The bracket has been unveiled, the Huskies are off to Des Moines this afternoon and fans are ready for another miracle run through March.
While we all dream of watching JCDH and Purvo cut down the nets, there’s a lot of work to do first, and it starts with the 8-seeded Buffaloes of Colorado. Tad Boyle’s group comes into the tournament 5-6 over its last 11 games, but with a win over Arizona in the process. Much like the Huskies, they’ve proven to be a consistently inconsistent team.
Vegas has the Huskies favored by 3.5 points, but 8-9 games are notoriously tough to predict. Here’s what UConn has to do to advance on Thursday:
Start strong
Let’s face it: UConn doesn’t do strong starts. Even in the AAC Tournament, where the Huskies got on their signature March roll, they sputtered out of the gate against Cincinnati and Temple. If they can start stronger on Thursday, they have a great shot. The Buffaloes aren’t a young team, but no one on the roster has won an NCAA Tournament game. They also went 2-7 on the road in Pac-12 play and are 6-10 overall in road/neutral site games. If UConn can go on an early run and create a tough environment for Colorado, the Buffaloes just might get rattled.
Defend the three
UConn is known for its suffocating defense inside, but the Huskies have struggled to find and close out on open shooters. That’s bad news if the royal George King (referred to now as King, George) gets going from outside. King, George shot 46 percent from long range this season while attempting more than anyone on the team. Also don’t count out Josh Fortune, a 39 percent three-point shooter. Those two have combined to make Colorado a top 20 three-point percentage team nationally.
Stay out of foul trouble
At times on Sunday, UConn’s interior defense was suffocating. It was beautiful. Amida Brimah and Shonn Miller made Memphis look foolish. Then the duo got in foul trouble. So did Steve Enoch. Phil Nolan had two phouls by the time UConn had two points (I think). Thankfully Memphis isn’t very good and fouls started piling up on their end as well. The Huskies might not be so lucky on Thursday if it happens again. Josh Scott, Colorado’s senior big man, is a double-double threat every night. Scott and Wesley Gordon both excel on the glass and can eat the UConn backup bigs alive.
Force turnovers
This isn’t something UConn does a whole lot, but it could prove beneficial on Thursday. One of Colorado’s weaknesses is that it does not have a reliable point guard. If the Huskies feel like pressing 94 feet after made baskets, they can fluster Colorado. At best, that means turnovers leading to baskets in transition. At worst, it might mean stopping the Buffaloes from settling into a half-court offense.
It all begins in 25 1/2 hours!