Long Trip and a Big Test for Huskies
The Story: The No. 21 UConn men will get a chance to show whether they’re the team that started the season 14-0 and blew out No. 10 Marquette on Tuesday or the one that has largely wilted against Big East competition when it heads to Nebraska to face No. 23 Creighton tomorrow afternoon (2 p.m., Fox).
WHAT’S THE DEAL? Well, simply, we don’t know. The Huskies (19-6, 8-6 Big East) looked exceptional against the Golden Eagles but weren’t too hot in their previous two games, which were wins at DePaul and Georgetown.
• UConn’s guards finally produced at the level they had earlier in the season, with Tristen Newton putting together his second triple-double of the season and Nahiem Alleyne “back to his old form,” as Dan Hurley said, with arguably his most complete game of the season.
• What’s especially notable is that UConn looked like an offensive juggernaut against Marquette and coach Shaka Smart, who is known for his relentless pressure defense. The Huskies handled the Golden Eagles rather deftly.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: No matter what the eye test shows, the Huskies are still the darlings of the computers. KenPom still has them at No. 6 and the NCAA’s NET ranking and Bart Torvik’s T-Rank each have them at No. 7.
ABOUT CREIGHTON: Like the Huskies, the Bluejays (16-8, 10-3 Big East) are not the same team that lost 69-60 at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 7. They’ve won their last seven games and have finally settled into their roles.
• Their 7-foot-1 center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was held to nine points and four rebounds in 33 minutes in the first meeting, has returned to form after he injured a knee in the NCAA Tournament and back to being a disruptive force.
• Arthur Kaluma, who had team highs of 14 points and 16 rebounds in that game, has emerged as a frontcourt option, Baylor Scheierman has adjusted to the higher level of play after transferring from South Dakota State, and Ryan Nembhard is shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range in the last six games. And we think the world of Trey Alexander as a scoring threat.
— Zac Boyer
Can UConn Shake the Blues at Georgetown?
The Story: The No. 4 UConn women will try to avoid an unthinkable three-game losing streak this weekend when they head to Washington to face Georgetown tomorrow. (5 p.m., SNY).
HISTORY LESSON: The Huskies fell 81-77 to No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday and 59-52 at Marquette on Wednesday, marking the first time they had lost back-to-back games since March 17, 1993 — a span of 1,083 games.
• You have to go back further to find the last time UConn lost three in a row, though it’s not much further. The Huskies wrapped up a three-game losing streak on Feb. 27, 1993, coincidentally with a 64-62 home loss to Georgetown. That’s the last time they lost to the Hoyas, and run that reached 33 games with a 65-50 home win on Jan. 15.
• “It’s things you don’t even think about when it’s been this long,” Geno Auriemma told The Hartford Courant yesterday. “Nobody in our program goes around saying, ‘Gee, I hope we don’t lose. It’ll be two in a row.’”
WHAT’S NEXT? UConn (21-4, 13-1 Big East) won’t have much of a cure for its physical and mental fatigue, as the three-day turnaround between games is complicated by the fact that both are road games.
• Georgetown (12-12, 5-10 Big East) has lost its last two games — by 17 points at Marquette and 29 points at home against No. 15 Villanova on Wednesday. UConn could benefit from being able to sleepwalk its way through a game against a doormat, but the Hoyas aren’t the doormat they have been for years.
• The Huskies are still waiting on the return of Caroline Ducharme, who is recovering from a concussion. It seemed possible she would have been back on the court last week, and Geno then suggested it may be this week, but she’s awaiting clearance that could come at any time.
— Zac Boyer
Morning Reads
• Even though president Radenka Maric said UConn is likely to stop playing games at the XL Center as the university faces a $100 million-plus gap in its annual budget, other university officials quickly walked that idea back yesterday afternoon. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• The No. 13-ranked men’s hockey team (17-8-3, 11-6-2 Hockey East) plays New Hampshire three times in its final six regular-season games, including two on the road this weekend. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The No. 15-ranked women’s hockey team (16-10-4, 10-9-4 Hockey East) will play a pair of home games this weekend, with No. 5 Northeastern in town tonight and Holy Cross on deck tomorrow. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The softball season begins this weekend as the Huskies, who went 38-18 last season, set to open with games against Georgia Tech, North Texas, UIC and St. Francis (Pa.) in Atlanta. (UConnHuskies.com)
• Rudy Gay wasn’t traded at the deadline yesterday, but the Jazz remade their roster by trading a close friend, Mike Conley, and acquiring Russell Westbrook. “I really, honestly, don’t think y’all understand how hard it is [to be traded],” Gay said. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Breanna Stewart made her reason for leaving the Storm for the Liberty abundantly clear yesterday: “I want to be surrounded by greatness,” she said at an introductory press conference. Don’t we all. (Newsday)
• The Dream traded Tiffany Hayes to the Sun for the No. 6 pick in the draft. Hayes spent 10 seasons with the Dream and is second all time with 3,828 points and 669 assists. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Top photo: Alex Karaban attacks the basket during the Huskies’ home game against Marquette. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
