The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
UConn ready for No. 10 Villanova
A little over a year ago, in the moments following an “excruciating” loss at Villanova, Dan Hurley boldly hinted that perhaps the Wildcats should savor their third win in consecutive seasons over UConn.
“You better get us now,” the UConn coach proclaimed, “because it’s coming.”
Well … the Huskies may not have fully arrived quite yet. But on Saturday at Philadephia’s Finnernan Pavilion (1 p.m., FOX), they’ll get a chance to show Villanova just how far they’ve come in a little over a year.
“I feel good about where we’re at,” Hurley said on Friday night. “Obviously a tough game (Saturday), but I feel great about where the program is at.”
UConn (10-5, 7-5 Big East) has won two straight and is squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. A road win over 10th-ranked Villanova (13-3, 8-2) would go a long way towards getting the Huskies into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2016.
“Outstanding defensive team, very well-coached, everybody knows their roles,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of the Huskies. “We’re expecting a battle.”
’Nova is coming off a 16-point loss to No. 14 Creighton a week earlier and has lost two of its last four games by double-digits.
“We’re gonna see the best version of Villaova tomor
row, coming off a tough loss,” Hurley said.
UConn’s 61-55 loss to Villanova at Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 20, 2020 was the latest — but hardly the last — in a string of “excruciating losses” that Hurley had predicted for his team in Year 2 of a rebuild. But the improvement was already evident, and Hurley’s “it’s coming” prediction bore less of his trademark cockiness and more of sagelike confidence.
“I wasn’t talking about any specific day that it was coming,” Hurley said on Friday. “You know that once our recruiting and our player development and our culture is in place, UConn will be back to its rightful place in college basketball. That day is coming. We’re not here today. It’s coming.”
“I think Dan saw the progress,” Wright said. “I think he’s been around long enough, that he’s smart enough to know that it takes time to get your program implemented. I think that’s what you see with their team.”
In last year’s loss, a freshman named James Bouknight scored just five harmless points. Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson were still in high school. Tyrese Martin was at Rhode Island, and R.J. Cole was sitting out as a transfer. Isaiah Whaley spent the entire game on the bench.
Now, Bouknight playing at a lottery pick-level. The 6-foot-5 guard’s dynamic return against Providence on Tuesday, following a six-week absence, left no doubt that he’s among the nation’s most talented players.
“A lot of guys take tough shots,” Wright said, “he makes tough shots.”
Sanogo and Jackson have been in the starting lineup and have made quick, impressive impacts as freshmen. Martin and Cole have been terrific the past few games. Whaley has been proving he deserves to play practically since last year’s DNP vs. the Wildcats.
And there’s more on the way next season, not the least of whom being guard Rahsool Diggins, plucked from right underneath Wright’s nose at Philadelphia’s Archbishop Wood High.
“We’ve got a top class coming in,” Hurley said, “and I think we’re doing a pretty good job on the next class, too.”
Villanova played UConn in non-conference games each of the last three seasons — first in Hartford, then Madison Square Garden and last year in Philly. The Wildcats won the first two games by 20-plus points before last year’s down-to-the-wire battle.
“They’ve gotten better every year,” said senior point guard Collin Gillespie, a member of the Wildcats’ 2018 national title team. “We know how tough a team they are, how well they’re coached and how great their players are.”
Wright said he scheduled the Huskies (and Syracuse, for that matter) “out of respect for the old Big East.”
“Now, having them back in here is pretty cool,” the two-time national championship coach said. “They bring a great deal to the swag of this conference going forward.”
It’s coming. And Jay Wright seems to know it.
“I think you see a team that understands (Hurley’s) program,” Wright said. “And I think they’ll continue to get better.”
RIM RATTLINGS
⏩ Tyler Polley banged up his knee in the win over Providence on Tuesday and will be a gametime decision.
“Probably more likely that he’d be able to go,” said Hurley. “Potential he may be out, but we’ll see.”
⏩ Akok Akok, who played just one minute against the Friars after not feeling great, will likely get more run on Saturday.