MEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
ST. JOSEPH’S at UCONN
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Where: Gampel Pavilion
Records: St. Joseph’s 11, UConn 10
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FMESPN Hartford, WAVZNew Haven (1300 AM), WICCBrideport (600 AM), WINEDanbury (940 AM), WGCH Greenwich (1490 AM)
KEEP AN EYE ON
MATCHUP NIGHTMARE?: Dan Hurley said the Hawks are “kind of like a matchup nightmare” for UConn, since they spread out the floor, shoot a bunch of 3pointers and rarely post up their big men. In fact, SJU’s starting forwards, 6foot8 Lorenzo Edwards and Taylor Funk, may be its two best 3point shooters. Edwards has canned 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) of his treys so far this season.
“They have a unique style of play, probably the most unique, where they rarely post their bigs, run them off staggers, post their guards and invert you,” said Hurley.
That could be a challenge for Josh Carlton, who’s more of a traditional center, and Akok Akok, who gave up four 3pointers in the Huskies’ Oct. 30 exhibition win over Saint Michael’s.
REBOUND, RINSE, REPEAT: After being outrebounded in their seasonopening win over Sacred Heart (including by a 2813 margin in the first half ), the Huskies got a lot of work on the boards over the past couple of days of practice.
“The film session was a tough one for the guys to sit through,” said Hurley. “We analyzed every shot off the glass, emphasized (rebounding) in drilling ... and it wasn’t just the defensive glass. On the offensive glass, we’re not making anywhere near the effort we need to make to create extra possessions.”
HALFTIME SURPRISE?: Javonte BrownFerguson, a 6foot11 center from Thornlea Secondary School near Toronto, will announce his college decision at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. BrownFerguson is down to UConn, Texas A&M and Kansas, with UConn considered to be the favorite.
“He has a chance to come in and play right away,” BrownFerguson’s prep coach, Shane James, told Hearst Connecticut Media recently. “He’s very comfortable with the coaching staff. (Assistant coach) Kenya (Hunter’s) done an amazing job, Coach Hurley was exceptional when he came and sat down with us, talking about the history, his coaching style. It would be a good fit for him.”
James also noted that BrownFerguson is intrigued by UConn’s return to the Big East next season.
HISTORY LESSON: UConn owns a 62 alltime advantage over St. Joe’s. The last time the teams met was on March 20, 2014 in a firstround NCAA tournament game in Buffalo, N.Y. that UConn won 8981 in overtime to kickstart its run to a fourth national title. Freshman center Amida Brimah’s conventional 3point play with 39 seconds left in regulation saved the day and kept UConn’s return to the postseason run from ending practically before it even began.