Fighting fatigue, a ‘W’ for Rowe
Work through close game with Bouknight’s continued absence
Like a pitcher working without his best stuff, the UConn men had to figure out a way to beat DePaul on Monday night. And DePaul, though still looking for its first Big East win, proved to be a tough out.
“We didn’t play a clean game,” Hurley said, after UConn’s 60-63 victory. “Credit DePaul, those guys played really, really hard. They’re an athletic team. Thrilled with the week, but the guys certainly didn’t have the
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UConn women’s games vs. Seton Hall, Villanova canceled. same pop today. We looked a little tired.”
After nearly 10 months, the Huskies set out on the road a week ago. They flew back and forth to Milwaukee, beating Marquette, then after two days on campus, flew out to Indianapolis, and then on to Chicago. They returned home with three road
wins.
In the Big East.
Two years ago, the Huskies nearly went the entire season with a road win anywhere, in or out of the American Athletic Conference.
Granted, with no fans, these games don’t have the true feel of road games, but they meant enough to help vault UConn into the AP Top 25 for the first time in five years. The Huskies now have a target on their back, and in their first fight to stay in the rankings, they had to grind one out. They were up for the challenge.
“We just practice like maniacs every day,” said Tyrese Martin, who scored 18 points and again looked right at home in the bruising Big East. “I wholeheartedly believe that no one in the country practices like us. So some of the games, it looks crazy, but the games feel easier than the practices.”
Thanks to COVID-19, No. 3 Villanova had to cancel its trip to Gampel on Friday, postponing a big showdown. The Huskies have a week to rest and recover, and maybe get James Bouknight back from his elbow injury.
A grueling schedule lies ahead, with ranked teams, late nights, a lot of travel and quick turnarounds. If this last week is any indication, the 25th-ranked Huskies (7-1, 4-1 in conference) have the stuff to handle it.
Here are some other takeaways from the win at DePaul:
Bouknight missed:
Not exactly a news flash here. But the two previous games, the Huskies were able to match their average offensive output, mid-70s, without Bouknight, or without him playing at full capacity. On Monday UConn really looked out of sync on offense. They were outrebounded and had 10 first-half turnovers, and did not make threes like they did at Butler or Marquette. Looked like Bouknight’s absence, like fatigue, caught up.
Hurley said, in a roundabout way, that Bouknight won’t be out long-term, but the Huskies will have to find some new ways to score without him. “We missed a number of opportunities,” Hurley said. “We had a hard time (13-for24) at the free throw line, missed some point-blank chances again. We’ve got to get better at finishing or we’re not going to continue to win.”
Remembering Rowe:
The UConn newcomers are the first Huskies players since the 1960s who will miss out on the chance to know Dee Rowe. The older players knew him; Hurley, arriving in 2018, felt Rowe’s warmth at least for a little while. Tom Moore, Taliek Brown and Kevin Freeman knew him the longest, so they spoke to the team about Rowe, who died on Sunday at 91.
“We asked those guys to speak about the impact that man had, that amazing man, on the lives of people,” Hurley said, “and just what he means to New England and specifically UConn. Right before we went to bed [Sunday], it was a simple as, we’ve got to find a way, it’s going to be difficult to win your third in a row on the road. Let’s dig down. What great programs do, they find a way to win a game like this and dedicate that, they honor Coach Rowe and his family and everything he’s meant to UConn, and to basketball, and to the world, because the world would be in a much better place, we wouldn’t have the divisiveness and the hate and the suffering if there were more human beings with his kindness.”
Shut-down defense: Butler shot a little better than most teams vs. UConn, and DePaul had its stretch, hitting 14 of 20 shots during the middle of the game. But for the most part, the Huskies’ defense was just stellar, early, when they opened a 17-6 lead, and especially late, when they outscored DePaul 8-0 over the last 4:27. The Huskies pressure hadn’t resulted in an unusual number of turnovers until Monday, when they prompted 24, including six over that last 4 ½ minutes. “That’s what winning teams do,” Hurley said. “Good teams, the last four or five minutes of a close game, they rely on their defense.”
Recruiting front:
The Huskies picked a good week to go 3-0 on the road and crack the rankings, all after having a departure, freshman Javonte Brown entering the transfer portal. Idle until next Monday, the program will be pursuing a recruiting win as Corey Floyd Jr., a 6-foot-4 combo guard at Roselle Catholic in New Jersey has said he will announce his decision on Thursday. UConn, Rutgers, Villanova, Providence are among his finalists. “[UConn is] recruiting me the hardest right now,” Floyd, a four-star Class of 2022 recruit, told Adam Zagoria in late December. “They want me to come in and be an instant impact on both the offensive end and defensive end. Coaching staff is great.”