BINGHAMTON at No. 23 UCONN
When: Saturday, noon
Where: XL Center
Records: Binghamton 1-2, UConn 3-0 TV: FS2
Radio: UConn Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, Sirius-137, XM-206, SXM App-965, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WILI-Willimantic (WILI 1400 AM)
KEEP AN EYE ON
Not Polley-anna right now: Tyler Polley led UConn in scoring with 17 points in Wednesday night’s romp over LIU, but the graduate forward hasn’t really shot the ball well yet through the first three games.
Polley is shooting just 20 percent (3for-15) from 3-point range, including 2for-8 against LIU. He scored the bulk of his points in that game driving to the hole.
“Shooters go through stretches like this,” Dan Hurley noted. “Tyler’s one of the best shooters I’ve been around. He’s just got to keep firing. Maybe make sure the first one that he shoots (Saturday) is a good one, a rhythm one, and he’s got a little sweat going before he takes it.”
Second-half success: Hurley has been pleased with the way his team has played defensively for three full games, particularly in the second half, when the Huskies are playing defense on the end of the court away from their bench.
“We talk better, historically, when the team’s in front of our bench. It speaks to
the maturity of our team that the defense has been better in the second half. That means a lot of it is coming from the players and less from the bench. So, they’re talking more because they’re an older, more mature team.”
Pirate pride: Binghamton is coached by Levell Sanders, a standout player at Seton Hall in the late-1990s — just after Hurley had played there.
“Levell’s doing an excellent job up there,” Hurley said of the first-year Bearcats’ coach. “You see the European influence, with the way they play offensively. (John) McGriff is a shifty guard that can really make plays, played in the Big East. (Jacob) Falko is a tough guy off the dribble, and they’ve got some shooting.”