It is very tough to win three consecutive road games in the Big East, especially when your superstar gets injured and misses the last two games. UConn was able to overcome the absence of James Bouknight at Butler and DePaul on Saturday and Monday, winning the first game 72-60 and the second 60-53. Tyres Martin and Tyler Polley led the way on offense, and the Huskies defense continued to play excellent. In all, the three road wins moved UConn to 7-1 and 4-1 in the Big East, and earned their first Top 25 ranking in the AP Poll in five years at No. 25.
Against Butler, the Huskies built on their offensive performance in the Marquette comeback win and played well on that end without Bouknight. UConn scored 39 points in the second half and shot 10-21 from three. It had 13 assists and went 12-15 from the free throw line. Polley kept up his hot shooting in the win, shooting 5-8 from three and scoring 19 points. Martin had 15 points and 7 rebounds (3 offensive), and went 3-4 from three. Brendan Adams and Isiah Whaley each had 9 points, with Adams dishing 3 assists.
The Huskies defense was somewhat inconsistent, but held the Bulldogs to 5-15 from the 3-point line and forced 15 turnovers. Whaley was the standout defensive player, earning 3 blocks. UConn also again controlled the boards, outrebounding Butler 30-27.
While the Huskies were in control throughout against Butler, their second matchup with DePaul was an ugly back-and-forth affair. After leading most of the game, they fell behind 51-47 with 5:36 remaining. After a huge 3-pointer by R.J. Cole,Tyrese Martin carried the team down the stretch, scoring seven of their final 1o points. UConn’s already tenacious defense completely clamped down, holding the Blue Demons scoreless in the final 4:29 and commited six turnovers, and the team won by seven.
The Huskies have not been a strong offensive team even with Bouknight, and Monday’s game showed how tough it is for them to win without him, especially if their shooting is poor. UConn shot 40.4% and 5-18 from three against DePaul’s aggressive defense. They also struggled at the free throw line, shooting 13-24. UConn committed 14 turnovers and had just 10 assists. It also struggled on the boards, with the Blue Demons grabbing 39 rebounds to the Huskies 29. Martin was the catalyst, especially in the closing minutes. He finished with 19 points, shooting 7-14. Polley cooled down somewhat on offense, but still finished with 12 points and four rebounds. Cole hit his huge 3-pointer and finished with 12 points and four assists.
UConn’s defense was outstanding in both the opening and closing minutes of the game. It jumped out to a 17-6 lead 7:57 in, and held DePaul to nine points in the final 10 minutes while forcing 12 turnovers during this span. The Blue Demons committed 24 turnovers overall, as the Huskies guards and Whaley got their defense completely out of sorts and caused players to struggle with handling the ball and getting open shots. UConn’s guards combined for 13 steals, with Martin and Cole grabbing five and four, respectively. Whaley had two steals and blocks. DePaul shot 5-12 from three, and leading scorers Javon Freeman-Liberty and Charlie Moore combined for 17 points on just 8-23 shooting.
UConn is currently third in the Big East standings behind Villanova and Creighton at 4-1 as of Wednesday afternoon. They are 22nd in Ken Pomery’s rankings, with the 38th-ranked offense and 16th-ranked defense. This will be discussed in a seperate post, but it will be very interesting to see how well the offense will continue to perform without James Bouknight, whom it was just announced underwent surgery on his left elbow and will be out an “indefinite period of time”. It has been written online that he will be out 2-4 weeks from the time of the injury, which would put Bouknight’s likely return at the second week of February. Suffice to say, his teammates and especially the guards will need to consistently play better and pick up the scoring slack.
Below are five observations on the wins against Butler and DePaul:
Tyrese Martin continues to emerge as a scorer and team leader
Prior to the last two games, Martin had shown promise and strong rebounding skills, but had played inconsistently on offense. The junior transfer stepped up on both ends against Butler and especially DePaul, acting as the go-to guy alonside Polley. Martin scored 33 points in the two games (15 and then 18), shooting a combined 12-26. He grabbed 11 rebounds (5 offensive) and had five steals against DePaul. Martin shot 3-4 from three against Butler. For the season, he is now averaging 10.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Martin did an excellent job of slashing to the basket in both games and using his strength against defenders. He also demonstrated that he can score from the peremiter when open, which will help UConn spread the floor in certain games. Martin continues to be an excellent rebounder, constantly crashing the boards and displaying strong instincts. He has created much-needed second opportunities for the Huskies inconsistent offense. Martin has seemed to improve significantly on defense over the course of the season, with DePaul being his coming out party on that end. His closeouts and help defense has been very strong, and along with Cole he is making it difficult for players to create easy scoring opportunities.
More significamt and enjoyable than Martin’s individual stats however, was seeing him take over the DePaul game when UConn was floundering on offense. After it fell behind 53-49, Martin relentlessly attacked the basket and created shots and got to the line, ultimatelly making the Huskies last three field goals. He also assisted on Cole’s 3-pointer that cut the deficit to one, and continued to play high-quality defense. Martin showed a lot of toughness and leadership ability, and he should be one of the team’s leaders going forward. Martin will have a lot to say about whether UConn continues to play well without Bouknight.
Polley keeps up his quality shooting
Polley didn’t quite keep match his great game against Marqueete, but he continued to play very well against Butler and was solid against DePaul. Polley led the team with 19 points against Butler, shooting 5-8 from three and 4-4 at the free-throw line. Polley cooled off some against DePaul, but still finished with 12 points, going 3-8 from three. He also contributed more on the boards in the win, grabbing four rebounds after having none against Butler. For the season, Polley is now averaging 10.1 points and shooting 45.7% from three. Polley also played solid defense in the wins.
After the road games, Polley has shown that he can consistently help space out the offense and create more opportunities inside for the other bigs and especially the guards. If Polley can continue to shoot well from beyond the arc and on jumpers, he and Martin can be the main catalysts on offense and somewhat make up for Bouknight’s offense. Hopefully, Polley will also improve his rebounding performance over time.
This defense is really, really good
I already talked about the defense’s excellent performances in the two games above, but I had to signal it out again here. After five conerence games, UConn has cemented itself as the best defense in the Big East and one of the best in the country. As of Thursday, the Huskies D rank first in conference play in 3-point percentage (28.3%) and points allowed (60.3), second in field-goal perecentage (41.4), and third in blocks steals (7.8). In the national rankings, UConn is 18th in blocks per game (5) and 24th in points allowed (61.8). The Huskies ability to play quality team defense (defending ball screens, guard the passing lanes, closeout, hedge), while also having quality on-ball defenders and shot blockers, will make them a headache for every opponent to face. Even if UConn’s offense is struggling, its defense is good enough to keep them in every game.
Cole is taking control of the point guard spot, while Gaffney looks lost
Cole has taken steps forwards on offense since the Marquette game, when he shot 1-6 and had 5 points. He scored 19 points overall in the two games, shooting 3-9 from the field in each, and his 12 points against DePaul was his first double-digit scoring effort since the Creighton matchup. Cole also made multiple 3-point shots for the first time since that game, draining 2-4. He also got to the line more against the Blue Demons, making four free throws. Cole continued to distribute the ball well in the wins, totaling six assists against just two turnovers.
The junior continues to show deficiences in his offensive game. At “6-1”, it is difficult to score in the paint against taller guards and bigs, and yet Cole has a bad habit of taking low-percentage shots in these situations. He is an inconsistent 3-point shooter who is better at making catch-and-shoot threes than creating them. If Cole can improve in these last two areas and diversify his shooting game so it focuses more on scoring in transition and on floaters and jumpers, than there is no reason why he cannot score regularly in double-digits. I am confident that Cole will continue to be a strong floor general and quality defender, and we have seen that he does not lake for confidence. With the abscence of Bouknight and his increase in minutes, this is Cole’s to step up, tale on an even bigger leadership role, and live up to the expectations fans had based on his performance at Howard.
As for Gaffney…yeesh. The sophomore, who is averaging 5.8 points and 1.8 assists overall in 21.4 minutes, has seen these averages drop to 3.8 points and 18 minutes in conference pay. In the Big East, Gaffney is shooting 26.3% overall and 1-8 from three, and has not scored more than five points in a game. He also has the same number of turnovers as assists with none. Finally, Gaffeney’s defense continues to be inconsistent and he struggles with keeping his man from getting by him. He had a decent performance against Butler with five points, four rebounds and three assists, but slipped to three points and one assist against DePaul, shooting just seven shots in the wins and making three. Gaffney’s minutes have steadily dropped, and he played a season-low 11 against the Blue Demons. It is clear that the starting point guard job is Cole’s to lose right now.
Gaffney has frequently played too tentavily all season, and the trait has become more pronounced in conference play. He regularly passes up open shots and is not aggressive enough in creating plays. Despite being the best free throw shooter at this time, Gaffney has only taken more than four in one game. His defense is not good enough to make up for his offensive weaknesses, and Gaffney continues to loook like a deer in headlights too much. His play has regressed since the end of his freshman season, and he needs to take a step forward far a la Whaley last season. Gaffney improving is a huge key to the Huskies playing well through the abscence of Whaley. Hopefully he, along with the help of Hurley and teammates, can improve his game in practice and then bring that and intensity to games.
Akok Akok returns but makes little impression
It was awesome to see Akok finally return in the Butler game after a ruptured Achilles and hamstring strain. Husky fans should probably expect his impact to be limited in the next couple of weeks though. Akok played just nine minutes combined against Butler and DePaul, and did not record a rebound or block (his one basket came on a dunk). It’s clear that the sophomore center is still physically limited, and the ijuries and complications of Covid-19 definitely hurt Akok’s development. Expect Hurley to continue to ease him back in the rotation, and hopefully he will be an effective player by the middle of next month. Can’t wait to see him next year when Akok can finally play a full season.
HUSKY NATION 