Dan Hurley – HUSKY NATION

Reviewing UConn’s Team Stats Heading into Final Conference Games

This season has been a dream so far for the UConn program. The 25-3 Huskies have arguably been better than last year’s champions, and certainly a better regular season team. This was demonstrated by them clinching at least a share of the Big East regular season title yesterday, and their ability to win it outright with a win today over Seton Hall. Why I could write thousands of words about the strengths of the team and their performances in particular wins, and will do so the remainder of the season , I thought it would be more interesting to list a series of team stats and metrics that demonstrate UConn’s dominance right now. I will print a similar article on individual players after the Seton Hall game today.Can’t wait to hopefully see the Huskies clinch the outright Big East title today on Senior Day!

Five. That’s the number of players on UConn who are averaging double digits, aka the entire starting lineup. I believe they are the only team in the country whose entire starting lineup is scoring in double digits. Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer are each averaging 15.2 points, Alex Karaban 13.9 (even after a big shooting slump), Donovan Clinigan 12.3 points in just 21 minutes a game, and Stephon Castle 10.9. Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson are also scoring more than 5 points a game in less than 20 minutes per game.
No matter which way you slice it, the Huskies metrics all point to them as one of the top three teams in the country alongside Purdue and Houston. On Ken Pomeroy’s website, UConn is scoring 125.4 points per 100 possessions (PPP), while allowing 95.6, which is 18^th in the country. In Big East play, the team’s PPP numbers are 120.3 and 99.8, which both rank first in the Big East. On Bartovik, they rank 4^th and 15^th on offense and defense for the full season, and first and fourth on those ends in conference play. On both Bartovik and KenPom, the Huskies are ranked third in the country, just beyond Purdue.
EvanMya.com is the one projection site that rates UConn as the No. 1 team in the country as of March 2^nd. The team’s relative ranking, which is based on how it would perform again similarly ranked teams, based on the team’s efficiency ratings and opponent and pace adjustment. UConn’s relative ranking of 28.5 is 0.3 ahead of Purdue. Their 17.7 offensive rate, which relies on PPP against similarly ranked teams, is third in the nation, while their 10.7 defensive rate is ninth.
KenPom, which is the easiest metrics site to comprehend, has extensive stats for UConn’s play on both offense and defense. The team’s effective field goal percentage, which is a measurement of the 2 and 3-pointers it makes added up (one point is given for 2-pointers and 1.5 for 3-pointers) and divided by the number of field goals attempted and multiplied by 100, is 56.9% for the season, eighth in the country. The Huskies shoot 58.9% on 2-pointers, also fourth in the country, and 36% on 3-pointers, which is 62^nd. UConn rebounds 37.2% of their missed shots, which ranks 10th, and assists on 61.5 % of their made field goals, ranking 11^th. The Huskies are also above average on offense in their turnover percentage, free throw percentage, and the percentage of shots they have blocked. In Big East play, UConn leads the league in offensive rebounding percentage, 3-point percentage and assists/field goals made at 34.6, 37.5&, and 62.4%, respectively. The team is also to three in the league for effective field goal%, 2-point%, block%, and the percentage of free throw attempts they make compared to field goal attempts (32.9% ).
UConn’s defensive metrics on KenPom are also outstanding. They have held opponents to an effective field goal percentage of 45.1% and 44% on 2-pointers, which ranks fifth and ninth in the country. Its block percentage of 142% is 17^th. It has held opponents to 31.6% on 3-pointers, which is 57^th. The Huskies are ranked in the top 100 in the percent of offensive rebounds allowed, assists on field goals, and the percentage of 3-pointers opponents take to their overall field goals attempted. In the Big East, they are first in effective field goal percentage (45% ) and the percent of 3-pointers made (31.6%). Dan Hurley’s team is in the top three in 2-point percentage allowed, offensive rebounding percentage, block percentage, assists to field goal percentage, and the percentage of free throw attempts opponents make compared to field goal attempts.
UConn has beaten 18 teams by double-digits and 13 by at least 20 points. At the same time, Dan Hurley has done a much better job of winning close games this season. The Huskies have won seven games by single digits, and three by five or fewer points.
UConn is undefeated in neutral site and home games and 7-3 in away or semi-away games.
The Huskies are 9-3 in Quad 1 games and undefeated in games played in the three lower quadrants. These nine Quad 1 wins are one of the highest numbers for any team in America. They will have two more chances to pick up Quad 1 wins against Marquette and Providence on the road to end the regular season.
UConn is the top-ranked team on Bartovik since February 1^st. Much of this is due to their improved defense since Donovan Clinigan re-entered the starting lineup after returning from injury.

The Unforgettable Experience of UConn vs. Creighton

When I entered Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night to see UConn take on Creighton, I admit that I was apprehensive about the top-ranked Huskies ability to defeat the experienced Blue Jays, even at home. They have a strong offense that scores very effectively around the rim and can regularly knock down 3-pointers and is one of the best defensive teams in the country in many categories. Meanwhile, UConn was very inconsistent on offense in the preceding few games, struggled badly on the boards, and was not sure what it would get from Donavon Clinigan in his first game back from injury. Finally, Creighton had been the Huskies kryptonite since they rejoined the Big East, winning every game but one. I expected a close game in which UConn needed to limit Creighton in the paint and execute well on offense to win.

Instead, I saw UConn win comfortably 62-48 against one of the Big East’s top programs. The Huskies played absolutely suffocating defense, dominated the boards, and made clutch shots when needed in front of a rowdy crowd. The game, which was obviously a sellout, was one of the most memorable regular season wins for UConn in a long time. It was a joy and privilege to watch in person.

Instead of writing my traditional detailed observations about one or multiple games, I have decided to cover the Creighton win. Instead, I am going to list and do a short discussion of what I enjoyed the most about UConn’s performance up close. I hope you enjoy it!

Being able to see Donavon Clinigan in his first game back from injury was a lot of fun. In 16 minutes, Clinigan was running the floor maybe the best he has had all season and was in better shape. Clinigan was excellent on defense, blocking two shots and denying Creighton the ability to take the ball to the rim and find star center Ryan Kalkbrenner. While Clinigan was rusty shooting the ball, going just 3-8 from the field for 6 points, he snatched five rebounds and recorded 2 assists. Finally, Clinigan fueled multiple runs and brought a ton of energy when out on the floor, including a memorable sing-along to Taylor Swift. If this was what the big fella looked like in his first game back, I could see him dominating opponents soon.
UConn’s defensive performance was remarkable, especially when observing it up close. The unit never allowed Creighton’s players to get comfortable. The Huskies constantly pressured ball-handlers and rarely allowed the Blue Jays to run effective offensive sets. Their players were forced into taking difficult shots inside the arc or kicking it out for 3-pointers, with Creighton shooting just 6-26(23.1%) from there. UConn’s ability to fluster their ball-handlers led to 14 turnovers. Somehow, the Huskies limited the Blue Jays to 6 foul shots despite their aggressive defense. The 48 points were the fewest an opponent has scored in more than two seasons.
In addition to Clinigan, Stephen Castle and Hasson Diarra were especially great to see in person on defense. Castle, who covered multiple players but was on point guard Trey Alexander the most, hounded everyone he guarded and refused to let ball-handlers get downhill. The freshman forced a lot of poor shots and although he had only one steal, Castle was partially responsible for multiple turnovers. He is on another level defensively than most freshman. Diarra has always been an excellent defender and was all over the place in his 17 minutes on the floor. I also commend Samson Johnson for his defensive effort, as he was able to defend multiple players by hard hedging while still defending well. Hopefully the win will give Johnson, who had 4 points, 3 rebounds and a block, more confidence as a defender.
After a few games without Clinigan in which UConn struggled badly to rebound, it was dominant on that end throughout the game, kicking Creighton’s ass on that end 48-32. The Huskies were more physical and athletic than the Blue Jays players up front and did an excellent job blocking out and reacting to where the ball is coming off the rim. Six Huskies had at least 6 rebounds, led by Tristen Newton’s 8. By grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, UConn was able to offset its lousy shooting to some extent and control the clock better. The team won’t rebound this well every game, but having Clinigan back to handle center with Johnson will allow players to play their regular positions and make it easier to rebound.
UConn’s offensive performance was ugly. They shot roughly 35%, had only 13 assists and pretty much stopped scoring in the last six minutes of the game. Creighton was mostly able to keep the Huskies from attacking the rim or scoring in the paint effectively when playing half-court offense, and missed a lot of open midrange jumpers and 3-pointers. When they needed a player to step up and make a basket or create offense they turned to Newton, just as they’ve done all season. He hit tough jumpers, especially in the first half to give the team early momentum. The senior also was the only Husky that could consistently make threes, hitting two of four and having a third waved off due to a foul. Newton scored 16 points and was more efficient than either Alex Karaban or Cam Spencer, who each finished with 13. He may have not have gotten off to the best start in Big East play, but Newton has been one of the top players in the country this year, and the Huskies will go as far as Newton can lead them.
The crowd was outstanding all night against Creighton. Their energy and enthusiasm gave the UConn players a ton of energy and propelled runs, and the fans also helped to rattle Creighton. Everyone was loud and celebratory, and the students were very engaged. UConn gets good crowd support wherever they played, but the Gampel experience is a lot more fun because of the intimate setting and students leading the way for the rest of the crowd.

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 17^th 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

UConn Shows Full Recovery in Week With Signature Win

In my last article for this site, I expressed frustration after UConn’s loss at Kansas and said the team would have to address essential issues to defeat North Carolina and ultimately end its nonconference schedule with momentum. Immediately the Husky players shut me up and then some. They were impressive in a double-digit win against UNC and for a majority of Saturday’s blowout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. UConn is now 9-1 and remains in the top five of the national polls, and can earn a final signature win in Seattle against Gonzaga on Friday night.

UConn was impressive in their 87-76 win against North Carolina, particularly offensively, and led nearly the entire game. After struggling at times against Kansas’s switch-heavy defense a few days before, the Huskies burned the Tar Heels defense consistently on switches for layups and open perimeter shots. They averaged 1.23 points per possession and made nearly 69% of their 2-pointers. Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban, who were hobbled against Kansas and had poor performances, bounced back and scored a combined 41 points while shooting 16-31 (I discuss the importance of the pair’s performances last week more below). Tristen Newton had a typically well-rounded performance, recording 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and freshman Solomon Ball had a breakout performance, scoring 13 and draining three 3-pointers. Ultimately, UConn had 25 assists against just 8 turnovers.

North Carolina scored effectively against the defense, with R.J. Davis (26 points) and Harrison Ingram (20) burning Husky defenders consistently in the first half and early in the second. The defense struggled to help and close out on the perimeter at times, but the Huskies upped their pressure and intensity as the game wore on. After the Tar Heels cut the deficit to 65-60 with 11 minutes remaining, UConn went on a 18-6 run. During this stretch, the defense consistently forced UNC into tough shots and forced multiple turnovers and blocks. Newton, Diarra, and Clinigan and Johnson played strong defense up top and in the paint to shut UNC down, and Stephen Castle played excellent D in his first game back from energy.

While UConn slept walk through the first few minutes of Saturday’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the offense woke up in a big way. With 3:54 left in the first half, the Huskies led the Golden Eagles just 31-29. After that point, they outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-34. After his 3-point shot had deserted him for a few games, Karaban had much better touch, draining six threes and finishing with a career-high 26 points and 7 assists. Newton had 16 points and 6 assists, and Spencer hit five treys and earned 4 assists. Clinigan was very effective on both ends, putting up 11 and 7 and blocking three shots in just 21 minutes. Finally, Castle looked very good in his second game back, scoring 7 points and recording 4 blocks and rebounds. UConn shot 56% and went 13-28 from deep, and got to the free throw line 31 times, making 22. It had 21 assists and outrebounded the Golden Eagles 42-28. On defense, the Huskies blocked nine shots and stole the ball five times. They held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 35.6% shooting overall and 31% inside the arc.

UConn is now 9-1, and these two wins solidified its place as one of the best teams in the country and at the top of the Big East pecking order, along with Creighton and Marquette. Defeating Gonzaga in Seattle Friday will further demonstrate to observers that UConn can win against elite nonconference opponents in hostile environments. Below, I further discuss my thoughts on the UNC and Arkansas-Pine Bluff wins and the positives and negatives I drew from them.

Karaban and Spencer Come Back to Life

Against Kansas, it looked like injuries were heavily limiting Karaban and Spencer on both ends. Karaban’s shot was ineffective against the Jayhawks due to a finger injury, as he was just 2-7 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Spencer had hurt toes on both of his feet, making it difficult for him to get good lift on his shots and move effectively on both ends. Spencer scored just 6 points while shooting 2-12, and both he and Karaban struggled to keep up on the defensive end. Prior to the North Carolina game, both men were a game time decision, and it was thought they would have minutes restriction. Because of this, it was easy to understand the skepticism myself and others shared about UConn being able to beat UNC at less than full strength.

Among the pair, Spencer was the first one to break out offensively against the Tar Heels. The senior scored 16 of his 23 points in the first half of the win, getting on the board via a series of layups, free throws, and 3-pointers. Spencer did not look stiff or slow in any shape or form. Rather, he showed off his ability to find open shots from anywhere on the floor, while still creating scoring opportunities for others. Against Kansas, Spencer had looked frustrated and angry at himself throughout. Against North Carolina, he played with that same intensity but instead fed off of it and showed their players he wouldn’t back down, even earning a technical after a little too much trash talking. While a lot of players had solid games against UNC, Spencer, who also earned 7 rebounds and 6 assists, was their MVP. After again playing well against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, my worries about Spencer have subsided.

Karaban found ways to contribute against UNC around the basket and by moving the ball. He ultimately shot 6-8 inside the arc (mostly on cuts to the basket and on putbacks) to finish with 18 points, and had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. As discussed somewhat earlier however, the win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff was the first time Karaban’s shot has looked 100 percent for a while. Karaban was 6-9 from deep and did an excellent job of moving without the ball and off screens to get open 3-point attempts in the corner. He was also successful again at getting to the rim for baskets and rebounded and passed the ball well, finishing with 3 assists. Finally, while the competition wasn’t high level, Karaban was strong on the defensive end against the Golden Eagles. It will be important to see if Karaban can keep his offense going against another strong defense in Gonzaga. What Karaban needs to remember is to not fall into a pattern of just taking3-pointers against the Bulldogs if his outside shots aren’t falling, and to be aggressive going to the basket when appropriate to create plays for himself and others.

Freshman Continue to Contribute the More They Play

After difficulty acclimating to the speed of the college game or just finding minutes at all in such a talented rotation, Ball and fellow frosh Jaylin Stewart made a big case for themselves against UNC and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. With Castle making valuable contributions in both wins in limited movements, it seems like UConn and Dan Hurley is getting closer to deciding that Castle, Ball and Stewart will get the large majority of minutes played among the freshman, barring more injury.

Ball averaged 11 points between the two wins, shooting 7-15 overall and 4-11 from deep. The shooting guard is showing a strong ability to finish around the rim using his athleticism and has demonstrated a nice touch on floaters. While Ball’s shooting from deep is inconsistent and he has a tendency to rush 3-pointers, I’ll give him praise for not being afraid of the big shot and forcing defenders to challenge him beyond the arc. Ball certainly came up big against North Carolina from there, making a trio of 3-pointers that gave UConn momentum at essential times. He also has done a good job of handling the ball well and playing with high energy on both ends during his starting stint with Castle injured and then on minute restrictions. Hopefully, Ball’s improvement during this stretch increased his confidence and will allow him to make an immediate impact off the bench when Castle moves back to the starting guard spot in the next game or two.

Prior to the game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Jaylin Stewart had played intermittently this season. Against the Golden Eagles however, the forward was aggressive on the offensive end and rewarded with a season-high 15 minutes. Stewart scored 7 points, making all three of his 2-pointers, and had 2 rebounds and an assist. Stewart also got to the line for three shots, though he only made one. He demonstrated the ability to beat defenders off the dribble and shoot over them, as well as strong athleticism. Stewart will have to keep his defensive effort up and shoot better at the charity stripe to consistently get more playing time, but I believe that he can be a solid member of the rotation by the second half of the season.

While I can’t imagine being worried about Castle’s ability to contribute either way, he demonstrated that he could make an impact in multiple ways in limited minutes against the Tar Heels and Golden Eagles. The acclaimed freshman had 3 points, 4 rebounds, and both an assist and steal in just 11 minutes against UNC, and then put up 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 18 minutes in the second win. It’s clear that Castle can beat defenders in the paint and create offense even when not fully healthy. His strength and reflexes allowed him to rebound well in the wins, and his passing was solid. What was most impressive against the two teams was Castle’s defense. His ability and length can allow him to hassle defenders and create turnovers. As long as he gets fully healthy, I expect Castle to start having a few breakout games in the next few weeks and show why he is one of the best freshmen in the country.

UConn’s Ball Movement and Rebounding is Elite

The Huskies ability to share the ball and get assists, which helps create the team’s depth, and it’s rebounding were big areas of strength last year, and have remained so throughout this nonconference schedule. UConn is running an intricate offense that is great at confusing defenses and finding players for high-percentage shots. Through 10 games, the Huskies percentage of assists on made field goals is 60.8%, which ranks 29^th in the country. They recorded 24 assists on 35 field goals against North Carolina, and 33 assists on 69 field goals against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. UConn’s passing is a thing of beauty, and it has helped lead to the balance the team has throughout its lineup. Four players (Newton, Spencer, Karaban and Clinigan) are averaging double figures, led by Newton’s 17 points per game. Castle is just under that at 9.8 points in less than 20 minutes of play.

Rebounding, especially on the offensive end, has been a huge emphasis of all of Hurley’s teams, and it unsurprisingly a huge strength again this season. UConn has consistently outrebounded its opponents, usually significantly so, and is grabbing roughly 42 per game. It is grabbing 38.9% of its offensive rebounds, which ranks seventh in the country. The biggest difference this season is that the Huskies guards are some of its best rebounders, with Newton grabbing 7.2 per game.

UConn Needs to Improve Significantly at Guarding Teams From Deep

The Huskies still have a very strong defense despite losing important talent and athleticism from last year’s roster. Opponents are making just 47% of their 2-point shots, which ranks sixth in the country, and the team is blocking a bunch of shots again. However, their opponents have been getting hot on 3-pointers, making 37% .4% of them, which is one of the highest percentages allowed by any team. While that mark may be a little inflated due to a few opponents shooting significantly better than their normal rates beyond the arc, the UConn players have consistently allowed guys to get free for wide-open 3-pointers, and been burned as a result. There could be a few reasons for this, including miscommunication by defenders, poor decision making, and the Huskies deliberately leaving a lesser perimeter shooter open to guard the paint. I know Hurley puts an emphasis on guarding the rim, but if opponents can stay in games by getting hot from three UConn will be susceptible to upsets, especially in March. Hurley has been emphasizing the need for the team to stop allowing so many 3-pointers, and hopefully they will have made changes to defending from there in practice during this long break that will pay off in games.

Donavon Clinigan Still a Question Mark

Even with the injury issues to his foot and having to play his way back into shape because of a lack of live practice in the preseason, Clinigan has still been an excellent defender. He is constantly altering or blocking shots and limiting opposing big men’s freedom of movement. The sophomore slowed down Bacot against North Carolina and shut down the Arkansas-Pine Bluff bigs, and no opposing center has been completely successful against Clinigan so far this season. On offense however, it is clear Clinigan is more limited than expected. His ability to finish around the rim is inconsistent, partially due to a lack of lift caused by the foot injury. This is also holding Clinigan back from showing the same explosiveness he had as a rookie. In addition, Clinigan’s foul shooting has still not improved, as he is making just over half of his shots there. I am holding out hope that the Bristol native will start living up to preseason expectations in a month or so. The current version of Clinigan, however, is holding back UConn from reaching its full potential as a team.

One Unforgettable Moment

Six seasons ago, myself and UConn Nation were despondent and had no clue if UConn could become a premier program again. The Huskies were adrift in the American Athletic Conference, and head coach Kevin Ollie seemed constantly disengaged from players and unable to to coach them effectively on either side of the ball, despite leading them to a title in 2014. After UConn finished consecutive losing seasons, the administration found a way to escape Ollie’s costly long-term contract and fire him for cause, despite the violations discovered being dubious.

Athletic Director David Benedict eventually tapped URI’s Dan Hurley to be the Huskies next head coach. While Hurley had a good track level at the mid-major level (two wins in the NCAA tourney) and a reputation as an excellent player’s coach, there was no guarantee he could succeed in the demanding environment of Storrs.

Cut to last Monday night in Houston, with the confetti falling down and UConn players and coaches as well as others celebrating the program’s fifth national championship after defeating San Diego State to win the title. It was a sight that I thought may never happen again after UConn fell apart in the second half of Ollie’s tenure, and the celebration almost moved me to tears.

While Hurley’s two previous tourney teams in Storrs were talented and very likable, this season’s squad was on another level. It had great depth, size and athleticism, which showed itself in different ways on each side of the ball.

On defense, the length and strength of Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clinigan allowed UConn to shut down the paint against most opponents, and the Huskies perimeter defenders were bigger and more effective than last season’s unit thanks to the additions of Naheim Alleyne and Hassan Diarra and improvement of Jordan Hawkins. And of course, Andre Jackson is one of the country’s best defenders at his best.

Offensively, Sanogo anchored one of the best frontcourts in the country, and UConn’s perimeter shooting, ball-handling and passing was consistently strong and elite at times. Hawkins lived up to his promise as one of the best pure shooters the program has ever seen, and Jackson continued to improve as a facilitator, and eventually as a scorer despite a limited skill set. UConn was one of the best rebounding teams in the country all season on both ends of the floor, and ranked second in offensive rebounding percentage at the end of the season.

Last year’s squad could be frustrating to watch offensively due to a lack of shooting and spacing in the front court, where Sanogo and Isiah Whaley could clog the paint. That was never a problem with this championship squad. It could score from anywhere on the floor while bullying opponents in the paint, drive to the rim effectively, and shared the bell as well as any team. (UConn’s rate of assist on made field goals was eighth in the country). At their best, this group of Huskies were extremely fun to watch and played with a sense of joy and toughness that was missing to some extent on Hurley’s earlier squads. It made nearly every game a must-watch event, which was a forgotten experience for myself and others.

As great as it was to UConn at their best in the regular season, it was just as rewarding seeing how it overcame the struggles of January to become a more well-rounded team, one that was again playing like on of the best in the nation by the end of the regular season. After losing six of eight in January, multiple players switched up their approaches on the offensive end and made both themselves and the team better as a result. Sanogo, Jackson and Hawkins especially stood out in this regard.

Sanogo, who was being constantly double-teamed, attacked the basket more directly instead of playing a traditional post-up game, and cut to the rim more for easy baskets and passes. Jackson, who was being goaded into shooting from outside and struggling mightily, got his confidence back on both ends by playing more in the “dunker’s spot” at the rim, which allowed him to score and rebound easily as well as make spectacular plays for others. Finally, Hawkins attacked the basket more for layups and free throw opportunities, while also benefiting from the improved spacing the offense had in February and March. At the same time the offense improved, UConn’s team defense got much more disciplined and focused, as the Huskies cut down on the unnecessary fouls and poor help D they played in January. Hurley’s ability to teach his players how to make these adjustments and his improved composure in games helped the UConn players compete with more confidence in games, and handle adversity when it cropped up. By the time the Huskies got to the latter stages of the NCAA tournament, they were able to always control games, ensuring there was no such adversity.

While it was easy to see UConn being capable of going on a Final Four run and maybe even winning the championship, never would I have imagined that it would dominate NCAA tournament opponents to that extent. They won the six games by an average of 20 points, and each win was by at least 13 points, including the 76-59 beatdown of San Diego State to win the title. The offense easily averaged over a point per possession (PPP) in each game while scoring 70 or more points, and held each t0 65 or fewer points and 0.95 or fewer PPP. Sanogo was the best player in the tournament, averaging over 17 points and a double-double, Hawkins averaged over 16 points and shot 50% from deep, and Tristen Newton was UConn’s best player in the championship game, scoring 19 points and earning 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Add all the intangibles Jackson brings and great performances by the bench throughout the tournament, and the perfect mixture for a championship is there.

Obviously, basketball fans who weren’t overly familiar with UConn fell in love with them as the team made its run. The team’s athleticism, shot-making and toughness jumped off the chart in each game, and it made a bunch of outstanding opponents look helpless at times. The basketball IQ and enthusiasm for the game every Husky displayed in March Madness was off the charts, as well as Hurley and the player’s composure in tight moments and ability to shack off poor plays. I know if I was a neutral fan, I would enjoy jumping on the UConn bandwagon. As nervous before and at points during each game, I was in ecstasy by the end of each win.

Now that UConn has five titles in 25 (technically 24) seasons under three different head coaches, everyone is debating over whether they qualify as a blue blood. I have always thought that title is meaningless in the grand scheme of things, especially considering how hard it is to define. All I know is that UConn wins championships when it goes deep in the tournament, and it is arguably the best men’s basketball program of the last 30 years, and that Storrs is the college basketball Capitol of the World. All I know is that this was arguably the most complete team top to bottom of any of the Huskies championship teams this century, and certainly my favorite to watch. And finally, I know that this championship has redeemed by belief that UConn can be a consistently elite program. Thank you, Dan Hurley and the 2023 championship UConn Huskies.

UConn is on its Way to the Mountaintop After Reaching Final Four

When Dan Hurley took the UConn men’s coaching job five seasons ago, the program was stuck in the purgatory of the AAC and struggling to recruit quality players. Despite this, Hurley had grand ambitions and promised he could eventually make UConn a national power again. As difficult as it was to believe him at times, Hurley has made this goal a reality, culminating in a Final Four appearance in this year’s NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. Last weekend, the Huskies steamrolled Arkansas and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight to earn the program’s sixth appearance in the Final Four, and first since 2014.

After watching UConn’s 82-54 defeat of No. 2 Gonzaga on Saturday night, there were a ton of thoughts floating through my head along with unbridled joy, and there have only been more over the course of this week. I am just so happy for Hurley and his coaches, the Huskies players, and others surrounding the program. This is a special team, and they are playing at a level unmatched by any other team in the tournament. Right now, I feel that no team can beat UConn when it is playing at its best and am very confident it will win the national championship. Saturday night’s game against No. 5 Miami, which has a great offense, should be very exciting.

Instead of writing a summary of UConn’s West Regional wins against Arkansas and Gonzaga, I have decided to instead write seven observations I had while watching these games, focusing on individual players and the team as a whole, Dan Hurley, and the importance of making the Final Four to myself and UConn nation as a whole. I hope you enjoy it, and let’s go Huskies! I predict wins over Miami and San Diego State to earn a fifth national championship in 24 seasons.

Jordan Hawkins now has a killer instinct. Earlier in the season, Hawkins could be inconsistent against the best teams, especially if his outside shot wasn’t falling. In the tourney and especially the two West Regional games however, Hawkins has shown that he could rebound from cold spells and catch fire quickly offensively, while also finding other ways to contribute besides just shooting 3-pointers. For example, Hawkins was inconsistent from beyond the arc against the Razorbacks, shooting 3-9, but made up for it by going 3-4 inside it and making all his 9 free throws f 24 points, while also adding 3 assists. In the Elite Eight, Hawkins shot 6-10 from deep and scored 20, and also grabbed 6 rebounds. In addition to his overall offensive performance in March Madness, Hawkins has demonstrated his increased versatility and burgeoning leadership skills, with the sophomore being more vocal in the huddle. He has demonstrated to a national audience that he is one of the most skilled shooters in America, and this has helped Hawkins shoot up NBA draft boards. Even if Hawkins has an off shooting night against Miami, I am confident he will find other ways to contribute on both ends. And I wouldn’t count on him being quiet for a full 40 minutes.
While this year’s tourney has been a coming out party for Hawkins to fans who may not pay close attention to the Big East, it has also given Adama Sanogo an opportunity to remind people that he is one of the best big men in America. Sanogo was a monster in the first two rounds, averaging 26 points and 11.5 rebounds on nearly 70% shooting. Last weekend, the junior center averaged “only” 14 points and 9 rebounds on over 50% shooting. Sanogo demanded lots of attention against both Arkansas and Gonzaga. After scoring 18 in the first game, he took advantage of that attention against the Bulldogs, dishing out 6 assists to teammates who cut to the rim. It was a showcase for how much Sanogo has improved as a passer, and become a more versatile player overall on both ends. Sanogo is the rock for UConn, and he will provide a very tough challenge against the big men he will match up with against Miami and possibly in the championship game.
Andre Jackson is a joy to watch when is causing havoc on defense and making smart plays on offense, and he has done both throughout March Madness. After four games, Jackson is averaging just under 8 points per game on just under 50% shooting, 7 assists against just 2 turnovers, and 7 rebounds. Jackson has been excellent at cutting to the rim for easy buckets, led UConn on fastbreaks and found teammates, especially Hawkins and Sanogo, for easy buckets, and generally just been everywhere on the boards. On defense, Sanogo has provided great help and been able to defend a wide variety of players. He had 3 steals against Arkansas. The tournament has been a great opportunity for Jackson to show how he has improved since the beginning of February, and that he can do a little bit of everything for the Huskies. He will be a difference maker against Miami and be a huge factor in the team winning the title.
In nonconference play, UConn’s depth was one of the things that distinguished them as an elite team. For a good chunk of Big East play, the bench play was disappointing and helped cause the Huskies to sleep. In the final weeks of the regular season however, the bench players were much better and have carried that other to NCAA Tournament play. Naheim Alleyne, Donovan Clinigan, Joey Calcaterra and Hassan Diarra have each contributed in different ways, and it’s helped make the Huskies the best tourney team so far. Alleyne has been outstanding on defense as always, and has provided another reliable outside shooter and extra ball-handling. Alleyne is averaging just over 7 points in the four games, while shooting 6-11 from deep. Clinigan has been dominant on both ends in his limited minutes on both ends, guaranteeing UConn would see little drop-off when Sanogo is on the bench. Clinigan is averaging just under 7 points, over 5 rebounds and has blocked 9 shots, while making roughly 70% of these shots. This is all despite playing 52 minute in the entire tourney. The duo of he and Sanogo will almost definitely be too much for Miami to handle. Calcaterra is averaging 6 points per game and shooting 40% from deep. Finally, Diarra has played solid defense and been reliable off the bench as a point guard, averaging 2 assists. No opponent has been able to completely shut down the bench so far, and has a result it has allowed UConn to increase leads while getting much-needed rest for the starters. Let’s see if Miami can be the team that significantly limits the quartet’s offensive contributions.
While so far I have focused on individual players, UConn deserves praise as a group for being able to step on the throat of opponents during the second half of tournaments and end any hopes of a comeback for them, particularly in the West Regional. It absolutely blitzed Arkansas and Gonzaga in the final few minutes of the first half and especially in the second, outscoring the two by a combined total of 27 points. The Huskies did a great job of not letting up on offense and going on runs to put the game out of reach. They have tightened up their defense and improved their rebounding in the second half of all four games. We know that UConn doesn’t exactly have the best record in close games, so instead they are just taking control early and then executing the kill shot in second halves. If the team gets off to a decent lead in Saturday’s game in the first half, the Hurricanes will be in trouble.
Dan Hurley has been outstanding in this tournament. Against Arkansas, he did a great job coming up with a plan to stop their ball screens and force the Razorbacks to shoot from outside. Then against Gonzaga, he emphasized to players that they needed to get Drew Timme in foul trouble, and forced the rest of the roster to keep up with them offensively, which the Bulldog players failed to do to say the least. Hurley has done a strong job of using his subs on both ends to keep players fresh and confuse opponents, and made sure to emphasize that UConn use cuts to score more effectively around the basket and make it harder for opponents to limit Jackson. Finally, Hurley has been calm and collected on the bench, which has allowed his players to have the same demeanor as well. Hurley is maturing as a coach in all areas before our very eyes, and it bodes very well for UConn’s success going forward.
This has been a great ride for the fanbase in general. This is what we have been waiting for since UConn went back to the Big East, and the excitement among both hardcore and more casual fans is palpable. For the next couple of years, the program will likely be well-supported, and it’s possible they can have one of the most devoted fanbases in the country again. All credit to Dan Hurley and his players for getting in this position.

UConn Has a Lot of Positives to Take With Them Into the Sweet 16

As a natural pessimist, I wasn’t sure if UConn would live up to its No. 4 seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Would the team be able to play disciplined on both ends and put their best players in position for success? Would the Huskies be able to make effective adjustments and stay calm under pressure? The last two postseasons had left me scarred, but the players showed me on Friday and Sunday that there was no reason to be concerned.

Behind Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins, UConn put together two outstanding second halves to earn comfortable wins over No. 13 Iona and No. 5 St. Mary’s and return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014. Despite trailing for much of the first half in both games (UConn was down 39-37 at halftime of the opener), the team maintained composure and Dan Hurley made smart adjustments, particularly with using the Huskies bench. This allowed UConn to wear down both teams in the second half and earn 24 and 15-point wins. The Huskies have won each nonconference game they’ve played by double digits.

With UConn’s excellent performance in the opening rounds and losses by other top seeds, the team is again seen as one of the favorites to go to the Final Four and win a national championship. It is in arguably the toughest region (West) and facing a Sweet 16 opponent better than its record in No. 8 Arkansas, but the Huskies look like they are capable of beating anyone right now.

Below, I go over the strengths UConn demonstrated in the opening two rounds, as well as areas they struggled and need to improve upon to possibly win the region.

Adama Sanogo is a Monster

Sanogo’s performance this season has been unappreciated throughout, with the junior center being replaced by Hawkins as the team’s “star”. He continued to be one of the best big men in the country, and reminded viewers all over of this with unforgettable performances against Iona and St. Mary’s. Sanogo put up 28 points and 13 rebounds on 13-17 shooting in the first round and 24 and 8 on 16 shots in the second win, with his KenPom offensive rating finishing over 124 in both.

His shooting efficiency and rebounding made Sanogo the first player since Blake Griffin in 2009 to shoot 70 percent or better from the field and average 25 points and 10 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament. Sanogo also scored the third-most points all time for any UConn player in the opening two rounds, behind Richard Hamilton and Caron Butler’s 55.

Against both the Gaels teams, Sanogo’s footwork and strength allowed him to dominate defenders. He did an excellent job of positioning himself deep in the post to score easy baskets, and using shot fakes and hook shots to score over defenders. Sanogo’s improved outside shooting forced players to keep tabs on him outside the paint, therefore making it easier for him to get to the basket. Sanogo’s effort on the backboards was outstanding in both games (he had six offensive boards against Iona), and resulted in a few extra points with putbacks. Sanogo’s success was also a reflection on the offense as a whole, as his teammates did a great job of getting him the ball where he could easily score.

Sanogo’s efficiency on offense and solid defensive play gave his teammates a big lift and allowed the team to stay in both games despite slow starts and then pull away in the second half. He and Donovan Clinigan combined to wear down the opponents, and will again have the advantage against a smaller Arkansas frontcourt. It’s often said that a team will go only as far as its backcourt in March, but Sanogo is trying to remind people that a dominant big man can lead his team to a national championship.

UConn Again Demonstrates How its Depth Makes the Team Stand Out

During its 11-0 start in nonconference play, the team’s depth was maybe its most distinguishing characteristic. That depth was key to UConn winning the PK85 Tournament, and made it stand out in comparison to other teams at the top of the polls in November and December. While that depth remained a strength in the Big East schedule for the most part, UConn’s supporting cast and bench was much more inconsistent. However, they have improved in the last month and were outstanding throughout against Iona and St. Mar’s.

The Huskies got 26 bench points against Iona, with a majority coming in the first half as they struggled to establish a lead. Naheim Alleyne and Joey Calcaterra each knocked down two 3-pointers and scored a combined 14 points, with Alleyne also playing strong defense against the Gaels tough guards. Clinigan was an absolute beast with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 14 minutes, putting up his best stat line in arguably more than two months. Calcaterra and Alleyne’s perimeter scoring helped pick up the slack for Hawkins and Newton, who made just one basket in the game, while Clinigan did an outstanding job of defending the rim and finishing shots at in the paint. This meant that there was barely any drop-off when Sanogo was on the bench, and it exhausted Iona’s frontcourt. Andre Jackson also did yeomen’s work on both ends, putting up 10 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds to go with solid defense. With all the complimentary pieces clicking, UConn was bound to pull away from Iona once Hawkins finally began draining shots.

While UConn was much more reliant offensively on their starters against St. Mary’s, Clinigan and others still made big contributions. The freshman had 4 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and even 2 assists in 11 minutes. Clinigan played exceptional defense and kept St. Mary’s from getting to the rim easily like they were in the opening minutes, and vacuumed up rebounds. Alleyne and Calcaterra each hit a 3-pointer and played solid defense, and they, Clinigan and Hassan Diarra were key to helping UConn bounce back from an initially poor start (it trailed 17-9 less than 10 minutes into the game). And while Newton and Sanogo mainly carried the offensive load until Hawkins started hitting threes, Jackson again did a little bit of everything and made some great plays for teammates, earning 7 assists to just one turnover.

As UConn goes on to face Arkansas and possibly other opponents, its depth should continue to be a big strength, particularly with Clinigan backing up Sanogo. It has guards that can provide strong defense and perimeter shooting off the bench, and Jackson’s versatility allows him to somewhat transcend stats. Now the Huskies just need to get Alex Karaban going offensively.

The Defense Locked in Over the Course of Both Games

UConn started both of last week’s games struggling on defense, especially against the guards of Iona and St. Mary’s. The players were beat off the dribble too much and failed to stop their man from getting downhill to the basket, and the help defense was lacking too frequently, especially in the round of 32. As the games went on however, UConn tightened up its man-to-man defense and covered the paint better, especially when Clinigan was on the floor. Combine this with solid perimeter defense and excellent work on the defensive boards, especially against St. Mary’s, and the Huskies had a recipe for success. In the end, Iona and St. Mary’s averaged just 0.95 and 0.86 points per possession. UConn’s ability to defend in the paint and help on pick and rolls will especially be tested against Arkansas, which makes it’s living offensively on attacking the basket and getting defenders in foul trouble.

Dan Hurley Shut up the Haters

While many people take it too far at times, the criticism Hurley has gotten over the past few seasons has been somewhat warranted, especially for UConn’s play in both the Big East and NCAA tournaments. Losing to double-digit seeds in March Madness in consecutive seasons was especially frustrating, and I still don’t understand what happened against New Mexico State. When the team lost to Marquette in the Big East semifinals, the pressure Hurley had on him entering last Friday must have felt suffocating.

Luckily, Hurley responded perfectly to the challenge. It’s clear he had UConn ready to play in both games and knew what advantages he wanted to exploit. Hurley recognized that Sanogo would be a handful for both opponents and made sure teammates got him the ball consistently, and wore down both opponents by exploiting the depth of UConn. He made sure to sub frequently and get the Huskies bench players scoring opportunities, and recognized that giving Clinigan extended minutes could demoralize the opponents. The team had great composure throughout both games even when they were trailing, and Hurley managed to keep Hawkins focused and prepared even when he was struggling to score. Hurley also made adjustments to the defense when necessary, such as having UConn press St. Mary’s to speed players up and throw their offensive flow off. While Arkansas will be a much tougher test and has an outstanding coach as well, I don’t UConn will loose due to a lack of preparation in any way.

Lessons UConn Must Learn From Marquette Loss

After UConn’s 70-68 loss to Marquette in the Big East semifinals last Friday, I had many reasons to be frustrated. The Huskies had lost another one-possession game for the second straight year in the semifinals, continuing a trait that has plagued the program for multiple seasons. The defense had stepped up midway in the second half after switching to zone, allowing UConn to rally from a 10-point deficit to tie the game at 60 with 9:26 remaining. However, this defense was negated by the offense going 3-13 from the field the remainder of the game, preventing the team from ever taking the lead.

After a layup from Adama Sanogo with a little less than three minutes remaining brought his team within two, the Huskies missed the final five shots of the game. Their shot selection during this stretch left a lot to be desired, as UConn focused on scoring from the perimeter instead of trying to get the ball to Adama Sanogo, who was being guarded by bigs in foul trouble, or at least playing inside-out. Joey Calcaterra missed two great looks from deep, and on the last play of the game Jordan Hawkins threw up a prayer after Dan Hurley elected to not call a timeout. Fittingly, Tristen Newton missed a wide-open Sanogo under the basket on the play.

Despite the frustrating loss, I am mostly at peace with the results. Yes, UConn has arguably more talent than anyone else in the Big East, including tournament winner Marquette. However, the team learned a lot of lessons from the game that can hopefully allow it to go on a tournament run.

First, I believe that the loss showed the Huskies that they need to be willing to get the ball inside more, whether for baskets in the paint or shots off of kick-outs and cutting to the rim. This is especially the case if the team is struggling heavily on 3-pointers, as it was in the second half. Despite Sanogo’s dominance inside (he scored 19 points), the junior center took just 11 shots and none in the final minutes as the guards failed to score. Donavon Clinigan was excellent as well with 7 points and 5 rebounds, but curiously played just 10 minutes. With UConn’s guards struggling and Karaban and Andre Jackson limited by fouls in the second half, Dan Hurley should have emphasized to get the ball in the paint and challenge the Marquette players who were in foul trouble (granted, he may have done so and the team just failed to execute). It’s hard to imagine Jackson and most UConn’s guards playing that badly on offense again versus No. 13 Iona Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but the team should be able to score effectively inside considering the size, efficiency, and rebounding of Sanogo and Clinigan.

Second, the loss demonstrated that UConn needs to compete hard on defense the entire 4o minutes. None of the guards played strong man-to-man against Marquette and seemed to be unfocused particularly due to their offensive struggles. Jackson’s foul trouble also caused the Huskies defense to be much less dynamic, and Sanogo’s help defense was atrocious, allowing the Golden Eagle guards to score very effectively at the rim. Combine this with Marquette’s success from beyond the arc, and it was the perfect recipe for a loss despite UConn’s effective zone defense. While Iona has strong offensive guards and can score in a variety of ways, I believe the Huskies athleticism and depth should allow them to slow down the offense enough as long as the players are locked in. Hopefully, the semifinal loss will give UConn a lot of t to step up on that end.

Finally, UConn needs to play composed. Against Marquette, the players were visibly frustrated and Hurley was having difficulty communicating with them. As the team has done all year, it seemed to tighten up and show poor shot selection in the final minutes. They will have to avoid this and handle the press effectively against Iona, which is the bread and butter of its defense. As far as individual players, Jackson and Hawkins, who each had two of their worst games of the season, need to play with confidence and intelligence. Jackson needs to be the human dynamo he is capable of, and Hawkins needs to get out of its shooting sleep and start establishing a legacy of postseason success. Finally, Hurley needs to show more smarts as a coach for UConn to go on any sort of March Madness run. He admitted that UConn wasn’t prepared mentally to face Marquette, and struggled to find the right way to communicate to his players as the Golden Eagles executed great on both ends. Harley waited too long to switch to the zone in the second half, and should have played Clinigan more, especially after he was vital in UConn’s comeback to tie the game midway through the second half. Finally, Hurley must do a better job of using his timeouts, and calling ones in the final moments of close games if a play isn’t working effectively. Hurley’s decision to not call one on the final play of the game against Marquette was dumb and put way too much pressure on the offense. This is a make-or-break tourney for Hurley, as he needs to prove he can win at least one game in March and avoid an upset. I think he will, but any criticism he gets if UConn doesn’t is justified.

UConn can make a lot of adjustments to prepare for Iona tomorrow afternoon, based on what they see on tape from Iona’s games and the strengths and weaknesses the team has shown recently. The Huskies have the talent to beat anyone these next few weeks, as we’ve seen at points throughout the season. Starting Friday, it’s now the responsibility of the players and coaching staff starting Friday to play to the team’s strengths against individual opponents and minimize their weaknesses.

Observations on Last Week’s Games: UConn Continues to Look Like an Elite Team

This time last month, UConn was reeling. Following their home loss to Xavier on January 25^th, the team had lost six of eight games and was under .500 in the Big East at 5-6. The defense was playing terribly, and UConn was getting inconsistent production from multiple starters, particularly Andre Jackson, as well as much of its bench. The worst part of this was that the Huskies were playing tentatively, and no one seemed to be having any fun. Never mind reaching the heights of the team’s 14-0 start: UConn needed to turn things around to still get a strong seed in the NCAA Tournament as well as avoid having to play in the first round of the Big East tourney.

Flash forward to today, and the Huskies are the hottest team in the Big East and again seen as one of the most likely squads to go deep into March and reach the Final Four. UConn defeated ranked Providence and St. John’s with ease on Wednesday and Saturday, with the first 18-point triumph on Senior Night one of the program’s signature wins of the season. The Huskies have one six of seven and are now 22-7 and 11-7 in the Big East (good for fifth in the standings), earning them a No. 14 ranking in the AP Poll yesterday. After two mediocre offensive games, they were on fire against the Friars and Red Storm, showing their versatility and depth. On defense, UConn did a much better job of limiting offensive penetration and defending at the rim, especially against Providence, and keeping players off the offensive glass. From better communication and focus as a team to improved coaching to individual players turning things around, everything is looking up for the Huskies going into the last two regular season games against DePaul and at Villanova tomorrow and Saturday.

Below, I discuss my famous observations about the Providence and St. John’s wins and the big-time positives and one negative fans can take from the games. UConn is frequently clicking on all cylinders right now. Let’s hope they don’t lose focus in this last week and hurt their momentum going into the Big East tourney.

Adama Sanogo Reminds Opponents and Fans That he is One of the Best Players in the Nation

As Jordan Hawkins has earned more and more accolades for his shooting and overall improvement in Big East Play, Sanogo has faded to the background a little bit, particularly since he is not a serious NBA prospect like Hawkins is. Sanogo’s reliability is sometimes not appreciated by the Husky fanbase, and the junior hasn’t been helped when asked to carry the load so frequently by the team, as was happening when the offense was being run through Sanogo during UConn’s January swoon. In February however, Dan Hurley made the smart decision to have the big man play significant minutes at the top of the key, allowing Sanogo to focus on setting screens and starting scoring opportunities facing towards the basket. Sanogo’s strength and footwork allows him to be very effective as a scorer from this spot, and it allows him to take better advantage of his surprisingly strong 3-point shot. It also makes it much easier for Sanogo to pass the ball. And of course, Sanogo has been just as strong as ever in the low post since Hurley’s changes, especially now that he is not being double-teamed so much. Sanogo showed off his increased offensive efficiency as well as an improved all-around game against Providence and St. John’s.

Sanogo averaged 17 points against the Friars and Red Storm on 75% shooting and went 10-12 at the free throw line. He also averaged 7 rebounds, grabbing 9 on Saturday. Sanogo did an excellent job of beating his man both down low and off the dribble from the top of the key, and displayed great touch and footwork. Against St. John’s, he did an outstanding job of attacking defenders head on and forcing contact, going 8-10 at the charity stripe. Sanogo also demonstrated his improved passing by dishing out a combined three assists in the wins. On the boards, Sanogo did a strong job of boxing out and reacting quickly to rebound opportunities.

Sanogo’s defense has been much improved in recent games, and that continued to be the case against Providence and St. John’s. He did a good job of staying in front of his man as well as providing help defense when necessary. Sanogo’s rim protection, which has dropped off this year, was much improved, and he recorded a season-high 3 bocks against the Friars. Sanogo did a strong job of avoiding foul trouble in the wins, although he certainly got help from Donovan Clinigan when he was on the bench.

Even if Hawkins is now UConn’s number one, Sanogo is 1B. His ability to score and rebound consistently is remarkable, and when Sanogo is locked in defensively as well, he becomes a great two-way player. Now that Dan Hurley has seemingly figured out how to allow Sanogo succeed without dominating the ball, he has become an even tougher matchup for opponents. Sanogo is UConn’s best big man of the last decade, and he is in position to add postseason success to his legacy if he continues to perform at this high of a level.

The Bench Has Come Alive Again

For most of Big East play, UConn has gotten little offensively from its best players even since it got out again, minus Clinigan at some points. Against Providence and especially St. John’s however, the bench awoke from its slumber. The Huskies bench players supplied 19 points against the Friars and 32 against the Red Storm, while also generally playing good defense.

The duo of Naheim Alleyne and Clinigan were a great bench duo in the last two games. Alleyne scored a combined 17 points and drained all three 3-pointers he took against Providence. He especially stepped up offensively in the first half to give the team momentum. Alleyne has been UConn’s most reliable defender off the bench, and again limited player’s ability to penetrate against the Friars and Red Storm. He had steals in both games and a block against St. John’s.

Clinigan, which had seemed to hit a freshman wall in previous weeks, appeared to be returning to his effectiveness he showed earlier in the season in the last two games. The freshman center scored a combined 16 points against Providence and St. John’s in 25 minutes, while shooting 6-12 from the field and 4-6 at the line. He also kept his turnovers under control, committing just one in each win. Clinigan also grabbed 9 rebounds, 7 offensive. Clinigan did a better job of finishing around the rim after struggling to do so for a few games and continued to do an outstanding job of earning putbacks. Clinigan also again showed how gifted he is at reading where shots will come off the rim and outmuscling offensive defenders for offensive rebounds. It was heartening to see Clinigan finally performing under pressure on foul shots after struggling so much on them recently. After not being as much of a force defensively for much of February, Clinigan was a monster against a small Red Storm squad, blocking 5 shots and also earning a steal. With this increased effectiveness, Clinigan should earn more minutes against DePaul and Villanova squads that he matches up well against.

While seeing Alleyne and Clinigan have two strong games was satisfying, it was particularly fun to see Joey Calcaterra have a great game against St. John’s. The super senior, whose 3-point shot had abandoned him in conference play, drained three of four treys on Saturday and made four free throws in just 17 minutes, finishing with 15 points. It was the first time Calcaterra had more than two 3-pointers in conference play, and tied his season high in points. His teammates did an excellent job of finding Calcaterra against the Red Storm, and he also did an excellent job of moving without the ball. With no surprise, the UConn fans at Madison Square Garden went crazy when Joey California caught fire. While Calcaterra must have more than one good game to prove that he is back on track, the guard can certainly give the Huskies a huge weapon off the bench in tournament play if he has a strong touch in a game.

When UConn is at its best, the aforementioned players as well as Hassan Diarra are capable of stepping up on both ends when needed, especially sense the team has one starter in Andre Jackson whom can be very inconsistent offensively. The performance of the bench against Providence and St. John’s was very promising and fun to watch. However, the bench players must prove that they can be consistent in more games for the Huskies to reach their potential.

Andre Jackson is Changing the Game on Both Ends

Throughout January and early February, no one had a bigger target on their head than Jackson, sometimes to an excessive extent from fans. The junior was playing undisciplined on both ends, and appeared to have no confidence at times offensively. However, he has been much better defensively in February, and his offense has improved as well now that Hurley and Jackson have placed him in the dunker’s spot to get easier scoring opportunities and not be tempted to regularly shoot from the outside, where Jackson has struggled heavily this season. Against Providence and St. John’s, Jackson was locking down multiple players while making plays for both teammates and himself around the rim.

While Jackson was effective offensively against Providence, especially in setting up teammates (he scored 4 points on 3 attempts and dished out 4 assists to just one turnover), it was against St. John’s where he especially impressed. Jackson scored 15 points on 5-6 shooting, going 4-5 at the line, and added 3 assists. It was the second time in three games Jackson dropped a season-high 15. The forward completed multiple athletic shots around the rim, including a dunk and putback, and drained an open 3-pointer. He did a strong job of getting the ball to teammates for open shots., and as always had multiple moments where he came out of nowhere to grab loose balls on both ends.

Jackson’s defense was strong in both games, particularly in the first when he had to cover Friars star Devin Carter. Jackson limited Carter to just 7 points on 3-10 shooting and was consistently in his face while not fouling. Against the Red Storm, Jackson was again aggressive defensively and had 2 blocks while playing 38 minutes.

After Jackson’s underwhelming play for much of the Big East schedule, fans had a reason to feel that the small forward was having an underwhelming year and would never reach his full potential. In the last two weeks however, the adjustments Hurley made to simplify things for Jackson offensively, and his overall re-commitment on the defensive end, have allowed Jackson to reach his full potential on both ends. Jackson is a playmaker and agent of chaos on both ends, and UConn is more dangerous going into March as result.

Rebounding Continues to be Elite

After a drop-off in UConn’s rebounding during its struggles, the team has improved on the glass on both ends the last few weeks, and that was on display against Providence and St. John’s. Their offensive rebounding has been particularly strong, and the Huskies are now the number one team in both the country and Big East at offensive rebounding percentage (39.1% and 40.3%). After struggling on the boards in the first matchup with the Friars, UConn outrebounded them 40-20 overall and 15-8 on the offensive end in last Wednesday’s 87-69 win. While the Huskies had no players in double-digits, five grabbed at least 5 rebounds, led by Alex Karaban’s 8 (he also scored 16). In contrast, no Friar has more than 5 and Bryce Hopkins, one of the best rebounders in the conference, did not record one against UConn’s front line. While the battle on the boards between the Huskies and St. John’s was more even, they still outrebounded the Red Storm 38-32 and won on the offensive glass. UConn had four players with five or more rebounds, led by Sanogo with 9 and Tristen Newton with 7. While Joel Soriano was great on the boards for St. John’s grabbing 11, no other player had a big rebounding game. As in other recent games, the Huskies did an excellent job boxing out and reading balls off the backboard and got to loose balls very quickly.

UConn’s ability to rebound will be a huge strength in tournament play, and especially in the NCAA Tournament when games will likely be less physical. It’s been proven over time that teams which rebound well can frequently go deep into March Madness, and I can see UConn winning a tournament game because of its rebounding and scoring second-chance points. Now let’s make it a reality.

The Huskies Still Need to Improve Their Ball-Handling and Focus for 40 Minutes

The to issues identified in the title have been a huge problem throughout conference play and cost the team wins. While UConn did a better job with passing and ball-handling against Providence and St. John’s, it still committed a combined 27 turnovers and had more turnovers than their opponent in both. Players still made unnecessarily risky passes that were out of bounds or stolen, or either were stripped or lost the ball out of bounds. Newton, Hawkins, and Jackson were the primary culprits. The Huskies are continuing to make unforced errors that reflect a lack of basketball IQ. While UConn was in control throughout against both Providence and St. John’s, they made a handful of silly fouls that allowed both teams to keep their offense afloat in both games. The team especially grew lackadaisical on defense in the final few minutes against the Red Storm, making the score look much closer than it actually was. The Huskies need to tighten up on defense against DePaul and especially at Villanova this week, which will beat UConn if it isn’t giving 100 percent effort.

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:

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.
As I already discussed, UConn is susceptible to a variety of sloppy turnovers, particularly if it is pressured.
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.
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.
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.