Huskies unranked as Eagles loom
Hurley’s crew falls out of Top 25 poll after loss to Providence
Uconn (10-3, 0-1) heads on the road to take on Big East foe Marquette (8-4, 0-1) on Tuesday night at the Fiserv Forum. The Huskies, coming off a 57-53 loss to Providence on Saturday, fell out of the AP Top 25 in the latest men’s college basketball poll released Monday.
Marquette is coming off an 80-71 loss to Xavier on Saturday, which was the Big East opener for both teams.
Providence entered the AP poll at No. 22 after its win over Uconn.
“We knew coming on the road would be a challenge for us. I was proud of our players’ preparation,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “They did a really good job paying attention to detail and understanding the importance of a Big East game.”
Senior guard Tyrese Martin returned to Uconn’s starting lineup Saturday after a fourgame absence due to a wrist injury. He started off rusty but settled down in the second half. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
Uconn missed Adama Sanogo on offense against Providence. The sophomore, out with an abdominal strain, was a game-time decision but ultimately missed his fourth straight game. Without Sanogo, the Huksies shot just 31.1% from the field, the worst shooting percentage all season. The offense failed to create a lot of easy looks, which led to rushed, off-balance shots. The open shots they did have the Huskies failed to convert many of them.
There have been no updates regarding Sanogo’s injury, and it looks to be another game-time decision.
Uconn faces a very young Marquette team that is not only starting three freshmen, but has a first-year coach in Shaka Smart. Guard Greg Elliott has been red-hot for Marquette off the bench, totaling 40 points in the last two games in just 27 minutes per game. He had a career-high 22 points against UCLA, then followed that up with 18 points against Xavier.
Here’s everything you need to know about Tuesday’s matchup:
The basics
Uconn vs. Marquette
Time: 9 p.m., Tuesday
Place: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Series: Marquette leads 6-5
Last meeting: Uconn won, 80-62, on Feb. 27 2021, at Gampel Pavilion
TV: FS1 (Kevin Fitzgerald, Donny Marshall)
Live Stream: Fox Sports
Radio: Uconn Sports Network (Mike Crispino,
Wayne Norman). Sirius-136. Xm-201 Sxm-app-964. 97.9-ESPN Hartford. WILI-1400-AM (Willimantic). WATR-1320-AM (Waterbury). WAVZ-1300-AM (New Haven). WGCH-1490-AM (Greenwich).
Marquette (8-4) probable starters, sixth man
Kur Kuath, F, 6-10, GS; Justin Lewis, F, 6-7, Fr.; Darryl Morsell, G, 6-5, Sr.; Kam Jones, G, 6-4, Fr.; Tyler Kolek, G, 6-3, Fr.; Greg Elliott, G, 6-3, Jr.
Uconn (10-3) probable starters, sixth man
R.J. Cole, G, 6-1, GS; Isaiah Whaley, F, 6-9, GS; ; Akok
Akok, F, 6-9, R-JR.; Tyrese Martin, G/F, 6-6, Sr.; Andre Jackson, G/F, 6-6, So.; Jordan Hawkins, G, 6-5, Fr.
The matchup
Uconn’s offense: The Huskies need to get Martin going from the start and make sure to not start off slow offensively.
Uconn’s defense: Marquette plays with a lot of pace (ranked 23rd in NCAA Division I), so the Huskies need to make sure to get back on defense and prevent fast-break points.
Marquette offense: Don’t let Morsell get hot, as he’s averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 39.2% from 3. In the last game against Xavier he had 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
Marquette defense: Watch out for Morsell, as he was the Big Ten defensive player of the year in the 2020-21 when he played for
Maryland.
Uconn’s key: The Huskies need to start strong offensively and take advantage of an inexperienced Marquette squad.
Player to watch: Cole. It will be important to see if Uconn’s leading scorer gets out of this offensive funk he has been in for the last four games.
About Marquette’s coach: Shaka Smart is in his first year of coaching at Marquette. Smart coached VCU and Texas previously.
Marquette mascot: The mascot is the Golden Eagle.
Marquette famous alumni: NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.
Information from Associated Press was used in this report. Shreyas Laddha can be reached at sladdha@courant.com.