UConn men’s basketball (14-1, 4-0 Big East) is in Providence to take on its longtime rivals at Amica Mutual Pavilion, tipping off at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.
The Friars just defeated St. John’s in Madison Square Garden, 77-71, to brighten an otherwise rough start to their season. With six losses already, Kim English’s squad doesn’t have any embarrassing setbacks, but they had not beaten a quality team until they took down the Red Storm on Saturday.
“Going to play at Providence is never fun,” Hurley said. “They’re coming off a potentially season-defining win.”
The Friars are led by a pair of senior guards, Jason Edwards (17.9 PPG, 3.4 APG) and Jaylin Sellers (16 PPG, 4.4 RPG), while underclassmen at wing and big man have also been productive, including sophomore center Oswin Erhunmwunse (7.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG) and freshmen wings Stephan Vaaks (13.5 PPG, 3.3 APG) and Jamier Jones (10.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG).
“Their offensive firepower, especially on the perimeter, is as good as anyone you’re gonna play in this league,” Hurley said.
The Friars are 66th in the country in eFG% and 63rd in turnover rate. Their 44th-most efficient offense is the strength of a team that is ranked 64th in KenPom overall efficiency.
The Huskies’ competitive fire will be tested across the Big East slate, where they’ll be highly favored going into most games, as they are in this one.
Despite the big wins and a 19-point average margin of victory through four league games, Hurley and his staff have been vocal about their improvement needs.
“We were bad the other day, so we’re not exactly coming into this game high-fiving and hugging,” Hurley said. “We played really poorly on Sunday and got away with it.”
UConn beat Marquette by 16 and was up by more than that for most of the second half. The Huskies were up by as much as 12 in the first half before a late run cut it to five shortly before halftime.
But the team wasn’t performing at its best, with Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, and Braylon Mullins combining to go 2-of-17 from three and a rebounding battle that was even until the second half. Hurley pointed to ineffective offensive motion and lackadaisical effort on the glass.
“We were so bad, defensively, inefficiently shooting the ball, couldn’t finish at the rim, the last thing anyone feels is that we’re a juggernaut,” he shared. “There’s a lot of frustration with that kind of performance.”
Hurley has repeatedly mentioned a need for his players to develop a killer instinct, to put teams away without ever letting it get close again. Of course, part of the hold-up is human nature. Part of it is injuries, and that progression that will take place naturally over the course of the season.
“We hope that our team and our players have the will to experience championship glory,” Hurley said.
Tarris Reed Jr. was on his way to full strength and now needs to establish himself as one of the top centers in the country, with Hurley repeating his All-American and NBA Draft ambitions for the former Michigan transfer.
“We’ve got to help him as coaches to zero in on exactly the way we want him to play,” he said. “There’s definitely another level he’s got to get for us to be a championship contender.”
Still, the defense has been elite, ranked 2nd in the country in efficiency, while the Huskies maintain plenty of firepower to win games. Ball (15.6 PPG) and Karaban (13.3 PPG) are their scoring leaders, while Reed (13.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG) has been pacing them on the glass. Beyond their starting-five, they have four other players averaging five or more points per game.
Silas Demary Jr. (9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.7 APG) has been their top distributor and is also credited with reshaping the team’s defensive identity. The Huskies are 2nd in the country in eFG% allowed, 45th in O. Reb% allowed, and 5th in block rate. But he’s also been their top fouler, averaging 2.7 per game.
UConn has still not been hitting free throws or getting to the line at a good rate, while also allowing opponents to get to the free-throw line at one of the highest rates in the country. Hurley called out the discipline that his team needs to finish off teams, win the rebounding battle for 40 minutes, and play aggressive defense without fouling.
KenPom projects an 82-73 win tonight, but we know it’s always a battle in the building formerly known as the Dunk. If you’re a Husky fan making the trip to Providence, be safe. It can get rowdy out there – we’ve heard reports of flying beers in the building.
