Some games, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. The rims could feel slightly off or the shot isn’t going in. In recent years for the now No. 25 men’s basketball games, off games by some have been offset by scoring outbursts by others. There was an undeniable amount of offensive talent, enough to cover up any blips.
This year’s team isn’t lacking for offense, but there have been more nights where they don’t look bulletproof on that end. That was especially true at the start of Wednesday night’s game against DePaul.
The Huskies were ice cold in the first half, getting themselves into a panic-inducing hole. They were down as many as 14 points and to make matters more concerning, the Blue Demons are not great. Sure, they’re much better than last year’s squad that went 0-20 in the Big East, but they are not a team that should ever command a double digit lead over Connecticut.
“Obviously credit to DePaul, they made it a real spirited effort,” Hurley noted postgame. “That’s not the DePaul we’ve competed against. We get everyone’s best effort. We’ve earned that. The first half was disappointing on a number of levels.”
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Fortunately for the Huskies, they found a way to dig out of their hole and come all the way back. UConn emerged with a 72-61 triumph, escaping with a score that doesn’t seem nearly as concerning as it felt.
As rough as UConn’s shooting felt at times, their accuracy from deep was actually better than DePaul’s. They also moved the ball much better, notching 18 assists to the Blue Demons’ 7. They weren’t able to command the boards as well as they typically do, finishing -2.
Starting again as a replacement for injured F Liam McNeeley, Jaylin Stewart put together yet another very good outing. His defense was solid and he was ultra-efficient on offense. Missing just once, Stewart recorded 15 points on 7 shots. His scoring was spread throughout the game too, which has been more common of late.
The forward’s development in McNeeley’s absence has been tremendous, giving the team a ton of depth once the whole team is healthy. It is important to note that Stewart did tweak something late in the game, the severity of which doesn’t seem terrible, but is unclear.
Tarris Reed Jr. was also fantastic, posting a monster second half. He scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime, pressuring DePaul’s interior. He also grabbed a modest 6 boards.
Guard Solo Ball had another positive night on the offensive end with 16 points, but also improved defensively. He’s still far from where he needs to be on that end, getting away with several fouls, but he did show some strides in the department. If he can continue to make progress there, he’ll be nearly impossible to take off the floor.
“He’s such a UConn guy and cares so much about us and not letting us down and helping us continue to win,” Hurley noted of Ball. “He’s just gotten in his own way mentally about his defense. I think the best thing he can do is fly around, use his athletic ability. If he makes mistakes defensively, he can make up for it because he’s got vertical ability and he’s got long arms and big hands. But he’s a special player, he’ll end his career here with more championships and he’ll be remembered as an all-time great shooter/scorer.”
A player who struggled was Alex Karaban. It’s been a rough run for the junior, who scored just 8 points, his third single digit scoring effort in the past four. He made just 1 of 14 field goals, clearly his worst career shooting night. Karaban did partially make it up with 8 assists and 6 boards, but will need to pick up the scoring up soon and establish consistency.
“I thought he showed growth to keep shooting,” Hurley noted of Karaban. “If he made a few more he would have shot 18…He doesn’t have the luxury of playing on as loaded of a team. I was happy he stayed aggressive and put pressure on the paint.”
The Huskies started off extremely slow. Every shot seemed to be an inch off, leading to a bevy of close misses. The Blue Demons took full advantage of this, jumping out to an early 13-4 lead.
And unlike most games that the Huskies have played, it wasn’t a quick bounce back. Before long they were down 26-12 and there was no promise of the pain stopping any time soon. Aidan Mahaney brought strong offensive pressure, delivering six consecutive Husky points to cut it to single digits.
"I love it, I love the direction things are headed with him right now," Hurley said of Mahaney's mindset. "If he was a little bit sturdier in his second half run he would have been in the 20 minute range, but he's a guy who can alleviate the pressure off Hassan. He can go and make plays."
Though Mahaney had the momentum moving in the right direction, they made minimal progress from then until the break.
“I went in there for a 45 second tirade,” Hurley said of his halftime speech. “I left to get my thoughts together and think of some adjustments. [Assistant coaches] Kimani [Young] and Luke [Murray] stayed there for another minute and unloaded on them.”
“It was tough,” Reed. Jr. noted of the speech. “Coach was on us hard. We weren't playing to our capabilities. We knew what we had to do coming out of the locker room.”
Connecticut started the second half off with a bang. Stewart drained a jumper and Ball, known as a minus defender, ferociously swatted a dunk and then fired in a triple on the other end.
That shot took the deficit to three and a moment later Stewart hit one to make it two. Not long after that, Reed Jr. put a pair of free throws through to tie it. With just under 10 minutes left, Ball used two straight old-fashioned three point plays to grab Connecticut’s first lead of the night.
Ball’s excellence there was part of a game-altering 14-0 run that put the Huskies into cruise control. They escaped with an 11-point victory, not looking back after grabbing momentum.
The second half of this one will make many forget the first, but it still brings out several concerns. DePaul was able to get ahead by 14, but what if the Huskies did this against No. 9 Marquette this weekend? They would likely not be able to overcome their deficit as they did against the Blue Demons. There’s a lot to build from in a positive way, but it’s certain that the film session tomorrow won’t be enjoyable.
Their contest at the Golden Eagles comes on Saturday at 8 p.m. on FOX. It’ll be a huge opportunity to make a statement that they belong in the top 25 after nearly falling out this week.
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