The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
UCONN at MEMPHIS
When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
Where: FedExForum, Memphis
Records: UConn 11-9 (2-5 AAC), Memphis 15-5 (4-3 AAC)
TV: CBS
Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WICC-Brideport (600 AM), WINE-Danbury (940 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM)
KEEP AN EYE ON
They put me in the mix: Dan Hurley said fourth-year point guard Alterique Gilbert is back “in the mix” after missing Wednesday night’s win for personal reasons, but wouldn’t elaborate on whether Gilbert would return to his role as starting point guard, or play his usual minutes (29.3 per game).
“I think Al’s focus here is just to play with a lot of joy and enthusiasm, and help the team win, do his part to give us a lift, gets us to an eighth body out there,” Hurley said. “Hopefully, he can give us a good contribution.”
Freshman Jalen Gaffney took over as starting point on Sunday and played well (nine points, five assists, two turnovers) in a season-high 36 minutes.
“Al’s got a light in his eyes,” added Hurley. “He’s got a big heart. He’s got an opportunity (Saturday), on the road against a very good team, to help us have a chance, like we’ve had the last couple of road games against good teams.”
Sid Wilson (knee) remains sidelined for a second straight game.
Foul territory: One of the few blips on James Bouknight’s dynamic freshman season has been his propensity to get in foul trouble.
“Most of my fouls are silly fouls, putting my hands in the cookie jar,” he said. “Little stupid things. I’m trying to fix that.”
Hurley said Bouknight needs to work on “court awareness, better technique, being more focused, concentrating better. Same issues he has on offense, where he just needs to learn and mature as a player. Just clean things up. He’s so talented, he’s just a little sloppy.”
Precious cargo: If Precious Achiuwa’s name sound familiar, it’s because he was a prime recruiting focus of Dan Hurley and his staff a year ago. The 6-foot-9 forward spurned the Huskies’ advances, however, and chose Memphis. Since likely NBA draft lottery pick James Wiseman left the team in December, Achiuwa has assumed the role as the Tigers’ primary big man. And he has been terrific, averaging a double-double (15.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and ranking first in the nation among freshmen in rebounding and double-doubles (11).
Block party?: One thing both teams have done consistently this season is protect the rim. UConn ranks No. 2 in the nation with 6.8 blocked shots per game, led by Akok Akok’s 3.0. Memphis is No. 5 in the nation in blocks at 6.4 per contest, led by Achiuwa (1.9) and D.J. Jeffries (1.0).