Good evening from downtown Hartford where the UConn Huskies will battle #1-ranked Louisville. The Huskies are coming off of a statement win at Notre Dame on Saturday, and will be hoping that momentum carries them to a second straight upset victory.
Louisville has been ranked #1 in the nation for a grand total of about 8 hours. The Cardinals are off to a great start this season, winning 15 of their first 16 games, including 10 in a row. Most recently, they dismantled a hapless USF team on Saturday.
The ageless Peyton Siva is Louisville’s leader. Despite it feeling like he’s been on the roster for 15 years, the media guide lists him as a senior, so we’ll go with that. He’s averaging 11.8 points and 5.8 assists per game. He is just 4 assists away from tying Terrence Williams for 2nd place on Louisville’s all-time leader board.
Siva’s backcourt mate is Russ Smith, the dynamic junior who leads the team in scoring at 18.7 per game. Tonight’s game arguably features four of the top six or seven guards in the Big East.
UConn’s Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright will be tasked with slowing down Siva and Smith. In the matchup with Notre Dame, Napier executed a fantastic game as Boatright struggled to find his rhythm. However, with the game on the line, both players delivered and helped seal a UConn win. Tonight, they will be challenged on both ends of the court and will need to play smart and efficiently if the Huskies have any chance of a victory.
The other intriguing matchup of the evening is rookie head coach Kevin Ollie matching wits with seasoned pro Rick Pitino. Ollie called a phenomenal game against Notre Dame and has earned the praise of his coaching brethren, but tonight presents an opportunity for him to prove it against one of the best coaches in the game.
Notes:
- Louisville’s Gorgui Dieng has averaged 14 points and 15 boards in his last two games. UConn’s Tyler Olander is coming off the best game of his life. If either one dominates the other, that could prove the difference in the game.
- As of 5pm, there were still 2,500 unsold tickets. Against a #1 team, on a nice night in Hartford, coming off a huge win, with an incredibly likable team – there’s no excuse not to sell this game out.
- Shabazz Napier made the Big East Honor Roll this past week in which he averaged 17.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game in wins over DePaul and Notre Dame.
- Speaking of Napier, through January 12th, he was the only Big East player averaging at least 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. There really is no overselling how great he has been so far this year.
Tip off is at 7pm and the game will be aired on ESPN featuring the best booth in college basketball: Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas.
