It’s fun to watch offenses dominate in all facets of the game, isn’t it? More than anything else, that’s the observation to take away from UConn’s 96-73 beatdown of Georgetown on Tuesday night at Gampel. It was one of the Huskies most complete wins of the season, and ultimately by several metrics one of the best offensive games any D-1 team has had this season and one of the five best by the program since 2002. The game also again showcased the impressive chemistry and joy the team has displayed in January. One thing is certainly clear: UConn has absolutely owned Georgetown since returning to the Big East.
The UConn offense was firing on all cylinders from the get go as they pushed the pace off Georgetown turnovers and missed shots and found Adama Sanago for open shots in the paint. Sanago opened the game with a dunk off a beautiful pass with Andre Jackson, who then had a spectacular fastbreak dunk a few possessions later. After Georgetown called its first timeout following a layup by Tyrese Martin, the Huskies began to expand their shooting range. With the help of some crisp passing, Akok Akok, Jordan Hawkins and Tyler Polley made consecutive three pointers (all assisted open), to push UConn’s lead to 28-19 with 9:28 remaining in the first half. Each trey was taken before the Hoyas defense could get set to challenge the shot.
Even as UConn was hitting everything however, Georgetown was doing a good job of keeping pace with them offensively, scoring 15 consecutive points on 3-pointers, two by Donald Carey to cut the deficit to 36-31 with 4:54 to go. The Hoyas were on fire from deep the entire first half, shooting 8-13. The defense did a poor job rotating and did not sufficiently challenge 3-pointers despite this being by far Georgetown’s biggest offensive strength.
In the last five minutes of the half the Huskies again put some distance between them and the Hoyas. Whaley scored multiple baskets off of offensive rebounds and UConn scored multiple second-chance points, taking advantage of quality ball pressure and loose handles by Georgetown players. Polley ended the half by making all his free throws after being fouled on a three to give the Huskies a 52-40 halftime lead. Martin scored 12 points in the half and his team had 11 points off turnovers. Still, the Hoyas managed to stay in the game by shooting 53.3%, with Aminu Mohammed dominating UConn inside and out to score 13.
Both offenses started slow in the second half as the game became more physical and there were unforced turnovers. UConn missed multiple shots around the rim and Georgetown struggled from the perimeter. The Huskies slowly stretched out their lead, and a fastbreak dunk and putback by Whaley putback gave him 13 points and made it 62-46 with 13:37 to go. Eventually, an open 3-pointer by Hawkins off a pass by Gaffney put the Huskies up 69-52 just before the 12-minute mark. They eventually figured out how to break the press the Hoyas started the half with to get quick shots, and focused on attacking the paint and scoring at the rim. Meanwhile, the defense, led by Whaley, did a much better job of challenging shots and rebounding at the rim to start the half and benefited from Georgetown finally getting cold from the outside.
Over the next few minutes UConn slowly built its lead. The got a great open look for Hawkins out of a timeout and he drained the three to push the lead to 20 points. Sanago then took over with six consecutive paints deep in the paint, with the final two baskets coming on pinpoint passes by Jackson from the top of the key, extending UConn’s run to 12-0, which lasted just over three minutes. During this run, the Huskies kept the Hoyas out of the paint as they missed jumper after jumper.
After a couple of baskets by Georgetown, UConn went on one last run with 7:48 to go. Sanago had a putback before it scored four points with the help of a flagrant foul, with the 9-1 run ending on a beautiful 3-pointer by Cole. The Huskies extended their lead over 30 in the final minutes as both teams emptied their benches and the Hoyas went on a scoring spree to make the final score look closer than the game was.
UConn ultimately shot exactly 50% and 41.7% 10-24) and 78.3% (18-23) from the free throw line, and the offense as a whole scored 1.45.9 points per possession. This was the best PPP mark by any team in the country this season and Five players (Sanago, Whaley, Hawkins, Cole, Martin) scored at least 13 points, with Sanago leading the way with 19 and Whaley and Hawkins tying season highs with 15. Sanago had 18 points and 8 rebounds as well as 2 blocks and steals. Whaley went for 15 and 7 and Martin 14 and 8. Cole added 7 assists and 6 rebounds, and Jackson had five dimes. Hawkins went 4-7 from three. UConn had 21 assists to 7 turnovers and 27 fast-break points, it’s best number against high major competition. It had 19 offensive rebounds to Georgetown’s 12 and outrebounded them 40-28 in total.
Georgetown shot 4% and 11-21 from three. Mohammed had 15 points and 7 rebounds and shot 3-4 from deep and Colin Holloway and Donald Carey put up 11 and 10, each making two threes. After a poor defensive effort in the first half, UConn held the Hoyas to 37% shooting in the second half. Led by Whaley, they defended much better around the rim and rebound better, and improved their rotations on the perimeter, allowing the Huskies to consistently contest outside shots. They had 6 blocks and 5 steals.
There are a lot of fun thoughts to take from UConn’s win against Georgetown. Here are a few significant observations I experienced.
UConn Has Legendary Offensive Performance
I’ve already gone through most of the remarkable offensive numbers, from the 1.45 points per possession (one of the best program marks this century) to having five players score in double digits and eight at least five to the shooting splits (50%/41.7%/78.3%). In addition, every player who played more than five minutes had an offensive rating over 100 on KenPom. Even without these numbers however, any fan watching could see this performance represented all of UConn’s players at their very situational best.
The players did an outstanding job of moving the ball and attacking the defense off of turnovers and missed shots. UConn’s acclaimed offensive depth was completely on display, from Hawkins (and Akok’s) ability to be a sharpshooter off the bench to Sanago and Whaley’s ability to dominate in the paint and on the board to Martin’s versatility on both ends to Cole and a lesser extent Jackson’s ability to beat defenders and create plays. At their best, there are so many ways the Huskies can score that a team can only contain them so much. That’s even more true when they are avoiding turnovers and unforced errors, as the team has mostly done the last few games.
Adama Sanago and Isiah Whaley Continue to be a Potent Duo
Sanago continued to be a dominant force against Big East opponents, scoring 19 points in just 23 minutes due to foul trouble. The Georgetown defenders were helpless to stop Sanago when he established good position, as he shot 8-14 and 3-4 from the line. The sophomore also showed off his athleticism with a fastbreak dunk, passed well out of double teams and played solid defense, earning two blocks. Sanago is now averaging 18.2 points, 13.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks in the past five games, and no Big East team has shown they can contain him when Sanago is healthy.
While Sanago is the big man who aways looks smooth, Whaley is currently doing the dirty work. After a tough stretch where he underperformed and dealt with health and injury issues, Whaley has averaged 13 points and 8.5 rebounds in the past two games while shooting 12-20. He is currently doing a great job of boxing out defenders and grabbing offensive rebounds for easy putbacks. Whaley was by far UConn’s most effective defender against Georgetown and did a great job of altering shots and grabbing defensive rebounds. Whaley’s energy and leadership ability seems like it is returning to the level Husky fans are used to. If he can continue to be a high-quality defender while getting his outside shot going again, Whaley will be even harder to stop.
Jordan Hawkins is the Microwave Man
The freshman who came in with big expectations has had a very topsy-turvy year, marked by confidence issues and inconsistent ball handling and shooting. As UConn has gotten deeper into Big East play however, Hawkins is finally starting to show the offensive skills fans were expecting from him. After demonstrating the ability to score in the paint against Butler, Hawkins finally came alive beyond the arc against Georgetown by going 4-7 from three to help the Huskies pull away. Hawkins 3-point shot has usually looked very smooth even when he is off, but recently it appears that he is doing a better job of moving without the ball and getting open opportunities with his feet set. When you combine his abilities from deep with his quality free throw shooting and ability to beat defenders at the rim, Hawkins can provide instant offense off the bench. Hawkins also avoided any turnovers against the hoyas, a issue that has plagued him all season.
Like a lot of talented freshmen, Hawkins has shown a lot of inconsistency and been unable to record multiple strong games in a row (he was scoreless in the second game against Butler). The Georgetown win has a great one for him to build on, as it was the best he’s shot from three in a long time and Hawkins avoided turnovers and played solid defense. After strong performances in two of the last three games, I would hope that he can build some momentum and at least begin shooting well from deep game to game. It’s clear that Hurley and his teammates will do their best to put Hawkins in a position to succeed, as they have been emphasizing playing better defense and working on his ball-handling technique. Now it is on Hawkins to fulfill his promise as UConn begins playing tougher teams.
HUSKY NATION 