Huskies tip off tough stretch at Creighton
Omaha!
UConn has traveled all over the world through the years, from Israel to England, Alaska to Hawaii, the Garden to Greenville, N.C.
The Huskies have never been to Omaha, Nebraska. Until now.
No. 23 UConn will face Creighton for the second time this season — and ever — on Saturday at CHI Health Center (noon, FOX). The 11th-ranked Bluejays broke the Huskies’ hearts on Dec. 20 at Gampel Pavilion, rallying to tie the game on a last-second shot in regulation, then winning 76-74 in overtime.
Now, UConn (7-2, 4-2 Big East) is looking for revenge as it begins what figures to be a rather taxing eight-day stretch.
After Saturday’s game, the Huskies are slated to host Butler on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs just postponed their game with Seton Hall on Friday due to COVID-19 issues, however, so Tuesday’s game seems unlikely. Two nights later, however, UConn hosts No. 3 Villanova, which showed no rust from its own 27-day pause with a win over Seton Hall on Tuesday.
Then, on Jan. 31, UConn travels to Queens to face St. John’s — which just beat the Huskies on Monday in Gampel.
Whether UConn plays three games or four, it’s a tough stretch. In fact, Saturday’s game is the first time the Huskies have faced a ranked team while also being ranked since Nov. 27, 2015, when No. 18 UConn played No. 10 Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Gonzaga won that one, 73-70.
Truth is, there’s a good chance UConn will no longer be ranked Monday, thanks to the St. John’s loss. Of course, if the Huskies are able to beat Creighton (10-4, 6-3) ... maybe it’s the Huskies who are ranked Monday and Creighton who falls out of the poll.
Ultimately, the only rankings that really matter are the NET rankings, the chief metric used by the NCAA Tournament selec
tion committee. UConn is currently No. 45 in the NET, which likely puts them in the NCAA Tournament. But if the Huskies falter over this upcoming stretch of games ...
Creighton, of course, is hardly invincible. UConn could have likely sealed a victory over Greg McDermott’s bunch a month ago if R.J. Cole had hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left, which would have given the Huskies a fourpoint lead with 11 seconds left. Alas, Cole missed both, and Creighton’s Damien Jefferson hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to OT.
James Bouknight scored 40 points in that one. Of course, the UConn sophomore is out for what appears to be at least another couple of weeks after undergoing elbow surgery on Jan. 12.
The Bluejays have lost two straight, including a 74-70 home loss to Providence on Wednesday. They’re looking to avoid their first three-game losing skid since February 2019.