It took a long time for UConn to get going on Wednesday. Four minutes and 37 seconds, to be exact. That’s when Kentan Facey hit two free throws to put the Huskies on the scoreboard, freeing the XL Center crowd to sit down, and ending an embarrassing 7-0 run by Sacred Heart.
The slow start continued until there were nine minutes left in the half and the Huskies trailed 23-12 — their third double-digit deficit in as many games.
“We’re playing with fire if we keep having slow starts,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “I don’t like that pattern.”
Fortunately for Ollie and the Huskies, Sacred Heart is no Gonzaga and no Syracuse. UConn caught its stride and used two gigantic and sustained scoring outbursts (27-2, 31-2) to run Sacred Heart off the court. The Pioneers have pioneered losing this season and dropped to 1-5 with an 82-49 loss Wednesday at the XL Center.
Daniel Hamilton starred for the Huskies, flirting with another triple-double. He finished the night with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in only 26 minutes.
“He’s playing a wonderful game for us,” Ollie said. “He’s doing what he did his freshman year but at a higher level.”
Hamilton is currently leading the team in rebounding (9.4) and assists (6.3) per game. He’s second in scoring to Rodney Purvis, who led UConn with 19 points against Sacred Heart.
Purvis has now scored in double figures in each of UConn’s first seven games, extending his streak to 13, dating back to the final six games of the 2014-15 season. Despite his strong effort, after the game Purvis was buzzing about Hamilton. Asked to describe Hamilton’s skill set, Purvis offered an apt “it’s sick, bro.”
While the victory against Sacred Heart helped the Huskies right the ship and put some space between themselves and their losses in the Bahamas, much of the postgame emphasis centered on the looming matchup with No. 2 Maryland on Tuesday.
Both Ollie and Purvis watched the high-scoring slugfest between Maryland and North Carolina on Tuesday night. UNC won that game, but the Huskies saw enough to grasp the challenge that awaits them.
“They’re so versatile,” Purvis said.
On the slow starts that have plagued the Huskies recently, Ollie added, “we can’t do that against Maryland. We have to play from the first minute.”
With six days to prepare, and a virtual home game in Madison Square Garden on UConn’s south campus, this game will be a true measuring stick for the Huskies. The excuses of a tropical locale and a packed game schedule are gone. Now it’s just two good teams trying to prove themselves. It should be fun.
The Good
- Kentan Facey continues to impress. He had six points and five rebounds in only 14 minutes on Wednesday. He’s definitely earned the role of first big man off the bench and has shown an increased offensive ability to accompany his trademarked rebounding. Facey is out-rebounding Shonn Miller (albeit barely) in eight fewer minutes per game.
- Purvis consistently went hard at the rim and had much more success finishing than he did in the Bahamas.
- Jalen Adams continues to trend in the right direction. He scored seven points with three rebounds and three assists. With the near-constant substitutions (more later), Adams’ role in the offense morphs from minute to minute, but he’s done a good job of keeping up and staying focused.
- The crowd got their wings and the Nnamdi Amilo, Christian Foxen, Mike Noyes troika got some burn. The #BringTheNoyes hashtag was trending worldwide on Twitter (probably).
The Bad
- Roster depth is cool, if used properly. At the 18:23 mark on the first half (nary 90 seconds into the game), and with UConn trailing 4-0, Amida Brimah went to the bench. He would not check back in for almost 10 minutes of game time (7:43). By then, the Huskies were down 25-16. Brimah played well from that point on, and had a plus/minus of +36, despite playing only 20 minutes in the game. Brimah had only two fouls, both in the second half.
- Similarly, the bench duo of Sam Cassell Jr. and Omar Calhoun played a combined 25 minutes but were a combined 0-7 from the floor. This is all well and good against Sacred Heart, but production is going to have to drive the substitution pattern if UConn has any shot against Maryland.
- The crowd was weak. Reported attendance was 8,563. The weather sucked and traffic was bad, but it’s hard to expect much better when you schedule a bad Sacred Heart team in a ~16,000 seat arena.
Up Next:
UConn/Maryland. MSG. Tuesday, Dec. 8. 9pm. ESPN. See you there.
