Power shortage
Lack of offensive options catches up with Huskies
UConn men’s basketball, playing shorthanded and offensively challenged, didn’t have enough Saturday.
Creighton, ranked 11th in the AP poll, beat the Huskies for the second time, winning 74-66 in Omaha, Neb.
“We were able to display our toughness,” said R.J. Cole, who led UConn with 14 points, “but the only thing that was missing was the shots — the shot-making.”
The Huskies erased a 10-point first-half deficit, and led briefly in the second half, but could not keep its offense in rhythm and, unlike the first meeting between these teams, Creighton’s high-powered offense clicked into gear.
Denzel Mahoney scored 20, Marcus Zegarowski 15 and Damian Jefferson 13 for the Blue Jays (11-4, 7-2 in the Big East), who made 15 of 26 shots from the floor in the second half.
“They’re a great offensive team when they’re cookin’,” coach Dan Hurley said, “one of the best offensive teams in the country, and we caved in. They’re better right now.”
For UConn (7-3, 4-3), certain to fall from No. 23 out of the rankings come Monday, freshman Adama Sanogo had 13 points and five rebounds before fouling out. Cole scored only four of 14 in the second half, Tyrese Martin had 11 and Isaiah Whaley 10 points and nine rebounds, but it was tough sledding for the Huskies, who started out 5-for-26 from the floor and finished at 36.5%.
UConn had a big edge in rebounds, but had trouble finishing around the basket, which has been a chronic problem without James Bouknight, out with an injury since Jan. 5.
“We played hard,” Hurley said, “it’s not the same storyline as the St. John’s game where we just got out-toughed. We obviously couldn’t guard them in the second half, individually, off the dribble. They kind of torched us. We competed hard, we were tougher, we were all over the backboard. We just can’t finish. Can’t finish in the paint. Had a hard time scoring.”
The Huskies, with back-toback losses to St. John’s and Creighton, have home games coming up with Butler and Villanova this week, as a busy and critical stretch of Big East play continues.
“We just can’t let these losses define our season,” Cole said. “If we come out next game, in practice, we stay together and continue to display our toughness, I think we can get through it. Then as soon as James gets back we can just move forward, instead of waiting for him to come back before we display our toughness and do the things we need to do.”
UConn added Akok Akok (bruised shin) to their list of injuries before the game, so their bench was thin. But the Huskies dominated the boards, getting nine rebounds before Creighton got its first, and taking a 24-10 edge in rebounding, 11-1 on offense, in the first half.
The problem was the Huskies weren’t cashing in on those rebounds, missing point-blank layups and put-backs, as Creighton opened a 10-point lead. Hurley was called for a technical foul with 11:43 left in the half, it seemed to fire up the wrong team — the Bluejays went on a 9-2 run — and he was still irritated about the T after the game.
“None of your business,” he said, “that’s between me and the ref.”
After a Ryan Kalkenbrenner (10 points) jumper gave Creighton a 23-13 lead, the game began to turn as Cole stepped up to lead on offense, scoring eight points over the last 4:24 of the half,
starting with a pull-up jumper. Cole penetrated and kicked out to Brendan Adams who hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to complete a 9-0 Huskies run, cutting Creighton’s lead down to one.
Cole finished the half with 10 points, including a turn-around jumper on UConn’s last possession, and the Huskies went to the break trailing 29-28.
UConn took the lead early in the second half, attacking earlier in the shot clock as the game began to flow, back and forth. Josh Carlton hit two from the line — UConn was 11-for-11 at that point — to tie the game at 46 with 11:11 remaining.
Then the Bluejays began to take control, as fouls piled up for UConn, both Carlton and Sanogo picking up their fourth with more than seven minutes to play. Mahoney continued to hurt UConn, making a steal off a soft pass and taking it to the rim to give Creighton a 59-50 lead with 6:57 left. Next time down the floor, Zegarowski, who’d been having another quiet day vs. UConn, hit a three to give Creighton it’s biggest lead.
“There were mistakes we
made from a concentration standpoint,” Hurley said, “things we had covered in the [scouting report], we weren’t in the right spots.”
The Huskies got 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Adams and Whaley, getting it back down to six, but Creighton responded again, restoring the lead to double digits and closing it out.
The Huskies just couldn’t sustain offense, leaving so many points out there. Bouknight, who scored 40 in the overtime loss to Creighton on Dec. 20, won’t be back for several weeks. Hurley hopes to have freshman Andre Jackson back within the next couple of weeks, and a lot would be asked of him.
“I don’t know how many games we’re going to win that go north of 60 [points] based on what we’re putting on the court right now,” Hurley said.
Meanwhile, Butler learned the reported COVID-19 positive in its program was false, so its game at UConn Tuesday is still on as scheduled.