Being an 8-seed is arguably the worst spot a team can enter the tournament as. They start off with a tilt against the 9-seed and the reward for their efforts is an uphill battle against the 1-seed, who is realistically expected to go to the Final Four.
It’s a pure recipe for not making it out of the first weekend, something that the UConn men’s basketball team discovered on Sunday. They could have won this one–they led for much of the second half and played reasonably well–but the late poise of 1-seed Florida was just too much in the 77-75 defeat.
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The Gators were sloppy for a good portion of the matchup, having a lot of trouble hitting on their usual looks. If UConn looked like an 8-seed, Florida certainly didn’t look like a 1. They consistently left the door open for the Huskies, who were glad to step right through it much of the time.
However, there were a few plays late in the action that could have allowed UConn to get back into the game, but they didn’t capitalize. This is especially true on a play where Florida missed two straight free throws but got the offensive rebound and dunked it.
“I think, when we go back and watch this film on this flight back today, it's going to be crushing looking at those free-throw rebound plays again,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said postgame.
When Connecticut was a top-seed last year, they easily took care of business in the second round. Perhaps their veteran experience from last year was what allowed the Huskies to get as close as they did. Or maybe it was Florida’s comparative lack of experience that rattled them throughout the game.
“We dragged them into a game that was the only way for us to give ourselves a chance to win,” Hurley mentioned. “I thought we did an admirable job on the backboard. The only reason we were out-rebounded by such a huge front line is because we took 14 more shots than them.”
It’s amazing that the Gators shot 47% from beyond the arc to UConn’s 28% and the game was still so close. Granted, the Huskies took 10 more from that territory, but it’s still a notable difference.
“I think a lot of the threes, we took some tough ones because they're a top 5 defense in the country,” noted Hurley. “We had some really good looks at threes that could have given us some separation down the stretch actually.”
For all the benefits Florida could have reaped from the 3-point differential, they gave it back with their free throw shooting. They made 22 of 34 from the stripe despite making their first eight, much worse than the Huskies’ 19/22. The other side of the coin with this stat is that Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. dealt with foul trouble throughout the mid-to-late parts of the matchup, which hurt the Huskies in other ways.
Even with his four fouls, Johnson still managed to stay on the floor for 24 minutes and recorded a 10-10 double-double, the second and last of his career. He played well and was a big reason why UConn was competitive, especially with his trio of offensive boards. Johnson finished his career with the most wins in Husky history, an impressive feat.
“I didn't want to go home today,” Johnson said. “I just wanted to win the game. You've got to give it everything you have. I feel like that's the mentality I came into the game with, and I was trying everything in my power to have my team win. We just came up short.”
Liam McNeeley had a team-high 22 points but didn’t play particularly well. He got a bunch of his points as they made a futile effort to come back late, including a deep buzzer-beating three. McNeeley ended up stroking 8/8 from the stripe, the best part of his effort. He shot just 6/16 from the field, a much better reflection of how things went for him than his point tally. After the Creighton game where he scored 38, the freshman struggled to put together complete performances, whether the team was winning or losing.
Alex Karaban also had an okay outing, scoring 14 points on 13 attempts. He wasn’t great until the end of the Oklahoma win on Friday, but couldn’t find that same extra energy bump in the waning minutes against the Gators. The game was a reflection of his season to a degree, with the team’s second most points but a performance that left everyone wanting more.
The Huskies started the game a bit slow, but Florida struggled to capitalize on it. Despite leading 6-0 early, it was a single-point game by the under-12 timeout.
A triple from Karaban gave Connecticut their first lead of the afternoon and the teams traded blows for the rest of the half. Ultimately, it was knotted up going into the break, with Hassan Diarra sinking a tough triple with seconds left.
By the time the final half was two minutes old, the Huskies grew their lead out to six. They had some good chances to build on it throughout the next few moments, but just couldn’t get the necessary shots to fall.
The push and pull of the contest made it one of the most exhilarating of the tournament so far, with Florida fighting to reduce their deficit and UConn extending it back out to five or six. After a stretch with minimal scoring late in the contest, a Walter Clayton Jr. trey gave the Gators their first lead of the half and a Will Richard slam really put the Huskies on the ropes.
Ball tied the game with a huge triple on the next possession, but it was all Gators from there. Florida scored the next eight points, including five from Clayton Jr.. McNeeley did all he could to fight back, but it was too little too late.
Looking broadly, this was hardly a game the Huskies were supposed to win. It feels more painful since Florida didn’t play well for much of the day and UConn was a few mishaps away from winning, but 8-seeds don’t beat 1s most of the time. It’s admirable that they got as close as they did.
“I think this is just a historic run that [Karaban, Johnson and Diarra] have been on and the guys that have worn the uniform the past couple years,” Hurley said. “If it's going to come to an end for us, I wouldn't have wanted it to be in a game where we lost to a lower seed. There's some honor, I guess, in the way that this went down.”
The Huskies didn’t get the three-peat, but that’s okay. In a sport where so many teams could realistically win the championship every year, even doing it twice in a row is impressive.
Yes, they didn’t make the Sweet 16, but they had a season filled with troubles and this was a fitting way to end it. In the offseason, they’ll likely lose a few players to the NBA and a few to graduation. Hurley will need to refuel with the portal to complement the excellent recruiting class he has coming in. But this is far from the end for Hurley and the Huskies, who are expected to come back with vengeance next year.
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