Balanced offense, championship defense join forces as UConn gets back on track

Alex Karaban led UConn with 12 points as Huskies erased bitter loss to Creighton with win over Villanova. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — After surrendering a season-high 91 points in a loss to Creighton Wednesday, Dan Hurley was critical of his UConn team’s defense, or lack thereof.

Hurley called the Huskies’ escapades on that side of the basketball a “joke” in the wake of the loss to the Bluejays, intimating that a showing of that nature was on the horizon after UConn had appeared to be a shell of its former self over the past two weeks.

Saturday’s response was more akin to the Huskies of old.

Shooting almost 55 percent from the floor, fifth-ranked UConn allowed its defense to buoy the offense, particularly after halftime. The Huskies limited Villanova’s dynamic perimeter attack to just 6-for-24 from behind the three-point arc, and fired a 13-2 salvo to open the second half to punctuate a 73-63 victory whose final score is much closer than the final stanza let on.

“That’s kind of like bulletproof basketball right there,” Hurley said as UConn (25-3, 15-2 Big East) saw each of its nine players score at least four points, led by a dozen from Alex Karaban. “You shoot 55 percent from the field, you hold them to 40, you go plus-13 on the glass, and your depth shows up.”

“The only way you’re able to sleep at night this time of year is if you’re playing as close to bulletproof basketball as possible…you shoot a high percentage, you don’t turn the ball over, you guard, you rebound the ball and you’ve got depth on the bench. That’s the only way you could avoid being vulnerable this time of year. It all showed up for us tonight, except the last two minutes.”

UConn actually spotted Villanova an 8-4 head start in the opening minutes as Tarris Reed, Jr. and Tyler Perkins accounted for all the initial offense, with Perkins draining a pair of threes and exploiting Solo Ball on the defensive end. Hurley quickly inserted Jayden Ross to plug the hole on the perimeter, and the junior paid dividends.

“J-Ross came in and immediately fixed our defense,” Hurley raved. “Perkins was destroying us to start the game. We made some mistakes. I thought J-Ross came in and did a good job of trying to get him under control.”

“Big-time spark for us,” Ball added with regard to Ross. “I think we really played off his defensive energy in that first half. We were starting to get stops, and he came in and did what he does best, and that’s just defend. He provides so much for us, just the way he’s able to shoot the three and defend.”

Villanova would hold a 30-27 lead in the final stages of the first half, but seven straight Husky points gave the visitors the lead for good. The Wildcats pulled within two points going to halftime, but were no match for UConn out of the locker room as a Mullins three ignited a 13-2 run that head coach Kevin Willard chalked up to veteran experience and a myriad of weapons.

“They’re an older team,” he said of the Huskies. “They can impose their will on you at times. I think the biggest thing is that you’re so worried about Mullins and Karaban, and then, oh, by the way, you’ve got Solo Ball. They’re a veteran team, they’ve been together. You have to give UConn credit for playing really good, really physical and hard. We went some stretches that we had some lineups that probably were self-inflicted by me, to be honest with you.”

UConn ballooned its advantage to as many as 21 points with just under five minutes to play, and kept the margin at 17 before Villanova scored the game’s last seven points to make the final score more cosmetically pleasing.

The Huskies now await a titanic showdown on Wednesday, when Big East leader St. John’s makes its way to Hartford eyeing a fourth straight win over its archrival. But regardless of whether it is the Johnnies or anyone else standing before them, the elder statesman among the UConn players recognized this effort for the importance of showing up and doing what they do best.

“I think we were just able to play our style of basketball,” Karaban said. “We definitely suffered a loss that was hard on everybody, but the only way to respond is (by) playing the basketball that we know how to play. We just want to take it one step at a time and really just hold each other accountable to the level that we can play to.”