When a team loses one of their best players, it’s not easy to recover. Different faces need to step up and fill in the holes, especially when that lost player is Liam McNeeley. He might be a freshman, but he is arguably the team’s most valuable player with his rebounding, floor spacing and ability to make the offense run smoothly.
In their first game without the freshman, likely out through January, the need to adjust showed for the No. 11 UConn men’s basketball team. Playing Providence, they were blitzed from the jump, with nothing going right offensively. The Friars, without star Bryce Hopkins, took a double-digit lead into halftime. It took a lot of heart, but Connecticut fought all the way back, winning 87-84 behind a 60-point second half.
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UConn had some serious problems on the defensive glass, getting outrebounded by 12. This was especially problematic in a game played primarily on the interior. The teams shot a combined 26 threes, partially because of McNeeley’s absence. Free throws were also a large factor. In a game where nearly a quarter of points came from the stripe, UConn converted on 7 more than did their opponents.
There wasn’t just one person who stepped up, but perhaps the most notable was Hassan Diarra. The graduate point guard brought his best on Sunday, finishing with 19 points and 8 assists. He was everywhere, hitting all the big shots at the right times and finding his teammates for huge shots. Diarra drew a bunch of fouls too, making 10 free throws and putting sizable pressure on the defense.
As amazing as Diarra was, the real star of the second half was backup center Tarris Reed Jr.. He didn’t score in the first frame, but had 10 important points down the stretch that powered Connecticut to victory. The junior also had a trio of key swats, which came in important moments. Reed Jr. was a game-high +15, making numerous winning plays.
Starter Samson Johnson didn’t have the sparkling performance that Reed Jr. did, but he was a key force in preventing a first half blowout. Johnson had 10 points that included a few dunks, but was in the game for some of the Friars’ big runs.
This was also something of a redemption game for Aidan Mahaney, who easily had his best performance as a Husky. Mahaney has struggled mightily so far in Storrs, but was tremendous in this one. He recorded 15 points on just 5 shots, hitting a pair of big triples. Mahaney needs to carry this performance forward, as he’s an essential part of filling in for McNeeley.
Also helpful were Alex Karaban and Solo Ball. Karaban stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists, doing a bit of everything. He was a force as a shot blocker in the beginning of the season and has continued lately with 8 in the past 4 games. Ball scored a relatively quiet 16 points on 9 shots, not quite the 7 three performance he enjoyed on Wednesday.
The Huskies did not start the game well, getting manhandled and shook up by Providence. They couldn’t find their shot and weren't finding much penetration. The Friars’ Jayden Pierre found a lot of success early en route to 24 points, drilling a three and slamming in a dunk.
Johnson did a lot of things right in the opening minutes, but Connecticut went long stretches without buckets. Providence scored 19 of the half’s 24 final points and the Huskies went into the break down by 12.
The start of the second half was spent hanging on for dear life by the Huskies, who barely managed to answer Providence’s shots with ones of their own. UConn couldn’t get a rebound and the Friars took advantage, going very few possessions without a bucket.
Then came a shootout. In one of the most exciting sequences this year in college basketball, the combo of Diarra, Johnson, and Reed Jr. went basket for basket with Pierre. Neither side missed much, with and-ones and threes aplenty. The Huskies managed to cut the deficit down to 7 and Reed Jr. got the crowd fired up with a chasedown block and then another one a few minutes later.
Mahaney’s high-difficulty layup in the waning seconds of the shot clock and drawn charge allowed Reed Jr. to tie things on a free throw and then take the lead on a layup. From there, it was all Huskies.
Mahaney wrapped up their 13-0 run with a layup, but UConn didn’t stop there. With their foot on the gas, Karaban swatted a shot and Mahaney hit all nylon on a rainbow three. Suddenly the Huskies were up double digits, but it shrunk down to 3 in the closing seconds. They ultimately won, escaping Providence’s late push.
The contest was filled with a lot of emotions, whether excitement from the comeback or nervousness when their lead was dwindling down late. Either way, coming back from such a huge deficit is a big feat. It showed toughness from a team missing one of their best players. It might not make the computer ratings happy, but it’s still a win that pushes their Big East record to 4-0.
Next up is a contest at Villanova, coming at 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday.
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