What we have learned about UConn in 10 games
MEN’S BASKETBALL ANALYSIS
No more cupcakes. Nothing but high-major battles the rest of the way for the UConn men’s basketball team (no DePaul jokes, please).
First up, No. 10 Gonzaga in Seattle on Friday. Five days after that, a trip to Dan Hurley’s old haunts to face Seton Hall, kicking off a 20game journey through the Big East.
“Now,” Hurley said Saturday after the Huskies had dismantled Arkansas-Pine Bluff, “is the best part.”
Ten games, essentially onethird of the way through their schedule, where do the Huskies stand right now? Hurley has frequently said over the past couple of weeks that the team isn’t as good as it was at the same point last season. Technically, he’s right.
A year ago Monday, UConn was 11-0 and No. 1 in the NET rankings, as well as No. 3 in the AP Top 25. The Huskies had cruised to a title in the competitive PK85 Invitational and defeated Florida on the road and Oklahoma State at home — all by double digits. The team went nine-deep, with their backup center (Donovan Clingan) winning MVP of the PK85.
This season hasn’t been as dominant. The 9-1 Huskies are ranked fifth in the nation and seventh in the NET. They lost a nonconference game for the first time in nearly nine months, at Kansas on Dec. 1. They won the Saavta Empire Classic, beating a decent Indiana team and a banged-up Texas squad. Due in part to injuries, UConn has largely relied on seven players in its key showdowns with Kansas, North Carolina and Texas.
NO. 5 UCONN AT NO. 10 GONZAGA Friday, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Still, it’s not a stretch to say these Huskies are the best team in the country. Their win over North Carolina at Madison Square Garden last week was as good as any nonconference win the team had last season (perhaps with the exception of Alabama). The loss to Kansas came with five-star freshman Stephon Castle sidelined by injury, long-range gunner Cam Spencer hobbled by a toe injury most of the game, and in front of perhaps the most intimidating home crowd in the nation at Phog Allen Fieldhouse.
And yet still, Spencer had a 3-point attempt to take the lead with about two seconds left in regulation.
There appear to be six or seven teams separating themselves from the rest: No. 1 Arizona, Purdue, Houston, Kansas, maybe Baylor, Big East compatriots Marquette and Creighton ... and UConn.
And while Hurley feels this team isn’t quite as good as last year’s at this time, he also points out that he believes the Huskies can and will get better, and be in serious contention for a second straight national title.
Here’s where UConn stands right now, what needs to get better, and what is getting better already:
Hurley’s best teams have always gone ninedeep. Sometimes even 10deep. Last season, with Clingan, Nahiem Alleyne, Hassan Diarra and Joey California coming off the bench, UConn was as deep as anyone in the country. Just ask Rick Pitino.
With Castle’s injury keeping him out of six games and limiting him in the last two, and with three of the Huskies’ “Fab 5” freshman class not quite ready for primetime, depth has been an issue. But they may have taken a big step in alleviating that on Saturday.
Freshman Jaylin Stewart was impressive against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, scoring seven firsthalf points in a variety of ways. Stewart seemed buried a bit deeper on the bench in the early goings, thanks in part to a late arrival to campus this summer and an injury that sidelined him during UConn’s European trip. Meanwhile, fellow frosh Jayden Ross was a pleasant surprise over the summer and was ahead of Stewart in the pecking order over the first few games.
But Stewart seems firmly to be UConn’s No. 9 right now, joining Diarra and Samson Johnson in key bench roles. Just in time for UConn’s trip to his hometown of Seattle.
“It was good to see him give us a lift,” Hurley said on Saturday. “That earned some trust from the staff and his teammates. It gets him into a position where he can get into the rotation. Go back to Seattle, gives us more confidence that we’ve got somebody to go to and get Alex (Karaban) off the court before we run him into the ground.”
Joining Stewart on the bench soon, in all likelihood, will be Solo Ball. Also a freshman, Ball has been in the starting lineup ever since Castle’s knee issue. Castle has returned and played off the bench the past two games, looking a bit rusty. But it’s just a matter of time before he rejoins the starting lineup. And Ball will be all the better from the confidence he earned from his role as a starter.
UConn has both shot (33.6 percent) and defended (37.8 percent) the 3pointer worse than last season, and worse than Hurley had envisioned. Spencer, the Rutgers grad transfer, is the only player shooting above 40 percent (45.6) from distance.
But the Huskies have hit at least 10 treys in their last three games. Karaban broke out of a 4-for-24 slump with six treys on Saturday. Hurley believes Ball (26 percent) will shoot better as well. Stewart could even help in that area.
As for 3-point defense, the Huskies somehow allowed Pine Bluff to hit 12 3pointers on Saturday. New Hampshire hit 13 against them a few weeks ago. Kansas was 9-for-14.
It’s an area in which UConn clearly needs improvement.
That Newton, a 6-foot-5 guard, is the team’s top rebounder is both good and bad. It’s good for Newton, whose versatility has been a true revelation this season. Not so good for a Husky team with a pair of centers who stand 7-2 and 6-10.
“Samson and Donovan have to rebound better,” Hurley said. “And they know that.”
The Huskies have four players scoring in double figures, and it would be five if Castle hadn’t played sporadically the past two games. Eight different players have scored in double figures at least once. Sorting out who’ll be UConn’s All-Big East representatives will be a problem come March, but it’s a good problem to have.
And so, on to Seattle. “We’ll try to re-invent ourselves a little bit offensively, work on some different things that we haven’t shown,” Hurley said. “Get a chance to sharpen up some things. With the way our schedule’s fallen recently, we haven’t had a lot of practice time.”
“We prepare hard,” Newton added, “so we’re looking forward to it. We had a good nonconference schedule to prepare us for the Big East. I feel like everybody looks forward to those big games. We’ve got one up next, and then we know how big the Big East is.”