MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME DAY

LONG ISLAND at No. 23 UCONN

When: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Gampel Pavilion

Records: LIU 0-2, UConn 2-0

TV: FS2

Radio: UConn Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, Sirius-137, XM-206, SXM App-965, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WILI-Willimantic (WILI 1400 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

Keep keepin’ on: UConn has won its first two games by an average of 43 points and looked pretty good doing it. But it hasn’t been perfect.

“You’re always looking to get better,” associate head coach Kimani Young said. “Our defensive rebounding hasn’t been great, we haven’t shot the ball as well as we need to, we’ve got to be better in transition. So, there’s always things we can take from wins and get better at.”

“We have room for improvement, of course,” added point guard R.J. Cole. “Defensively, just continue to hone in on our defensive identity. Continue to be tough on-the-ball defenders, being together on defense, talking to one another. And offensively, keep getting better and keep doing what we need to do to improve for the games.”

Gametime decisions: Freshman Jordan Hawkins, who hasn’t played yet due to an ankle issue, and grad forward Isaiah Whaley, who sprained his ankle in Saturday’s win over Coppin State, are both game time decisions for Wednesday, according to Young.

Young handled media obligations on Tuesday after practice because head coach Dan Hurley had to deal with what’s being called a “minor issue.” It is expected that Hurley will be on the sidelines for Wednesday night’s game.

Connecticut connections: LIU’s leading scorer is Ty Flowers, a 6-foot-9 graduate forward from Waterbury. This is Flowers’ sixth year of college. He began his career at UMass, transferred to LIU and sat out as a sophomore, played the last three seasons (leading the team in scoring last year at 17.3 ppg) and is taking advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility this season. Flowers, who teamed with New Haven’s Raquan Clark as a potent scoring duo in 2019-20, was a preseason all-Northeast Conference selection this year.

“He’s an 18-a-game guy, really shoots the 3 well,” Young said of Flowers.

Also, junior guard Tyree Pickron is a transfer from Quinnipiac, where he played the last three seasons.

Blackbirds, fly: LIU was known as the Blackbirds for years, but the name was changed to the Sharks in 2019 when the school decided to unify the athletic departments that previously operated as separate independents on its two campuses (Division 1 LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, Division 2 LIU Post Pioneers). UConn hasn’t played LIU since 1978 (an 84-69 win in Charlotte, North Carolina) and hasn’t lost since 1969 (8646 at The Paramount in Brooklyn, N.Y.).