The UConn Huskies are in Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve as they look to start Big East play 3-0. They don’t have the most impressive opponent standing in their way, but it is a solid team and a new challenge after the Xavier Musketeers hired head coach Richard Pitino and turned over their entire roster.
The Huskies tip off against Xavier in the Cintas Center at 5 p.m., with Dan Hurley’s squad expected to be fully healthy and projected to win by double digits.
Solo Ball sat out the DePaul game, but has been practicing, and the whole roster is expected to be available.
The Musketeers are 100th in KenPom overall efficiency. They’re good at keeping turnovers and opponent offensive rebounding down, and are decent at passing and shooting threes. They don’t use traditional centers, Hurley noted, which should make for an interesting matchup for Husky big men Tarris Reed Jr. and Eric Reibe.
“They’ve got five guys playing on the perimeter,” Hurley said. “It puts your centers in uncomfortable positions out at the three-point line; they’re not playing with a traditional center.”
The 6-foot-10 Jovan Milicevic is hitting 42 percent of his threes while averaging 11.6 points per game, while 6-foot-9 forward Filip Borovicanin is posting 8.8 PPG and 7.5 RPG while also leading the team with 4.2 APG.
Seniors Tre Carroll (16.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG) and Roddie Anderson (12.7 PPG) are their leading scorers, also each averaging 2.8 assists. Hurley said the Musketeers are “explosive offensively,” good at shooting threes and getting out in transition.
For the Huskies, confidence is high as they ease into Big East play, even though the margin for error is low. Their toughest matchups are going to be against Seton Hall, Villanova, and St. John’s, with Creighton and Butler also likely to compete.
“There’s nothing that we’ve done that makes me not confident in the group,” Hurley said. But even though his team will have an analytical advantage in every Big East game, “no matter what anyone’s NET is or KenPom...it’s a grind, it’s physical, and you play in tough environments.”
Their slow start in the DePaul game highlighted how much Ball brings to the team. “We do a lot of things to get Solo opportunities,” Hurley said. They’ve had slow starts against Butler and other teams that they’ll want to avoid in this road game.
Hurley also added that Braylon Mullins has more to give and Tarris Reed Jr. is still rounding into form after those two missed time due to injury. He had previously shared that Mullins was working on some of those actions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H6zOq8oIm8
After tonight’s game, the Huskies are home against Marquette on Sunday before visiting Providence one week from today. Marquette has fallen far, with a player departure and 5-9 record on the season.
