No Escaping Fate at Louisville
The Story: The No. 2-ranked women’s basketball team was outmanned at No. 3 Louisville and dropped its second game of the season as Asia Durr, held without a first-quarter basket, scored 24 points to lead the Cardinals to a 78-69 win.
It was the first time Louisville beat UConn in 26 years, it happened in front of 17,023 people — the largest crowd to see a women’s basketball game this season — and it marked the first time the Huskies (18-2, 7-0 AAC) have lost two regular-season games since 2012-13.
NO HELP FOR BIG THREE: The Huskies’ lack of depth reared its ugly head again as they received little production outside of their top three scorers. Napheesa Collier had 20 points and eight rebounds to crack the 1,000 mark for her career, Crystal Dangerfield added 19 points on 20 shots and Katie Lou Samuelson struggled for 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
After that? Megan Walker, who had turned it on as of late, had only seven points and Christyn Williams scored five. The Huskies got two points off the bench as Olivia Nelson-Ododa made only one of her five shots.
GAME OF DROUGHTS: UConn had a pair of two-minute scoring droughts in the second quarter and one in the third, but it was particuarly done in early in the fourth quarter, when Collier made the opening bucket 13 seconds in and the Huskies didn’t score again for nearly five minutes. Louisville (20-1, 7-1 ACC) scored just five points during that span, doubling its advantage to 10, and UConn never got within six points the rest of the way.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: The Huskies shot 38 percent from the floor (27-of-71), meaning their two worst shooting nights of the season occurred in the two defeats. UConn also was outscored by 10 from the free throw line, but did hold a 32-20 edge inside despite being beaten on the boards 46-40. Interestingly, the two teams combined for only 11 turnovers — six by the Huskies and five by Louisville.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “In the real world, that’s not that big a deal, is it? But because it’s UConn, it’s a big deal. I said before the season started, this isn’t a typical UConn team, so people are starting to get used to the idea that I was right. We’re human. We kind of suck this year, to be honest with you, and we need to get better.”
NO. 1 SEED IN JEOPARDY? Notre Dame and Louisville appear to be locks for No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament and top-ranked Baylor also has a win over the Huskies. Oregon, Mississippi State, and N.C. State could also make a case for a top seed. Can UConn? With two losses, it might be that the Huskies could get knocked down to the two line come March.
UP NEXT: The Huskies will get to take out their frustrations tomorrow at Cincinnati (14-7, 6-2), which they hammered 82-38 on Jan. 9.
Huskies Find Fool’s Gold in Orlando
The Story: Playing without the injured Alterique Gilbert, the men’s basketball team (12-9, 3-5) was swept by UCF this season, losing 73-67 despite a furious second-half comeback powered by Jalen Adams.
UConn trailed 62-60 with less than two minutes to go when Aubrey Dawkins hit a killer 3-pointer from the top of the key to send the Knights (16-4, 6-2) on their way.
ADAMS SCORES 27, BUT SO WHAT? Adams is a terrific scorer, and when he gets hot, he makes the Huskies look better than they are. The overreliance on Adams, however, is something the Huskies can’t seem to solve. UConn requires him to be great every single minute and that is impossible. Adams started the game 0-for-7 and scored five first-half points, and the Huskies scored a season-low 22 points before halftime.
In the second half? Adams was on fire and managed 22 points and single-handedly rallied the team. It was a marvelous offensive second half for Adams, but the cake is baked on the Huskies’ 2018-19 season. There aren’t enough horses for Dan Hurley to run with.
NO ALTERIQUE A BIG PROBLEM: Without Gilbert, who rested his injured left shoulder, the Huskies had an identity crisis on offense. Adams looked unsure if he should create or score early and the spacing and flow was poor early on. Tarin Smith had eight points and four assists in 37 minutes and Christian Vital battled foul trouble and finished with 13 points. Gilbert will continue to be evaluated by the medical staff and is considered day-to-day.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn fouls a lot. The Huskies committed 24 fouls against UCF and surrendered 36 free throws to the Knights. Vital was in foul trouble early on, Sidney Wilson and Josh Carlton fouled out and Smith had four fouls. UConn was outscored 25-10 at the free throw line. UConn also allowed the Knights to shoot 48.9 percent with 32 points in the paint.
CARLTON SHOWS TOUGHNESS: Going against 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall isn’t easy, and while Carlton only had four points, he did have 11 rebounds, two blocks and played tough before fouling out. That was an important developmental step for the Huskies’ young center.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I’m proud of our guys. I thought they emptied their tank. But if we played a better first half, this was one I thought we had a chance to steal. … The first stage is learning how to compete, learning how to fight, and I think you can see that in our team right now. I guess on some level, I feel good about it. I’ll feel good when I watch the tape, but it’s an empty feeling right now because we lost.”
BOTTOM LINE: The Huskies have shown that when Adams is hot, they can play with anyone. But what happens when he’s average? The answer to that question will determine if the Huskies can stay above .500 on the season. UConn is in the tough part of its schedule, though it does play East Carolina at home on Sunday. That game is critical with back-to-back road games against Memphis and Temple on the horizon and then a date with No. 13 Houston at home. UConn had a chance to steal Thursday’s game, and considering the gauntlet, will come to regret it.
Morning Read
‘EXTRAORDINARY’ EXPERIENCE: After joining the New England Patriots during the season, former UConn safety Obi Melifonwu is thrilled to have a chance to play in the Super Bowl on Sunday. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
MAKING AN IMPACT: Former UConn center Breanna Stewart, the reigning WNBA MVP, is hoping that her greater profile will help her leave a legacy that goes beyond basketball. (WKRG News 5)
RIVALS IN TOWN: The men’s hockey team will try to end a five-game winless streak, and an 11-game Hockey East winless streak, with a game against Boston College tonight at the XL Center. (UConnHuskies.com)
BIG WEEKEND ON TAP: The women’s hockey team will play a pair of Hockey East games this weekend with No. 3 Northeastern in town tonight before a visit to Providence tomorrow afternoon. (UConnHuskies.com)
