Huskies search for identity when without their stars
Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to your opponent and call it a learning experience.
Uconn lost a heartbreaker, 56-53, to West Virginia on Wednesday at West Virginia Coliseum while down two stars in Adam Sanogo (abdominal strain) and Tyrese Martin (wrist), who are out for multiple weeks due to injuries.
For the 8-2 Huskies, it was the perfect opportunity for other players to step up and showcase how the team would perform in a tough road matchup against a quality opponent.
It wasn’t a win, but for a team without two of its scoring weapons, Uconn played a competitive game. On the other hand, the Huskies do have some glaring issues they need to fix. Here are some thoughts, questions and takeaways from Wednesday’s loss.
Ball handling issues
Uconn’s lack of ball handlers came to surface right away against a tough West Virginia defense. The 8-1 Mountaineers had their famous press throughout the game and seemed to have a simple plan: Make somebody other than guard R.J. Cole beat them. West Virginia sent multiple double teams and had traps at half court that made
Cole and company uncomfortable.
Cole had five turnovers, while the Huskies ended the game with 16. For a team that was struggling with taking care of the ball, it’s a wonder why freshman guard Rahsool Diggins played zero minutes. Diggins can score and is seen as a playmaker with the ball in his hands. His presence would have been great to have as the Huskies struggled to find a shot late in the game, leading to multiple shot clock
violations.
Uconn coach Dan Hurley mentioned Diggins would get more first-half minutes with the Huskies injuries just a week ago, but
perhaps Hurley didn’t trust the young player yet in a
moment like this.
Akok continues to make impact
The difference between Akok Akok in the last two games and the one in the five before that is night and day. On Wednesday his presence was felt everywhere on
the glass. As Uconn started off cold from the field, he kept them in it with multiple offensive rebounds that led to extra shots. His high-flying energy helped
him secure key rebounds on both sides of the ball as he finished with 10, including five offensive.
Even though Akok struggled shooting the ball (1-for5), it was great to see that not affect his energy on the court. In an environment
where many of his teammates struggled, he limited his mistakes while making an impact. He led the team in plus-minus with plusseven.
“I thought [Akok] battled on the backboard,” Hurley
said.
Behind-the-arc woes, offensive problems
The magic number for Uconn so far this year is seven. In games were they have made seven or more 3s, the Huskies have gone 8-0. In games with less than seven
they are 0-2. On Wednesday Uconn shot a season-worst
3-for-21 from 3. The amount of good looks Uconn failed to convert was big. On top of that, the pressure from
the crowd seemed to rattle some shooters as Uconn had multiple air balls.
Uconn isn’t a particularly good 3-point shooting team (35.6%, which ranks 100th in NCAA Division I).
Freshman Jordan Hawkins was supposed to be help but that’s asking a lot for a true freshman to step up against a raucous crowd in his first real road game. Hawkins struggled, shooting 0-for-7 from the field for zero points and three turnovers. Hawkins has the scoring ability Uconn fans want to see more of, but the consistency is not quite there yet. If Uconn wants to win the next couple of weeks, Hawkins will have to grow up fast.
Overall, this goes back to Uconn’s offensive issues without Sanogo and Martin. Against multiple mid-majors, Uconn went on offensive droughts, and that was with both of them healthy for most of the games. Without them, Uconn’s offensive hierarchy changes, making Cole the No. 1 option, then Hawkins two and Isaiah Whaley or Tyler Polley three.
Due to the roster remixes, opponents from Grambling State to West Virginia have swarmed Cole, forcing him into tough shots and difficult decisions. Cole had a rough shooting game against West Virginia, going just 6-for-17 from the floor for 14 points. This comes off the game against Grambling State where he shot just 4-for-14 for 18 points.
Cole has had no breathing room to create space to get shots off. Uconn’s offense seemed tentative, with guys afraid to take a good shot and passing the ball around until it ended up in Cole’s hands, forcing him to take a tough shot. This was an issue especially in crunch time. Uconn scored just six points in the last five minutes.
“It seemed like a bunch of guys whose confidence is down and didn’t want to pull the trigger (on shots),” said Hurley. “We just worry with this group the way we are currently constituted, just where to go with the ball on offense.”