UConn’s First Night: No hoops, all energy
STORRS — UConn’s First Night celebration is never actually about basketball, a convenient reality Friday night more so than ever because a collapsed basket stanchion thwarted plans for Geno Auriemma’s women and Dan Hurley’s men to hold scrimmages.
The event ended with an “oops” moment that sent confused fans back through the arena doors and scattering at different times across a campus that some refer to as “The Basketball Capital of the World,” a place made all the more vibrant for what did take place.
What matters most at every First Night are the sights and sounds and feelings and, especially this time around, that a studentonly crowd of about 7,000 gathered, that Gampel Pavilion rocked, that Connecticut’s favorite building was enveloped in an energy absent since March 2020.
Spotlights cut through smoke wafting in the air. Music boomed. Evina Westbrook and R.J. Cole traded verbal jabs on stage. Amari DeBerry did the worm. Andre Jackson threw down some ridiculous dunks. And the loudest roar, by far, took place during introductions when the P.A. announcer said, “A 5-11 sophomore from Hopkins, Minnesota ...”
At that point, Paige Bueckers had been properly introduced in her own neighborhood after spending all of last season taking over the basketball world one empty building at a time.
Huskies’ other three interceptions.
“We left the game to chance,” Yale coach Tony Reno said. “That’s what happens you leave things to chance. You rely on the last play to take a shot and make a play to win the game. We didn’t play well offensively. If we had played well offensively, up to our standards, the game would’ve been different.”
UConn again started slowly on offense, gaining a measly 37 yards and two first downs in the first quarter. But a 63-yard touchdown pass from Krajewski to wide receiver Keelan Marion late in the second quarter gave the Huskies their first lead at 7-0, and they woke up — albeit briefly — from there.
Krajewski (21-32, 199 yards) threw another touchdown later in the half, a 14-yarder to Kevens Clericus, to make it 14-0. The redshirt sophomore also ran for 20-yard score on the Huskies’ opening drive of the third quarter.
Kevin Mensah led UConn with 55 yards rushing on 12 carries.
“We know their safeties like to be aggressive,” Krajewski said. “That was part of the game plan that we had talked about and prepared for. That’s something that we saw on film and we studied, and we talked about and repped it at practice. It ended up working out for us. We were able to take advantage and create some big plays.”
Jack Bosman got Yale on the board with a 45-yard field goal early in the third, and Zane Dudek added a 3-yard run to trim it to 21-9. The Bulldogs missed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt.
Sophomore Nolan Grooms, who replaced Griffin O’Connor to begin the second half, threw for 132 yards on 8-of-31 passing and ran for 67 more.
“We had scoring opportunities in the first half we let go by,” said Reno, whose team punted on five of its first eight possessions. “We had some guys open. We were just missing. We weren’t moving the ball the way we wanted to. … (Grooms) did a really nice job and brought us back.”
But the Huskies held on, securing their first victory in 721 days while also avoiding the embarrassing prospect of a winless season.
UConn hosts Middle Tennessee Friday before a two-week bye. Yale will be back home next Saturday to face Penn.
Yale maintains a 32-18 edge in the series, though UConn is 11-1 in the last 12 matchups.
Note: UConn tight end Jay Rose did not play (COVID protocol). The Southington native has 10 catches for 157 yards and one touchdown on the season.