Heart and soul on full display
Struggling Huskies earn a much-needed road win over Xavier
A few days before an inspired and much-needed road victory on Saturday, UConn's players met as a group and aired their feelings about the season.
The Huskies knew they were better than their recent play.
They were determined to show it at Xavier.
"Basically, we were telling ourselves if we wanted to start making a run at it, this was going to be the game," senior Isaiah Whaley said. "It was time."
After losing four of their last five, the Huskies bounced back to play one of their best games in an 80-72 win at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati. They improved to 9-5 overall, 6-5 in the Big East and beat a team with a winning league record for the first time this season.
"Obviously, thrilled with the win," coach Dan Hurley said. "Tremendous gut check. Everything that this team has to deal with, just to be able to turn off the noise. The greatest team builder is caring about each other, caring about winning, caring about team . ... The way people care in this
program gave us the strength to get out here and play a really, really good game. Big win."
It was a total team effort.
The Huskies attacked on offense and shared the basketball, assisting on 21 of 28 field goals, and putting up the most points since Dec. 30 against DePaul. They also made a season-high 11 3-pointers out of 26 attempts. Their defense limited the Musketeers (11-3, 4-3) to 40.3 percent shooting.
"We were really connected the whole game," Whaley said. "That was part of the meeting as well, just showing how connected we are and showing how much we care for each other . ... We stayed together the whole time."
Four players scored in double figures, led by redshirt junior R.J. Cole, who came off the bench to contribute season highs for points (24), assists (seven) and made 3-pointers (five) and also had just one turnover. Junior Tyrese Martin supplied 15 points and nine rebounds while Whaley had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, and senior Tyler Polley added 10 points.
Cole delivered several big shots in the second half to help hold off Xavier, which had played only one game in the last month prior to Saturday due to COVID-19 related issues. He's also evolved as a leader, something that Hurley is encouraging him to do. He spoke up during the team meeting on Thursday.
"We were down, of course, with the losses, but we came together a couple of days ago and the mood changed," Cole said. "We figured some things out that we wanted to do and what was going on for us and that helped us. We came into this game actually with a pretty good mindset. We knew what we had to do and we knew what we wanted to do.
"Now, we're just happy we're back on the winning side."
UConn received an emotional lift early with the return of redshirt sophomore Akok Akok, who missed the previous four games with a shin injury. He had played only 11 minutes and scored just two points this season while making a comeback from an Achilles injury.
Trailing 16-7, Akok came off the bench and fired in his first shot — a 3-pointer — and then flashed a bright smile. His basket helped fuel a 12-1 run. Akok had all seven of his points in the first half and injected his team with energy. UConn led 38-32 at the break.
"When he went in the game, things weren't going great," Hurley said. "That's probably one of the top three to five reasons why we won the game. Just that infusion of energy that he gave and how excited our team got to see somebody that's been through so much get in there and have some success."
In the second half, UConn extended its lead to nine on Whaley's 3-pointer with 14:31 left before Xavier fought back, going on a 9-0 run to tie the score at 49-all. Hurley called timeout.
The Huskies have had trouble making winning plays in the second half during their skid. This time, they refused to let the game get away from them.
Martin grabbed a hard-fought rebound in traffic and scored while being fouled and converted the free throw for a 52-49 edge with 10:39 remaining.
"It was a winning play," Hurley said. "My programs are built on rugged, tough-ass dudes that refuse to lose and will rip the ball out of someone else's hands and finish in traffic. We've obviously got to continue to develop that mentality. When you play with that type of force, you've got a great chance to win."
Then Whaley had his own 3-point play to increase the lead to six.
UConn remained in control from there, building a 14-point advantage (73-59) and holding on after Xavier cut the gap to four with 16 seconds left. Martin and Whaley both hit a pair of free throws to close it out. Sophomore Zach Freemantle kept Xavier in the game with 30 points and 15 rebounds.
The Huskies improved to 4-4 playing without star guard James Bouknight (elbow).
Hurley could sense Friday that the Huskies would be a different team on Saturday.
Collectively, we've dealt with a lot," Hurley said. "Nobody wants to hear it because they're excuses. But they're not excuses. They're reasons for why we're in this position. That wore on us a little bit and that has worn on us. There's been a good emotional tone since the guys came into the building (Friday). I didn't know if we were going to win today, but I knew I wasn't going to feel as bad as I felt after the Providence loss."
UConn will get a chance to avenge its loss to Providence on Tuesday when the Friars visit Storrs for a 6:30 p.m. game.
News and notes
In his first career start, freshman Andre Jackson had five points, four rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes . ... Martin and Whaley, who had his second double-double this season, played well despite dealing with ankle injuries and not being 100 percent healthy. "Man, what soldiers," Hurley said. "That's what you're supposed to do as an athlete. You're supposed to sacrifice for your team." ...The Huskies received a season-high 41 points from their bench . ... UConn won the rebounding battle, 41-37, after being outrebounded the last two games. Freshman Adama Sanogo tied his career-high with eight rebounds. ... UConn has won as many road games (four) as the previous two seasons combined.