By Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman)
NEW YORK – Everybody around the UConn men’s basketball program right now is obsessed with the number three.
When Dan Hurley turned down the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job back in June, it was to pursue a third consecutive national championship with the Huskies. UConn lost just one non-conference game during the two championship seasons, but this year, dropped three in a row in the Maui Invitational.
Since coming back to the mainland, UConn has won three in a row, including back-to-back marquee wins against Baylor and on the road at Texas. Now, the Huskies are in search of a third straight big win as they take on Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden Saturday night at 8 p.m. in their final game before Big East play.
The Zags present a few unique challenges that UConn has to handle in order to take home the win in midtown Manhattan, but the Huskies have storylines of their own headed in as well.
Graham Ike against UConn’s bigs
UConn is 343rd nationally in defensive free throw rate, and much of this is due to the fouling tendencies of Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed down low. Reed fouled out of both of the first two games in Maui, and picked up two early fouls against Texas. Meanwhile, Johnson has fouled out of four games this season, including the first two games in Maui, and the Baylor game at Gampel Pavilion on December 4.
Gonzaga big man Graham Ike is the nation’s leader in fouls drawn per 40 minutes at 8.9. Ever since his freshman year at Wyoming back in 2020-21, he has been an absolute load for opposing bigs to handle, overpowering teams with his strength. The Zags post up their bigs more than just about any team in the country, and will do whatever it takes to get Ike the ball in low post positioning. While he’s a 74 percent free throw shooter, the harm isn’t the damage he can do when he’s fouled, it’s what he can do after he’s drawn a few, and forced the Huskies into uncomfortable lineups.
Additionally, Ben Gregg draws 5.6 fouls per 40 minutes, presenting another challenge for the Huskies even if Ike is off the floor.
Ryan Nembhard’s speed
Another reason that UConn has struggled with fouls is that the guards have not been up to standard defensively, keeping opposing ball handlers in front of them. When Ryan Nembhard is on the other side of the floor, that can be problematic.
Nembhard has played plenty against UConn, both with Creighton and Gonzaga, but he’s having the best year of his career, seeing passes from everywhere on the court, and generating easy looks for his team. He’s never been shy about driving to put two feet in the paint and spreading the ball around, and in year four, he has become one of the nation’s best point guards.
UConn’s Madison Square Garden Magic
Walking into the Garden on Saturday night will be a special feeling. The Metro-North trains from New Haven will be packed all afternoon with Husky fans making the journey to fill the World’s Most Famous Arena. UConn always brings a great crowd to New York, and it helped spur the team on to win all seven of its games there last season.
“Going to play at MSG is always a thrill,” Hurley said. “We definitely have good vibes (playing in New York), but this is a whole new group of players, I know that these new guys are looking to announce themselves as the next group of UConn players that will hopefully keep this thing at a championship level. It’s a big night for them (Saturday) night.”
Three of UConn’s four leading scorers have not played a key role for the Huskies before this season. Solo Ball slid into the starting group for a few games last year when Stephon Castle was hurt, but slid out of the rotation by the end of the year. He’s averaging 13 points per contest, and looks like a whole new player this year with newfound confidence. Tarris Reed, Jr. played in the Garden last year for Michigan, defeating St. John’s by 20, but it’s different in a UConn jersey. And freshman Liam McNeeley has been so important to what the Huskies are doing, averaging 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Alex Karaban’s big return
After missing UConn’s first two games back from Maui dealing with a concussion, the only returning starter, Alex Karaban, returned with a massive performance against Texas.
He scored 21 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked two shots, and racked up two steals. It looked like he didn’t miss a beat.
Somehow, it was the junior’s first career double-double.
Karaban’s development into a true force on both sides of the ball will be the key for the entire season, and it’s no different on Saturday night. He’ll have different matchups thrown at him, including Michael Ajayi, an athletic 6-foot-7 wing, but his superpower is his poise and control that has made it so it never seems to matter who is guarding him.
Gonzaga is the second best three-point defense in the country right now, but UConn has found ways to generate open three-pointers against them in the last two years, and Karaban always seems to get open when UConn has needed it.
Third big win
If UConn can pick up its third straight win against a tough opponent, it doesn’t erase the stain of Maui, but you can begin to explain it away. Memphis and Colorado shot unusually well from beyond the arc, both hitting some tough shots, and then the team was checked out before facing Dayton. The losses matter, but the narrative around this UConn team has a chance to be put right back where it has been over the past few years if it can deliver a commanding performance at Storrs South.
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