INDIANAPOLIS - The week leading up to the Final Four on Saturday night can be a blur for some players. Media appearance here, media appearance there, open practice, actual practice, there’s just so much that they have to do in so little time.
Then it’s showtime. The big stage. 70,000 people.
When the Huskies take the floor at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday night, most of them will be doing so in an atmosphere they haven’t been in before.
“It’s a little bit of a different feeling,” Jayden Ross said. “It’s almost like you’re shooting outside, there’s so much space in there. At the end of the day, it’s all the same, and you just have to trust your shot.
Let’s take a look at the numbers. In UConn’s four games in football stadiums dating back to 2023, it shot 31-90 from three-point range, or 34%. Alex Karaban, the lone player to play in all of those games, shot 6-19 or 32%.
Solo Ball is confident that it shouldn’t be an issue on Saturday night against Illinois.
“A lot of people get caught up in the depth perception, and it’s really not as bad as people think,” Ball said.
During the open practice on Friday afternoon in Indianapolis, the Huskies showed no signs of struggles from deep after also practicing Thursday.
One benefit that Dan Hurley and his staff have this week that most others don’t is experience playing in such a setting. Dusty May guided Florida Atlantic to a Final Four, and Tommy Lloyd was an assistant for Gonzaga for one of their Final Four runs, but neither of them have players with as much experience as UConn.
“Yeah, there will be a few more thousand people and the venue is just fabulous,” Brad Underwood said. “Both teams have to go out and play in it, and it'll be loud, it'll be boisterous, and be a lot of fun.”
If UConn wants to accomplish the goals that it has this week, the Huskies are going to have to shoot the ball well. Having championship experience with guys like Karaban and Ball combined with the valuable two or three practices at Lucas Oil to get adjusted, it’s reasonable to expect the team will fare ok from deep on Saturday.
