SEATTLE – The UConn men’s basketball team closed its nonconference season with a top 10 win over Gonzaga on Friday night, 76-63. The reigning national champs enter Big East play after an 10-1 start to the season, making them 27-1 in out-of-conference games dating back to the start of last year with all 27 wins decided by double digits.
But now the attention turns to the league, where the results weren’t nearly the same.
UConn finished fourth in the Big East last season with a 13-7 record, and now that the cardboard Seattle Tip-Off poster is removed from Dan Hurley’s easel, replaced by the Big East regular-season trophy, there are a number of games coming up that have been circled on the calendars of the Huskies’ returners.
And it all starts at Seton Hall, where the Huskies blew a 14-point halftime lead and lost on a last-second shot with Hurley and associate head coach Kimani Young watching from home with Covid. It was UConn’s fifth loss in six games during a brutal January stretch.
“Can’t wait,” said Donovan Clingan, who looked as healthy as he has all season in a 21-point, eight-rebound performance to lead the team Friday night. “This game on Wednesday was circled for a while.”
“They were already talking about a little revenge from last year,” Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer said outside the locker room. “Seton Hall’s our first one, we gotta go get that and then should be a great conference (season).”
UConn, after shooting 63% from the field and 78% (7 of 9) from 3-point range to build a 45-34 lead at halftime, had to rely on its defense after the break. The Huskies cooled off significantly and, while turning the ball over six times in the second half, shot 48% from the field and missed all eight attempts from deep.
“We got a little bit out of sorts there, but teams that could win it all, that could go the distance, they’re elite offensively and they’re elite defensively. And this team has not been elite defensively,” Hurley said. “Especially in conference play – you want to win games, you’ve got to grind games out in the Big East, so that was great to see.”
UConn held Gonzaga to just 30% shooting from the field and 1 of 9 from beyond the arc, forcing five turnovers in the second half.
The Huskies’ defense was ranked No. 17 by KenPom’s efficiency metric entering the game. The performance against the Zags, one of the better offensive teams in the nation, moved the Huskies up to No. 10.
“We just really did our part for the league in the nonconference,” Hurley said, referring to ranked wins over Texas, North Carolina and Gonzaga, and a four-point loss on the road at Kansas. “Coming into the league with a 10-1 nonconference (record) and some big wins that will really overall help the league in terms of NET, in terms of the strength of the league.
“Marquette, Creighton, us – three of the best teams in the country – I think all have Final Four potential and then there’s a lot more depth. I think Providence is really good, I think St. John’s is really good, you know, Seton Hall. It’s a really good league, we’re excited.”
The excitement was plentiful in the Huskies locker room after the game, where Mariah Carey’s song “All I want for Christmas is you” played on full blast.
“A lot more energy… just because we’re more familiar with these teams and we’ve had a past with every team,” said Alex Karaban, who scored in double digits for the 10th time this year with 11 points in a tough matchup with Gonzaga’s Anton Watson. “Going into Seton Hall, it was a tough loss for us last year at Seton Hall so we really are looking forward to the Big East and we just want to bounce back from what happened last year.”
Championship experience helps
There was a sizeable crowd in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, where former UConn great Sue Bird’s Seattle Storm jersey hangs from the rafters. And, on the other side of the country, it consisted of at least 90% Gonzaga fans.
“I think the guys that were involved in a lot of (responding to Gonzaga gaining momentum) were the guys that were champions last year and have that pedigree and have that confidence and calmness on the court to just execute,” Hurley said. “When you play in front of 75,000 people and you play your best ball, as great as that crowd got at times today, those experiences certainly help you when you get into these moments.”
Depth promising, but not there yet
Stephon Castle got around former Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard with a smooth euro-step finish in transition and Solo Ball followed it up with a 3-pointer that gave the Huskies a 45-32 lead just before the half. That sequence was just a glimpse of what’s to come as UConn’s freshmen continue to get experience in big moments. Castle, coming off the bench in his third game since returning from a knee injury, gave the Huskies a boost on the defensive end and finished with six points and three assists. That made 3-pointer was Ball’s only shot attempt in the game.
Jaylin Stewart, who Hurley would like to incorporate more regularly off the bench to add depth, saw a short stint in the first half and was substituted in to dribble the ball out at the end in front of a sizeable homecoming contingent in Seattle.
“Jaylin, he’s a guy with so much talent and for us to go – it’s a heck of a flight out here and for us to make it several times to convince him and his family to trust us with him, he’s gonna be a great player for us. He’s developing still, it’s tough on young players in college now with Covid fifth-year guys all over the place, college basketball has gotten really old,” Hurley said. “He’s a big part of our future. We’re gonna lose a lot from this year’s team, a lot. And his development is critical this year.”
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