The day after one of the guttiest, most spectacular performances I’ve ever seen, UConn showed no signs of fatigue in a decisive win over Temple. The Huskies exorcised their second demon in as many days, salvaging a 1-2 record in the season series with Temple after doing the same against Cincinnati yesterday. And perhaps most importantly, they appear to have locked themselves into the NCAA tournament field.
Last night’s win struck fear into the hearts of college basketball fans around the country, with concerns that UConn has suddenly “flipped the switch” again in March, going from a very average team to a nigh unbeatable one. A win like this, over the league’s regular-season champ, is going to do nothing to quell those fears. With a more free-flowing game, UConn’s stars stayed out of foul trouble, allowing Shonn Miller and Daniel Hamilton to play long stretches of dominant ball. Hamilton in particular has been much more effective on the offensive end, creating shots and drawing fouls almost at will. After finishing just shy of a triple-double yesterday, Hamilton put up another double-double today, leading the team with 19 points (tied with Miller) and 11 rebounds. Adams didn’t have a great shooting day, but led the team with 8 assists. Rodney Purvis and Sterling Gibbs provided timely shooting from deep and good plays in transition.
The relatively loose whistle also allowed Amida Brimah to dominate on the defensive end, forcing many bad shots by Temple to go along with his 3 blocks. Overall, the Huskies held the Owls to 35.9% shooting, with Obi Enechionyia and All-AAC wing Quenton DeCosey in particular struggling, going 2-13 and 4-17, respectively.
A win like this has to have the Huskies feeling good heading into the conference final with either Tulane or Memphis tomorrow. If they manage to win the AAC Tournament for the first time, it could see them slotted as an 8- or 9-seed that no 1-seed wants to see in their region. An opening weekend in Brooklyn is still a possibility, with potential foes including former conference mates Pittsburgh, Providence, Villanova (yes, please), and West Virginia.
I was as bullish on this team as anyone going into the season, but it looks like they may have finally gotten around to showing me what I was looking for. If this team can keep it up, it may have a chance to add another page to the lore of UConn’s March dominance. Let’s give them something to talk about.
Let’s go get those nets!
Love these past two wins..but it does prove one point..they had the ability to play like this ALL season and didn’t. Games don’t only matter in March. Intensity should be shown all season, not just when your back is up against the wall.