Last Saturday, Jan. 23, was sort of a throwback day for the Connecticut Huskies at the XL Center.
The Huskies faced off against the Georgetown Hoyas in what seemed like an old Big East game. Despite shooting worse from the field than the Georgetown, UConn squeaked with a 68-62 win.
But now the throwback day has gone and passed, and the Huskies must continue to build on their new found confidence heading into the bulk of American Athletic Conference play, starting against the Cincinnati Bearcats.
“I feel pretty good and I am feeling confident as ever,” said senior forward Phil Nolan after the game. “I am working hard and when you work hard good things happen.”
About two weeks ago, UConn’s season looked like it was heading down a downward spiral. The Huskies lost to Tulsa, 60-51, on Jan. 14, to give them a 11-5 record. However, instead of letting that hard-to-handle defeat affect them, the team quickly turned its season around in a huge victory over the Houston Cougars.
In the final 13 minutes of the Houston game, the Huskies outscored the Cougars 28-8 to win 69-57 and claim a crucial AAC game. UConn would then build off that momentum against Houston, as it went onto manhandle Tulane as it held the Green Wave to 25.9 percent from the field in 60-42 victory.
If the Huskies want to obtain their goal of securing a NCAA tournament berth without needing to win the American Athletic Conference tournament, they will need to get start shooting better and continue their excellent defensive play, starting against the Bearcats.
During UConn’s three-game win streak, it has shot a decent 39.4 percent from the field and a 28.6 percent from behind the three-point line. But the Huskies’ second-half shooting against Georgetown is somewhat scareful.
“We shoot a low percentage,” said head coach Kevin Ollie. “We had good looks, we just couldn’t make them.”
After shooting 13-for-26 from the field against the Hoyas in the first half, the Huskies went 4-of-21 in the second half. UConn needs to shoot consistently when it takes on Cincinnati. The Huskies will also need to find ways to score when shots aren’t falling.
The ability to find different ways to score did not show up in UConn’s two AAC losses.
Against Temple, in which UConn lost 55-53, it did shoot 31.6 percent from the field and 92.9 from the charity stripe. However, the Huskies only shot 20 percent from behind the three-point arc.
In UConn’s loss to Tulsa, it only shot 30.9 percent from the field, 27.6 from three-point land, and 69.2 percent from the free throw line. As of late though, the Huskies have been finding different ways to score.
Throughout the three-game win streak, UConn has gotten to the free throw line 74 times. Out of those 74 attempts, the Huskies converted 62 of them, which is good for 83.7 percent.
One thing UConn has done better as of late is its defensive play.
In the Huskies’ win streak, they have held opponents to 32.7 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from the three-point line while only letting up 53.6 points per game. And this is without UConn and the AAC’s best defender, Amida Brimah, who is recovering the from a fractured finger.
So finding different ways to score and continuing its high defensive play will help UConn continue to build the confidence it will need heading into March.
The Cincinnati game kicks off a tough stretch for UConn as it gets UCF and Memphis on the road, return home to East Carolina, travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple, have a rematch against Tulsa at the XL center, then take on AAC leading SMU at home.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
