huskies. We are concerned about two things: Guard play, notably at point guard, and the inability to defend.
• The Huskies gave up 83 points and allowed another opponent to shoot 60 percent in a half for the second time in four games.
• As far as the guards, UConn has a six-man rotation of Newton, Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Diarra, Calcaterra and Alleyne. Newton is struggling to find where his shots will come from and the offense can’t get Hawkins open. Calcaterra cooled off the moment we bought our T-shirts and Diarra and Alleyne are not seeing consistent minutes and don’t seem comfortable. Jackson is the only one who can set the tempo and pace but his offense remains frustratingly inconsistent and asking him to play point guard might be too much at this point.
• Where does the playmaking come from? If the Huskies don’t find more production from their guards, the highlight of this season may end up being that No. 2 ranking a couple of weeks ago.
UP NEXT: The Huskies host St. John’s at the XL Center on Sunday at noon.
Geno, Fudd Return in Rout
The Story: Sophomore guard Azzi Fudd returned after missing eight games with a right knee injury and Geno Auriemma was back on the bench following a two-game absence as the No. 4-ranked women’s basketball team routed St. John’s 82-52 last night at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Fudd, who was injured in the Huskies’ loss at Notre Dame on Dec. 4, played 20 minutes off the bench and finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
• It was good to see Fudd back in action, but it was even better to see her ease into the game. She didn’t make her first appearance until she replaced redshirt junior guard Aubrey Griffin with 4:55 left in the first quarter and he spent the final 7:05 on the bench.
• Fudd didn’t seem to have much trouble with her shot despite five and a half weeks off. It was also good to see her drive through traffic in the lane and attack the rim — things that players usually are hesitant to do in their recovery from leg injuries.
• Geno was on the bench after taking the reins back from Chris Dailey, who helped the Huskies beat Butler and Xavier on a two-game road swing last week. His unshaven look very much helped him play the role of a guy who hadn’t been well and was in his first day back on the job.
NOT MUCH OF A STORM: St. John’s was off to its best start in school history, but as has usually been the case in the longstanding series between the teams, UConn (14-2, 7-0 Big East) took control early and never let up.
• UConn was led in scoring by redshirt senior guard Lou Lopez Senechal, who had 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Redshirt senior forward Dorka Juhasz had 18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high seven assists in 39 minutes, and junior forward Aaliyah Edwards had 15 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.
• The Huskies had just 10 turnovers — their fewest of the season — and shot a season-high 62.3 percent. They had the 31-23 edge in rebounding and a 44-22 advantage in points in the paint.
• St. John’s redshirt senior guard Jayla Everett, its leading scorer, was held to 10 points, with eight of them scored in the first quarter. Kadaja Bailey scored 17 points to lead St. John’s (14-2, 5-2 Big East), which shot 38 percent, including 3-for-14 from 3-point range.
DUCHARME, PATTERSON OUT: The Huskies, who had their game against DePaul on Sunday postponed because they didn’t have enough healthy players, were still without sophomore guard Caroline Ducharme and freshman forward Ayanna Patterson as they recover from concussions.
• UConn had eight players, though the eighth, freshman guard Ines Bettencourt, surely wishes she was still benefiting from Dailey’s expanded rotation. She didn’t enter the game until 3:21 remained, when the Huskies were up by 24.
WHAT DID CD SAY? “They were excited [to get Geno back]. I think just seeing him on the bus … they were happy to see him, knowing he was feeling well and well enough to be here. We got here last night and we had a meal and they welcomed him back, and I think they handled it really well.”
UP NEXT: The Huskies will be back at the XL Center late Sunday afternoon to host Georgetown.
Morning Reads
• Former UConn center Isaiah Whaley is focused on his pro career, which has begun this season with the Hornets’ G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The men’s and women’s hockey teams will open the Toscano Family Ice Forum this weekend with three games. It has taken a long time for the programs to get to this point. (The UConn Blog)
• Former UConn pitcher Scott Oberg, who last pitched in 2019 because of blood clots, is retiring and will accept a role in the Rockies’ front office. (MLB.com)
Top photo: Dan Hurley coaches the Huskies in a home game against Georgetown. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
