Given the way things started for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team on Saturday, it looked as though they were playing like they were still hungover from the loss to Cincinnati on Wednesday night. They were sluggish and were being outplayed and outscored by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Then Charles Okwandu and Gavin Edwards came off the bench to spark them back into the game when we all knew UConn would need more than Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson.
Robinson did lead the way though with 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as the Huskies went on to beat the Irish 82-74 in front of a sold-out crowd at the XL Center.
The Huskies improve to 10-3 (1-1 Big East) while the Irish fall to 12-3 (1-1).
If not for Okwandu, the Huskies really could have found themselves in an even bigger hole in the first half. He came off the bench and played like we’d never seen before. He made all five of his shots and finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a block in 14 minutes of action.
Edwards helped out as well in the first half as he had nine of his 13 points. Dyson added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists while Kemba Walker had 10 points and ten assists. Alex Oriakhi led the Huskies with 9 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Big East preseason player of the year Luke Harangody paced the Irish with 31 points and nine rebounds. Ben Hansbrough, younger brother of former North Carolina star Tyler Hansbrough, had 14 points while Tryone Nash chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. Tory Jackson led the Irish with eight assists.
UConn started slowly as they fell behind 6-0 before Dyson got them on the board with a layup. The lead got to 10-4 before the Huskies went on 12-5 run to take a 16-15 lead. The rest of the first half would see the teams battle for the lead with UConn chasing the Irish.
The Huskies would eventually take the lead at 30-29 when Dyson made a layup. It was short lived though as Hansbrough nailed a three pointer to take a two point lead. Robinson tied it up at 32 but a Harangody jumper gave the Irish a 34-32 lead.
UConn would grab it’s first lead of the second half when Robinson missed a free throw after making the first one. He came off the line to grab the rebound and missed a layup but got the rebound and slammed it home to give the Huskies a two-point lead at 46-44.
Okwandu made it a 4-point lead but another Hansbrough three gave the Irish the lead back. Walker then made a three to give the Huskies the lead but Farmington High grad Tim Abromaitis put the Irish back in front with a three of his own.
Notre Dame’s got to five points before the Huskies made their comeback taking the lead at 57-56 on an Oriakhi layup. Harangody responded with a jumper that gave the Irish their last lead of the afternoon. UConn then went on a 13-2 run to take control of the game.
The Irish would only get as close as four points the rest of the way as the Huskies would hit their free throws down the stretch.
Great win for the Huskies on Saturday. I don’t think anyone expected the player that would step would Okwandu. But if he can continue to do this as the season moves forward, he could give UConn’s much maligned front court a boost as Big East play continues.
UConn returns to action on Wednesday night when the Seton Hall Pirates come to Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on My-TV9 and SNY.
Notes and musings:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish @ UConn Huskies 1.2.10 box score
The starters were Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok and Alex Oriakhi.
My mom called me from the game to tell me the student section was chanting “just like football” towards the Notre Dame bench. If you forget, the UConn Huskies football team beat the Irish 33-30 back in November.
The Huskies shot 50% (30-0f-60) for the game while the Irish shot 40% (28-of-70).
UConn had 22 assists on their 30 made baskets with 10 each by Walker and Dyson.
The Huskies won the battle of the boards 42-35.
UConn was awesome from the free throw line as they went 19-of-23 (82.6%).
After finishing with no blocks in the loss to Cincinnati, the Huskies had 11 on the afternoon, four by Oriakhi.
UConn had 13 turnovers while Notre Dame committed 12. Both teams scored 15 points off the turnovers.
The Huskies outscored the Irish 50-28 in the paint.
There were 17 lead changes during the game.
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