No. 6 Huskies Begin Back-to-Back Quest
THE STORY: The No. 6-ranked men’s basketball team begins its chase for back-to-back national championships tonight when it takes on Northern Arizona at Gampel Pavilion (FS1, 6:30 p.m.).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn will unveil its fifth national title banner prior to the game at Gampel Pavilion, putting an official cap on the 2022-23 season.
• The Huskies enter this season as one of a handful of favorites to reach the Final Four and cut down the nets. It’s a long way to March, but the Huskies are looking to become the first team since Florida in 2006 and 2007 to win back-to-back national titles.
• How hard is it? Kansas entered last season as the champion and was a No. 1 seed in the West Region but was knocked out in the second round by Arkansas — which UConn destroyed in the Sweet 16.
• Dan Hurley begins his sixth season at the helm and is 104-55. He’s never been in a stronger position. The national titles took away the criticism that Hurley couldn’t win the big games and struggles in the postseason. Now, the Huskies are the hunted, and there’s a whole, new kind of pressure.
CLINGAN IS CLOSE: Donovan Clingan has been back to practice for a week after a right foot injury and his teammates and coaches are raving about his impact. How much will we see of Clingan tonight? That’s something Hurley’s keeping close to the vest. Clingan’s conditioning will limit his workload with Samson Johnson likely taking most of his minutes in the pivot.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “Physically, [Clingan’s] looked great. He’s a game-changer. Something we’ve struggled with is some rim defense, both internally and in the closed stuff. That definitely changes things at that end of the court. Even offensively, he can help you in so many ways. It’s surprising. The game comes easy to Donovan. It’s just about conditioning and rust.”
WHAT’S THE ROTATION? We want to know what the starting five is going to look like. Guard Tristen Newton and forward Alex Karaban return from a year ago and freshman guard Stephon Castle and transfer Cam Spencer, a sharpshooter from Rutgers, are expected to start.
• Clingan will man the middle if he’s able, but we could see Johnson, a junior, in that role until Clingan’s conditioning is back.
• The rest of the rotation will be most interesting in that Hassan Diarra is likely to be the first guard off the bench. How much an impact will other highly recruited freshmen such as guard Solomon Ball and forwards Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross have?
ABOUT NORTHERN ARIZONA: The Lumberjacks were 12-23 a season ago and have two starters returning, including forward Carson Towt, who averaged 10.1 points per game. Despite its regular-season performance, NAU made a run to the Big Sky final last year as the No. 9 seed but enters tonight as prohibitive underdogs against the Huskies at +23.5 points.
— John Silver
Bueckers, UConn Look Ready in Exhibition
The Story: Paige Bueckers made her long-awaited return to the Gampel Pavilion court Saturday and looked much like her old self in UConn’s 97-38 exhibition win over Southern Connecticut State.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Bueckers, sidelined last season with an ACL tear in her left knee, was in the starting lineup and made her presence felt all over the court. The Preseason All-American left little doubt that her knee is sound and she’s ready for the upcoming season.
• Playing only 12 first-half minutes, she finished with seven points, four rebounds and seven assists. Bueckers’ first points came on a beautiful dribble-drive scoop layup, after which she pointed to the student section with a smile and yelled.
• During one five-minute stretch in the second quarter, she scored five points, assisted on three baskets, had two steals, a rebound, and a blocked shot before heading to the bench for good with 2:59 left in the first half.
SCORING LEADERS: In addition to Bueckers, Azzi Fudd led the Huskies with 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Aaliyah Edwards had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Aubrey Griffin added 14 points, and Caroline Ducharme had 10 for the Huskies, who led 52-17 at halftime.
BRADY’S BACK, TOO: Ice Brady made her UConn debut after sitting out last season with a dislocated patella in her right knee. She had seven points and four rebounds and provided a glimpse at how she could serve as a much-needed complement to Edwards on the interior.
• The 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman used her strength inside to create space for shots and rebounds, and she showed off surprising shooting range with a few 3-point attempts.
FRESHMEN IMPRESS: As they had during the European exhibition tour in August, the freshmen trio of KK Arnold (six points, four rebounds, three assists), Qadence Samuels (eight points, seven rebounds), and Ashlynn Shade (eight points, seven rebounds) demonstrated why they could be valuable contributors in Geno Auriemma‘s rotation.
• Coupled with Brady, the three players display fearlessness and aggression that belie their freshman status. That not only bodes well for the future; they also could help give UConn its deepest bench since the program’s last national title in 2016.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Obviously, [Paige] hasn’t played in a while. … I thought in that respect, she looked really comfortable and felt really good and obviously the same Paige as usual. Maybe a little more animated. You know, I think she’s happy to be finally playing. So yeah, a successful day for her.”
UP NEXT: The real thing starts Wednesday when the No. 2 Huskies host Dayton in their season opener at the XL Center at 7 p.m.
— David Kull
Rocked at Rocky Top
The Story: The football team’s nightmare season continued with a 59-3 loss at No. 19 Tennessee on Saturday.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: That went about as well as expected. Tennessee, out of the powerful SEC, was motivated to pound UConn (1-8) and did so behind quarterback Joe Milton and a defense that scored three touchdowns.
• The Huskies were outclassed by the Vols’ speed. They allowed three touchdown runs or completions for 60 yards or more in the first half and raced to a 35-3 lead at halftime.
• Ta’Quan Roberson went 24-for-40 for 214 yards with two interceptions. His top receiver was Justin Joly, who had eight catches for 81 yards.
• UConn managed only 35 yards rushing with Jalen Mitchell leading the Huskies with 28 yards on eight carries.
WHAT DID JIM MORA SAY? “That was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very fast; very, very, very, very talented offensive team at every position.”
UP NEXT: Things don’t get easier for the Huskies. They play at James Madison in six days. JMU (9-0) just defeated Georgia State, which handled UConn earlier this season, 42-14 on Saturday.
— John Silver
Morning Reads
• The men’s soccer team is headed to the Big East semifinal as it shocked St. John’s, 2-1, in overtime on Saturday thanks to a goal by Eli Conway. UConn will play at top seed Georgetown on Thursday.
• Dan Hurley spoke with the CT Scoreboard Podcast for its season preview ahead of the opener tonight.
• The women’s hockey team completed a home-and-home sweep of No. 13 Northeastern with a 1-0 win on Saturday.
Top photo: Tristen Newton looks to pass in the Huskies’ 2022-23 season opener against Stonehill. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
