Category: Seton Hall

UConn Needs to Adjust to Life Without Donavon Clinigan

After a thrilling opening 11 games to the season, UConn’s final two games before the winter break were a nightmare at times. The defending champions faceplanted in their opening Big East conference game at Seton Hall last Wednesday, looking mostly lost on both ends in a 75-60 loss, the largest the program experienced since 2020. As embarrassing as the showing was on the court, what was worse was the loss of Donovan Clinigan. The sophomore center has dealt with injury and conditioning issues all season, and a fall early in the second half resulted in Clinigan  injuring a tendon in his right foot, which will keep him out at least 3-4 weeks. It’s what all fans were dreading, and came just as Clinigan finally seemed to be rounding into form on offense the previous few games.

While the Huskies pulled out a gritty4-point win against St. John’s on Saturday, the offense was again stilted and the outside shooting was mostly nonexistent, especially when the Red Storm played zone and pressured the ball heavily. If Samson Johnson hadn’t stepped up so well in his first game at center, there’s a very good chance UConn would have been upset again at home.

The Huskies have a lot of question marks right now, most of which they have been able to work on during the 9-day holiday break between games. What adjustments can they make on defense to stop getting beat off the dribble and burned for layups, and to protect Johnson and Karaban in general on defense with Clinigan out of commission. How can the offense be more efficient in the halfcourt and play quicker, especially against teams that can switch throughout the lineup and deny good 3-point attempts? Finally, how can the Huskies change their identity where needed in January, including relying more on the bench and improving Stephen Castle? Dan Hurley and his assistants are very smart guys, and I feel like they will be able to get the team to continue playing well without Clinigan and then go on a run when he returns. The Big East is very deep however, and the struggles against Seton Hall and St. John’s were scarily similar to the losses the team had in last year’s January swoon.

Below, I talk a little bit about where I think UConn played well and poorly as a team the last two games, performances of a few players, adjustments the team can make on both ends, and the overall impact of Clinigan being injured and its ramifications.

The Defense Shows a Lot of Deficiencies

Throughout the season, there have been clear signs that UConn is not at the same level defensively as last year. The departure of Andre Jackson and Cam Spencer’s underwhelming defense has made the team weaker at shooting guard/small forward, and Alex Karaban still struggles to defend larger and more athletic forwards. While Castle is an excellent defender for a freshman and Solo Ball is decent on defense if  undisciplined, UConn will be starting three players without Clinigan that are less athletic than their counterparts on Big East team. Finally, Johnson is super athletic and can defend the rim, but is a poor rebounder relative to his size and prone to fouling and mental errors.

Without Clinigan at the rim to protect other defenders and clean up their mistakes, UConn looked very vulnerable against Seton Hall’s athletic guards, particularly Kadary Richmond. Too much of the time, he and his backcourt mates beat UConn’s guards off the dribble and glided to the rim for a layup or forced fouls. The Huskies were unable to force turnovers or a lot of poor shots and allowed 14 offensive rebounds to the Pirates. Finally, Johnson had a horrible game, earning just two points and rebounds in 21 minutes. And most frustrating, Hurley seemed unwilling to try any forms of zones or ramp up the trapping and pressure to throw Seton Hall off and hopefully force some turnovers.

While UConn was better defensively against St. John’s, it’s guards were still able to get to the rim too easily for layups or free throw opportunities, especially in the first half. While UConn did a good job of not letting star center Joel Soriano get the ball constantly, he still was outstanding when he was in position to score and pushed around Karban and even Johnson at times. Soriano was 4-5 from the field and 6-7 at the charity stripe for 13 points. The Red Storm got to the line 28 times in all, making 21 of those shots, as those games turned into a slugfest.

Hurley and his team are going to have to make a lot of adjustments on defense while Clinigan is out. They need to come up with ways to neutralize athletic guards and not make it so easy for conference opponents to beat them one-on-one on drives, even if their guards and forwards are naturally more athletic than UConn’s and Karaban. This could mean a lot of things, including emphasizing more help defense, playing zone or similar defensive styles when necessarily, or generally focusing on guarding the perimeter less (for example, the Huskies were defending Seton Hall at the top of the key constantly even when the Pirates aren’t a team that relies on scoring from deep). The team as a whole needs try and be more disciplined and play without fouling in the whistle-heavy Big East, with this being especially true of Karaban and Johnson while UConn is shorthanded. I believe that the coaches are capable of getting the defense to improve through tweaks, but UConn needs to be as pragmatic as possible and willing to try more things on that end of the ball.

The Offense Needs to Regain its Identity

UConn’s offense was one of the best in the country by all metrics in nonconference play. They were extremely efficient and found ways to score against every opponent (barring Kansas) even when perimeter shots weren’t falling. This has changed since Clinigan’s injury against Seton Hall. The Huskies, who are already more inconsistent on 3-pointers than expected in the nonconference, shot just 23.1% (9-39) from deep against Seton Hall and St. John’s. In the half-court, both opponents and especially the Pirates were able to switch and get under screens effectively or play zone and make it tough for UConn to get into its sets quickly and consistently get high-quality shots. Considering the athletic limitations UConn’s experienced guards and Karaban have as referred to before, being forced to play in this style puts more pressure on them to carry the team and get to the rim effectively. And when the Huskies are struggling from deep, it means the team cannot space the floor to counterattack zones. Seton Hall and St. John’s also pressured UConn defenders more than a lot of over times and it was very effective for the Pirates, whom forced a season worse 17 turnovers by UConn.

Even with Seton Hall and St. John’s forcing UConn to play a different style of offense, UConn is not helped by neither all of its main players getting off track in the last two or three games. Karaban has gone back to bricking 3-pointers since the Arkansas-Pine Bluff win, presumably the after-effects of injuring his finger, and it seems to be affecting other areas of the sophomore’s game. While Newton scored a combined 31 points the past two games and came up big in the second half against St. John’s, he has been inefficient from the field and committed 6 turnovers against Seton Hall. Spencer has been highly efficient on offense all season, but he was lousy against Seton Hall and will have a lot of pressure on him from both ends with Clinigan out. While freshman Stephen Castle and Solomon Ball both have the athleticism and size that UConn’s other guards lac, Castle seems to still be getting comfortable after losing time and is playing undisciplined, and Ball is too passive and is struggling badly from deep. Finally, while Johnson’s performance against St. John’s was outstanding, it will take more than one game for me to trust that he can be consistently reliable. With Clinigan not playing, it ultimately affects the spacing of the offense and makes it harder to run plays and get guys strong shot opportunities. The Huskies will have to find a way to overcome that.

I believe that after seeing how anemic the offense looked at times the past two games , Dan Hurley and especially his staff (paging Luke Murray) will make the adjustments needed to get the Huskies playing a wider variety of offensive struggles, which would make the team more versatile for when Clinigan returns. For me, this would include UConn being more selective about taking 3-pointers, especially by certain players (discussed more below), relying more on the pick and roll game to get shots, taking a few more midrange shots, especially by certain players, and especially continuing to attack the basket, with Newton, Karaban, and Castle especially trying to get to the basket and either finishing shots or getting more free throw opportunities. If the Huskies can focus on diversifying their game and work on running successful plays against zones and increased ball pressure in practice, it will carry over to games.

Samson Johnson, Big Game Player

Even as he barely played in his first two years at UConn, we heard a ton from Hurley about Johnson’s athleticism and work ethic, and his potential to be one of the premier big men in program history. Early this season, he seemed to be an excellent complement to Clinigan as a backup center, offering a more dynamic (if also more limited) offensive game and solid rim protection at times. However, he began struggling after the win against New Hampshire with foul trouble and a lack of rebounding, and got less playing time as Clinigan began getting closer to full strength. After maybe his worst game of the season at Seton Hall,  Johnson got his chance to prove himself as a starter against St. John’s and passed with flying colors.

Johnson was outstanding against the Red Storm as he went toe-to-toe with Soriano and outplayed him at times. Johnson had a few of his trademark dunks, including a memorable fastbreak one on which an obvious travel wasn’t called, and even took two quality floaters from roughly 10 feet out, making one. While Johnson needs to become a better rebounder, he grabbed three big offensive boards. As tough as it is to stop Soriano, Johnson still made a quality effort and had a block and steal. In a highly physical game with an imposing front court, Johnson looked right at home.   

If Clinigan does not return until near the end of January when UConn’s schedule ramps up (which would be the January 17th game against Creighton at the earliest), Johnson will have to show more diversity on offense and discipline on defense. Offensively, Johnson needs to not rely on just scoring on alley-oops and dunks, and instead develop better post movies. If Hurley is hopefully OK with it, Johnson can also can attempt more floaters and short jumpers. The junior showed decent form when he took those shots against the Red Storm, and Hurley has talked up Johnson’s shooting and ability to make 3-pointers in the past. If Johnson can demonstrate shooting ability, than it will open up more much-needed spacing as well. On defense, Johnson needs to get better at keeping his hands up against his man and not biting on fakes, only attempting to  block shots when appropriate, and especially boxing out on missed shots. With how physical games are in Big East play and UConn’s lack of experienced frontcourt players, Johnson needs to be careful and not reach for the ball, resulting in touch fouls. I think that Hurley and the staff will be able to work a lot on defense with Johnson during the break and between games, and continue to make it tough for opponents to outscore the Huskies in the paint.

The Freshmen Ned to Make a Bigger Impact

As briefly discussed earlier, the Husky freshmen did not contribute enough the last few games and have arguably made a lesser impact to this point than one would have expected coming into the season. Solomon Ball hit one key three against St. John’s but otherwise took just one shot in 14 minutes (although he had 2 steals), and missed all four shots he took against Seton Hall, with his 6 points coming on free throws. Overall, Ball seems to have lost a lot of the momentum he had coming out of his 12-point performance against North Carolina. After forward Jaylin Stewart scored a season high 7 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, he played just four combined minutes in the past two games despite Karaban’s struggles defensively. Jayden Ross and Apostolos Romoglou have been MIA both the last three games and pretty much all season. Only center Yousouff Singare has made a big impression lately of this trio, as he played 6 minutes and made his first career basket against St. John’s after subbing in for Johnson. And of course, there’s Stephen Castle.

Castle had a strong start at UConn in the team’s first two games, but after missing six games due to injury he’s been an enigma, even as Castle’s playing time has slowly ramped up. Castle is disciplined defensively for a freshman and can use his size and strength to pressure ball-handlers and drivers closely. However, Castle has overall shot under 40% the last three games and has demonstrated a tendency to rush or force shots, which resulted in multiple blocks for the Red Storm. Castle also has not shown a good outside shot throughout the season, mostly scoring off drives and layups. Castle’s defense, passing and rebounding already make him a valuable combo guard even without scoring a ton of points, and versatile for a freshman. But he still hasn’t put together a full game yet against a good team or played under control offensively since returning.

With Clinigan not available, Hurley must quickly figure out what roles his freshman can be most successful in. From my observations, this would mean challenging Castle to use his size and athleticism to go to the rim more and beat defenders for baskets or create plays for teammates. Hurley needs to also emphasize to Castle that he needs to play more under control and not challenge certain bigs one-on-one, where he can just get blocked. For Ball, Hurley needs to try and get him to be more aggressive and not rely on taking 3-pointers so much, as he has the tendency to force them. Finally, Hurley needs to get Jaylin Stewart and possibly Jayden Ross more involved. The ‘6-7’ Stewart has shown flashes of good play on both ends when he’s gotten on the court, and will more importantly be able to spell Karaban, who arguably plays too many minutes and experiences foul trouble against certain teams. While Ross has barely played this season, he may be able to be a 3-point threat off the bench based on his AAU/high school experience and what Hurley said in the postseason. While I can’t imagine Hurley expects Singare to contribute on offense considering he was a project and almost redshirted, he will hopefully be decent on the boards and on defense when Johnson is resting. Hopefully, the long break between games and a relatively easy upcoming schedule will allow the freshman to play more and prove themselves on the

Positives and Negatives for Huskies to Take From Last two Games

UConn has gone on runs in February the last two seasons, and it looks like this year’s team may be poised to do the same. After a brutal January, the Huskies are 4-1 in their last five Big East games, including a 15-point triumph against Marquette that’s one of the team’s signature wins of the season so far. They have improved to 20-7 overall and are 9-7 in the conference and in sole position of fifth place in the standings, good for a No. 18 ranking in the AP Poll.

UConn’s last two games at Creighton (a 56-53 loss) and home against Seton Hall (a 64-55 win) the past two Saturdays did an excellent job of reflecting UConn’s strengths and weaknesses at this point in the season, and where the team still needs to improve to go on a deep NCAA tournament run that seemed in the cards during the nonconference schedule. Below, I discuss my thoughts on these specific strengths and weaknesses to a greater extent. They range from the performance of individual players to execution on both ends of the floor and Dan Hurley’s decision-making. There’s certainly a lot to think about going into tomorrow’s Senior Night rivalry game against Providence.

The Positives

Andre Jackson Has Signature Performance

As every UConn fan is well aware of, Jackson has been incredibly inconsistent in conference play, displaying a huge loss of confidence on offense that has caused him to be undisciplined on defense and struggle to lead his teammates at times. Jackson has been working with Hurley to put himself in position to score more easily and be efficient offensively however, and it slowly but surely seems to be working and helping Jackson play better all-around.

The junior had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists against Seton Hall, while shooting 5-6 inside the arc and 5-7 at the free throw line. He also added a block and steal while playing 35 minutes. Jackson’s stats don’t reflect just how important he was to UConn dominating the paint and taking control of the game in the second half. After missing four open 3-pointers early, Jackson made the wise decision to focus on scoring around the baseline and attacking the basket on fastbreaks, situations where he could use his otherworldly athleticism to beat Pirate defenders at the rim. The point forward had a handful of spectacular dunks, one highly memorable fastbreak layup, and got to the charity stripe effectively. Jackson did a strong job of leading UConn on the fastbreak, where it was more effective than the last couple of games, and all his assists were pinpoint (he would have had more if teammates didn’t lose Jackson’s passes).

He stepped up in the biggest moments, recording four points, three rebounds and a block after entering the game with the Huskies leading 44-40 midway through the second half, allowing the lead to stretch to 16 at 56-40 with less than seven minutes remaining. Jackson also hit two free throws with UConn up 61-53 and less than a minute left to seal the win. Jackson’s defense continued to be aggressive but disciplined throughout the game, allowing him to stay in front of ball-handlers and avoid foul trouble.

Just because Jackson has been playing slightly better doesn’t mean that he is anywhere close to playing at his full potential. Jackson still struggled to make shots and do too much against the BlueJays, leading to 3 reckless turnovers and a 3-11 performance from the field, and was limited against Marquette due to foul trouble. He will need to play intelligently on offense and need to stitch together a couple good performances in a row before many have full trust in Jackson again. Still, I am confident he will do everything to improve. Jackson must be at least somewhat effective for the Huskies to beat Providence.

The Defense Has Been Vastly Improved

After a period in which UConn’s defense had played poorly, especially in defending the dribble drive, the Huskies have picked up their intensity and efficiency against the last four opponents and done a much better job defending the paint and limiting their offensive rebounds. UConn held Creighton, an elite offense, and Seton Hall to a combined 36.2% shooting and just over 25% on 3-pointers. UConn consistently challenged and altered shots at the rim, generally covered the 3-point line well, and communicated effectively on defense while staying in front of their man. While the Huskies forced only 25 turnovers over the two games and had more against both opponents (although they blocked 7 Seton Hall shots), their ability to play at a high level and not allow second chance opportunities limited runs by both teams, and kept UConn in the game against the BlueJays and build a large lead against the Pirates even with an inconsistent offense. While it’s certainly possible that the defense and rebounding will again fall off, especially against a Providence team that matches up well with the Huskies, the team is currently playing the quality defense Dan Hurley expects from his teams.

Hassan Diarra Fulfills His Role

It’s been a weird year for Diarra. While he was never meant to regularly play a lot of minutes barring an in injury to Tristen Newton or one of the UConn shooting guards, his overall shooting numbers have gone down in all three areas and he is averaging just 2.8 points on 32.5% shooting in 14.7 minutes per game. However, Diarra’s consistently strong defense and decent ball-handling has allowed him to be valuable in certain games. While the stat line wasn’t huge on Sunday, Diarra’s performance against Seton Hall was one of his best of the season.

Diarra had 4 assists (with no turnovers), 3 rebounds, 4 points and a block and steal in 24 minutes against the Pirates, the highest total he has provided in Big East play. Diarra supplied his usual bulldog defense, and with Newton playing one of his games where he is missing in action, Diarra shared regular ball-handling duties with Jackson. He did an excellent job of providing scoring opportunities for Hawkins and others and got Jackson going, and ran the fastbreak well when necessary. Diarra’s shooting still needs to improve if he wants to play more, but he is definitely UConn’s best backcourt defender off the bench and is capable of shouldering ball-handling duties if necessary. Along with Clinigan, I think Diarra can be the Huskies most valuable weapon off the bench in tournament play if he ends the regular season well.

Jordan Hawkins Continues to be More Creative on Offense

While it might seem word at first glance to focus on Hawkins offense performance the last two weekends with him only shooting a combined 5-18 from three in the past two games (not that any other Husky is setting the world on fire), the sophomore is continuing to do an effective job of attacking and finishing at the rim and getting to the free throw line, while also contributing in other ways. Hawkins was particularly effective in doing so against Seton Hall, going 4-6 inside the arc and making all three of his foul shouts against an elite defense to lead UConn with 20 points. He continues to do a better job of recognizing when he is off from three, and instead moving without the ball to get inside and using his speed and creativity to beat defenders at the rim. Even in the Creighton game when his shot was off throughout and he struggled with foul trouble, Hawkins showed the defense to continue to go to the rim. Throw in his continued strong rebounding and doing a better job of avoiding turnovers, and Hawkins continues to show just how well-rounded he’s become over the course of the season.

If Hawkins can continue to be effective at the rim and get his 3-point shot going, then he should help get the Huskies out of their recent offensive funk and and put them in position to go undefeated in the remaining conference games. He needs to be especially effective against Providence, where he struggled in the first game, and open up the floor spacing for his teammates.

Donavon Clinigan has finally Started to Get Going Again

For a long time, Clinigan was struggling. Although you could argue that Hurley was too reluctant to let Clinigan play through mistakes or try to play him and Sanogo together for even short stretches, he wasn’t doing as strong of a job of finishing shots around the rim and avoiding foul trouble while struggling heavily around the rim and turning the ball over two months. In the last two games however, Clinigan has been much better rebounding the ball and finishing around the rim, despite playing just 22 combined minutes.

He had 7 rebounds and four assists in just 11 minutes against Creighton, and it’s hard to understand why Hurley didn’t play him more when Sanogo wore down in the second half and Clinigan could continue to provide UConn more second chances on offense. Hurley seemed to realize his mistake and gave Clinigan 15 minutes against Seton Hall with Sanogo playing under the weather. The center had 6 points and rebounds and shot 3-4, finishing multiple shots teammates missed at the rim. Clinigan could have played better on defense, but he still picked up just one foul. He was a big part of UConn’s run midway through the second half to put them up by 16, and also provided another big body when the Pirates surged back near the end.

Clinigan still could have been much better on both ends against Creighton and Seton Hall. He committed a combined 5 turnovers and still can’t hit a foul shot, and he has struggled to stop the big men on both these teams. However, Clinigan had one of his best games against Providence with a double-double, and he matches up very well against their big men. Clinigan can be especially effective if Hurley is willing to play more zone and possibly play Sanogo and him together to make it tougher for the Friars to score and rebound. Clinigan is still one of the best freshmen big men in the nation, and Hurley will need to have more trust in him for the Huskies to play up to their full potential in the remaining games.

The Negatives

Turnovers Continue to Kill the UConn Offense and Lead to Easy Opportunities for Opponents

UConn has had an issue with turnovers throughout conference play, a majority of which have been unforced. It had a combined 31 turnovers against Creighton and Seton Hall, with 18 coming against the Pirates. While the Huskies did a good job of handling the ball against the BlueJays in the first half, they did a much poorer job in the second half. Again and again, silly turnovers killed UConn’s chances to take the lead even as its defense played excellent. Turnovers were a problem throughout Saturday’s game. They first led to a long scoring drought at the end of the first and beginning of the second, and then helped Seton Hall rally and get within two baskets in the final five minutes. In both games, many of the turnovers were easily preventable. They included moving screens, passes that were either dropped out of bounds or uncatchable, and the players wasting too much time to initiate the offense and losing the ball as they rushed to make shots. In addition to Clinigan, Sanogo and Newton were major culprits, with Newton committing 7 turnovers in the two games.

At this point, UConn’s propensity to commit turnovers is a legitimate weakness and not just an occasional bad habit. It commits almost a higher percentage of turnovers than almost any team in the Big East, and almost any team in either the metrics or AP polls (12.9 per game on the season). Teams that commit turnovers at this level rarely go deep in the NCAA tournament, even if they have many strengths otherwise. What’s especially frustrating is that the same types of turnovers are happening from game to game despite many being preventable, and a result of either general sloppiness or poor decision making offensively at the most costly moments. I don’t know how much Dan Hurley works on correcting these mistakes in practice, but this weakness is arguably the biggest reason why UConn is just a pretty good team and not a great one.

Tristen Newton is Mia on Offense Again

Newton has been an enigma all season. The senior is UConn’s best player at getting to the basket and handling the ball, and can be an elite rebounder and passer when playing at his best. And yet it’s always two steps forward and one step back with Newton, and way too much of the time he plays disengaged. After scoring in double digits six straight games and putting up a triple-double against Marquette, Newton scored just 2 points against Creighton and 6 against Seton Hall on 2-8 shooting, while committing 7 turnovers against just 6 assists. Newton did not attack the basket in either game and failed to reach the line against the BlueJays. His passes were risky at times, and Newton did a poor job of moving without the ball to get open for perimeter shots. With the senior not in the flow of the offense and his defense not quite up to par, it’s no surprise Hurley has given more time to an aggressive Diarra in the last two games.

At this point of the season, there is no excuse for a player as talented as Newton to disappear this frequently, especially when UConn needs him the most. When he was playing at a high level in late January and early February, Newton was consistently attacking the rim, getting to the free throw line and taking solid care of the ball. While Hurley arguably had Jackson handle the ball more against Creighton and Seton Hall in an effort to get him going offensively, that doesn’t give Newton an excuse for being passive offensively and either attacking the basket or finding ways to get open on the perimeter when the opportunity presented itself. If I were Hurley, I would have Newton handle the ball more against Providence and have Jackson focus on playing defense and rebounding and getting open on the baseline for easy scoring opportunities, while emphasizing to Newton that he needs to attack the basket. Newton’s size should give him a good advantage over the Friars guards, and he has a great opportunity to get to the rim and reach the free throw line. If Newton doesn’t get his act together, there is a good chance he will play fewer minutes and could leave Storrs with the reputation of being a disappointment.

UConn Still Isn’t Demonstrating That it Can Play Well Down the Stretch

The Huskies biggest weakness this season along with turnovers has either coming back to win against opponents in the final minutes of games or being inefficient when they have leads in the final 1o minutes, allowing opponents to outplay UConn and make them sweat even in wins or even coming back for improbable comebacks, as we saw at Seton Hall in January. The team has still not one a game by five or fewer points this season. In my mind, there are a few connected reasons for why this keeps happening:

  1. UConn waits too long to initiate its office down the stretch no matter if they are leading or trailing. Against Creighton and especially Seton Hall, the Huskies spent a ton of time dribbling before running offensive plays. This results in rushed shots, turnovers and generally a lack of communication. Against the Pirates, a great example of this was Sanogo getting the ball late in the shot clock multiple times and hesitating between whether he should shoot a 3-pointer or drive the ball, resulting in multiple turnovers. I don’t know how much of this offensive strategy is based on Hurley’s orders or the players just not executing well (I suspect more of the latter), but UConn should start running the plays earlier in the shot clock even if they have a lead late in the game, as it should allow it to either have more time to get an efficient shot or offensive rebounds to extend the possession.
  2. As I already discussed, UConn is susceptible to a variety of sloppy turnovers, particularly if it is pressured.
  3. The Huskies frequently do a poor job of inbounding the ball when other pressure, resulting in poor passes and turnovers and sometimes even 5-secound calls. If the team works on doing this a lot in practice it doesn’t seem to pay off, as either the guards don’t do a good job of getting the ball to either Jackson or one of the bigs, who usually have a height advantage over the defenders on an inbound.
  4. Dan Hurley doesn’t regularly call timeouts when UConn is having trouble inbounding, even if he has multiple timeouts remaining. As a result, 5-second calls and turnovers can occur, and Hurley isn’t able to draw up plays to make inbounding easier and plan out what plays the team wants to run after it gets quality inbound passes.
  5. A seeming lack of mental toughness, which I have already discussed on the site. UConn consistently gets tense and makes unforced errors late in games, while sometimes reflecting the demeanor of their coach. While it’s understandable that the freshmen could have these jitters, it’s hard to understand how players as skilled and experienced as Sanogo, Jackson and Newton to suffer the same issues.

Dan Hurley’s Recent Coaching

Hurley’s in-game coaching and ability to make adjustments has always been inconsistent, but it has been especially questionable the past few games. I have been particularly concerned about Hurley’s late-game coaching, with his hesitancy to call timeouts, make changes to inbound plays and encourage the team to play faster seemingly causing UConn to be undisciplined down the stretch. It’s not just then, however. I believe Hurley doesn’t have UConn push the tempo enough in general, and that he encourages the team to take too many 3-pointers even when they are struggling . He seems to not always hold starters accountable for listless plays and mistakes, especially Jackson, and that he doesn’t have Newton be the primary ball-handler enough so that he is consistently involved in the action. While UConn’s defense has been much better, I still believe that Hurley isn’t creative enough with the lineups, especially using zones or double bigs defensively and not playing Clinigan enough in general. I will give credit fore realizing that Diarra was having a great game against Seton Hall and sticking with him with Newton struggling. Still, Hurley seems to be playing checkers too much against opposing coaches when they are playing chess. He will certainly be forced to make adjustments against Ed Cooley and Providence.

Observations on Big East Tournament Games and Team Overall: Sanago at a Crossroads, Martin on Fire, and Questions About 3-Pointers

With the best UConn men’s basketball team since the 2014 season (in my humble opinion) ready to enter the NCAA tournament, a lot of fans will want to just completely focus on the tourney results and not dwell on what the Huskies accomplished either during the regular season or Big East tournament. There are a lot of valuable observations and lessons that can be taken from their conference tournament performance as the No. 3 seed, a quarterfinal win against Seton Hall and semifinal loss to eventual champion Villanova. In particular, I learned a lot from the performances of Adama Sanago and Tyrese Martin and how the team used them in the games.

The 62-52 quarterfinal win against sixth-seeded Seton Hall on Thursday was easily one of UConn’s best performances of the season. Its defense was elite, holding the Pirates to 18 points in the first half and just 0.87 points per possession on 35.7% shooting. The defense, particularly Andre Jackson and Isiah Whaley, absolutely shut down Jared Rhoden and Alexis Yetna, holding the dynamic duo to a combined 13 points on 4-21 shooting. While the Huskies were not exactly lighting MSG on fire as they shot 36.1%, they 17 points each from R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin, outrebounded Seton Hall 46-33 (five players had five or more boards), limited their turnovers and shot 12-14 from the free throw line, all formulas to tournament success.

While the UConn-Villanova semifinal game on Friday wasn’t quite as exciting as the second between the two a few weeks ago, it was close. While UConn came out on the losing end of a 63-60 game, it gave the Wildcats everything they had and led in the final minutes of the first half and early in the second. What ultimately did the Huskies in was their offensive struggles in the paint and beyond the arc and inability to stop Villanova from scoring at the rim in the second. After Jermaine Samuels and Brandon Slater burned UConn on 3-pointers in the first, Samuels continued his excellent play in the second and Colon Gillespie put on an offensive clinic, finding teammates for buckets with bounce passes and finishing with 10 assists. The Huskies inability to finish shots at the rim and find quality 3-point shooting opportunities doomed them as they tried to make a comeback. Martin was their only reliable offensive player on the night, scoring 19 on 7-17 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds and two steals.

While UConn may have lost in the Big East tournament semifinals for the second consecutive year, their outstanding win against Seton Hall and solid performance against Villanova, which is a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, bode well for how compeubjtitive they can be in March Madness. The Huskies, whom are seeded No. 5 in the West Region, will play No. 12 New Mexico State in the first round and should be solidly favored. After the Big East tourney, fans and the medica can feel up about the play of Martin and Andre Jackson, UConn’s excellent rebounding, especially on the offensive end, and overall defense on the interior. However, there are legitimate concerns about the play of Adama Sanago, UConn’s inconsistent shooting and the thinness of the bench. I address these subjects and more below, as well as my overall positivity about the team’s ability to go on a tournament run.

The Curious Case of Adama Sanago

There are two versions of Adama Sanago. One is the Sanago that is scoring effectively and aggressively around the basket, getting teammates involved on offense and dominating on both the boards and defense while avoiding foul trouble, even if these elements aren’t all happening at the same exact time. The other is the Sanago that is hesitant on offense and missing easy shots at the rim and or not sharing the basketball with teammates when well-guarded, struggles with foul trouble and gets lost on defense, leading to easy baskets for opponents. Good Sanago is the extremely gifted sophomore who was named First-Team All-Big East and nominated for the Kareem-Abdul-Jabber Award, which recognized the top five big men in the country. Unfortunately, the Huskies got Bad Sanago on offense at the Big East Tournament, and it especially cost them against Villanova.

After consecutive games where he didn’t play well offensively and struggled on defense against Creighton, Sanago ended his regular season on a high note against DePaul with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, giving fans hope that he would have strong games against Seton Hall and then Villanova. Sanago had been excellent against both teams in UConn’s most recent games against them. Instead, he had ugly offensive performances against both teams. Sanago shot just 2-11 against Seton Hall and scored just six points, and then had 15 points on 6-15 shooting against the Wildcats and went 3-7 from the free throw line. Sanago committed two turnovers in both games and had a single block between the two, coming against the Pirates. There were bright spots, as Sanago grabbed a combined 24 rebounds against the teams and generally avoided foul trouble while playing solid defense.

Against Seton Hall, Sanago did not obtain a lot of high-quality shots, as the Pirates did a very good job of not allowing him to get position deep in the paint and playing him aggressively without fouling. However, there was still no excuse for Sanago not to make at least a couple of more shots. While his performance was concerning, it was less of an issue with the Huskies ahead virtually the entire game, and I was pretty confident that he would have a better game against a Villanova defense that wasn’t quite as good or had the length of Seton Hall. I was very wrong. Despite being able to establish strong position in the paint and getting a decent amount of open looks against the Wildcats, Sanago consistently missed shots within five feet of the rim, a few times even badly. While he was able to get to the line seven times, Sanago missed four of the shots. The sequence that summed up his struggles came when he got the ball on four straight possessions and scored just one point, missing free shots and a free throw during the stretch. Sanago still ended the game with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds and was far from the only UConn player that had an ugly offensive day, as Isiah Whaley went scoreless and R.J. Cole 1-6 on 3-pointers. However, his team probably would have won if Sanago had hit just two or three of his open looks at the rim.

For Sanago, who played poorly in last season’s first-round NCAA tourney loss to Maryland, it is time to step up Thursday. He should have a big advantage against New Mexico’s state front line and if the Huskies most likely face Arkansas in the second round, a favorable matchup as well. Sanago needs to start either using the backboard or dunking the ball more on his shots to make it easier for him to score, and absolutely needs to involve his teammates more when well-guarded against the high-quality defenses he could consistently face in March Madness. At the same time, he needs to show a killer instinct offensively every second he is on the floor. I am expecting Sanago to rebound well against any opponent he faces and play good defense against most of them as long as he avoids foul trouble. If he isn’t efficient and smart offensively however, UConn will be in trouble and games could turn ugly.

Tyrese Martin Emerging as a Star on the Biggest Stage

My man crush on Martin is well-documented, and every UConn fans knows how important his versatility on both ends of the floor has been to the team’s success this year. He still seems to be overshadowed by Cole and Sanago and not fully appreciated by the media however, as he was snubbed for each of the All-Big-East teams despite averaging 13.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game despite missing four games due to a wrist injury and dealing with lingering effects to his wrist throughout the season. Martin, whose big personality and competitiveness has always been a treat to see, was sufficiently motivated by the slight and said he would get back at it by trying to earn the conference tournament MVP award. While he didn’t quite reach that goal, Martin still earned a place on the All-Tournament team by averaging 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2 steals and assists against Seton Hall and Villanova.

Martin was outstanding on both ends in each game and especially against Seton Hall. The senior forward spent the whole game trash-talking the Pirates and absolutely shut down Pirates star Jared Rhoden, limiting him to 7 points on 2-13 shooting. Martin made some tough mid-range shots whenever the Huskies needed them, distributed the ball well (4 assists) and was strong on the boards as always with 8 rebounds. Against Villanova Martin was by far the most reliable offensive player, going 4-8 from three, and helped keep UConn in the game in the second half with multiple 3-pointers. As in the first game, his defense and rebounding continued to be strong.

Martin could be a nightmare for New Mexico State and any other NCAA Tournament opponents to content with. His ability to contribute in nearly every facet of the game, as well as his 3-point shooting (43.9%) in Big East play, can allow him to make a difference even if his shot isn’t falling. In addition, Martin is arguably UConn’s emotional leader along with Whaley and can help his teammates get through any struggles and intimidate opponents. As long as Martin is having a strong offensive game and can mostly avoid his issues with fouling and turnovers, it will be very hard for the Huskies to lose to an opponent.

UConn Continues to Dominate the Boards While Improving its Ball-Handling

Everyone already knows the Huskies rebounding prowess, especially when on offense, but there were still occasional games throughout the season when UConn had fewer rebounds than opponents even when the team had a clear advantage in this area normally. This has not been a problem lately, as the Huskies won the rebounding battle comfortably in the final few regular season games and then against Seton Hall and Villanova. This especially made a huge difference against Seton Hall, as their second-chance opportunities helped overcome a poor shooting night. While UConn did not convert on many of its second-chance opportunities against the Wildcats, their offensive rebounding helped to eat up clock and limit Villanova’s scoring opportunities. The Huskies talent on the boards will help nullify New Mexico State’s strength in this area as well. If they advance and most likely face Arkansas, they are better on the boards on paper as well.

While UConn’s struggles where turnovers have been a problem throughout the season, it has improved its ball-handling remarkably since early February, a huge factor in the team’s success late in the season. That continued in the Big East tournament, as the Huskies committed 17 turnovers against 22 assists, and only 7 versus Villanova. As a team, their turnover rate of 17.4% ranks 110th in the country. It is still higher than a team of their caliber should have, but the improvement is a good indicator for NCAA tourney success. New Mexico State forces turnovers just 16.4% of the time and Arkansas 17.4%.

Most of UConn’s improved numbers in the turnover department can be attributed to the improvement of Andre Jackson when handling and passing the ball. After being a turnover machine at times for much of the season, Jackson has not committed more than one turnover in six consecutive games while averaging four assists per game during this span. Jackson has not been as reckless when running the fastbreak and cut down on making risky passes that teammates are not ready far while still showcasing his outstanding his outstanding court vision. While his minutes have been limited, Jalen Gaffney has been more careful with the ball when running the paint recently, and Jordan Hawkins has been more disciplined with his dribble when handling the ball, although Dan Hurley has rarely put him in the position to do so. If these players can continue to limit their turnovers and guys like Martin and Sanago can be more disciplined with the ball, then UConn’s offense can run a lot smoother in the tournament.

The 3-Pointer Conundrum

Entering the season, many fans were worried about how well UConn would shoot from deep after they didn’t get a sharpshooter on the transfer market. It was actually significantly better on 3-pointers than myself and many others thought they’d be, draining 35.3% of them overall (79th in the country) and 35.7% in conference play (fourth). While Cole and Gaffney’s numbers from deep fell, Martin improved significantly, as did Polley to a small extent and Jackson significantly. Add on the contribution of Hawkins (33.3%), and the Huskies 3-point shooting numbers were actually a strength of the time. At the same time, they were pretty inconsistent against high-caliber team and struggled mightily on threes in the last four games of the season (27.3% against Creighton and 30% against Seton Hall). The team also had issues getting Polley open for 3-point opportunities, with an example being him taking no more than three 3-pointers in any of the last five games.

After missing three games due to a concussion suffered against Creighton, Hawkins is expected to be able to play a significant number of minutes against New Mexico State. His presence will help make it easier for UConn to get good 3-point shooting opportunities in the NCAA Tournament. To go on a tournament run, it is essential that the Huskies shoot well from deep. It’s not only a skill that’s been demonstrated to be a barometer for tournament success over time, but will make it easier for Sanago to score as defenders will be drawn away from him. Martin needs to continue to make threes at a consistent clip, Cole needs to be more consistent and another player (likely Hawkins, Whaley or Jackson) will need to contribute at a decent clip. Most importantly, the team needs to find a way to get Polley a decent number of opportunities in every game it plays, particularly shots where he is set, and he needs to do his job and be the sniper he was recruited to the program to be. New Mexico State has held opponents to just 30% from deep (20th in the country), so the Huskies have their work cut out for them.  

While there’s legitimate concern about UConn’s ability to make threes, the bigger issue is allowing threes. It allowed all opponents to shoot 34.5% (233) and conference opponents to make 35.8% of treys). It allowed their last three opponents to shoot over 33% from three, and generally allowed a lot of opponents and players who weren’t particularly good from three this season to have very good nights against its defense (See Brandon Slater and Jermaine Samuels against Villanova). Part of opponent’s success from three against UConn is due to its defensive system, which prioritizes guarding the rim and not allowing ball handlers to beat them off the dribble. While the hard hedge is very successful on defense a majority of the time, it can make it harder for players to close out late on 3-point shooters. As I discuss more below, the Huskies have to be willing to make defensive adjustments to limit quality 3-point opportunities if a player or full team is going off. The players also need to communicate with one another to help limit kickouts and make sure players are capable of closing out efficiently.

New Mexico State and Arkansas are both poor 3-point shooting teams, although Vermont is an excellent one if they managed to pull off the upset against the Razorbacks. While a lot of luck is involved when team’s have especially good games from deep, I could absolutely see that being a big Achilles heel for UConn whenever it loses.

Will Dan Hurley be Flexible?

Hurley had a very good year. He continued to be an excellent defensive coach, tweaked things on offense in the second half of the season that allowed it to become more efficient and began to win more close games as the season went on. Hurley was also instrumental in helping Jackson and especially Sanago make big leaps as sophomores. At the same time, Hurley needs to be willing to make adjustments in a couple of areas in certain situations during March Madness, especially if the Huskies are losing to New Mexico State or another opponent down the round.

The first area UConn and Hurley need to be flexible is with their starting lineup. It has consistently started games out slow and a huge factor in this is the lack of offensive power in its regular lineup with Jackson and Whaley. As elite of a defender as Whaley is, I think that the team would generally be better off starting Polley or possibly Hawkins (although I very much doubt that will happen). Starting Polley involved could help him get going early and allow the Huskies to possibly stretch the floor at the same time, which could be a huge boom for Sanago. I am almost completely sure that Hurley would ride the starting lineup he has all season, but it would be interesting to see him change it and throw a wrinkle into the game plan of opponents, especially considering the strength of New Mexico State’s defense.

A second area Hurley needs to be flexible is making sure to his players that they cannot fall into a habit of feeding Sanago and watching him work, especially if Sanago is struggling. Instead, Sanago needs to be told to pass the ball out or to cutting teammates if he is not in good scoring position and then find methods for allowing Sanago to score more easily. Sanago should be very effective against New Mexico State, but UConn would need to continue to follow this strategy against any opponent it faces. Finally, Hurley needs to be way more flexible with his defense if the Huskies are struggling in the man-to-man and with playing the hard hedge, which would involve practicing it a decent amount in the leadup to Thursday’s game. I’d like to see him throw in some variation of a zone if the defense is shaky. Ditto with a box-and-one defense. If the team is consistently struggling to stop a single player, which in this scenario would likely be Aggies star Teddy Allen, I believe Hurley shouldn’t hesitate to double-team said player. Finally, I would love to see the Huskies press ball-handlers in an effort to get more transition opportunities. When you’re in the win-or-go-home situation of an NCAA tourney game, a team shouldn’t hesitate to try anything that might give them a better chance t

Observations on Last Week’s Wins: Polley Wake Up, Cole Asserts His Importance and the Danger of Turnovers

Right now, all UConn men’s basketball fans have a right to feel giddy. The Huskies have won three games in a row and four of five against strong opponents, and this week moved up to the No. 21 spot in the AP Poll. The attention being paid to the program and the rising attendance at games the last two weeks indicates that there is the most excitement around the program in at least six years. And now with Villanova traveling to the XL Center Tuesday night in front of a packed house, the Huskies, now 19-7 and 10-5 in the Big East, could win their biggest regular season game arguably since the early days of the AAC, when Louisville was still a member. And yet, there are still a lot of questions and doubts surrounding the team even after impressive wins against Seton Hann and Xavier.

The wins against the Pirates and Musketeers, both at Gampel, were similar in a lot of ways. While UConn was strong on offense overall, it was their defense and rebounding which distinguished their play as a team. Both games featured excellent performances by RJ Cole and Adama Sanago, with the pair getting just enough help from their teammates to close out the games efficiently. Neither team was able to put together a full 40 minutes in either win, as the Huskies started slow against Seton Hall and had an ugly second half against Xavier, but they also showed confidence and teamwork even when things weren’t going right. The enthusiastic crowds at Gampel certainly helped.

With the game against Villanova looming, it’s appropriate to look back on the positive and negative observations to take from last week’s wins. These include the play of Adama and RJ, the defense and rebounding, and the continued struggles with turnovers.

 RJ Cole and Adama Sanago set the Tone for UConn

The further we get into the season, the more appreciation I get for R.J. Cole.  Most fans are very fond of Cole, but it can be hard to comprehend just how important he is to the program unless you regularly watch UConn. Cole is the one player who can be a consistent playmaker and can be relayed upon to hit tough shots or get to the free throw line. While the senior isn’t a natural point guard and can sometimes become too focused on getting his shot in expense of others, he is a reliable ball-handler and passer and does a quality job of avoiding turnovers. Cole’s strong defense can occasionally be negated by his lack of height, but there is no double he is one of the Huskies best two-way players and is especially good at earning steals and drawing charges. Finally, while Cole isn’t normally a vocal leader, it is clear he brings a sense of stability to the offense and inspires his teammates to be more disciplined. Just look at how much smoother the offense frequently appears with him at the point in contrast to others. Not bad from a transfer who jumped from a low major to the big bad Big East.

   While Cole had a strong day in the 70-65 win against Seton Hall (16 points on 7-11 shooting and three assists), Xavier was one of his signature performances of the season. After UConn began the second half committing turnovers on seemingly every play and Cole was briefly forced to the bench due to earning a third foul, the Huskies came close to blowing a 17-point halftime lead and as Tyrese Martin and Jalen Gaffney could not effectively run the offense. Once Dan Hurley brought Cole back to the floor with about 13 minutes to go, the team slowly became calmer and more disciplined. With others struggling to hit shots, Cole helped carry the offensive load as he drove for a couple of layups and set Jordan Hawkins up for a back-breaking three to put UConn up 59-50. With his offensive play and solid defense, Cole got the team back on track and allowed them to slowly pull away from the Musketeers. While Cole will struggle to score more against Villanova’s big guards, I am confident he is capable of running the offense with the same efficiency he showed on Saturday.

Sanago did a great job last week and especially in the Seton Hall win of re-asserting his dominance after the foul trouble that limited him against Villanova and Xavier in the first matchup. Against Seton Hall, Sanago did an outstanding job of asserting his dominance early, recorded 12 and 9 rebounds in the first half, and managed to play discipled defense with only foul in 32 minutes while blocking three shots. He allowed UConn to get off to a great start and withstand the Pirates comeback later in the first half, and then made some big baskets in the second to put the Huskies in control. Against Xavier, the sophomore really didn’t do anything scoring-wise after the first 2-0 minutes when he pushed around their defenders for 15, but he continued to rebound and finished with nine boards, four offensive, and two blocks. Finally, Sanago again only had one foul in 38 minutes. The only negative for Sanago against Xavier was his four turnovers, but Hurley admitted after the game that this was partly due to the team trying to force the ball into Sanago to much at the beginning of the second. Villanova is a tough matchup for Sanago, but as long as he can find a way to stay out of foul trouble and not force shots, he’s very capable of having a quality day.

Tyler Polley Provides a Shot in the Arm

As his is style, Polley’s season has been all over the place. The super senior’s main role is supposed to be that of team’s 3-point specialist and sniper, but Polley’s numbers from beyond the arc had been down for the second consecutive season, as he came into the Xavier game shooting 33.9% in conference play. Polley had gone 1-9 from there in the previous three games, and had not hit more than two 3-pointers in one since a 3-4 day in the first St. John’s game. A lot of factors went into Polley underperforming from deep, including defenses constantly keying in on him, Pollfive ey not getting set for shots, and teammates not doing a good enough job of finding him when he was open. To his credit, Polley has played solid defense and extremely valuable late in the game as a free throw shooter, but he needed a game where he filled his niche. Enter Saturday against Xavier.

Polley’s shot was completely on point against Xavier. He easily drained the trio of threes he took, even when they were well-defended. Polley used shot fakes and step-backs to give himself room on the shots, something he doesn’t do enough when taking threes. Add a midrange jumper and five three throws (including three he earned when fouled on a 3-point attempt, and it added up to 16 points, Polley’s third highest total of the season and first double-digit scoring game since January 18th. Polley also did an excellent job of using his height to break Xavier’s press late in the game. He gave the Huskies a lot of momentum early with his shooting and then executed well on both ends to pull the game out. That’s the mark of a senior leader and what they are looking for from Polley.

As many have said, Polley can be an ex-factor for UConn the remainder of the season. If he is on from deep and finding other ways to score while also playing solid defense, than that could elevate UConn’s offensive ceiling and allow them to beat any opponent if the team is also playing solid in other areas. Meanwhile, if the performance at Xavier is an anomaly and Polley returns to being very inconsistent from deep and a non-entity on offense at times, then the Huskies will find it that much harder to score and more pressure will be put on the team’s top players (Cole, Adama and Tyrese Martin). A lot of it will depend on his teammates, but Polley can make a new legacy at UConn the remainder of the regular season and come tournament time.

UConn Reestablishes its Identity as a Defense and Rebounding First Team

In the losses to Villanova and Xavier, UConn underperformed on the defensive end, especially with guarding the paint, and did not control the defensive boards and gave up too many second-chance opportunities. While it was understandable the Huskies would have trouble shutting down an elite offense it doesn’t match up with well, it didn’t make much sense on paper against Xavier, which has had a mediocre offense in Big East play. It was also very disappointing to see that UConn underperformed on the boards against both teams, as they should have been able to effectively use their size and athleticism to get the upper hand on Wildcats and Musketeers players.

Against Seton Hall and Xavier, the defense built on its performance against St. John’s and was completely dominant at times. It held the Pirates and Musketeers to 42.6% and 38.3% inside the arc, and limited Xavier to 5-17 shooting from three. It also held Xavier to 0.90 points per possession, and limited star guard Paul Scruggs to 3 points. UConn earned six blocks in both games, with Sanago earning three in the first game and Whaley four in the second. In both wins, the defense did an excellent job of defending and altering shots at the rim and ramping up ball pressure. Against Xavier, the Huskies did a much better job of defending from behind the arc then they have recently, and the player’s help defense was extremely efficient. In both games, the defense kept their opponents from going on long runs and were able to recover from a few lax possessions or brief struggles. That ability to suffocate the defense and generate offense from that is what can make UConn an elite team, and I am confident it can continue to play at a high level as long as the defense is creative.

It was also great to see the team elevate its rebounding after a few games where it underperformed. Sanogo’s ability to avoid fouls against both teams and go up to get offensive rebounds allowed him to fulfill his destiny as a great all-around big man. Martin had double-digit rebounding games against both Seton Hall and Xavier, and it was smart of him to focus on rebounding and defense when his shot wasn’t falling on Saturday. And Whaley and Andre Jackson were a nuisance on the boards, as they always are. UConn needs to keep up its energy and box out to continue that level of rebounding against Villanova, especially on the offensive end. If it doesn’t rebound well against ‘Nova, I see no possibility of the team winning.

The Huskies Decision Making When Moving the Ball Needs to be Better

Ahhh, the opening minutes of the second half against Xavier. Where to begin? I don’t remember any game I watched where a team committed so many turnovers in almost no time (10 in the first seven minutes of the second, to be precise), and how many of them were preventable. Yes, Xavier did a great job of ramping up its defense to start the second and were pressuring ball handlers.  But there’s no excuse for Jackson, Jalen Gaffney and Martin throwing sloppy and off-target passes inside to no one in particular, and resulting in baskets for the Musketeers. The Huskies were stubborn about forcing the ball into Sanago even when he was very well-defended (Hurley admitted after the game that the team was too focused on doing this), and for some inexplicable reason Jackson was out of the game when Cole was sitting due to foul trouble, leaving the team with no reliable ball-handler against a pressure defense. UConn has to do a better job of substituting in situations like this, and it needs to look at film to better understand what went wrong during this stretch and how the team can still handle the ball effectively if Cole is sitting. That stretch was inexcusable, and it cannot happen again.     

Inspiring Performance is Only a Hollow Victory in Loss to Seton Hall

Entering the 2021-22 season, every fan and pundit was eager to see which player or players could be UConn’s go-to-player in close late-game situations and create scoring opportunities in these situations when plays broke down. It’s January 10th, and we are still no closer to having a clear answer to these questions.

In their first three losses, the Huskies had chances to come back or take leads in the waning minutes of the game and blew these opportunities due to both poor execution and puzzling play calls. Now, add Saturday’s 90-87 overtime loss at Seton Hall to that group. While UConn, returning from a 17-day pause due to COVID-19, led the majority of the game despite it being its first contest in 18 days, the team was never really able to slow down Kadary Richmond and the No. 24 Pirates in the second half and overtime. Combine this with sloppy ball-handling and inconsistent shooting during the game’s final 20 minutes, and the stage was set for a heartbreaking loss.

There’s a lot of positives to take away from the conference loss. The Huskies (10-4, 1-2) were more competitive after such a long layoff than myself and many others thought they could be, especially with multiple players (most prominently Isiah Whaley) being on minutes restrictions due to contracting the virus. It was their most impressive offensive performance since the win against Auburn, including UConn shooting 60! percent and Adama Sanogo going for 18 points and 16 rebounds. It had significantly more assists (18) and rebounds (40 to 25) than Seton Hall. And yet the Huskies also played very poor defense, gave up 27 points to role player Kadary Richmond and lost. Your record is what you say you are.

UConn had one of its best starts to the season despite its layoff. After trailing 13-11 five minutes into the game, it slowly but surely took the lead and began a 13-8 run midway through the first half, eventually taking a 36-28 lead on a jumper by Whaley with 4:35 remaining. This run was fueled by 3-pointers by Akok Akok and Polley as well as a 3-point play from R.J. Cole. The Huskies made six threes in the first half against a Pirates squad that defends very well from deep, with Akok and Polley draining two. Sanago also was a focal point of the offense and got excellent looks at the rim, scoring eight points. Despite forcing 10 Seton Hall turnovers UConn did a poor job of defending in the half and especially at the rim, ultimately allowing the Pirates to shoot 51.7% and get within four at halftime at 41-37.

After Bryce Aiken opened the second half with five points to give Seton Hall a 42-41 lead, UConn quickly responded with a 13-3 run to go up 54-45 and force a Pirates timeout four minutes in. Andre Jackson was the catalyst for this run, scoring eight consecutive points on two open 3-pointers and free throws.

Richmond and the Pirates weren’t going to go quietly however. The 6’6’ sophomore guard, who transferred from Syracuse and was pursued by UConn in the portal, scored 17 consecutive points in just over four minutes to put his squad up 62-61 with 11:48 to go. Richmond, who had just two points at the half, used his size and strength to make layups and get to the line against a succession of Husky guards and forwards. Seton Hall was content to keep feeding Richmond during the run, and UConn allowed him to go 1-on-1 while rarely sending help. Richmond did a good job forcing contact, but the Husky defenders again and again failed to stay on the ground at the rim to make it easier for him to do so. During this stretch, UConn went cold from the field and made multiple turnovers, including two by Jordan Hawkins that sent him permanently to the bench.

The remainder of regulation was a back-and-forth affair, with the squads regularly trading baskets. After a few more points, UConn and Hurley finally began to double-team Richmond and mostly kept him quiet from there. A pretty jumper by Sanago briefly put the Huskies back up and then a three by Cole off a nice pass by Martin tied the game at 68. Ike Obigau, who made multiple clutch blocks on UConn late in the second half, gave the Pirates a 74-72 lead at the 5:04 mark, but Martin answered with a wide-open three a minute later to finally give UConn the lead again at 75-74. The teams traded free throws in the next three minutes and Cole made it 77 all at the line with 1:48 remaining. After both teams missed 3-pointers, Hurley called a timeout to set up UConn’s final play of regulation with 32 seconds to go.  I discuss the play in more detail below, but Cole dribbled the air out of the ball before throwing up an ugly layup with seven seconds left that failed to hit the rim. Aiken missed a last-second three to send it to overtime. In the final four minutes, the Huskies failed to make a field goal, going 0-4 with two turnovers and a air ball from Jackson.

UConn put up an impressive effort in overtime in rallying from multiple 4-point deficits, but again failed to make a play in the game’s final seconds. After Rhoden and Aiken each beat their man off the dribble to score on layups to put the Pirates up 81-77, Sanago kicked the ball out to Martin for an open trey to get within one. With two minutes to go, Polley drained a three to cut the deficit to 84-83. Gaffney answered a Rhoden layup with two free throws and Aiken missed a well-defended layup attempt with a minute remaining, causing Hurley to call a timeout. The Huskies executed the play call perfectly, as Gaffney found Sanago at the rim on a pick and roll to give the team an 87-86 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Richmond stepped up and was again Enemy No. 1 for UConn, predictably backing down Whaley and scoring over him for a layup as his teammates left him out on an island on defense. The Huskies final quality scoring opportunity was again a disaster as Martin was trapped into the left corner and forced into a turnover. Sanago missed a desperation three at the buzzer as Pirates fans celebrated their impressive victory.

The trio of Richmond, Aiken and Rhoden carried Seton Hall to the win, scoring 64 points in all. Richmond went a remarkable 10-13 from the field and 9-10 at the line and had three assists, while Aiken had 22 and seven assists. Obigau was a monster in the paint, eventually earning six blocks The pair got to the line at will, where the Pirates went 20-24. Sanago managed to play 32 minutes and had his best all-around game of the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds. Cole struggled in the paint but still finished with 15 points and four assists, and Jackson scored 10 points and grabbed six boards.    

While all of UConn’s losses have felt like an ugly version of “Groundhog Day”, there are a lot of positives to take from Saturday’s effort that should make them feel confident heading into Wednesday’s home game at St. John’s, which will be the first Big East conference matchup at Gampel with fans in a decade. Both my positive and negative observations on the crazy game are below.

UConn Gave Seton Hall Everything it Could Handle With the Odds Against Them

After a 17-day layoff caused by nine players and Hurley getting Covid-19 cancelled two games and caused no full team practices until Thursday myself and a lot of fans would have been satisfied with a competitive road loss by single digits, the result I thought would be most likely. Instead, the Huskies looked strong from the jump and controlled the game for the first 25 minutes.

As discussed more below, UConn got strong offensive contributions up and down the lineup despite several players being on minute restrictions and scored in a variety of ways. After a few games where it underachieved on the boards, the team dominated the glass and consistently got second-chance opportunities. The Huskies consistently fought back from deficits late and competed hard on both ends through all 45 minutes despite visibly being gassed late.

Ultimately, the Huskies lost for two reasons in addition to their layoff. One, they played poor defense and did not make adjustments on that end when being burned in the paint. And two, UConn did not have ball-handlers who could break down the defense and take over when necessary, in contrast to Seton Hall. Moral victories are mostly hollow and I am sure the players were very frustrated with the loss. But the Huskies have no reason to hang their head, and hopefully the strong performance will give them momentum heading into an easier stretch of opponents in the next two plus weeks.

The Offensive Comes Alive

At the tail end of November and in early December the offense hit a relative dry spell. Much of this could be attributed to tougher competition and the absences of Sanago and Martin for much of this time, but the Huskies still didn’t do a quality sharing job of sharing the ball much of the time and multiple players failed to step up. UConn began to get out of this funk in their 78-70 win at Marquette on December 21st and smashed through it on Saturday.

UConn burned Seton Hall, an excellent defensive team, both in the paint and behind the arc and scored 1.18 points per possession. Five players scored in double figures (Sanago, Cole, Martin, Jackson, Polley) and eight with at least five points, shooting 47% overall. The Huskies shot 14-23 from deep (60%) and five players had multiple threes. They only made more threes against Auburn in a double-overtime game and the percentage was the season’s highest. The team continued its recent outstanding performances at the free throw line, going 11-12. UConn did an excellent job of responding to Seton Hall’s run, including after Richmond’s scoring streak and in overtime.

The Huskies shooting was not an adnominally. The players did an excellent job of sharing the ball, as evidenced by their 19 assists (six players had multiple dimes). UConn was able to efficiently run pick-and-rolls and find Sanago and others open at the top of the key and consistently earned players open looks from behind the arc, something they probably should have tried to do even more. Jackson provided valuable playmaking duties at times, despite some poor decision making. It was especially entertaining seeing Akok and Jackson continuing their hot streaks from deep and Polley regaining his ability to drain threes in clutch situations.

Sanago especially deserves accolades. Originally expected to play just 20 minutes, he gave 32 and made big plays every minute, eventually finished with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Sanago dominated defenders down low, stepped out for a few shots and moved well without the ball. He was a monster on the boards, outmuscling opponents for balls to earn second chance opportunities. Sanago defended well, blocking three shots and altering more. His stamina was remarkable after a layoff and injury and calmed my worries about his reliability. Sanago can feast on lesser opponents in the next stretch of games.

Turnovers Defining Factor in the Loss

God knows I am sick of talking about UConn’s ballhandling issues, especially its lack of secondary ballhandlers. However, it’s impossible to avoid the subject when it’s been the biggest contributing factor in all four losses. The Huskies 19 turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half, helped Seton Hall rally from their 9-point deficit early in the second half and prevented them from going on a sustained run in the half or overtime. Every time UConn seemed like they were ready to get back on track, they shot themselves in the foot with an unforced turnover. Some of it was poor passes or players losing control of the ball. Some of it was players either dropping passes or not being ready for them. And some of it was just good-old fashioned defensed by the Pirates. The Huskies have a habit of being sloppy with the ball at times every game, but Saturday was a new low. UConn now ranks 187th on KenPom in percentage of turnovers that are not turnovers at 9.7%. The only Big East team worse in this category is Georgetown.

Four players had four or more turnovers, with Martin and Jackson being the primary culprits with five and four respectively. Martin had multiple travels and of course the turnover that basically ended the game. Meanwhile, Jackson had the ball stolen from him multiple times and was burned by risky passes. After a good start to the game, Hawkins disappeared midway through the second half after three quick turnovers, all of which were preventable.

The game again highlighted why Cole is the only reliable ballhandler on UConn, and even he had three turnovers. Hawkins handle is poor and he is struggling with a lack of confidence. Jackson can still take too many risks at times and his teammates aren’t always ready for his passes. Martin’s handle is also way too shaky And Gaffney takes the air out of the ball on offense when playing paint and cannot pick up the scoring role for Cole. Cole was making plays for teammates, especially Sanago and Martin, but when he fouled out with 2:19 remaining in overtime the offense ground to a standstill and Gaffney and Jackson didn’t efficiently initiate sets. It was a mirror repeat of the Michigan State loss where the Huskies let the game slip away after Cole fouled out on a questionable call. If UConn cannot develop another reliable ballhandler/secondary point guard and consistently execute late, there will be more close losses to teams at Seton Hall’s level.  

UConn Losing Identity on the Defensive End

After a mediocre defensive performance in the 78-70 win at Marquette, the Huskies had their worst showing of the season against a major conference team on that end. Seton Hall shot 59% inside the arc and 40% from three for the game and their shooting on 2-pointers was even better in the second half and overtime, and added 20 free throws at an 83% success rate. The Pirates ended the first half strong and once Richmond got going, they were off to the races for the remainder of the game. No matter which defenders UConn threw at Richmond and Aiken, they couldn’t keep the pair from beating defenders off the dribble or backing players down and scoring over them, as well as getting to the line. UConn stuck to its man-to-man defense for almost all 45 minutes and did not make adjustments to slow down Richmond and others (more on that below) and the help defense was lacking. Seton Hall took care of the ball with just 12 turnovers and had both more steals and blocks than UConn, a very rare occurrence. In the end, Seton Hall looked stronger, faster and more determined than their defenders. It makes you worry any time the Huskies play opponents with multiple quality guards that rely on speed.

A special space should be reserved to talk about Whaley and his defense. I know Whaley has struggled with injuries and was one of the last players to recover from COVID-19, giving him less time to prepare for Saturday. And we know how much of a warrior Whaley has always been. Ultimately though, he looks less athletic and strong this year than last and not the same elite defender, especially one-on-one. If Whaley continues to not play at his past defensive level, then UConn is in trouble unless others step up in his place, especially with providing help defense.

Defensive Strategy and Late Game Execution Lacking

After touching on it throughout the article, I am going to finally focus on the questionable decision making of Danny Hurley. I am not sure if UConn could have stopped Richmond during his run or the other guards late. The trio did an outstanding job of shot-making and using touch to finish layups, as I cannot remember the last time an opponent made so many of them against UConn while not having any layups rim out. There’s always one or two times a season that an unheralded player like Richmond goes off on the Huskies and they are not prepared. But there’s no excuse for Hurley allowing Richmond to go off and score on every possession and embarrass the defenders while not making any adjustments. Doubling…zone…box-and-1…there’s a bunch of different defenses Hurley could have tried to get the ball out of Richmond’s hands and make someone else beat them instead of letting him define the game. Ditto for sticking with man-on-man for all of overtime when Aiken was getting to the line constantly and not having bigs like Sanago or Akok help more.

itscoring opportunities on out-of-bound plays and out of timeouts. At the end of regulation and after Cole fouled out in overtime however, I thought that the play options he set up for UConn were baffling.

On their last possession of regulation, Cole dribbled until near the end of the shot clock and then fired up a floater that had no chance of going in and ended up being a shot clock violation. It seemed like UConn was either trying to get Sanago open rolling to the basket off of a screen or try and give Cole the chance to either make a floater/layup or just have his attempt give teammates a shot at a putback or tip-in. Cole still spent too many seconds dribbling in place and not getting the play going to give him multiple options for either a catch-and-shoot play or for him to get to the hoop, ideally for either a layup or at least a foul. Not telling Cole to start the play earlier and give his point guard more options is on Hurley.

Similarly, the final play of overtime with Seton Hall up 88-87 was a mess with both the call and execution. It appeared that the goal was to get the ball to Martin and have Sanago set a screen that would allow him to have a passing lane to the basket. Obigau shut down the passing lane to Sanago and Richmond played excellent help defense to trap Martin at the top of the right corner to force the turnover near the end of the clock. Martin tried to clear Sanago out for him to drive, but instead Sanago trapped Martin even more by coming over and trying to help by setting a screen.

Hurley again had the players wait way too long to start running the play and he was right to say that Martin should have started his drive quicker. However, Martin should have been given more options, such as a pick-and-pop play or getting to the middle of the floor and either passing it out or driving it into the lane to get a layup or force a foul. If Hurley had had his team run a quick play, they would have had more play-making opportunities or more time for a chance at offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities. It makes sense to want the ball to go to Adama on final possessions, but UConn needs to have other options in its pocket, including looks behind the arc, as opponents are going to be geared towards keeping the ball away from him. Hopefully, Hurley and his players are learning from his losses and would have two or three plays in their back pocket available for similar late-game game situations going forward. The Huskies lunch has to change, right?

The Ramifications of UConn’s Bout With Covid-19

Going through UConn basketball withdrawals is not fun, even if it’s a situation where the team just has a week between games. With that the case, the team’s 15-day and counting break between games, which is supposed to end Saturday at Seton Hall has been miserable. The Huskies had nine players either test positive or show mild symptoms of COVID-19 as well as Dan Hurley and its games against Xavier and Butler were cancelled (Xavier has been rescheduled for February 11th). At this time, we have no idea if multiple players caught the virus at an event or something similar or if it just spread from player to player. The team did not have enough healthy scholarship players to face either Xavier or Butler on New Year’s Day. Finally, they will still be missing players at Seton Hall Saturday and likely St. John’s next Wednesday as well. It’s not surprising that the team had issues with COVID-19 and games cancelled despite all players being vaccinated and a majority boostered. It has happened with a bunch of programs throughout the country. It is disheartening however, especially after the number of games the team has already had to play shorthanded.

There are a number of storylines around how UConn will be affected by the COVID-19 layoff going into Saturday and then further into January, most negative. However, there are a few small positives, especially involving Adama Sanogo. It is hard to look at things a few days out and examine where UConn stands when we don’t know who is definitely available against Seton Hall (I cannot imagine we will until Friday morning at the earliest). I still feel it is interesting to reflect on these storylines and dig into them. I have done so below, and will update the article as necessary. Let’s hope things break positive for the Huskies as much as possible!

Negatives of Stoppage and Layoff

  • I’m actually going to start with an issue that might not immediately come to the mind of fans. For the afflicted players who are able to compete against Seton Hall and St. John’s because they are healthy and cleared and had enough practice time, how rusty will they be and what will their stamina level be on the court? We all know that guys can be rusty even if they have been practicing in their first on-court action after a long layoff. Add on the fact that individuals who get Covid-19 can have lingering effects such as shortness of breath and various heart issues even if they are young and in great shape, and we just have to pray that these players and Hurley are fully healthy for the remainder of the season.
  • Hurley said to reporters last week that the timing of people getting symptoms and positive tests was staggered and we obviously do not know how many players have been at the level of being able to fully practice and work out this week. It’s easy to imagine that the players may not have their regular chemistry in practice and against Seton Hall, especially based on who will be able to play against the Pirates (more on that below). What has the team been able to work on during the last few practices while being shorthanded? Will it be prepared to specifically handle the strengths and weaknesses of a very strong Pirates team, and can they maintain composure when back in game action? Those questions cannot be answered until Saturday, but I am both excited and worried about how the chemistry issue plays out.
  • My personal hope is that the absence of certain players and the way Hurley has handled practices and training has allowed the freshman and others who normally are backups to get a chance to practice more in the last week, and that this group will ultimately get a solid amount of playing time against Seton Hall and St. John’s. This is a double-edged sword in certain ways. We cannot know whether certain guys who have played less be able to rise to the occasion against the Pirates and execute well on both ends. At the same time, we cannot know how many of the team’s best players and leaders (in my mind Cole, Martin, Sanogo and Whaley) will be available and if the Huskies can rely on them in a close game, although it seems like Sanogo did not test positive and should be close to fully recovered from his injury by Saturday. More than anything else, I want to know how many members of this quartet will play on Saturday, as I believe it will make the difference between a win and loss.
  • If the situation is the reverse and a majority of the players out on Saturday are backups, how much of a burden could that place on guys like Cole, Martin, Whaley, Tyler Polley and Sanogo in his first game without full minute restrictions? Those guys were already averaging a lot of minutes, especially Cole, who is playing roughly 35 minutes a game recently as the Huskies main scorer and ball-handler. It would be tough for them to have the same consistency and stamina after no games for so long.
  • Seton Hall has had its issues with having players out due to COVID-19 as well, and lost to Providence and Villanova at the end of December and on New Year’s Day shorthanded, dropping its record to 10-3. The Pirates had a nice 71-56 win at Butler yesterday however, and should have all their players available against UConn. With their full team Seton Hall is absolutely one of the best teams in the Big East, and defeating them on the road shorthanded would be up there with UConn’s defeat of Auburn as its best of the season. I think the game will be close no matter what, but there would be no shame in the Huskies losing.
  • Finally, it will be interesting to see how the Covid-19 layoff affects Tyrese Martin. If Martin was one of the players who tested positive and experienced symptoms, not being able to play would be a tough pill to swallow after missing four games and playing just twice in December due to injury.  While Martin was solid against Providence and great against Marquette inb his first two games back before the break, it’s possible he wouldn’t follow the same pattern the second time. Even if Martin did not get Covid-19 or has fully recovered, he could certainly be rusty against Seton Hall. Either way, I feel bad for my favorite UConn player.

Positives of Stoppage and Layoff

  • The biggest positive of UConn’s layoff so far is that it gives Adama Sanogo more time off to recover from his abdominal injury. Hurley said that this long of a layoff should guarantee that Sanago would be declared injury-free without minute restrictions. Sanago was solid on offense in the 12 minutes he played against Marquette (six points, two rebounds and a block), but it would be great to see him on full strength and being a big force on both ends of the court. Sanago is a good matchup against Seton Hall because of his size and I could see him carrying UConn to a win against the Pirates.
  • As discussed earlier, the lineup against Seton Hall could rely on multiple players who are backups depending on the health of players and the days they were found positive. For some backups, being able to play more could be a huge step in their development, even if it results in a UConn loss. I am thinking specifically of Jordan Hawkins, Polley and Jalen Gaffney and possibly even Samson Johnson and Rashool Diggins. Hawkins has been struggling mightily, and having the opportunity to get more touches and play without the risk of immediately being sent to the bench could help mightily with his confidence. Polley would benefit from playing a game where he does more than just take threes and is forced to be creative on offense. Finally, having Gaffney face the challenge of being the Huskies main ball-handler could force him to step up on both ends and show more efficiency as a player (it could also be a disaster, but either way would be interesting to watch). Finally, Diggins and Johnson deserve the opportunity to play more and prove themselves. I would accept a loss to Seton Hall if it meant these guys played more and were forced to lead the team, as it could help the Huskies down the line when they are needed.
  • As great as the 10-3 Huskies have looked at times, their season has been a bit of a mess, from the injuries and the close losses to the questions surrounding Hurley’s offense and team management late in close games. No matter who is able to play against Seton Hall and St. John’s, the layoff could be a blessing in disguise. It will allow the team to reset, get fully healthy and hopefully develop more chemistry. UConn has a long way to go towards fulfilling their potential, and the next week or two could be the start of them doing so.  

Observations on win against Seton Hall: Whaley and Sanogo dominate, Huskies get lots of contributions, and team bolsters resume

Even with UConn’s much-improved play in the previous two weeks, it entered Wednesday’s contest at Seton Hall needing a signature win against the Pirates to help ensure they will make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016. Seton Hall, a fellow bubble team, had lost two consecutive games but also had a week to prepare and defeated the Huskies 80-72 on February 6th, the most points they had allowed this season. To get revenge, UConn needed to neutralize star big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and the rest of the Pirates frontcourt, which had dominated the Huskies in the first matchup.

For UConn, winning the big men battle, and by extension the game, was a challenge it passed with flying colors. After a chaotic first half that saw the team grab the lead at the very end, the Huskies started the second half off hot and controlled the game from there, going on to win 69-58. It was their second straight win and fifth in six games, and improved UConn’s record to 13-6 and 10-6 in the Big East, good for third place. Seton Hall dropped to 13-11 and fourth in the conference at 10-8, and has a must-win game at St. John’s tomorrow.

Senior Isiah Whaley and freshman Adama Sanogo dominated at forward and center on both ends. Whaley had 17 points, 10 rebounds and two assists and blocks, while Sanogo went for 16, nine and two. The pair each played over 30 minutes after foul trouble in the first game against the Pirates. Whaley was the main defender against Mamukelashvili and did an outstanding job on him. After scoring 22 points and going 10-12 at the free throw line in the first game against UConn, he shot 7-20 on Wednesday, only reaching the line three times.

The first half was a game of runs. UConn unfortunately again spottedd their opponent a lead early, falling behind 13-4 in the first five minutes after allowed a trio of 3-pointers. The Huskies eventually found their footing thanks to Sanogo, who hit their first three field goals, and went on an 11-2 run. They tied it at 17 with 9:46 remaining on a wide-open three by Whaley, with Andre Jackson earning an assist. Whaley also set the tone on defense during this run, blocking consecutive shots by Mamukelashvili.

UConn went ice cold on offense after tying the game, going nearly five minutes without scoring as they were unable to hit any jumpers or layups. Seton Hall took advantage of the struggles, going on a 7-0 run to take a 24-17 advantage at the 6:02 mark.

The Huskies responded by tightening up their defense even more and putting up a wall around the paint, holding the Pirates scoreless for the final 4:01. R.J. Cole and James Bouknight, who had struggled with their shooting all half, finally got going and hit a pair of threee pointers, and Whaley ended the half with a putback layup to give UConn a 27-26 halftime lead.

UConn immediately carried over this momentum to the beginning of the second half, scoring the opening six points and eventuallly taking a 12-point lead at 44-32 7:35 into the half on a Cole 3-pointer. During their great opening stretch, the Huskies did a good job of finding Sanogo and Whaley down low and the pair overpowered defenders, consistently making layups. The team also continued to do an excellent job of rebounding on both ends and challenging Seton Hall’s shots. Uconn was able to widen its lead despite Bouknight having to come out when he picked up his third foul at the 16:58 mark. Ultimately, UConn would go on a 25-15 run between the 4:10 mark of the first half and the under-eight media timeout in the second.

UConn continued to maintain a comfortable lead the remainder of the game, with the Pirates only occasionally cutting it to single digits. The Huskies responded with big baskets when necessary, and did an excellent job of closing the game out at the line. UConn had its best free throw shooting game of the season, making 15 of 16.

The Huskies won the game with their defense and on the boards. UConn held Seton Hall to 40% shooting and 5-19 from three. Just three Pirates players scored over four points. Seton Hall reached the foul line 32 times in the first game between the teams, but got there just 14 times on Wednesday, making only nine shots. Arond the rim, Whaley, Sanogo and others did an excellent job of protecting the rim and either altering shots or forcing Pirate players to look elsewhere for poor opportunities without fouling. The Huskies guards and forwards, particularly Tyrese Martin, did a strong job of pressuring ball handlers and guarding outside shooters. Seton Hall rarely got good looks beginning at the end of the first half and much of the second.

On the boards, UConn outrebounded Seton Hall 40-28 and had 13 offensive rebounds to the Pirates nine, with Whaley and Sanogo grabbing five and four, respectively. The Huskies were able to get valuable second-chance opportunities and did not allow Seton Hall to get second looks while struggling. This was the second time in three games UConn has had at least 40 rebounds.

In addition to Sanogo and Whaley, Bouknight and Cole ultimately had solid games despite their early shooting struggles. Cole finished with 14 points on 5-12 shooting and hit two threes, although he had justo ne assist. Bouknight shot only 3-10 but succeded in getting to the free throw line, going 7-8. Martin went scoreless but contributed significantly on defense and on the boards, grabbing six rebounds and earning two steals.

Despite his struggles shooting, Mamukelashvili still managed to finish with a double-double, recording 20 and 10. Jared Rhoden scored 16 on 5-9 shooting. Cale went just 1-6 from three.

While UConn definitely passed the eye test when one viewed bubble candidates, beating Seton Hall was huge for proving their case as an NCAA tournament time. If the Huskies avoid a slippup at home tomorrow against Georgetown and win at least a game or two in the Big East tournament, they will earn a good seed for March Madness. UConn will play the winner of the game between the six and eleven seeds in the Big East quarterfinals on Thursday.

Here are my game observations on the win against Seton Hall:

Whaley and Sanogo are a two-headed monster

Since Sanogo officially secured the starting job at center late in January, UConn has been trying to figure out how he and Whaley can best coexist at the four and five positions. It has immediately been a bumpy road at times. Sanogo has been inconsistent on both ends as freshman usually are, and struggled to execute the hard hedge defense that Hurley loves so much while avoiding foul trouble. Meanwhile, Whaley has struggled to score when playing power forward next to Sanogo (he can’t rely on scoring on putbacks and similar plays as easily) and also regularly experienced issues with fouls as well.

It wasn’t a surprise that some fans wondered whether Whaley and Sanogo could play together effectively, and that having them do so can have a detrimental effect to spacing. Against Seton Hall, the pair demonstrated that they can, with each having one of their best performances of the season.

Whaley and Sanogo combined for 33 points on 15-25 shooting, 19 rebounds (nine offensive) and four blocks against the Pirates, with the senior playing 33 minutes and the freshman 31. Whaley, who was in full energizer bunny mode playing in front of fans for one of first times this season, set a season high in points and had zero fouls for only the second time this season. After being schooled by Mamukelashvili in their first matchup, Whaley set the tone early with blocks and was more disciplined in his rim protection, taking Mamukelashvili out of his comfort zone and forcing him to take difficult outside shots. On offense, Whaley had eye-catching dunks and putbacks and hit a few outside shots that stretched the floor, and continued to do a good job screening for Sanogo and others.

After it seemed like Sanogo was maybe hitting a freshman wall (he entered the game having scored four points or less in three of the Huskies last five contests), he killed any doubts, earning career-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (nine). Sanogo continues to improve his offensive game and footwork, and demonstrated the ability to both back down the Pirate defenders and use fake-out moves to score as well as pass effectively out of the post. It was great to see his aggressiveness early when the UConn offense really needed a lift. Sanogo is also consistently improving as a defender and getting better at avoding foul trouble, having not fouled out since the first Seton Hall game. He demonstrated his improved speed when hedging and recovering on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s win showed just how good Whaley and Sanogo can be when they play cohesively. On offense, Whaley can finish plays at the rim, screen well in the paint and step out and hit shots when necessary, while Sanogo can use multiple moves to score in the post, allowing him to draw multiple defenders, and pass effectively. On defense, the two do a great job of guarding the rim and blocking shots (especially Whaley) and can hedge effectively, and Whaley can guard multiple positions. At their best, the combo recall the great big men tandems UConn had under Jim Calhoun. Whaley and Sanogo are not going to match up with every team as well as they did with Seton Hall, but if they can continue to provide excellent post defense and solid offense, UConn should be able to go on a run in tournament play.

Nearly everyone brings something to the table

Myself and others have focused on the performances of Whaley and Sanogo, but beating Seton Hall was a collective effort. Cole rebounded from a slow start to make some big shots in the second half and did a solid job of running the offense. Bouknight continues to be inconsistent since returning, but was smart enough to attack the basket and get to the line when his shot wasn’t falling and again rebounded well, grabbing six boards. Tyrese Martin continues to struggle with his shot and went scoreless, but remained the Huskies Swiss Army knife, picking up six rebounds and two steals and shutting down whomever he faced on defensed. Andre Jackson also again played solid defense, and Jalen Gaffney provided valuable minutes when Bouknight was in foul trouble and scored four points. Tyler Polley was the only player whom had a poor game, going scoreless and attempting no three pointers in 13 minutes.

This win showed that UConn can beat a quality team on the road even when Bouknight is not at his best. While Bouknight will be the biggest key to determining just how far the team can go this season and helps make his teammates better, the Huskies are currently demonstrating that they are more than the sum of their parts. UConn is peaking at the right time. They are a quality defensive team and are consistently strong on the glass, and have a lot of offensive depth, with multiple players (especially Cole) able to step up at any time. Teams will not be looking forward to forcing the Huskies during March Madness.

The team is becoming better prepared at responding to slow starts and closing out games

While UConn needs to get better at starting games off well and grabbing early leads in the pressure-filled environment of tournament play, you have to give the team credit for being able to rebound when it starts off slow. Despite this occuring in the last two games as well as against Xavier, the Huskies maintained composure and tightened up their defense while making adjustments on offense that allow the team to rally. There haven’t been reoccurences similar to what fans saw in the first contest against Seton Hall, where UConn fell far enough behind that a comeback was impossible.

Earlier in the season, UConn had multiple losses where they lost composure late and made inexplicable mistakes that allowed opponents to come back (see the first Creighton loss and the game against St. John’s). Over time, however, the Huskies have been able to show maturity and leadership and close games out by making free throws and handling opponent’s press. They have now done this in each of the last three games and been able to earn double-digit wins as a result. I am now confident that UConn will be able to maintain leads and close out games as well as pull off comebacks, even against quality tournament teams.

Hurley appears to have a handle on the identity of his team

Earlier in the season and especially when Bouknight was out, it seemed like UConn didn’t have an idea of how the Huskies pieces fit together. A lot of this was understandable considering how much the team’s game and practice schedule was affected by Covid-19, the large number of new players UConn had, and how important its injured players were to the team’s success.

Still, the Huskies were frequently a confunding team. They appeared to look best on offense when they pushed the tempo and attempted to get points in transition, but played at an extremely slow pace largely as an effort to limit the number of possessions opponents could have with Bouknight out. Hurley rarely made any adjustments on defense, even when the team played inconsistently on that end during the middle of the season. While different players stepped up on offense from game to game, Uconn appeared to lack a leader with Bouknight out. Finally, Hurley’s substitution patterns and use of timeouts was suspect.

Starting with the game at Xavier on February 13th, the Huskies have slowly but surely found that identity. The return of Bouknight is a significant part of that, but not the only factor. Cole has emerged as a team leader and improved signicantly on offense while improving his shot selection. The offense has begun playing at a quicker pace in general, especially off turnovers and rebounds,, becoming more efficient as a result. Since returning from injury, Jackson has been a significant weapon on defense and improved UConn’s ball movement. The defense has played better overall, with the improvement of Sanogo a large part of that. Hurley’s benching of Cole motivated him to improve, and the coach seems to have figured out is main rotation. He has also appeared willing to use timeouts more when necessary. It finally seemes like the Huskies are living up to their potential.

With the win against Xavier, UConn has improved its KenPom rating to 26th as of Friday night and seems to have locked up an NCAA tournament berth according to bracket projections, with the team most frequently projected as a No. 10 seed. If the Huskies can take care of business against Georgetown and perform well in the Big East tournament, they will bump up their seeding.

Game observations on Seton Hall Loss: Defense can’t stop the Pirates, seniors continue to struggle, and Gaffney and Jackson makes a splash

UConn came into Saturday’s game against Seton Hall slightly favored and looking to make a statement win after an 11-day layoff. Instead, the Huskies came out flat and struggled mightilly on both ends, going on to lose 80-73, the team’s third in four games.

UConn (8-4, 5-4 in Big East) couldn’t contain the Pirates (11-8, 8-5) on offense for much on the of the first half and struggled shooting the ball, eventually falling behind 36-18 with 4:02 remaining in the first half. UConn righted the ship in the final minutes of the half, going on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 38-29 going into the locker room. The offense stayed hot at the start of the second half, opening it with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two at 38-36. Seton Hall didn’t flinch however, making a few impressive baskets to go back up by 10 with 14:11 remaining. From there, the Huskies cut the deficit to four at a few points, but the Pirates offense continued to be overwhelming and UConn could not keep up.

Sandro Mamukelashvili led the way for Seton Hall, recording 22 points and seven rebounds. The senior got to the foul line 12 times, making 10 shots. The Pirates offense was very balanced, with Myles Cale (2o points and 3-6 on 3-pointers) Jared Rhoden (12 points on 4-9 shooting) finishing in double figures. Seton Hall shot 50 percent overall and went 9-18 from beyond the arc and 27-31 from the line.

Jalen Gaffney had his best offensive game of the season for UConn, scoring 20 points on 5-11 shooting and going 8-9 from the line, and freshman guard Andre Jackson was exciting to watch in his first game back from injury, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds in 20 minutes. R.J. Cole and Adama Sanogo both scored 12 points, and Tyrese Martin had 10 and six rebounds. As a team, the Huskies shot 47.9% overall but went 6-19 from three. They struggled on the boards, as Seton Hall outrebounded UConn 28-23.

The Huskies got great news before the game, as it was announced that James Bouknight will likely be back for the next game against Providence on Wednesday (he is officially a game-time decision), and coupled with the skill Jackson showed on Saturday, UConn should definitely be more dynamic on offense and likely defense going forward. With the loss, however, the team is now firmly on the bubble to make the NCCA tournament, and needs to get back on track immediately.

Below are my observations on the loss to Seton Hall and the team’s performance:

UConn’s defense was helpless to stop Seton Hall for much of the game

Before I jump on the Huskies defense, I will give the Pirates players a ton of credit. Their offense played out of its mind for much of the game, collectively shooting 50%/50%/87% overall, on 3-pointers, and from the line. Seton Hall made a ton of challenging shots and their players consistently passed the ball well, with UConn defenders frequently out of position as a result. The Pirates mixed up their playing style, dominating the perimeter in the first half and then attacking the basket and consistently drawing fouls in the game’s final minutes.

Now to UConn’s defensive performance: It was extremely poor and definitely the worst the Huskies have had this season. They looked a step slow from start to finish and could not handle the Pirates size and strength inside and quality ball movement. UConn chose to double players too much and were burned for it, as it lead to open shots on the perimeter and good looks at the rim. Whenever Seton Hall drove the ball. especially in the second half, it seemed to either get an easy basket or fouled, leading to two points. My hope was that the Huskies big men would be able to keep Seton Hall off the boards and limit their scoring opportunities, but instead UConn was outrebounded and none of the bigs had a particularly effective game defensively. What was particularly frustrating was seeing Seton Hall’s players regularly beat UConn’s to loose balls and get key second-change scoring opportunities.

While the Seton Hall loss was an abberation to some extent (teams almost never shoot that well throughout a game), UConn’s defensive performance in general has lagged over the last few games. In the losses, the opponents shot above or just under 50%, and made more than half of their 2-pointers. While multiple defenders are still playing well the team defense as a whole has slipped. Combined with the Huskies facing tougher opponents and not rebounding as a well, this could help make almost every game a tossup. I think the return of Bouknight can help the defense be more efficient, but the lineups may have to be juggled if the defense continues to be inconsistent. I’m knowledgeable enough to say what the best combinations could be at this time.

UConn’s most experienced players continue to not play well

The quartet of Isiah Whaley, Tyler Polley, Josh Carlton and Brendan Adams have beeen integral members of the Huskies for three seasons now, and have each played well at times this season, especially Whaley and Polley. Over the last four games however,this group has heavily struggled, especially on the offensive end.

Whaley, who played 30 or more minutes in each of these games, has averaged 6.8 points on just 35.7% shooting in the stretch, and had just seven rebounds over the last two games. He does continue to protect the rim well, as he’s averaged four blocks. Whaley had probably his worst performance of the season on Saturday, recording just two points and two rebounds in 30 minutes. He continues to miss shots around the rim, and struggled on defense at times against Seton Hall (Hurley’s insistence on having the bigs defend players at the top of the key does not help, as it draws them away from defending the paint). He also struggled to beat the Pirates bigs to rebounds on Sunday and did not seem to consistently play with a high energy, something that has been a problem at times this season for Whaley. After how he ended the season last year and the high expectations coming in, it’s clear that Whaley has been a slight disappointment up to this point. 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in roughly 29 minutes a game isn’t going to cut it, even with the 2.9 blocks.

Polley has completely disappeared on offense the last four games, averaging just five points on 29.2% shooting, including 4-17 on 3-pointers. Polley has also not been to the free throw line in the last three games. Against Seton Hall, Polley scored five points in 16 minutes and went 1-3 from behind the arc. It’s hard to blame Polley too much for his recent struggles shooting from three. Without Bouknight there to help stretch the floor and open up the offense, defenders can constantly faceguard Polley and make sure he almost never gets open looks. The return of Bouknight should help Polley immensely, as would UConn running more off the ball screens to get him open from three.

That being said, Polley is not scoring from inside the arc or getting to the line at all, and he continues to contribute almost nothing on the boards or with generating scoring opportunities for teammates. Coupled with his poor defense, Polley is contributing very little to the Huskies right now. I think he can get back on track on offense and have a few more games where he shoots great (Polley is still shooting 38.5% on threes), but Polley needs to find someway to improve on defense, or he’s not going to get many minutes no matter what.

Meanwhile, I feel bad for Josh Carlton. He has not had either double-digit points or rebounds since the start of January, nor played over 15 minutes in a game. In the last four contests, Carlton has gone scoreless twice (against St. John’s and Seton Hall) and recorded a combined eight points and 12 rebounds. He played just five minutes against Seton Hall, and is now averaging 3.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in just 13.3 minutes. Carlton has struggled to score and avoid foul trouble, and it’s clear that with the emergence of Sanogo and return of Bouknight and Jackson that he will be at the end of the bench.

Finally, Brendan Adams has stepped up with Bouknight out and given UConn valuable efforts and minutes. However, it is clear that he has been carrying too much of a load and its been cataching up with him. Adams has averaged just five points (he had five against Seton Hall) over the last four games while shooting 5-21. He got off too a terrible start against Seton Hall and lost minutes to Jackson, eventually playing just 16 minutes, his second lowest total of the season. Adams also had just one assist, the first time he has not had multiple assists in a game since December 30th. Adams should play a lot less with Bouknight and Jackson out, and can return to his well-suited role of a backup who can provide good ball handling and solid defense.

The three seniors and Adams may not be as athletic or versatile as as UConn’s yonger players or first-year transfers, but they must play at a higher level nonetheless. The Huskies need the group and especially Whaley and Polley to play more consistently and at a higher level of intensity to ensure an NCAA tournament bid. This is the group’s moment. Now they need to step up as leaders and earn it.

Jalen Gaffney comes alive on offense

Gaffney had shown some flashes in the previous two games, scoring a combined 12 points and shooting 4-7 from three against Creighton and Butler while adding five assists. I certainly wasn’t expecting Gaffney to have a huge game against Seton Hall, but he proved me wrong. The sophomore scored a career-high 20 points while shooting 5-11 overall and going 8-9 at the line, and added two assists and steals. Gaffney showed a ton of confidence, and made multiple challenging shots. He was able to consistently drive to the rim and find a way to score, and helped make sure UConn stayed in the game in the second half.

This game was a great snapshot of how dynamic Gaffney can be when he goes at opponents. He likely saw that no teammates were stepping up and instead of shying away, took the reins of the offense. Gaffney is quicker and then Cole and Adams and needs to take advantage of these abilities. It was awesome to see Gaffney play with no hesitation, and it needs to continue even with Bouknight back. Gaffney definitely had a long way to go to be a strong defender, but he has earned more minutes. Hopefully he keeps playing up to his potential the rest of the season.

Andre Jackson makes an immediate impact

Myself and others didn’t know what UConn would get from Jackson against Seton Hall in his first game since Dec. 20th after the freshman broke his left wrist. The answer was energy, athleticism and confidence. Jackson made his presence felt once he got going late in the first half, grabbing a few key rebounds and scoring four quick points. Two of these were a one-handed putback dunk, one of the most memorable baskets of the season so far. Along with Gaffney, Jackson helped the Huskies finally get on track and cut into the Pirates big lead so that they trailed by only single digits at halftime. Jackson missed a few rotations on defense, but his length also bothered Seton Hall ball handlers. He hit a 3-pointer in the second half and ultimatelly finished with seven points, four rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes of play.

In his previous four games this season, Jackson had frequently looked unconfident. That wasn’t a problem for one second against Seton Hall. Jackson was involved on every play on both ends, and his passing and rebounding helped lift his teammates to play better. Jackson still visibly lacks discipline on defense, and he will be inconsistent on offense like any other freshman. If Jackson continues to work hard in practice and play all-out in games though, I am confident that he will give UConn at least a few high-impact plays every contest.

UConn starts a new chapter on Wednesday against Providence

Having Bouknight back is going to make UConn waay, way better. As long as their star doesn’t have any more health issues, he can help the team be more efficient on both ends of the court. Players like Polley and Cole can have some pressure taken off of them and could flourish by having better opportunities to use their skill set (like Polley shooting from three), and Sanogo and Jackson will benefit from the scoring opportunities Bouknight generates for them. His return will make it much harder for opposing teams to game plan for facing the Huskies, and I am very confident UConn will win most of its remaining games and make the NCAA tournament.

That being said, the UConn players and Hurley need to recognize that having James Bouknight won’t automatically solve all their issues. The Huskies need to focus on pushing one another and getting better in all phases of the game. They cannot start games lackadasical or bring poor effort against any opponent, especially considering how deep of a league the Big East is. In particular, the seniors need to push themselves to take on leadership roles and make the most out of their final seasons. It is going to be fun to see what happens down the stretch.