NEW HAMPSHIRE at UCONN
When: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Where: XL Center, Hartford
Records: UNH 65, UConn 73
TV: SNY
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
Wildcat formation: UNH is coming off a 6456 road win at Marist on Wednesday in which Newington’s Nick Guadarrama notched a doubledouble (22 points, 10 rebounds). The Wildcats also played St. John’s tough at Carnesecca Arena earlier this season, trailing by just two at halftime before falling 7461. This will be UNH’s third trip to the Nutmeg State already: They won at CCSU on Nov. 19 but lost at Quinnipiac on Dec. 7.
“It’s one of those ‘buy’ games where you don’t get a whole lot of sleep as a coach, because they’re really good offensively,” said Dan Hurley.
Connecticut connection: Guadarrama, a 6foot5 sophomore, is second on UNH in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (9.5).
“Good player, man, Hurley said of Guadarama. “Physical, can score at almost all three levels. Got a little bit of a clutch gene, he’s made some big shots at the end of games for them. It’s a tough matchup for Akok (Akok) at the four, because he can score all over the court, he’s physical around the basket and he can also play some three. He’s also a tough matchup for Tyler (Polley). We’re gonna have our hands full with him.”
Meanwhile, Wethersfield’s Mark Carbone, who starred at East Catholic, returned to the lineup after missing three games due to injury and scored six points off the bench in the win over Marist. Carbone began his college career at San Diego, where he averaged 2.8 points and 1.1 assists as a freshman before transferring.
Polleyanna: Polley is third on the team in scoring and is shooting an impressive 45.3 percent from 3point range. But he’s only averaging about seven shots per game, and tends to do his scoring in bunches.
“I wish we could get Tyler more different types of shots, so that he’s maybe a little bit tougher to guard,” said Hurley. “It’s a lack of quality screening on our end. I’ve got to do a better job of bringing the team along from an offensive execution standpoint, understanding timing and how to use screens, angles. He’s got to get more physical at the point of screens. He can’t get ridden off screens so much. He gets the majority of his screens off broken plays in transition. We’ve got to find more ways in the halfcourt, to get him cleaner looks at 3’s, when the game’s settled into a more halfcourt game.”
History lesson: The Huskies and Wildcats have a long history that goes back all the way to the 190607 season (a 3311 UNH win!). UConn owns a 9325 alltime advantage and has won the last 10 meetings, most recently a 9166 win on Nov. 24, 2018 at XL Center. The Wildcats’ last win came on Jan. 9, 1983 in Durham, N.H.
PROBABLE STARTERS NEW HAMPSHIRE
Sean Sutherlin Nick Guadarrama Josh Hopkins Chris Lester Jayden Martinez