No. 9 Creighton at UConn men

The Huskies’ on-again, off-again season is on again. After a second suspension of play due to COVID-19, the UConn men return to action against Creighton, 17 days after their stirring win over Southern California.

This will be UConn’s debut in the new Big East, some 7 ½ years after the original conference broke up. Creighton was one of three teams to join the seven schools that bolted from the old Big East and purchased the brand name. UConn and Creighton have never met.

During the seven seasons in the new conference, Creighton, an outlier geographically, has proved to be a great fit culturally — it’s a basketball school that draws big crowds in normal times. Last season, Creighton tied Villanova for first place in the conference at 13-5. The program has won 55.5 percent of its games in Big East play, impressive in a conference known for top-to-bottom strength.

The Bluejays have seven games under their belt, including a conference win at St. John’s last time out. They’ll present a formidable challenge for the Huskies.

The Basics

Time: Sunday, noon Venue: Gampel Pavilion Series: First meeting Streaks: UConn W3 , Creighton W1

TV: FS1 (Kevin Fitzgerald, Steve Lavin)

Livestream: Go to the Fox Sports website for live stream information. Radio: UConn IMG Radio Network (Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman); 97.9 ESPN Hartford, WINE

940 AM, WGCH 1490 AM, WICC 600 AM, WAVZ 1300 AM, WXLM 980 AM, WATR 1320 AM, WILI 1400 AM, 95.3 FM.

UConn (3-0, 0-0 Big East) probable starters, sixth man

Jalen Gaffney, G, 6-2, So.; Isaiah Whaley, F, 6-9, Sr.; Josh Carlton, C, 6-11, Sr.; James Bouknight, G, 6-4, So.; R.J. Cole, G, 6-0, Jr.; Tyrese Martin, G/F, 6-6, Jr.

Creighton (3-0, 1-1) probable starters, sixth man

Denzel Mahoney, G/F, 6-5, Sr.; Marcus Zegarowski, G, 62,Jr.; Christian Bishop, F, 6-7, Jr.; Damien Jefferson, F, 6-5, Sr.; Mitch Ballock, G, 6-5, Sr.; AntwannJones, G, 6-6,Jr.

The matchup

UConn’s offense: Coach Dan Hurley described it as a “serious work in progress” after the 6 1 -5 8 win over Southern Cal on Dec. 3 , and the work of making that progress was interrupted by the quarantine period from Dec. 5 -1 3 . Whatever fixes UConn has been able to make in practice, this won’t change: It still revolves around Bouknight, averaging 3 2 minutes, 1 8 .7 points and 6 .3 rebounds.

UConn’s defense:

After a lackluster first game, the Huskies brought a “cauldron of intensity” on defense in the next two, as Hurley substituted extensively to keep fresh legs in the game. Although it doesn’t show up in turnovers, opponents have 3 9 in three games, the Huskies are making teams uncomfortable. Opponents are shooting 3 9.4 percent, 2 9.4 percent on 3 s, and have only 1 9 assists. Creighton’s offense: The Bluejays are averaging

8 6 .2 points after beating St. John’s 94-76 on

Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski, the Big East’s preseason player of the year, brings his talents to Storrs to face James Bouknight and the Huskies on Sunday at noon, in UConn’s conference debut. NATI HARNIK/AP

Thursday night. Their five starters are all averaging in double figures, but things run through Zegarowski, the Big East preseason player of the year. Creighton’s defense: Opponents have had 9 4 turnovers in seven games. Creighton has outrebounded opponents, including 4 6 to 2 8 at St. John’s. UConn has had some problems against the zone, so you may see more of that.

UConn key: The Huskies have not played in 1 7 days, and had practiced only 1 1 times in 3 9 days before returning Dec. 1 3 , so they must overcome rust and lost reps.

Player to watch:

Focus on the duel between Bouknight and Zegarowski, two of the best players in the conference, the type of marquee duel one gets used to in the Big East. About Creighton’s coach: Greg McDermott, 56, played at Northern Iowa and coached at Wayne State (116-53), North Dakota State

(15-11), Northern Iowa (90-63) and Iowa State (59-68) before coming to Creighton, where he is 238-118. Had the NCAA Tournament been played last March, McDermott would have made his ninth trip.

Creighton’s mascot: No two words about it, it’s Bluejays, and has been since 1 9 4 1 . Make no mistake, or Billy Bluejay, who was hatched in

2 0 1 3 , will correct you. Famous alum: Baseball Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, who starred in both baseball and basketball (1,272 points) at Creighton. Gibson died Oct. 2.

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@ courant.com.