UConn MBB By the Numbers
Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies are having an up-and-down season. It hasn't helped to have Alterique Gilbert and Jalen Adams, two of the team's best players, sidelined with injury, but there was inconsistency before those two went down.
Here are a few statistical takeaways as the season nears its end.
Struggling in the first half continues to drive UConn losses
In the past week, UConn men’s basketball lost two road games. In both contests, the Huskies dug themselves into a first half hole that was too big to overcome, heading to the locker room down 12 at UCF and down 26 at Temple. Much like the Huskies struggles on the road, losing a game in the first half is nothing new.
From the first lost of the season (against Iowa at Madison Square Garden) early deficits have been a problem for UConn. In fact, other than a two game stretch against Villanova and South Florida, the Huskies have been down at halftime in every loss.
(View full interactive table here)
As shown by the blue bars in the above graphic, the Huskies have dug a deep hole for themselves in the first half of nearly every loss this year. No matter how valiant the comeback effort (gray bars) in the second half is - as it was at UCF and Temple - they can’t overcome the deficit.
This was exemplified at Temple, with poor shooting and turnovers leading to the 26 point halftime deficit. Put simply, this UConn team is not good enough to win games in 20 minutes. They need to string together a strong effort for the full 40 minutes to get the W.
Josh Carlton Emerges in the Front Court
In the last four games for UConn, Josh Carlton is averaging 13.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. Carlton also posted his second straight double-double at Temple, and is leading the American Athletic Conference on the offensive glass with an offensive rebound rate of 13.5 percent in AAC play.
Carlton’s game has developed well under Dan Hurley, and its evident in his numbers. As he has cut down on his fouls, his minutes, points and rebounds per game have grown.
(view the full interactive chart here)
Since the start of the new year, and conference play, Carlton is averaging nearly 10 more minutes per game than he was earlier this season. The increased playing time can largely be attributed to Carlton’s ability to stay on the court without fouling, but he has also been productive with his newfound minutes. The sophomore is averaging 9.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game since January started, compared to 7.6 and 4.1 prior to the new year.
Additional Key Stats
- Christian Vital has scored in double figures in every conference game so far this year, and is averaging 16.1 points per game in AAC play. He’s proven to be one of the most efficient shooters in the conference, scoring 1.27 points per scoring attempt which ranks second in the AAC. He also recorded a double-double at Temple, with 18 points and 13 boards.
- Sid Wilson scored 12 points in the Huskies’ win over East Carolina, on just five shot attempts. He was perfect from the floor, including shooting 2-2 from beyond the arc, en route to his new career high.
- In the three games since Alterique Gilbert injured his shoulder, the Huskies have 38 assists on 75 made field goals. That is an assisted shot rate of 51 percent, which is above UConn’s season average. Prior to his injury, Gilbert was dishing the assist on over 23 percent of UConn’s buckets while on the floor. In his absence, Vital has stepped up as a playmaker and added the assist on over 22 percent of the the teams’ made field goals while he’s on the floor.
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