A higher power and master motivation have unlocked aggression in UConn’s big bear

Tarris Reed, Jr. blocks a shot by St. John’s Bryce Hopkins, one of six rejections for UConn’s center as Huskies walloped Red Storm Wednesday. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)

HARTFORD, Conn. — So noticeable was the impact Tarris Reed, Jr. made on UConn’s frontcourt in each of the past two games that prompted head coach Dan Hurley to describe his senior center as the man who makes the Huskies’ motor run.

And after Reed followed up what Hurley called his best game in a UConn uniform Saturday with another world-class performance in Wednesday’s annihilation of St. John’s, the praise grew even more effusive.

“He was just the guy,” Hurley said Wednesday. “He was a presence at the rim as a deterrent, his ball screen defense, rebounds, post position and his passing out of traps…if he does that, this team’s gonna have a great rest of the way.”

To know Reed is to understand the humility with which the 6-foot-11 gentle giant plays the game and wreaks havoc on both ends of the floor. Grounded in his devout faith, the Michigan transfer is grateful to Jesus Christ for bestowing the gift of basketball upon him, and credited his force to the higher power in the wake of Wednesday’s massive victory.

“That fire comes from one man only,” he reiterated. “That’s Jesus, man. I get all my strength, my confidence, my everything from Him. Just being the Word, staying grounded, keeping my faith in Him through the ups and downs, through all the trials, and just being out there playing with joy.”

“It’s my last year of college basketball. Through the wins, through the losses, through the injuries, He’s been there by me. My fire comes from Him. That’s my passion, my drive, my everything.”

Reed set the tone early and often Wednesday, going to work on Big East Player of the Year frontrunner Zuby Ejiofor and establishing a paint presence as sixth-ranked UConn fed off a charged-up PeoplesBank Arena crowd. The atmosphere contributed to an 18-0 first-half run that put St. John’s down 20 points heading into the latter stages of the first half.

The Huskies did not stop there, however, as the early spurt was merely a precursor to an all-time defensive performance that held the Red Storm without a field goal for the final 17:28 of regulation, missing its last 24 shots from the floor and scoring only on free throws from that point forward as part of a 2-for-28 effort in the second half.

And after being outplayed by Ejiofor, who went for 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in St. John’s win over UConn on February 6, Reed flipped the script Wednesday, pouring in 20 points to pair with 11 rebounds and a career-high-tying six blocked shots.

“We were just coming into this game looking at the last game (against St. John’s),” Reed said after UConn turned the tables on the Johnnies with a 42-12 edge in the paint. “How I played against (Ejiofor), how we played against him, what could we do better? Not really trying to focus too much on St. John’s, but as a collective group, seeing the good, the bad, the ugly, and really adjusting for this game.”

“This game, ever since we lost, we circled on that Big East calendar. So it’s great to go out there, dominate and really have fun doing it.”

Hurley challenged Reed once again to unleash his fifth gear, and over the past two games, it appears that the big man has not only delivered, but raised it a level as the Huskies chase down a Big East championship and possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UConn’s coach was asked how he was able to keep Reed focused and inspired, and was convinced his senior rim protector could do that on his own.

“Everyone knows,” Hurley said. “Everyone knows when he plays like this, this is what we look like. This is a team that looks like it’s as good as any team, we all know that.”

The attention on Reed’s last few rounds of college basketball has been diminished somewhat by the imminent departure of his teammate, Alex Karaban, after four-and-a-half years in Storrs. But that has not stopped the man described as a big bear by UConn’s resident zookeeper from poking and prodding ever so slightly to entice more mauling at a time where attacks are most critical.

“He’s at the end of his career,” Hurley intoned. “He’s gotta do it. The place that he left, Michigan, is having a monster year. He transferred to UConn. If he plays up to his ability, we could play at the level of the place that he played at before when he plays like this. If he wants to be a draft pick, if he wants to win championships, he’ll keep showing up like that.”

UConn 72, St. John’s 40: Inside the Numbers

Solo Ball exults as UConn avenges loss to St. John’s earlier this month with 72-40 thrashing of Red Storm Wednesday. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)

HARTFORD, Conn. — A second-half lockdown, a measure of revenge, an emphatic declaration that one of the powers of the Big East is still very much alive.

All of those superlatives accurately describe UConn’s 72-40 domination of St. John’s Wednesday night, a matchup between a pair of Top 15 teams that had won 30 of their 33 combined conference games entering the contest.

However, as is often the case, some of the stats tell just as significant a story as any words could, so to borrow a feature from my southern bureau chief, Brian Wilmer, let’s go…Inside the Numbers!

2 and 28: The numbers of field goals made, and field goals attempted, by St. John’s in the second half. The 15th-ranked Red Storm missed each of its last 24 shots from the field, a performance Rick Pitino took full accountability for in his postgame media scrum outside the Johnnies’ locker room.

“Give them all the credit,” the hall of fame coach reflected. “It’s all on me. I’m very disappointed in our performance offensively, especially sharing the ball (and) moving the ball. All I know is we didn’t play good offense. We did things we’ve never done, and again, that’s something I gotta question about myself. The team did not do the things we’ve done in the last 13 games.”

17:28: The time remaining in regulation in which St. John’s made its 11th and last field goal of the night. The Red Storm shot a meager 19.6 percent from the floor Wednesday, the first time UConn held an opponent under 20 percent shooting since 2011, when the Huskies defeated Butler to win Jim Calhoun’s third and final national championship.

“I think it’s (about) taking pride in the defensive end, just individual matchups, just really guarding our yard,” Alex Karaban said. “And then just having trust in one another, trust that we’re gonna help each other out. I think we lost that trust for some moments, and we didn’t take as much pride during the moments when we didn’t play great defense. Now we’re getting back to that level that we’ve gotta sustain for the rest of the year.”

Wednesday’s stranglehold marked the first time any team held an opponent under 20 percent since November 18, 2014, when Kentucky turned the trick against Kansas in the Champions Classic. Ironically, the Jayhawks also shot 11-for-56 just as St. John’s did, and also in a 72-40 loss.

32: The 72-40 final score set a record for the largest margin of victory against a ranked team at home, and the 40 points scored by St. John’s is the lowest output for any Rick Pitino team in a career that spans parts of six decades. Both of those stats are courtesy of CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.

In a purely coincidental twist of fate, Jared Kotler of the Connecticut Scoreboard Podcast also shared that UConn also defeated Xavier by 32 points in Hartford when the Huskies picked up a 92-60 victory over the Musketeers on February 3. Xavier’s coach, of course, is Rick Pitino’s son, Richard.

1: Sometimes the loneliest number, but on this night representative of the turnover total for UConn point guard Silas Demary, Jr. against St. John’s suffocating pressure defense. Demary’s ability to handle the relentless attack of the Johnnies had come under fire leading up to Wednesday’s game, as the junior had committed 19 giveaways between his two prior meetings with the Red Storm. As a whole, the sixth-ranked Huskies only registered five miscues for the contest, the last of which was a shot clock violation in the final seconds with the game already very much in hand.

42-12: The margin by which UConn outscored St. John’s in the paint, a stark contrast from its loss to the Red Storm on February 6, when the trio of Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell had their way with the Huskies. This time around, Tarris Reed, Jr. led the hosts with 20 points and 11 rebounds, limiting Ejiofor to just six markers and four boards. Karaban contributed 14 points to the winning cause while Hopkins, his matchup for most of the evening, labored to eight points on 3-of-14 shooting.

31: The number of wins for Karaban at PeoplesBank Arena, where he played Wednesday for the final time in one of the most decorated careers in the sport. The senior forward’s lone loss in the former home of the Hartford Whalers came as a freshman, when UConn was defeated by — coincidentally — St. John’s in January of 2023, during the last of former coach Mike Anderson’s four seasons in the Big Apple. Wednesday’s victory extended a Hartford win streak for UConn to 27 consecutive games, a number that will next have the opportunity to grow in November, whenever the Huskies play their first home game in Connecticut’s state capital.

UConn’s dismantling of St. John’s an indicator of Huskies’ ceiling when everything clicks

Tarris Reed, Jr. finishes dunk as UConn overpowered St. John’s Wednesday to retake Big East lead. (Photo by Jessica Hill/Associated Press)

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn did not just beat St. John’s Wednesday.

It systematically broke the Big East leader down, rendered it anemic, and handed a Hall of Fame coach with over a half-century of experience in the sport his worst-ever margin of defeat.

Much will be said of the sixth-ranked Huskies’ 72-40 demolition of the Red Storm at PeoplesBank Arena, one in which UConn (26-3, 16-2 Big East) conceded only two field goals to St. John’s after halftime, the last of which came just two minutes and 32 seconds out of the intermission. That will be explained further in another space at a later time, but the main takeaway is this: If you are a coach and THIS UConn team is the one opposite yours in either the Big East or NCAA Tournament, may the odds be ever in your favor.

“Pain forces people to change,” Dan Hurley posited after an historic defensive effort rendered St. John’s into the lowest points scored by a Rick Pitino-coached team. “I think the pain of that Creighton game, the pain of that St. John’s game at MSG, has done something.”

The most notable side effect of those losses in the past two weeks? The re-emergence of Tarris Reed, Jr. after a regrettable showing a week ago against Creighton. Reed played arguably his best game as a Husky on Wednesday, scoring 20 points to add to 11 rebounds and six blocked shots on a night where his counterpart, Zuby Ejiofor, was no more effective than any of his teammates as the Johnnies shot under 20 percent from the floor.

“This season’s gonna go the way Tarris goes,” Hurley declared. “That’s a repeatable performance for him. The guy’s bolstering defense was off the charts. His presence on the glass, his ability not just to have a guy when people pressure around the perimeter to throw it into…the thing with Tarris is he could repeat that. And if he repeats that, we’re not gonna lose many more games the rest of the way.”

“Through pain, through suffering, that’s where you get the true testament of a man,” Reed added. “When you come out on top, you go through the fire, you go through adversity and you come out victorious, it takes a lot for every man. And that’s all a credit to the guys around me, the coaches, especially Coach Hurley.”

A switch was flipped after halftime of UConn’s game Saturday against Villanova, a contest the Huskies gained control of with a run to close the first half and never let go of after the intermission. Wednesday was somewhat similar, just with an earlier and more lethal strike in the form of an 18-0 run to turn a two-point game into a 20-point advantage that, when concluded, resembled the Huskies’ dismantling of Marquette two years ago in a matchup of Top 5 programs on the same floor in Hartford.

“We just kind of went through a stretch of just letting things slide,” Silas Demary, Jr. said. “And when we locked back in all the way, doing the things that we needed to do, our ceiling is what we showed (Wednesday).”

“We’re competing for a Big East regular season championship right now,” Alex Karaban expounded. “And ultimately if we were to lose this game, St. John’s would have a big advantage heading to the rest of the year. So we knew what was at stake. We knew how important this win was for us, and we just kind of kept playing with that fire.”

In a somewhat coincidental twist of fate, UConn faced a similar tipping point two years ago after a loss to Creighton, one in which the then-top-ranked Huskies were run out of the building in a 19-point Bluejay win in Omaha. This season’s loss came at Gampel Pavilion, but the response and the psychological effects have been the same. And when the shark tastes its own blood, it usually becomes bad news for its enemies.

“We’ve got three chances to win championships this year,” Hurley reiterated. “They wanted to keep alive our chances of winning one of them, which is the regular season, then the Big East tournament. And obviously you’ve got Final Fours and things like that.”

“We’ve played well like this at other times, too. We beat Illinois by double-figure points. We beat Florida, who’s a national championship contender. We beat BYU when they had Richie Saunders and they had a full group, we won one on the road at Kansas. We’ve had other wins. This wasn’t our first good one.”

UConn needs its big bear against big St. John’s frontline to save Big East title hopes

Tarris Reed, Jr. (5) will need to replicate his performance against Villanova Wednesday if UConn is to defeat St. John’s and keep Big East championship hopes alive. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

HARTFORD, Conn. — Tarris Reed, Jr. might not be the most critical component of UConn’s arsenal every night, but on Wednesday, the 6-foot-11 center is arguably its most important.

The Huskies will need their “big bear,” as head coach Dan Hurley has dubbed Reed, against 15th-ranked St. John’s, who enters PeoplesBank Arena Wednesday having won 13 straight games and seeking further separation in the Big East Conference standings as its championship defense enters its final stages.

The Red Storm also possesses perhaps the most physically imposing frontcourt in the Big East, with Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell complementing the league’s likely player of the year in Zuby Ejiofor. Therefore, Reed, and by extension, Eric Reibe and Alex Karaban, will be leaned on more heavily to try to match the muscle presented by the Johnnies.

“I think for us, it’s about playing really, really hard,” Hurley said Tuesday. “It’s about when a shot goes up, you’re hitting first rather than getting hit. When you play guys like Hopkins and Ejiofor, they’re some of the most physical players at their position. (St. John’s) guards are physical. Just from the point of trying to inbound the ball, it’s physical all the way up until the shots go up. They make it hard on you to get the ball inbounds. You’ve gotta be able to fight through contact, you’ve gotta be able to fight through being held, and you’ve gotta be able to fight when the ball goes up on the backboard because everything is a fight with them.”

In UConn’s 81-72 loss to St. John’s in the first meeting between the two this season, on February 6 at Madison Square Garden, the Huskies were outrebounded by a 32-26 margin, with Reed being defeated on the boards in a 10-6 count against Ejiofor. The Michigan transfer has been challenged several times this season to channel his aggression more frequently, and his performance Saturday against Villanova is something Hurley hopes can be a building block down the stretch.

“I think Tarris played his best game as a UConn player versus Villanova because of the embarrassing loss that we had at home (against Creighton),” Hurley said. “Going into that first St. John’s game, you couldn’t build Ejiofor up more than we had in the leadup to that game. Hopefully something clicked for Tarris after the Creighton game, because his ball screen defense, his rim protection, his screening, his post-ups were all the best that they’ve been since he’s been here.”

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino anticipates UConn attacking the Johnnies differently Wednesday, believing his team will see a bigger lineup at times compared to the first encounter nearly three weeks ago. While there is no way to effectively simulate just how physical the Red Storm will be on the floor, Hurley did acknowledge the pressure will be constant wherever the ball lands.

“They put a lot of pressure on the paint,” he conceded. “They drive it, they get on the glass, they put you under constant pressure. They play an incredibly aggressive style of basketball. There’s a ton of physicality going on, and they’re disciplined. (Pitino’s) one of the best coaches, he’s able to get his guys to play aggressively like that, but still have a discipline.”

With three games remaining in the regular season, UConn sits a half-game behind St. John’s at the moment, with Seton Hall and Marquette remaining on the schedule before the Big East tournament. Hurley is not getting caught up in the postseason chatter, or where the Huskies may lie on the NCAA Tournament bracket, where most projections have the Huskies as no worse than a No. 2 seed. Winning the regular season conference crown for a second time in three seasons is of higher importance, and Reed’s battle with Ejiofor, while important, is just part of the process.

“I don’t think I’m gonna go in and mostly be concerned with who wins the matchup as much as just us winning the game,” Hurley said. “If he outplays Ejiofor, that obviously helps our chances.” 

A-to-B approach has been most instrumental in St. Joe’s turnaround

Dasear Haskins (7) drives inside during Saint Joseph’s win over Loyola Saturday. Haskins has helped engineer resurgence that places Hawks in contention for top-four finish in Atlantic 10. (Photo by Saint Joseph’s University Athletics)

By Jake Copestick (@JakeCopestick)

PHILADELPHIA — Saturday afternoon’s matinee at Hagan Arena was a microcosm of the team that the Saint Joseph’s Hawks have become.

The Hawks, now 17-10 overall, and 9-5 in Atlantic 10 play, can have lulls at times offensively, but Steve Donahue’s team picks up the slack in other areas. 

When the scoring wasn’t there, the Hawks found ways to pull away from Loyola-Chicago, winning 75-61 at Hagan Arena to remain in fourth place in the conference, still holding on to a double-bye spot in the A-10 tournament that tips off in Pittsburgh in a little over two weeks. 

St. Joe’s defended, kept the Ramblers off the offensive glass, and didn’t turn the ball over. In a season that started off rocky, this is what the Hawks have molded themselves into.

“This is kind of our DNA right now,” Donahue proudly said. “We struggle sometimes on the offensive end, not from an execution point, but the ability to be consistent with our shotmaking. We don’t turn the ball over, we don’t give up offensive rebounds, and we really compete on the defensive end.”

Most importantly, St. Joe’s was unfazed by a mid-second-half run by the Ramblers, who cut a Hawk lead that was as high as 17 points down to four with ten minutes left, thanks to a barrage of threes after going 0-for-10 in the first half. When the Ramblers got hot, and St. Joe’s went cold shooting the ball, the Hawks found other ways to cruise to a double-digit victory.

The “A to B” mentality that Donahue has preached that turned their season around is a part of this team now: A mentality that emphasizes getting from one play to the next one, and one objective to another, without being rattled by what came before.

“Before we started our A-to-B campaign, that buried us, those runs,” Donahue recalled. “(We) did it in the first semester. I love that we don’t hang our heads when someone makes a run. We answered (Loyola’s) punch.”

After going the entire first half without a three, Loyola-Chicago would go 9-for-16 from deep in the second half. What looked like an easy victory for the Hawks suddenly became a game that was in jeopardy. When a hook shot by the Ramblers’ Miles Rubin went down, the score was 46-42. 

The Hawks wouldn’t hang their heads like they would have two months ago. They answered with a quick 9-2 run over the next three minutes, led by Jaiden Glover-Toscano, who had 23 points, and Dasear Haskins, who had a career-high 24 points and has been on a tear lately.

A pair of free throws, followed by a broken play from Glover-Toscano, got the run started. He drove to the basket, and was turned away by Rubin. The ball was knocked around, right into the arms of Glover-Toscano, who made a tough layup, despite being fouled by Loyola’s Alexander Richardson. 

On a day where Saint Joseph’s honored its 1981 team coached by Jim Lynam, one that made the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Indiana, led by Isiah Thomas and Bob Knight, Glover-Toscano’s broken play, and-one, was worthy of a “turning garbage into gold” call from Lynam’s old broadcasting partner Marc Zumoff. 

It helped spark a stretch where the Hawks would pull away from the Ramblers. It was capped off by a two-handed dunk by Haskins, who made a great cut from the left baseline. Derek Simpson drove to his left and found the cutting Haskins, one of Simpson’s ten assists on the day. Simpson continued to play like an all-league player, as those ten dimes the Rutgers transfer dished out came with just one turnover. 

The cut by Haskins was one he had done all season. He has been great at cutting from the corners, when there is a floor general like Simpson who can find you. Donahue has credited his cutting ability, which he attributes to Haskins’ IQ and awareness, as the best on the team. The funny thing is Haskins had never been told to cut before Donahue arrived on campus in the summer. 

“Believe it or not, no coach has ever told me to cut,” Haskins explained. “I just listen and do what’s asked of me. Cutting off instincts, I just realized I was good at it. I appreciate Coach for expanding my game.”

Donahue, who constantly refers to Haskins as an “everyday guy,” attributes Haskins’ newfound strength as a product of how he was brought up playing basketball, as well as playing for a loaded high school team at Camden, where he played with former Hawk teammate Rasheer Fleming, now with the Phoenix Suns. 

“Kids don’t really learn how to cut,” Donahue said. “I think that’s something we should do more of at the grassroots level,” said Donahue. “This group probably does the best job of cutting off penetration. I’m used to guys cutting and wanting a three. Guys like Dasear and Austin (Williford) really cut off those drives, which is much harder for the defense to guard. Dasear is excellent at it.”

It was a pair of steals on back-to-back possessions by Haskins and Glover-Toscano that really slammed the door shut on the Ramblers, and one that got the crowd at Hagan Arena on its feet. Haskins, who is averaging over 14 points per game and shooting over 48 percent from three over his last eight games, picked the pocket of Rubin, and threw down a thunderous two-handed slam.

“You hung on the rim long enough,” Donahue joked. 

“He could have done better,” added Glover-Toscano. “I’ve seen him do way better.”

Haskins was seemingly upstaged by Glover-Toscano, who picked off an errant over-the-top pass from Loyola freshman Caleb Reese. Glover-Toscano raced down the court, shaking off Reese with a nifty behind-the-back dribble, and finished a left-handed layup over the outstretched arms of the Ramblers’ Nic Anderson. 

“I don’t know if you guys have seen Nas Reid do a move like that in the NBA, but that’s what it was like,” said Haskins. “It was tough, though.”

“A good bucket,” he added with a smile. 

The two guys who scored nearly 50 points between them on Saturday afternoon finished off the game with an exclamation point with their defense. Haskins and Glover-Toscano feed off each other’s energy. The chemistry that the team has developed under Donahue’s tutelage has grown so much in a short time, a big reason why St. Joe’s continues to stack wins in the A-10. 

“(Haskins) is an energy guy. He brings it every day,” said Glover-Toscano. 

“I heard the bench having energy with us,” Haskins added. “I just wanted to keep feeding off of that and wanted to keep winning.”

With the win, St. Joe’s remains in a top four spot in the A-10, and with that, a coveted double bye that means that the Hawks’ first postseason game would come in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. 

A gargantuan matchup looms on Wednesday night, when the Hawks host George Mason, who they lost to in Fairfax at the beginning of the month. The Hawks and Patriots are currently tied for third in the A-10, along with Dayton. Wednesday could provide St. Joe’s the opportunity to have a leg up in the hunt to finish in the top end of the league. 

That means nothing to Donahue, Haskins, or Glover-Toscano. It is not something discussed internally, even if it is a spot the Hawks were in this time last year, that they ultimately missed out on, heading to the conference tournament as the fifth seed. St. Joe’s is focused on its own growth and trajectory as the regular season winds down, and as March is on the horizon.

“I think we still have a lot to improve on,” said Glover-Toscano. “I think it’s very promising.”

“We don’t look at rankings, or where we’re at. Coach doesn’t ever mention it to us,” said Haskins. “We’re only focused on how we can get better, and our next opponent. We’re focused on us and how we can get better in the game and in practice.” 

UConn’s “ugly” turnover issues must be kept in check in order for Huskies to survive St. John’s

As UConn works to limit its turnovers through Big East stretch drive, Silas Demary, Jr. seeks to improve off seven miscues against Villanova last Saturday and nine giveaways against St. John’s, who Huskies host in Hartford Wednesday. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — At 25-3 and ranked sixth in the country, not much has gone wrong for the University of Connecticut this season.

One of the few vulnerabilities among this year’s Huskies, however, has been an inability to secure the basketball at times in games, either through rebounding or turnovers.

The latter was revisited Saturday, when even in a 73-63 win over Villanova, UConn registered 14 giveaways, a higher number than head coach Dan Hurley would have preferred as his team dominated the Wildcats in the second half, leading by as many as 21 points before a late Villanova rally trimmed the deficit.

“When we didn’t turn the ball over, we played elite-level defense,” Hurley admitted. “We were pretty sharp on offense when we got shots on goal. Obviously, the turnover situation reared its ugly head. At halftime, we were up two, I think we shot 57 percent at the half or something crazy, but we had like, eight or nine turnovers.”

Many of the Huskies’ miscues have come by way of the live-ball variety, unforced errors that are simply created in the wrong place at the wrong time. The 14 turnovers against Villanova were the highest total forced against UConn since St. John’s recorded 15 takeaways in its 81-72 win at Madison Square Garden on February 6. Coincidentally, the Red Storm is next up on UConn’s schedule, making the trek to Hartford for perhaps the most anticipated game of the season in the Big East given the first result between the two just over two weeks ago.

St. John’s forces 14 turnovers per game on average against its opposition this season, a number that drops slightly to just over 13 per contest in conference play. While the Red Storm’s vigorous ball pressure has a lot to do with the aggressiveness teams face against the Johnnies, there is also a mental component attached to the challenge as well.

“I don’t think that we turned it over because of their pressure,” Hurley said the night of the loss to St. John’s. “I think we turned it over because we lost our fucking mind a little bit, and they have great defense. That’s a Top 20 defense, easy. They’re hard to beat.”

Wednesday’s clash against St. John’s will be a chance for Silas Demary, Jr. to redeem himself and slay the proverbial dragon that is Rick Pitino’s defense, a unit that ranks 15th-best in the nation per KenPom and third-most efficient in the Big East, trailing only UConn and Seton Hall. Against the Red Storm earlier this month, Demary committed nine of UConn’s 15 turnovers, and was rendered into ten giveaways last season against the Johnnies while at Georgia.

The junior point guard comes into the matchup on the heels of a seven-turnover night against Villanova, which underscores the importance of handling the basketball. However, five of those seven miscues came in the first half, giving credence to improvement on the fly and prompting his coach to cite the cleanup down the stretch.

“I just think they’re so avoidable for him,” Hurley said. “They’re a little bit casual. Every dribble that you take as a guard, you’ve gotta change angles, you’ve gotta change the cadence of your dribble, you’ve gotta change speeds. Some of his turnovers come when he’s gotta try to get the ball to a spot and spray it to someone coming off a screen. He’s gotta get better at that. The best players, you watch an NBA game, they don’t turn the ball over. They get shots every time down the court.”

Although Hurley has abstained from further comparisons to his past teams after admitting earlier in the season that drawing those parallels would ultimately do this year’s outfit no good, there is a connection to be made to the 2022-23 UConn team that won the first of the program’s two most recent national championships. That Husky unit picked up the pieces after a rough month of January, losing only twice more by a grand total of just five points after January 25 before dominating the NCAA Tournament. The ceiling for this roster is still undefined, but Hurley knows the one factor that could stunt any further growth before March, and is cognizant of doing whatever is in his power to neutralize it before it gets too late.

“It would suck if this team doesn’t get to its potential because we just turn the ball over too much,” he said. “We do all types of things in practice to try to fix it.”

UConn’s renewed faith and confidence in each other will be biggest key to Huskies’ stretch run

Jaylin Stewart (3) and Jayden Ross (23) defend Villanova’s Matt Hodge in UConn’s win over Wildcats Saturday. The junior reserves are integral parts of a Husky bench that is gaining confidence at an opportune time. (Photo by Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

PHILADELPHIA — With March now less than a week away and the sense of urgency ramping up across college basketball, the time for each part of the roster to step up becomes more crucial.

That is why UConn’s win Saturday, a comfortable yet dominant 73-63 victory at Villanova, was so resonant. Prior to this past weekend, the fifth-ranked Huskies had played with fire enough to the point where their bench production had stagnated, leaving head coach Dan Hurley searching for answers to fix what had historically been a strong suit of his. Against the Wildcats, all nine UConn players to see the floor scored, balancing the offense with each husky tallying between four and twelve points at the most opportune time.

“I feel like that’s what we’ve been looking for as a group, just playing to our strengths to play into our depth as a team,” Solo Ball said of the harmony on the scoreboard. “We know how capable we are as a group, and we also know that we’ve got way more stuff to work on in practice, and outside of practice in the film room. We’ve just gotta keep getting better on that side.”

“More importantly, I’m glad we all stepped up. It’s great to see everyone contributing because this is exactly what Coach was talking about, just play to our strengths and play to the strength of the group.”

As UConn has gone through Big East play, its rotation has shortened, not uncommon for most teams as the season runs its course. However, the lack of bench production and its apparent stagnation had become a cause for concern among Husky fans, and by extension, the coaching staff as well. Hurley had intimated previously that he did not want to play Silas Demary, Jr. or Alex Karaban extended minutes, but with the lack of production from the likes of Malachi Smith, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross, was forced to ride the hands of his starters longer. Following Wednesday’s loss to Creighton, the coach addressed the apparent lack of confidence that he and his staff began to remedy before the Villanova game.

“We got into a funk,” Hurley said of the lull among the second unit. “There’s two sides to it. I think there’s definitely a player’s responsibility, but there’s also the coach’s responsibility to say things to the bench players, get in their ear before the game, have some moments where you tell a player you believe in him and we can’t do it without you.”

“Sometimes, I think my reaction to the bench guys, unfortunately — we’re not perfect coaches — just being mad at them about not producing, and I thought in the leadup to this game, we did a better job of trying to build up their confidence. I know I did. Hey, you’re gonna get back on track tonight, we can’t do this without you, I’m gonna play you, I’m not gonna bury you on one mistake. But there’s two sides of it.”

Ross and Stewart, considered two of the top reserves behind Eric Reibe, only combined for 10 points Saturday, but were impactful beyond their point totals. Ross’ defense on Tyler Perkins in the first half after the Villanova guard scored the Wildcats’ first eight points, and Stewart’s two transition triples helped rally and later sustain the Huskies.

“It was great seeing Stew do his thing,” Ball proclaimed. “He’s a tremendous player and incredibly talented. We go to the bench, and Stew stepped up tremendously, so did the guys on the rest of the bench. It was good to see.”

Ross’ maturation drew plaudits from his most senior teammate, who bestowed a heartfelt superlative upon the junior.

“He’s a special player,” Karaban said. “He’s gaining more and more confidence every single night. We need him if we want to win and achieve our goals this year.”

Ross is not the only one gaining confidence as UConn heads into its three remaining regular season matchups, beginning first with Wednesday’s hotly anticipated rematch against Big East leader St. John’s. The Red Storm defeated the Huskies at Madison Square Garden on February 6 and has won 13 straight contests, but Hurley seems encouraged after the championship-level response his outfit displayed Saturday.

“We have a lot of confidence,” he intimated. “We’ve let each other down a couple times. You just want to be able to leave these games where you don’t have any regrets about how you showed up, with the force you play with and the effort that you give, and the desperation you play with in terms of doing everything you can to win games. But we’re 25-3. We’ve made it clear to our guys that the sky is not completely falling. In ’23, we didn’t even make that Top 16 reveal. We weren’t even on it and we ran through the tournament.”

“We can’t let each other down anymore. We have to show up like this. We basically, for the rest of the way here, we can’t afford to lose another game in the regular season if we want to win the league. These guys gotta show up consistently. When Jaylin Stewart shows up like that and J-Ross, Big Eric, Malachi…with what we’ve got with the starters, we’re formidable.”

Sha Sounds Off: Georgetown

On winning despite only scoring 51 points:

“You know what? We just dug deep, right? We just dug deep and kind of found a way to win, made some plays when we needed to make them. I thought Trey Parker was really good down the stretch for us, I thought going to the two was good for us. It kind of got them off balance, their two got us off balance, they didn’t Budd and a couple guys get in the lane, their two and our two. I think what it says about our team is after the disappointing loss we had the other day, guys were just trying to figure a way, no matter what, how to win a game. They’re trying to win a game, and I thought that having 16-17 offensive rebounds was a big part of it. It gave us those second chance points, and then making your free throws down the stretch.”

On adjusting to Georgetown’s zone:

“Obviously a short turnaround, but we kind of had a quick practice (Friday) and we went through it. We knew they were gonna play it, but give them credit. They did a really good job of keeping our guys out of the lane, then they kept going after the third pass, after the fourth pass, going to man. And our guys didn’t make the adjustment like we were supposed to, because we knew they were gonna do that, and we got complacent. I think that’s kind of what got us in the first half. The second half, I thought we did a better job moving the basketball and trying to get some driving lanes.”

On reverting to his old starting lineup:

“It’s part of basketball, big dawg. Twin, to be honest, he came to me, he feels more comfortable coming off the bench. That was big of him to say that, but what am I gonna say? I’m gonna start you? It don’t matter, he’s still playing starting minutes, but it was good. I thought Mike gave us some juice, so that was good for Mike to give us some juice. I’ll be honest with you guys: This team is just mentally and physically exhausted. Like, I went in the locker room after the game and you would think we lost. This bye week is very crucial right now. It came for us even though we had three games in a week, which I think is insane.”

On the tenor of Saturday’s game and his message to the team:

“Big East basketball, man. Old-school Big East basketball. This is what it used to be like when I played. Just stick with it, just keep doing the things you’re doing. We gotta get a couple runouts, I thought the second half, we got some runouts. We have to push the basketball, pass it…I thought we had some good looks, like, our shooters had some really good looks. We just didn’t hit them, and then Najai was real good down the stretch getting some offensive rebounds and tips and stuff like that. And I thought Trey and a couple guys got in there and made some passes, made some easy buckets. I thought that was the difference.”

On Najai Hines:

“I thought his spurts were good. His spurts were good because it wasn’t a running game. It’s different when we play against Creighton and all these teams that want to run, score 90, 80 points. Us and (Georgetown), we just grind it out, so it was good that there wasn’t a lot of running, to be honest with you. It was good. Listen, I told you guys before: We need him to play like this for us to be successful. Like, we need this juice. I’m happy that I stuck with him even though he got three fouls. I thought he was giving us something that Steph wasn’t giving us, so I think this will be good for Steph once he gets his ankle back to 100 percent this week.”

On something to gain from a game like this:

“I’m gonna be honest with you, Jerry, man. Obviously like I said the other day, people don’t understand how good DePaul is, especially on the defensive end. But this is a team that’s got 19 wins, and we’re fighting for something. It’s always good to get a win, it’s always good to come and take care of home, right? You lose one the other day, it hurts, and you come back and get a win like this…the narrative out there is so crazy. I see a lot of teams that have 19 wins and they’re locks, like, 17 wins, they’re locks. We got 19 wins and they’re talking about how bad the league is. The league is really good, it’s just very competitive. Some of the other leagues, the top is good, the bottom is not. That’s another story for another day. I’m going all over the place right now. I just want to make sure the narrative is crazy about how the league is down. The league’s not down, the teams are just good.”

On whether or not he has an NCAA Tournament team:

“I ain’t…I’m just worried about getting through this bye week and…who do we play? Xavier? That’s our prize for winning (Saturday). I’m just trying to get through this bye week and trying to get rest, and rest is the most important thing. Do I think we have a tournament team? Yeah, I do. I thought we went out and challenged ourselves in the non-conference, I thought we won some games. Like I said, this conference is really good. Teams are equal. Creighton goes and wins at UConn, right? Things happen. There are very good coaches in this league.”

On earning Ed Cooley’s vote as Big East Coach of the Year:

“Thank you. I’m worried about winning some games, but thanks. Ed is really good, he’s always been supportive of me, I’m very supportive of him as well. Nice words by him, but we’ll see.”

On his appreciation for Big East basketball then and now:

“It’s just different. Everything is different. The players are different, the league (then) was different, the players were tougher. It’s just a different brand of basketball right now. I don’t know how many fouls were called, but that’s what it is. Sometimes you just gotta adjust to the officiating crew, but it’s tough to ref games like this when two teams play so hard and play so physical. I’m not gonna compare the two. It’s just different, it’s just a different brand of basketball. Now everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to see scoring, nobody wants to see defense. That’s what it comes down to.”

Furman recovers from late Wofford run, downs Terriers for road win

By Justin Mathis (@J_Math23)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — “There’s two ways you can look at life: you can look behind you or look in front of you.”

 

His team having dropped four of its last five Southern Conference games, Furman head coach Bob Richey shared that perspective with the media following Saturday night’s rivalry showdown with Wofford.

 

The Paladins (18-11, 9-7 SoCon) built a double-digit lead, saw a massive Terrier run erase it, and then responded with timely execution and tenacious defense to secure a 76-67 victory over Wofford (18-11, 10-6).

 

Cayden Vasko and Brian Sumpter helped Wofford to an early 7-7 tie, but Furman answered quickly. A Charles Johnston three-point play, Ben Vander Wal tip-in and back-to-back Asa Thomas triples sparked an 18-11 advantage less than eight minutes into the game.

 

Vasko and Nils Machowski connected from deep on consecutive possessions to trim the margin to 25-21. Furman countered with a flurry as Abijah Franklin buried back-to-back three-pointers, and Thomas knocked down two more from beyond the arc — his fifth and sixth straight makes to open the game — stretching the lead to 43-27 with 2:53 remaining in the half.

 

“I’ve been doing this my whole life,” Thomas said. “Seeing a couple go down as a shooter is probably one of the best feelings in the world. It builds confidence for our whole team. Everyone started hitting shots and getting stops, and it was a good win for us. Obviously, there’s bad blood between these schools. It’s my first year here (at Furman), but I’m already feeling it. I’m glad we came out, fought for the victory and were the tougher team tonight.”

 

Machowski ignited Wofford’s response with a driving layup, and Vasko, Rex Stirling and Kahmare Holmes added baskets in a 9-0 run to close the half, cutting Furman’s lead to 43-36 at the intermission.

 

That push carried into the second half. Holmes scored five straight points in the opening minutes, and a pair of Brendan Rigsbee free throws, followed by a Holmes triple, capped a 22-4 surge that gave Wofford a 48-44 lead with 17 minutes remaining.

 

Furman answered again. Alex Wilkins drilled a three-pointer, and Tom House converted an old-fashioned three-point play to reclaim a 50-49 advantage. Vasko and Holmes combined for five straight to put Wofford back on top, but Cooper Bowser finished an alley-oop from Wilkins to restore a one-point Furman lead with 9:48 to play.

 

“I haven’t been able to play Wofford since the (SoCon) championship game last year,” Bowser said, referencing an injury that sidelined him in the teams’ January meeting. “Seeing them win on our home floor definitely lit a fire inside of me. We were challenged to play a complete game, especially defensively. I’m happy we were able to come out here and get a win.”

 

Chace Watley converted a three-point play to pull Wofford within 60-59, but baskets from Eddrin Bronson and Johnston pushed the lead back to six. Though Machowski and Holmes later earned trips to the free throw line, Furman’s defense stiffened when it mattered most.

 

Over the final seven minutes, the Paladins held Wofford to just 2-of-15 shooting from the field. They disrupted passing lanes, contested shots, and controlled the defensive glass down the stretch. Wilkins and Vander Wal extended the lead to 69-61, and while Stirling’s layup cut the margin to five with 1:10 remaining, Furman never relinquished control.

 

“I don’t think we played fast enough in certain areas,” Wofford head coach Kevin Giltner said. “We started playing slow in half-court basketball and they were able to be really, physical. Our shot selection and shot creation during that lull were not very good. I’ve got a group of guys that are fired up to continue to get better in practice and dive in on film and scouting reports. We will be ready.”

 

Wofford added two late baskets, but Furman sealed the win by converting eight consecutive free throws in the final minute.

 

“We just wanted to be Furman,” Richey said. “We wanted to get back to our identity and play with toughness. The game honors toughness. Everybody thinks we have a shooting problem. This is not a shooting problem. It’s an intensity, connection, and toughness problem. We’re going to be known by our resolve and how tough we are in critical moments. Tonight, our defense fueled our offense.”

 

Richey also praised Thomas’ hot start.

 

“That guy is a great shooter, man,” he said. “All I told him was if you can see the rim and land on two feet, shoot it. He took great ones and got on fire there. We ran a couple of actions to free him up a little bit. I thought his ability to space the floor was a huge thing that allowed Coop to play how he played.”

 

Thomas led Furman with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Wilkins added 15 points and five assists, while Bowser recorded 13 points and seven rebounds. Johnston chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

 

Furman shot almost 52 percent from the floor, and 9-of-17 from three-point range. The Paladins held advantages in points off turnovers (11-7), points in the paint (36-32) and bench scoring (13-8).

 

Holmes paced Wofford with 20 points, while Vasko posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Stirling finished with 10 points, and Machowski added nine. The Terriers shot nearly 44 percent overall and 7-of-26 from beyond the arc.

 

Furman returns home Wednesday to host The Citadel at 6 p.m., while Wofford travels to face ETSU at 7 p.m.