It’s been six-plus days, but the Uconn men’s 61-58 win over USC at the Legends Classic in Mohegan Sun resonates even more then right in the moment due to the program’s state of limbo they are in as of Wednesday afternoon. After a positive COVID-19 tests by a player and “non tier-one” member of the program, the 3-0 Huskies cannot resume practicing until at least Sunday and have already postponed games against St. John’s, Georgetown and Providence. They are scheduled to resume the season on the 20th against Creighton.
Over the next week, Husky Nation will make sure to cover how the pandemic is affecting the program and how it is approaching returning to playing, as well as looking at how UConn has played so far overall. For the website’s first major post however, we wanted to do a more conventional “game takeaways” post. Going forward, we will do this in a variety of formats, some that will hopefully work great and some that may not. Please enjoy our first game takeaways!
Going into the Huskies matchup with then-undefeated USC last Thursday, I have to admit I was a little worried. The Trojans have a great frontcourt featuring the star tandem of the Mobeley brothers, and had played well against a much tougher schedule. In contrast, UConn had played inconsistently against Central Connecticut and the University of Hartford, particularly on defense, and Danny Hurley was critical of their performance. The team had tinkered with its lineup consistently in the contests, and I was unsure what the lineup would look like at different points of the game. Ultimately, I believed it would be a close game but that the Trojans size would be the difference in USC winning.
I was ecstatic to be wrong. The Huskies demonstrated how what I believe are their biggest strengths (their depth and versatility) can allow them to beat a tough non-conference opponent. UConn was outstanding on the boards, outrebounding USC 42-31 and snatching 40.5% of offensive rebounds and 75% of defensive boards. The Huskies held the Trokans to 35.8% shooting from the field and made USC go 3-19 from three. The offense was strong throughout the first half behind James Bouknight, who scored 13 points, and at times in the second.
I elaborate on the subject more below, but it was also great to see UConn win a close game against a power conference team this early in the season. The players showed a lot of toughness and poise for all 40 minutes, even when UConn went completely cold on offense midway in the second half and nearly coughed up the lead. I was completely confident they would win.
Below are six (mostly positive) observations on the Huskies defeat of USC.
Josh Carlton comes alive
Coming into the season, I think everyone was uncertain how Carlton would fit into this year’s roster. Could he be a centerpiece of UConn’s deep frontcourtconsistently after a disappointing junior season? Did his decision to lose 20 pounds over the season pay off? The concerns about Carlton only intensified after playing only three minutes against CCSU and none against Hartford.
Freshman Adama Sanogo started in place of Carlton, but was quickly replaced by him after committing two fouls. Carlton immediately wiped away my doubts. He scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds (six offensive) in 30 minutes. Along with Isiah Whaley, he helped neutralized the Mobley brothers in the paint. Carlton displayed great mobility along with his trademark toughness. My biggest pet peeve with Carlton has always been his tendency to get into early foul trouble, but he played smart and was able to avoid this, no doubt helped by his increased mobility.
The Huskies are a deep team, but they are also in need of veteran leadership. Carlton can supply that if he plays consistently and with energy. Hurley and Bouknight singled out his play after the win. If Carlton continues to play well it will help to solidify the frountcourt, especially when Akok Akok returns from injury. I can’t wait to see what comes next from him.
UConn shows the resilence all fans are looking for
Throughout the second half, I imagine many fans were thinking: can they beat a good nonconference opponent in a close game? Last year’s Huskies lost seven games by less than five points and four in overtime. They entered the USC game having not played in six days and off an underwhelming win against UHart. UConn’s grueling week off practice clearly prepared them for the challenge, however.
After g0ing into halftime up 39-34, the Huskies came out in the second half with a sense of purpose. They played great on both ends in the first eight minutes and took a 53-40 lead with 11:40 remaining in the game. Even when the offense went ice-cold against the Trojans zone defense (it shot 1-14 from the field over a long stretch and scored just three points in the final eight minutes), UConn continued to rebound well and play strong defense. The players looked calm and composed on the sideline and did not display the “deer in the headlights faces” that charecterized last season’s close loses. With Whaley leading the way, UConn held USC to just three points in the final five minutes. Ultimately, the signature image of the game for me was 6-1 R.J. Cole springing up to grab the final rebound amid a crowd of larger players, looking cool as a cucumber.
Following the win, Hurley immediately said this was not a game UConn would have won last year and he’s completely right. Even if there’s no way to tell how the team will play in similar games the rest of the season, seeing it pull off such an impressive win makes me feel the Huskies will generally live up to the challenge and continue to regularly win these games.
Isiah Waley and Tyres Martin, the human energizer bunnys
Whaley is just a joy to watch and my favorite player on the Huskies. The win was another showcase for Whaley’s versatility, as he recorded 10 points, five rebounds, and five blocks. The senior forward locked down the paint and either blocked or altered many shots. He also made a few tough shots in the paint and added multiple putbacks. While Bouknight is UConn’s star, I would argue that Whaley has been their MVP so far.
Martin had a great debut performance against Hartford and again showed how important he can be to UConn’s success against the Trojans. The junior guard scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards while also playing solid defense. He demonstrated strong shotmaking ability and consistently got to the foul line, going 4-4 from there. Martin also made the single most impressive shot of the game early in the second half, draining a topsy-turvy shot at the rim. It appears like Martin will bring much-needed stability and leadership to this year’s backcourt. Martin and Whaley were the Huskies most reliable offensive players in the second half.
The beatiful inconsistency of James Bouknight
In the opening minutes, Bouknight looked unstoppable. The sophomore guard scored the game’s first nine points (he had 13 for the half) and displayed very smooth touch on his jumper. He constantly managed to get open in UConn’s pick-and-roll attack, and the ESPN announcers rightfully heaped Bouknight with praise. As the half wore on, however, Bouknight started to got fewer looks and fade into the background in a manner similar to his play against CCSU and Hartford. It was both thrilling and frustraing to watch.
In the second half, Bouknight’s shooting touch never returned and he finished 5-15 from the field for 18 points. Bouknight had a handful of shotsthat rimmed out or were rushed and was generally swallowed up by USC’s zone. He was also careless with the ball at times in the paint and committed four turnovers. Despite these struggles, Bouknight continued to play hard and made the game’s clinching basket owhen he completed a three-point play at the rim with 2:18 remaining to make it 61-57.
Bouknight still had an excellent game overall even with his offensive inconsistency. He grabbed seven rebounds and mostly did an efficient job passing the ball and finding open teammates. Hurley and Bouknight both said that he can do better and needs to be able to score efficiently for all 40 minutes. Bouknight is having a great season so far, but he hasn’t yet demonstrated he can be an alpha dog for the Huskies against their best opponents. Bouknight needs to for the team to live up to its potential this season.
Zone defense is UConn kryptonite
The Huskies struggled mightily against zone defenses throughout last season, although they performed slightly better as Bouknight and Whaley emerged as centerpieces of the offense. It’s been the same story against Hartford and especially USC. UConn shot just 34.5% overall in the win and made only one three-pointer in the second half. After the Trojans switched to the zone with roughly 12 minutes remaining in the game, UConn could not make outside shots to soften it up. USC also limited the players offensive movement and was able to deny any fastbreak opportunities for the Huskies. The Trojans offense benefited from UConn’s struggles, as the Huskies appeared uncertain at times on the defensive end in the middle of the second half before getting back on track . Evan Mobley and his teammates cut into the deficit by scoring in the paint and on layups.
You have to hope that as UConn gets back to practicing regularly and (hopefully) playing games, Danny Hurley emphasizes what UConn must do to score effectively when teams play zone against them, particularly from the peremiter. As I discuss more below, Cole, Tyler Polley , and Brendan Adams did not pick up Bouknight offensively when he struggled in the second half, and you have to wonder if this will regularly happen until the Huskies become a more cohesive offensive unit. Ultimately though, I am confident that we will have enough talented scorers so that teams cannot ensure themselves a win by just siting back in a zone and waiting for UConn to miss.
Cole struggles and Polley and Adams are MIA
Entering the season, myself and many other fans saw Cole as the most likely secondary scoring option for the Huskies. Through three games Cole’s performance has been mixed, and he looked shaky against USC. Cole scored just six points on 2-8 shooting. Many of these shots were challenged or out of rythm. Cole did contribute in other ways, earning four assists and grabbing five rebounds despite being the shortest player on either team. Ideally, the Huskies will need Cole to regularly score in double figures and handle the ball well to play up to his potential. As he adjusts to playing at a power conference level this season, I believe Cole will become that player.
Polley has had ugly games against both Hartford and USC, going scoreless in each while being plauged with foul trouble. He played just four minutes against the Trojans and committed four fouls while missing three shots. Polley still doesn’t appear to have regained the athleticism or shooting touch he showed last season before his ACL injury and has struggled to stay in front of players on defense. Polley has always been a limited player, but it was hoped that he could again be a scoring threat from the peremiter this season. Right now, Polley is still a huge question mark.
Adams performance against USC was disappointing, as he went scoreless and played just six minutes due to foul trouble. Adams has scored just two points in the last two games in 30 minutes of play. If Adams can avoid foul trouble and supply good defense and decent shooting in most games, he will continue to be a valuable member of the rotation. He just needs to let the game come to him more.
Thank you for reading my first game recap article! Please contact me if you want to provide any feedback, and lets hope UConn plays again soon.
HUSKY NATION 