Tag: game story

UConn doesn’t want to make it easy for fans, do they?

Through the first 25 minutes of the Huskies home win against St. John’s Wednesday, I was confident they would win by double-digits, likely around 15. They were playing great on defense and generally looked very flued on offense, with Adama Sanogo dominating the Red Storm on both ends. But a combination of foul trouble, stilted offensive possessions, missed free throws and Julian Champagnie and his fellow shooters going off from the permitter put UConn down in the final seconds and sent the game to overtime. In the timeout before overtime, I definitely wondered if UConn would come out flat and scared at the beginning of overtime, and how devastating it would be for the team to again blow a game to a team it should be significantly better than. I needn’t have worried.

The Huskies were outstanding in overtime, outscoring St. John’s 15-7 while going on an 11-0 run, ultimately winning 86-78 and improving to 11-4 and 2-2 in the Big East. UConn attacked the lane for layups and free throw opportunities, eventually forcing three Red Storm players to foul out and finally hitting consistently from the charity stripe. St. John’s continued to struggle to score inside and Champagnie finally went cold. It hit just 34.6% from the field overall.

Now that UConn has survived its scare, it can look back on the win and see a ton of positives from it. While it was extremely sloppy with the ball (16 turnovers) as discussed more later, the offense was often very efficient, as the Huskies shot over 47% and 40.9% from three and averaged 1.09 points per possession. Adama Sanago continued his reign of terror in the frontcourt, going for 26 points and 18 rebounds and blocking six shots, while R.J. Cole scored 19 and had eight assists against just two turnovers. The defense was dominant at times, as exhibited by their 14 blocks. And UConn shook off the tough end to regulation and came out with a ton of energy and focus. It stinks that the team wasn’t able to build on the win quickly because of the Providence game scheduled for Saturday being cancelled due to Covid—19, but they will be able to take a lot of lessons into the two games against Butler this week.  

The fast-paced first half was a bit of a mess, with UConn committing a number of unforced turnovers that kept them from getting a large lead. St. John’s also did a good job of responding to runs by the Huskies. They went into halftime up 36-31.

The game started off especially sloppy, as the Huskies committed four turnovers in the first three minutes and both teams struggled with their shooting. UConn was especially careless with the ball, with their turnovers the result of either carelessness or poor ball-handling. It did a good job of moving the ball quickly and getting open looks however, and threes by Polley and Hawkins gave the team a 15-10 lead eight minutes into the game.

St. John’s immediately responded, with two open 3-pointers of their own, a forbidding illustration of what would come in the second. A tough layup by Dylan Addae-Wusu gave the Red Storm the lead at the 9:30 mark, but the Huskies erased that deficit by the next TV timeout with a 7-0 run. It featured two silky shots by Sanago (a layup and jumper), an Andre Jackson off a bullet pass from Cole and Martin flying in for a layup.

The remainder of the half saw St. John’s tie the game one last time before UConn finally ended halftime up five and both sides slow down on offense. The Red Storm quickly tied the game at 27 on a Champagnie 3-point play and another unforced turnover, this time by Isiah Whaley, that set up a dunk by Joel Soriano. Cole answered with an open 3-pointer on the next possession and he would go on to make the Huskies final two field goals as well, with the other points coming on free throws by Jackson. The teams combined for just eight points in the final five minutes of the half as they both went cold from the outside. UConn forced multiple turnovers and blocked shots in the final minutes of the half.

With the play of Sanago and Cole and excellent defense in the paint, it should have had a double-digit lead halftime and not just 36-31, but the nine turnovers (mostly unforced), brilliance of Champagnie and poor defensive rebounding kept it closer. Those issues would return again in the second half with a vengeance.

UConn played an outstanding opening five minutes of the second half, ending the stretch with an 8-3 run to go up 50-39 with 14:55 remaining in regulation. The stretch featured threes from Jackson and Cole as well six points by Sanago and an assist on a dunk by Whaley. The offense was doing an excellent job of spacing the floor and Sanago continuously found ways to get open in the paint. On defense, he was all over the backboard and altered multiple shots alongside Whaley. The Huskies forced multiple turnovers and allowed just two field goals, both off of offensive rebounds. Their efficient and entertaining play on both ends quickly disappeared however.

As soon as Cole and then Martin had to briefly leave the game due to foul trouble, everything changed on offense. In the minute between when Cole earned his third foul at 14:08 and checked back in less than two minutes later, UConn committed multiple unforced turnovers and missed a wide-open 3-pointer and generally ran less smoothly. It also allowed gave up a layup and the Red Storm made four free throws to cut the lead to 50-45, with the second foul forcing Martin to the bench. While the Huskies got decent shots after the under-12 timeout, they came late in the shot clock. And as St. John’s became more physical the pace of play slowed down, hurting UConn’s flow. It ultimately went more than four minutes until a Whaley jumper at the 10-minute mark. Thankfully, the defense held the Red Storm at bay thanks to the block party Sanago and Whaley were having and improved perimeter defense. A 3-pointer by Polley off a kick-out from Sanago put the Huskies up 57-50 with 7:44 to go in regulation.

Despite the continued turnover issues and Sanogo’s struggles at the free throw line, his block led to a fastbreak three by Polley to put the team up 60-50 with 6:19 to go, and every UConn fan began to imagine it could win comfortably. This was premature to say the least. In under three minutes, St. John’s went on a 12-4 run, leaving the Huskies up just 64-62 at the 3:58 mark. They did a poor job of defensive rebounding, leading to five second-chance points for the Red Storm, including a three by Aaron Wheeler. The three by Champagnie that made it a 2-point game was partly the product of a turnover by Sanago. To their credit, the Red Storm did a good job of attacking the basket quickly and beating UConn to rebounds and loose balls and got open beyond the arc before defenders could effectively challenge shots. On offense, the Huskies continued to play slowly and did not look for any 3-point opportunities, instead just attacking the basket and drawing fouls. That would have been helpful if they could of converted on any of these shots or consistently hit free throws. UConn instead infuriately kept making one of two.

The Huskies briefly responded nicely, as a Sanago putback dunk and tough offensive rebound and layup by Cole gave them a 68-62 lead with 2:41 to go. From then on, the offense continuously shot itself in the foot to leave the door open for St. John’s. Cole and his teammates seemed to decide everything should be put on the senior’s back and St. John’s was having none of it. Cole missed three questionable shots in the final 2:27 while using a ton of clock, and Whaley and Sanago each went one of two at the line. The Red Storm happily took advantage of the door UConn left open. Champagnie hit a tough 3-pointer following a three deflected by Wheeler and then found his teammate open in the corner to cut the deficit to 69-68 with a minute to go. Cole and Wheeler missed twin 3-pointers following a timeout and Sanago missed a second free throw. St. John’s was able to get the ball quickly down the floor and Cole was forced to switch onto the much taller Champagnie. He gave a valiant defensive effort, but the much bigger junior drained the trey with four seconds to go to give his team a 72-71 lead, their first since midway through the first half.

It briefly looked like Champagnie would be a hero and UConn was going to suffer another ugly loss, a worry that the players later admitted they had after the game. The Huskies took a timeout before inbounding and it briefly looked like Jackson could end the game with a turnover, as he threw a full-court pass to the right baseline after he could not find an open teammate in the backcourt. A Red Storm player tipped it out of bounds when trying to intercept the pass, giving UConn a second chance and the opportunity to draw up a play after St. John’s took a timeout. To his credit, Dan Hurley drew up a good play for Martin to cut to the basket on the inbound pass and try to get a layup or at least a foul called or putback. Martin did not get the call when he was fouled on his attempt, but Sanago was right there to get the offensive rebound and draw free throws. He did his job, making one of two to send the game to overtime tied at 71.

After gaining a second life, UConn proved to the audience that there was a clear gulf between itself and the Red Storm in overtime once the offense got going. Following a Champagne jumper, Sanago tied the game with a layup and Martin gave them the lead for good on a fastbreak layup with 2:51 remaining off a bullet pass from Jackson. After a pair of free throws from both Cole and Sanago, Whaley stole the ball from Alexander and Jackson pretty much sealed the win with 1:21 remaining on a 3-point play to make it 82-73 and cap the Huskies 11-0 run. They made all six free throws in overtime, causing players to foul out in the process, and did not commit a turnover. Sanago, Martin and Cole each had four points in five minutes. UConn’s defense was also outstanding, hounding ballhandlers and doing a better job of challenging jumpers. It helped force three turnovers and held the Red Storm to 3-11 shooting. From the overtime tip to the buzzer, the Huskies were on a mission to win.

Outside its play in the final six minutes of regulation, UConn’s defense was mostly excellent. While they couldn’t slow down Champagnie, who finished with 27 points on 10-22 shooting and hit four threes, there was no shame in this, especially with the number of contested shots the “6-8” forward hit. Wheeler, who finished with 14 points and nailed three treys, was the only other truly effective scorer for St. John’s. Cole played excellent defense on Alexander, who scored just 11 on 4-13 shooting and committed four turnovers after burning Cole in the Red Storm’s win over UConn last season. While Sanago was praised earlier for his six blocks Whaley was an even more effective defender, blocking five shots and altering countless others and snatching three steals in 36 minutes. Martin also had two blocks. As mentioned before, St. John’s shot just 34.6% overall and 32% inside the arc. The only area it had a clear offensive advantage was in rebounds, grabbing 21 to the Huskies 13.

In addition to Sanago and Cole, who were outstanding on both ends the entire game, two other players finished in double figures and one with nine points. Martin was inconsistent shooting the ball but still finished with 11 points and two assists and played solid defense. Jackson had 11 points and five rebounds, although he returned to the risky passes he showcased earlier in the season and was burnt by it with four turnovers. Polley carried over his excellent shooting from behind the arc for the second consecutive game, knocking down three of four. As stated earlier, the Huskies shot over 47% overall and 40% from three, although it made just 65.4% of its free throws (17-26).   

Akok Akok surprisingly played only seven minutes, going scoreless. Hawkins and Gaffney continued their ballhandling and shooting issues, playing just a combined 19 minutes and both committing two turnovers. Hawkins went 1-4 from three. UConn is struggling significantly with ball security and unforced turnovers right now. It finished with 16 and five players had multiple turnovers.     

While it would have been great to see UConn get a second chance against Providence after the loss to them earlier in the season instead of it (likely) getting postponed to later in the season, it can hopefully build on the overtime win in its home-and-home games against Butler tomorrow and Thursday. The Bulldogs are 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the Big East, but just got smoked at Villanova Saturday by almost 40 points. The Huskies match up very well with Butler, and these same like the perfect games for them to get double-digit wins and build momentum heading into the last week of conference play.