Bears go on attack in second half, turn away Queens

(Photo:  Central Arkansas Athletics)

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CHARLOTTE – In most situations, hunters try to kill bears.

Wednesday night, a Hunter saved the Bears.

Senior guard Camren Hunter finished with 31 points – two off his career-best, set at Queens in 2023 – and knocked down several key shots to pace five Bears in double figures in a 100-90 Central Arkansas victory over Queens at Curry Arena.

“The resiliency – listen, I want our team – the team’s supposed to play with my personality,” Central Arkansas coach John Shulman said after the game. “They don’t. They play with Cam’s personality. A coach-led team is really good. A player-led team is special. We have a player-led team.”

The leadership Shulman referenced was challenged early by foul trouble for the Bears. Freshman guard Ty Robinson was assessed two fouls in the game’s first minute, allowing Queens (12-10, 7-2 ASUN) to bounce back from an early deficit. The Royals trailed, 20-16, halfway through the first half before unfurling an 11-0 run that afforded the home side a seven-point advantage. The lead got as high as nine before Central Arkansas sliced it to three.

After Hunter hit triples on back-to-back trips that cut it to three each time, Queens pushed it back to seven on four straight free throws. Yoav Berman again extended it to seven with a late layup with less than a minute in the first half. Luke Moore converted a layup on the final Central Arkansas possession of the first frame, sending Queens to the locker room ahead, 45-40.

“I thought we played as well defensively as we’ve ever played in the first half,” Shulman said. “We were unbelievable defensively, and they went 10-for-16 from the three-point line. I was like, ‘Guys, they should be up 12, 13, 14 points, and they’re only up five. Hang in there.’”

Queens again swelled its lead to nine on a Berman and-one and Maban Jabriel bucket with 16:02 remaining. Central Arkansas (11-10, 6-2) continued to persist and hang around as it did throughout the first half, using a Cole McCormick and-one and a Harry Beauchamp circling triple to whittle an eight-point Queens margin to a single bucket with 13:24 remaining.

Every punch was met with a counterpunch. Central Arkansas got a bucket – often by Hunter – and Queens responded. The Royals were staggered as the Bears charged out of their corner. Then came the final flurry.

Hunter knocked home a triple at the 10-minute mark to tie the game at 67, eliciting a three-quarters court celebration from Hunter as Shulman called a timeout. After the timeout, McCormick canned a three to again level the game at 70. Hunter then plunged the dagger, dropping another three to put the Bears ahead, 73-70. Queens never again led.

“I tried to harp on our guys to stay positive and stay together,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said. “I thought their group decided (Hunter’s tying three) was going to energize them, and we were never able to match the intensity that they gave the rest of that game.”

“We got clean shots and we missed them. I thought that our lack of – we allowed our missing shots to affect our energy. We never got that back throughout the game. I think we kept searching for it and never (found it). We can’t allow our lack of ability to make shots to drain our energy.”

The win was Central Arkansas’ fourth in a row and brought the Bears over .500 on the season.

“We’re learning. We’re getting better,” Shulman said. “We’re not going to listen to rat poison and take it all in. Results lie. We haven’t arrived yet. I told them in the locker room I’d let them know when we arrive, and it’s not going to be anytime soon.”

Hunter shared his thoughts on the Bears’ motivation.

“The biggest thing is that you walk right past (Queens’) locker room,” Hunter said. “You can hear everything they’re saying. You can feel their whole mood. They felt like they were arrogant and they were better than us.”

“We spent the whole summer grinding, fighting, and banging against each other. We have a bunch of competitive guys on this team. We’re young, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Leonard acknowledged the Bears’ effort.

“They definitely played hungrier tonight,” Leonard said. “They outrebounded us, they forced more turnovers, and they hit all the big shots in the second half. When you give up 60 points in the second half, you’re probably not going to win very often. It’s our first home loss. We’ve lost two in a row. We’ve got to find our identity.”

Part of the Royals’ missing identity centered around the inability to mount a late comeback. Queens had several chances to get back in the game but could not capitalize.

“We had two or three careless turnovers in transition and those were big plays,” Leonard said. “We didn’t make free throws to come back down the stretch. I know (we were) 15-for-21, and you look at it and think, ‘oh, it wasn’t that bad, (we hit) 72 percent,’ but we didn’t convert when we needed to down the stretch.”

The highlight of the Royals’ night came from the sneakers they wore as part of the Suits and Sneakers program. Patients at the Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte designed the coaches’ sneakers, which Leonard proudly referenced after the game.

“We’re really intentional about building community through basketball,” Leonard said. “Those kids down at the Levine Center – we play in the Levine Center and the Levines do an unbelievable job with donating so much to the city. I wish the weather would have allowed us to design the shoes with the kids. I love that those kids are part of the program and that, win or lose, basketball is a part of the community.”

“Those kids are the biggest fighters we know, fighting through cancer and other health struggles. I’m so glad they can be a part of our program.”

Hunter’s 31 led Central Arkansas and all scorers. The senior hit 12-of-18 shots, including 4-of-6 from three. McCormick and Moore contributed 19 apiece on a combined 10-for-15 from the deck and 15-of-19 from the line. Junior Javion Guy-King added 13, with Robinson tallying 11. The Bears hit 54.5 percent from the field (30-for-55), with 44.4 percent (12-for-27) falling from distance. Central Arkansas hit 82.4 percent (28-for-34) from the line.

Carson Schwieger led the six Royals in double figures, booking 17 on 5-for-12 shooting (5-for-11 from three). Berman and Jabriel tallied 16 apiece, knocking down a combined 11-for-20. Chris Ashby scored 14 on 4-for-10 shooting, with Jordan Watford finishing with 11 on a 4-for-4 shooting effort. Nas Mann finished with 10, hitting 3-of-6 field goal attempts. Queens finished 29-for-58 from the field (50 percent), hitting 44.7 percent (17-for-38) from three. The Royals hit 71.4 percent (15-for-21) from the line.

Central Arkansas returns to the Farris Center in Conway, Ark., for a Saturday game with Eastern Kentucky. Tip time is set for 4:30 (Eastern), with streaming over ESPN+. Queens travels to Freedom Hall in Louisville for a 2:00 start against Bellarmine Saturday. ESPN+ will also stream that contest.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 100, QUEENS 90

CENTRAL ARKANSAS (11-10, 6-2 ASUN)

Hunter 12-18 3-5 31, Guy-King 2-11 8-8 13, Robinson 3-4 2-2 11, Marable 0-0 0-0 0, Moore 4-5 11-14 19, Byrne 0-3 0-0 0, Lee 1-1 0-0 2, Beauchamp 1-2 0-0 3, Applegate 1-1 0-0 2, McCormick 6-10 4-5 19. Totals 30-55 28-34 100.

QUEENS (12-10, 7-2)

Mann 3-6 2-2 10, Parker 2-5 2-3 6, Ashby 4-10 2-2 14, Schwieger 5-12 2-2 17, Berman 5-10 4-6 16, Watford 4-4 3-6 11, Celestin 0-0 0-0 0, Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Larson 0-0 0-0 0, Jabriel 6-10 0-0 16. Totals 29-58 15-21 90.

Halftime:  Queens 45-40. 3-Point goals:  Queens 17-38 (Mann 2-3, Ashby 4-10, Schwieger 5-11, Berman 2-7, Jabriel 4-7), Central Arkansas 12-27 (Hunter 4-6, Guy-King 1-8, Robinson 3-3, Moore 0-1, Burne 0-3, Beauchamp 1-2, McCormick 3-4). Parker (QUC).  Rebounds:  Central Arkansas 31 (Guy-King 8), Queens 26 (Mann/Berman 5). Total fouls:  Queens 25, Central Arkansas 20. Technicals:  NA.

 

Johnnies extend win streak to seven with commanding rout of Butler

Dillon Mitchell flushes dunk in second half en route to another double-double as St. John’s earned seventh straight win with decisive defeat of Butler. (Photo by St. John’s Athletics)

By Jason Dimaio (@Jaydimaio)

NEW YORK — Before come-from-behind wins last week against Seton Hall and Xavier, Bryce Hopkins and his St. John’s teammates tapped into a level of resilience they did not know they had after a loss to Providence nearly four weeks ago.

Since that moment, though, the Red Storm has found another commodity just as precious.

Momentum.

St. John’s continued its winning ways Wednesday, completing a season sweep of Butler by dominating the Bulldogs from start to finish in a 92-70 thrashing before a crowd of 14,361 inside Madison Square Garden.

“It feels great,” Zuby Ejiofor remarked as the Johnnies won their seventh straight game behind his 15 points and a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double from Dillon Mitchell. “I think we’re finally starting to get it, and are starting to understand Coach Pitino and his system.”

In a week of milestones that started with head coach Rick Pitino collecting his 900th career win Saturday, Ejiofor moved closer to one of his own with his effort Wednesday. The senior is now just one point shy of 1,000 markers in a St. John’s uniform, which he will get on the road next Tuesday at DePaul barring any unforeseen circumstances.

St. John’s (16-5, 9-1 Big East) jumped on Butler from the start, opening up leads of 12-2 and 20-6 as its revamped starting lineup continued to pay dividends since Pitino inserted Mitchell into his opening five earlier this month. The Cincinnati transfer has blossomed into an all-Big East-caliber player since then, averaging 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in his last four games. Mitchell’s 13 boards Wednesday were a season-best, and marked his third double-double in the Red Storm’s last four contests.

“I think it was our inadequate situation at point guard that allowed him to really flourish,” Pitino said of Mitchell. “I’m really having a fun time watching him play. That’s not something I say too often about a player. He reminds me of another coach on the floor as opposed to a player. He knows how to play without the ball and he knows how to play with the ball. He just makes everybody better.”

Four different Johnnies scored in the double digits, with Ian Jackson (18 points) and Joson Sanon (13) joined Ejiofor and Mitchell in that category. Oziyah Sellers and Sadiku Ibine Ayo were not far behind, recording nine and eight points, respectively.

In the first half, Pitino opted to go to one of his signature hockey line changes, as he often has done this year, bringing in Sanon, Ruben Prey and

Dylan Darling. And much like some other recent games, Butler saw a chance to take advantage and did. The Bulldogs used a 16-6 run to draw within six points late in the opening stanza, but after missing each of its first seven three-point attempts, St. John’s caught fire, making all of its last five going into the locker room.

Ibine Ayo was first to break the ice for the Red Storm, hitting the team’s first shot from deep to open the proverbial floodgates opened. Sellers and Sanon would follow with back-to-back long distance calls, helping the Johnnies take a 43-29 lead into halftime.

The second stanza continued in a similar vein to how the first half ended. Ejiofor and Mitchell imposed their will on Butler, who had no answer for the two big men.

Following a brief flurry that brought the Bulldogs to within a 47-38 margin after a Finley Bizjack jumper, St. John’s did not look back, outscoring Butler, 45-32, from that point to cruise to another win.

“It takes every guy on the team being committed to our team goals,” Mitchell said of his teammates’ buy-in on both sides of the ball. “We want to attack each and every game because this is a tough league to play in. We’re still working to put together 40 minutes consistently. It starts with every four minutes at a time, each segment, coming out with the right type of pressure and the right type of mindset.”

Now ranked once again after re-entering the Associated Press poll at No. 25 this past Monday, the Red Storm’s resurgence has garnered attention following a disappointing non-conference season. Expectations are beginning to ramp up outside the program a second time, but within the walls, it is business as usual.

“We move on from here,” Ejiofor said. “We’re never gonna think too far ahead. We’ll just approach each and every single day to the best of our abilities and see how far we can go.”

Sha Sounds Off: Xavier

On what changed in the second half:

“Yeah, just trying to find guys that want to play with energy and defend. Xavier’s a really good team, obviously the No. 1 shooting team in the Big East in three-point percentage, they’re No. 1 in assists, but to give up 41 points at halftime on your home court is unacceptable. We went in, watched a couple film, made some adjustments and kept them out of transition. I thought in the first half, they just were in transition, getting anything they wanted.”

On defending Tre Carroll:

“He’s a very good basketball player, the last couple games, he’s averaging 28 points a game, but he’s a hard drive left and the first couple guys, they didn’t listen to the scouting report. They let him go left and let him get out there and shoot some threes, and he just was too comfortable. I thought in the second half, we made him play a little faster than he wanted to play, and then when you start scoring and you start putting your pressure on him, and then we closed the lanes up. The first half, everything was so wide because they could shoot, guys were too wide, they weren’t in the lanes. The second half, we kept it kind of tight and I think that was the difference.”

On Jacob Dar:

“It was good. It was good for him, it was good for us. He’s a good basketball player, that’s why he’s on the team. He’s just gotta find his way. I keep telling him, just go out there and play with energy. Don’t worry about making mistakes, don’t worry about messing up. Just play with energy, play hard, and hit the offensive glass and slash. Like, you’re a 6’7 slasher. Slash and use your size and length to defend. I thought he did that in the second half for us.”

On Najai Hines battling back from foul trouble:

“That’s why I started him in the second half. He was sitting too long, and I got on him. I’ve been getting on him about him playing with energy and just playing like he used to play for us, hitting the offensive glass, getting rebounds. I thought he did a good job of that. I was worried with him a little bit because their five men pick and pop, and Najai’s not really fast laterally, so I thought that hurt us a little bit in the first half. But I thought overall, he did what I asked him to do: He played, he defended, he rebounded. We tried to get him the ball down low. This is the first game that nobody doubled him. The last five games, I’m throwing the ball to him and people are doubling him, so it’s the first game and it won’t show on the stat sheet, him scoring, but us trying to get a point to throw it down there and him throwing it back out there in shots or out there in drives, that was the case.”

On bright spots in the first half:

“When you keep them out of transition…they were just running the ball, which we knew. When you watch them, that’s how they play. I thought once we settled down, the last 10 minutes of the first half, I thought we settled down, I thought we made them play a little bit in the half-court, made them a little quicker. They played quick, made some guys handle the basketball that normally don’t handle the ball for them, and I thought that’s why we got some steals in the first half.”

On the importance of fan support:

“I can’t, Jerry. It’s important. It’s just really important. Thank you to the people that showed up today, there wasn’t a lot of people, but it got loud, though. So thank you to the people that are truly fans, like, real fans, and I’m not saying nothing bad about nobody, I don’t want nobody to think that. The people that came out tonight came out, and they were true fans, and it made a difference. Now obviously, this is an important stretch. I think if you’re a real Seton Hall fan, you understand that, so I don’t need to say too much about that. That kind of speaks for itself.”

On coaching from behind:

“I don’t like it either. It’s draining, but it is what it is, it’s draining. I think today was good for us, too. Today was the first time in a long time that we got a chance to come down here and get a shootaround in, and for the guys to get used to the rims, I thought we shot a lot of free throws and hit a lot of shots down here, so that was good. Anytime you can get in the building, it helps from a shooting standpoint, and for us to bounce back and shoot the ball from the free throw line the way we did, I thought that was important.”

On potential lineup changes:

“Oh, man! You guys won’t let that go, huh? I’m not really big with that for a lot of reasons, right? Because you’re gonna need everybody, and right now with this generation, everybody, they’re kind of sensitive, right? So if you start doing that, then you start losing people, and our team is not good enough for us to lose anybody. I was just saying on the radio, I know what Twin is gonna give us (TJ). So if I start Twin and we get off to a slow start, who do I go to? You almost gotta play chess and not checkers, and I know all you experts think that I should start lineups and stuff like that, but when you start doing that, you start messing with these young guys’ minds, and like I said, we’re not a team that, like, we don’t have studs. And I’m not disrespecting my team, I’m just…we need everybody. We need a Jacob Dar. We need Josh, who had a good stretch, we need Trey, who had a good stretch. Twin. We need Mike, who was playing well for us. Elijah’s got the most experience on our team. We gotta get him going because we need him, you know what I mean? So I don’t want to take those guys’ confidence away by doing that, but I make adjustments throughout the game, and with me, it’s not about who starts, it’s about who finishes. And if you’re a basketball player, that’s all you care about, finishing the game.”

On his vision with Seton Hall’s rotation:

“I want to play nine, ten guys double-figure minutes. Some nights, it’s gonna be like that, some nights it’s not. It all depends on the way the game is going. I thought Elijah came out trying to be aggressive and missed a couple shots, Steph came out very aggressive, missed some shots and he got messed up because the fans got into that and it kind of messed him up. That’s why I went to Godswill, who’s played here and understood it. Najai got into foul trouble, I wanted to start him in the second half to make sure he had some juice going, so each night is different. Some nights, it might be ten guys, some nights it might be eight. It all depends on…Trey Parker was in foul trouble, so he couldn’t go too much. I like that group that started the second half, so I’m big with staying with a group that’s got it going, right? So I stayed with that group for a while. Maybe too long, but it’s just a feel.”

On making shots making a difference:

“Jerry, you know I’m saying experts, it’s everybody. It’s not geared towards you. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to talk bad about you.”

Jerry Carino: “We’ve been doing this a long time.”

Sha: “Yes sir.”

“It makes a big difference, especially with young guys. Sometimes, that’s all these young guys care about is scoring. I could harp about a lot of things, but they care about scoring. It’s funny, we scored 86 points, and the biggest difference is I’ve been on Budd Clark and Trey about pushing the basketball. Like today, (Clark) pushed the basketball and we got a lot of easy baskets because of that. He has to do that. God gave him a gift to be really quick and really fast. Use that to your ability, because if you don’t, we don’t have Patrick Ewing or somebody…these guys don’t know who Patrick Ewing is. But we don’t have a dominant big man where you just slow the game down and throw the ball down low. We gotta play quick, we gotta play fast. He’s gotta push it, he’s gotta get guys running, he’s gotta get Twin an open shot, an open three in transition. He’s gotta get A.J. one, he’s gotta get some layups. But when we don’t do that, it’s tough for us because we’re not built to really play half-court like that all the time.”

UConn toughs out win over Providence, completes season sweep of Friars

Tarris Reed, Jr. led UConn with 19 points as Huskies completed season sweep of Providence. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press) 

By Pete Janny (@pete_janny)

STORRS, Conn. — UConn escaped an embattled Providence team, 87-81, on Tuesday night at Gampel Pavilion. The win raised the No. 2 Huskies’ collective body of work to 20-1 on the season, their best start to a campaign since 1998-99. 

On Tuesday night, UConn needed to rely on its veterans to clinch the season series sweep of the Friars. That meant going to Solo Ball and Tarris Reed, Jr. when it was a one-possession game at times down the stretch. The pair combined for 12 of UConn’s last 18 points, which included Reed picking off the Friars at midcourt and surging for a fastbreak jam to extend the Huskies’ lead to eight in the final minute. 

A lot happened in the second half that Dan Hurley will take delight in after enduring a strange first half that saw UConn make eight threes, but only lead by four (41-37) at halftime. The defense was mostly lazy, while Providence big man Oswin Erhunmwunse had his way down low and kept possessions alive for the Friars. But Providence suffered its own self-inflicted damage with fouls, putting the Huskies in the bonus by the 13:55 mark of the opening stanza. UConn missed five free throws in the first half, but was able to make the Friars pay for their shoddy three-point defense. 

Jamier Jones was a factor for the Friars, and continued to step up with Jason Edwards still sidelined due to plantar fasciitis. The freshman had five of nine points during a 9-0 run that cut the UConn lead from 10, its largest of the night, down to just one with 7:01 left in the first half. 

Coming out of the break, Providence poured in the first four points of the second half to tie the score at 41. UConn responded with a pair of baskets from freshman Eric Reibe before Silas Demary, Jr. canned back-to-back triples to force a Friar timeout with the Huskies ahead, 53-46. The timely threes continued with an additional pair from Malachi Smith, who normally doesn’t draw significant attention as a shooter, but was able to hit a pair of threes in each half to finish a perfect 4-for-4 from distance. The four triples were a career high for the Bronx native. 

“The story of the game was getting Malachi back,” Hurley said. 

Additionally, Smith and Demary were able to feed Reed and Reibe at will inside. The duo combined for 13 helpers, led by Smith’s seven, and neither committed a single turnover. Alex Karaban tied his career-high with seven assists to offset a 3-for-14 night from the field, ending the evening with a deceptively strong eight points and nine rebounds to go with those seven dimes, flirting with a triple-double. 

While UConn was outscored 38-34 in the paint, it was Reed whose impact was still the loudest. He finished with 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting in only 19 minutes due to foul trouble. UConn is at its best when running the offense inside through Reed, while hitting enough threes to keep the defense guessing at what comes next. UConn loves to feed the hot hand, and it’s almost a sure-shot win when four players hit multiple threes, which happened Tuesday. 

Because of Reed’s big night, it was easy to lose sight of Reibe’s impact, which amounted to an impressive 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting. His 21 minutes played were the most for the freshman since clocking 26 minutes against East Texas A&M on December 5. Having the extra big body in Reibe is going to go a long way when the physicality turns up a notch against St. John’s and throughout March.

Despite sitting pretty at 20-1, Hurley keeps coming back to people trying to compare this year’s team with the 2023-24 behemoth that produced four NBA players. While he’s seen a lot of good things and boasts a richness of depth, Hurley feels there are still certain things holding this year’s Huskies back from crushing teams. Tonight, the defensive struggles early on and a few missed threes on naked looks in the first half prevented them from pushing Providence to the point of breaking. But give credit where it’s due. The Friars played two tight games against the Huskies, the first of which they arguably deserved to win before falling in overtime.

“We’ve got issues if we want to be destroying people, but we’re winning,” Hurley said. “Everyone wants to see this team destroy teams like the ’24 team, but we’re just not there yet.”

Hurley, who demands perfection, knows the fans will keep nitpicking, and so will he. But in the immediate aftermath of hitting 11 threes and assisting 23 times on 29 makes, this program deserves to rest on its laurels with a month and change left until March. 

“The monster we created was the ’23 and ’24 teams,” Hurley explained. “Obviously, the ’24 team obliterated people, so everyone wants to see this ’26 team play like the ’24 team. I think we have a chance to get there.”

UConn may be resembling a championship team, just not the one you’d expect

UConn’s present team has drawn comparisons to 2024 Huskies, but more closely resembles 2023 title-winning outfit (above) with its ability to find ways to win while working out kinks. (Photo by NCAA)

HARTFORD, Conn. — At a program considered to be among the elite of its sport, it becomes standard practice to eventually be compared to past champions.

At the University of Connecticut, whose six national championships since 1999 are twice as many as any other school has won in that span, the comparisons only grow stronger.

This year’s UConn team, ranked second in the country with just one four-point loss on its record through 20 games, has inevitably been measured against the 2023-24 outfit that could be considered the greatest college basketball team of the century. However, it is actually another crop of title-winning Huskies that bears the more striking resemblance upon closer examination.

“I feel like it’s more like the ’23 team,” head coach Dan Hurley observed Saturday, when UConn needed overtime to prevail against Villanova. “There’s things we’re still working through. We were awesome in the non-conference in ’23, and then we had issues in league (play). Obviously anytime you play, as a coach, you’re chasing a full 40-minute game where you’re excellent on offense, defense and rebounding. We’re just not there yet.”

The 2022-23 Huskies were also the No. 2 team in the nation at a point, its highest ranking in a year where UConn started 14-0 before losing six of its next nine games, completing a tumultuous month of January that Hurley still speaks of in infamous tones to this day. This team has been able to sustain its depth and talent enough to win the close games it lost three years ago, but the killer instinct Hurley has clamored for still needs to be developed further.

“I think we’ve got a will to win,” he said. “We don’t have an ability to sustain the level of basketball that we need to play at both ends of the court to be like we were in ’24. I think that sometimes as a coach, that last great team that you have, you’re kind of measuring this team up against the deficiencies that we have here.”

“We’re 19-1, we’ve won 15 in a row, we’re 9-0 in the league. The season’s kind of gone great for us, but my responsibility as a coach is to be concerned about the things that will prevent us from winning the Big East regular season, winning the Big East tournament, getting to the Final Four, trying to win a national championship. We’re just not playing at that level yet. It’s late January. We gotta get this shit tied up within the next weeks or month.”

Alex Karaban, who was a redshirt freshman on the 2023 national championship team, sees the similarities then and now, and also recognizes the muscle memory and championship DNA as a major piece of the current unit’s success.

“We’re not at UConn just because we’re satisfied with being 19-1,” he said. “We always nitpick and see what we want to do better, but at the same time, we’ve all gotta take a step back and realize that, yeah, we’ve put in a lot of hard work. Yes, these games have been close and we’ve found ways to win, but we’re grateful and blessed to be 19-1, and we’re just gonna continue to stack wins.”

Once the calendar turned to February 2023, UConn only lost twice more that season, by a grand total of five points. The Huskies found ways to win, just as they have this season with nine single-digit victories and seven by five points or less. The one thing missing so far this season is the higher gear that was found in February and March, something both Hurley and his players are jointly striving to recapture.

“Just like in ’23, that month of January was bad and we just got better from it,” Karaban said. “We’re gonna continue to learn, and that’s the same thing with this year, too. We’re winning games and we’re just gonna continue to find ways to win, but I truly believe that this team can be a championship team. I think we have the talent, I think we have the depth that those two championship teams had. We’re not there yet, we gotta get better every single day, but I definitely see the vision, I definitely see the potential and how good this team can be.”

Husky rebounding, literally and figuratively, a chief concern for Hurley as UConn moves forward

Silas Demary, Jr. (left) and Tarris Reed, Jr. (right) fight Villanova’s Acaden Lewis for rebound in UConn’s win over Wildcats Saturday. Head coach Dan Hurley has voiced continued concern over Huskies’ rebounding issues. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)

HARTFORD, Conn. — During his tenure as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, Pat Riley issued a stern, but simple warning to his team.

“No rebounds, no rings.”

The Showtime Lakers had one of the best collections of all-time talent then, with Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar donning the purple and gold, but for all their exploits on the scoreboard, Riley knew the number of points scored would not be as integral to reaching the summit of the NBA as winning the battle of the boards every night.

It is somewhat ironic that the Lakers preface the struggles that UConn has faced on the glass this season, given that head coach Dan Hurley notoriously turned down the siren song of the iconic NBA franchise less than two years ago to remain in Storrs, but it is somewhat apropos as the Huskies chase a third national championship in four seasons. Hurley has voiced his concerns about this iteration of UConn not matching the tenacity his championship outfits, particularly the 2023-24 team, displayed on the glass, and after only outrebounding Villanova by three in Saturday’s overtime win, the coach again stressed the importance of climbing the ladder, both on the backboards and in the long run.

“One of my biggest concerns is the rebounding,” he said after the Huskies eked out a 42-39 margin in their favor. “The rebounding is an issue. You can’t win championships unless you’re…Villanova’s a smaller team. Duke Brennan is an ass-kicker, but Tyler Perkins, that guy went and got ten rebounds (Saturday). Our wings and our guards need to get on the glass.”

“Our guys on the perimeter gotta rebound the ball like Tristen Newton used to rebound the ball, like Steph Castle used to rebound the ball, like Cam Spencer used to rebound the ball, like Andre Jackson used to rebound the ball. We’re just not rebounding the ball.”

On the year, UConn, even with a 19-1 record and ranked second in the country, is only averaging 37 rebounds per game. The Huskies’ opponents average just 32.2 per contest, equating to almost a plus-4.8 margin. By comparison, Hurley’s two national championship teams outrebounded their opposition by 9.2 (2022-23) and 8.7 (2023-24), respectively. Even last year’s Huskies, eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by eventual champion Florida, measured a plus-6 mark on the boards.

This season, only two players — Tarris Reed, Jr. and Alex Karaban — are pulling down more than five rebounds per game. Each has picked up his numbers in Big East play, but Hurley is still hoping for further improvement. In the case of Reed, who the coaching staff has implored to play with more of a killer instinct and a Kodiak bear mentality, the 8.1 caroms per game (8.6 in conference games) still leave much more to be desired.

“Tarris has gotta rebound the ball at a higher clip,” a frustrated Hurley adamantly emphasized. “Tarris in the second half (Saturday), he can’t end the game with four defensive rebounds. Tarris should have had 15 today…15 rebounds, 16 rebounds. So we gotta get there.”

UConn too much for Seton Hall as Huskies move to 21-0

By Ray Floriani (@rfloriani)

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — The game was moved up a day due to an impending storm set to strike the Northeast.

As it turned out, another storm went through Walsh Gymnasium on Saturday, as top-ranked UConn defeated Seton Hall, 92-52, improving to 21-0.

Seton Hall (14-6, 8-3 Big East) started fast, getting out to a 6-0 start and forcing UConn coach Geno Auriemma to call the game’s first timeout. The Huskies responded using an inside/outside combination, with Azzi Fudd burying three of UConn’s four three-pointers. Seton Hall held a 15-13 lead before UConn went on a 9-0 run. At the end of the first period, the Huskies held a 25-17 lead.

The second stanza saw UConn post another 25 points while imposing its pressure defense, allowing the Pirates just 11 points. UConn took a 50-28 lead into halftime, a lead that would not be seriously challenged in the final 20 minutes.

Points of Emphasis

Defense: UConn’s defense was outstanding. The Huskies forced 27 turnovers for a 30 percent turnover rate. Utilizing the coaching axiom of defense being your best offense, UConn held a resounding 37-12 advantage on points off turnovers. Auriemma’s Huskies will show some full-court pressure and in the half-court, double-team the opposing point guard as she gets over halfcourt. But it’s not all about schemes. There is no category in the stat sheet for deflections. If there were, UConn’s final number would be off the charts. And what makes the Husky defense so effective is its length and ability to disrupt and clog the passing lanes.

Auriemma gave an interesting postgame assessment of his team’s dynamics.

“They want to have a great team,” he said. “They come to practice ready to go for the most part. I’ve enjoyed coaching them. I don’t know who our captains are, who our leaders are. I think individually and collectively, they push each other and hold each other accountable. We have enough good players, and if you don’t play the way we want, you won’t play a lot. It’s ‘I gotta earn my minutes.’ It’s not like the last three years and Paige (Bueckers) says, ‘what are you gonna do, take me out?’”

“It’s been fun coaching them. Part of them probably says we lost the best player in the country and we’re able to do what we’ve been doing. I’m really proud of that.”

Offense: The Huskies post an average 120 offensive efficiency, third-best nationally. On the afternoon, they checked in at 121. They spread the wealth with four players in double figures.

Interestingly, two came off the bench. Sarah Strong led the way with 17 points. Blanca Quiñonez (16), Fudd (14) and Allie Ziebell (11) were the other double-digit scorers.

UConn leads the nation with a 69 defensive efficiency. The Huskies limited Seton Hall to 67. Their lowest offensive efficiency was 62 in their first loss to UConn, earlier this month in Hartford.

UConn does a great job getting in the lane via penetration. The Huskies are adept at making that extra pass and finding an open cutter. Their 25 assists on 35 field goals in this matchup is a testament to that. Just to keep the defense honest, UConn shoots 39 percent from beyond the arc.

Mariana Valenzuela had another solid effort for Seton Hall. Valenzuela scored the first six points of the game en route to a game-high 18 points. The Pirates’ senior forward battled throughout adding a game-high eight rebounds to complement her scoring. Savannah Catalon was The Hall’s other double-figure scorer, with 13 points. Fudd had praise for the job Catalon is doing with Jada Eads sidelined for the season due to a torn ACL.

“She’s super talented and super skilled,” Fudd said of Catalon. “You have to keep her in front of you, as she can score on three levels. She’s done a really good job. Having someone out isn’t ideal, but they’ve done a great job adjusting.”

Jada Eads: Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella declined meeting with the media postgame due to illness. I caught up with Jada Eads who, as noted, is out for the season with a torn ACL. An excellent player and fierce competitor, Eads can only watch from the sideline in between physical therapy sessions. We discussed her post-op therapy, saying it was going very well. With her upbeat mindset, she concluded our brief talk saying, “I’ll be back.”

Numbers and notes: One of the most amazing numbers came from Seton Hall associate athletic director for communications Matt Sweeney, who doubled as the public address announcer. Seton Hall led UConn for 4:13 in the game. That is the longest the Huskies have trailed in any of their contests this season.

UConn has now won 43 consecutive games over the Pirates. Seton Hall’s last win over UConn was in January of 1994. The Pirates’ coach back then, Phyllis Mangina, was in attendance Saturday.

For the game, UConn shot 58 percent from the floor, including 11-of-29 from three-point range. Seton Hall checked in at 31 percent shooting and 5-for-25 from long distance. The Huskies held a narrow 32-31 advantage on the boards, but showed an outstanding 45-10 difference in bench points.

UConn hosts Xavier on Wednesday in its next contest. Seton Hall had a four-game winning streak

snapped. The Pirates have won seven of their last nine, with both setbacks coming against UConn.

Seton Hall will travel to Georgetown to face the

Hoyas on Thursday in a school day game at 11 a.m.