Fresh off their annual fall championship — this year, of the 2K Sports Classic variety — the #13 UConn Huskies (6-0) will return to their home away from home (Hartford, not Bridgeport, keep up!) to take on the Greyhounds of Loyola.
Loyola (Maryland, not Indiana, keep up!) has gotten off to a hot start of their own this season. They sport a 4-0 record, with three of their wins coming on the road, and two of those in overtime.
The key to their success is senior guard Dylon Cormier. He is averaging nearly 30 points per game, accompanied by eight rebounds per contest. Of course, Cormier is attempting almost 21 shots per game, but still. It’s impressive. As a team, Loyola averages 80 points per game, so offense may be on the menu at the XL Center this evening.
Meanwhile, UConn will be looking to get their swagger back after nearly blowing both of their games in Madison Square Garden last week. Head coach Kevin Ollie will surely be looking for more consistency out of everyone on the roster not named Shabazz Napier. Fortunately, it would appear that — for once — UConn may have an advantage on the backboards. Despite UConn being ranked 200th in the NCAA in rebounding average, Loyola fares even worse at 235th. Yay?
Look for UConn to be very aggressive this evening, and for Ollie to shuffle the rotation, giving role players little leeway. After tonight, three of UConn’s next four games are against #15 Florida, Stanford and at Washington (with a bout with Maine in there somewhere). Tonight’s contest will be Ollie’s last chance at a live-action tuneup before the schedule gets daunting.
Notes:
- You know Shabazz Napier is awesome. Did you know that he is the only player in the AAC to be leading his team in scoring, rebounding and assists? He is one of only ten players in the country who can make that claim — the others play for schools such as Nicchols State and Central Arkansas.
- After back-to-back 20+ point performances, DeAndre Daniels was very quiet against Indiana. It will be interesting to see if he’s consistently inconsistent, or if the Indiana game was just a bad night.
- We’ve been praising Ryan Boatright for his improved decision making and shot selection (rightfully so), but while his three-point percentage and turnover rate have improved over last season, his field goal percentage has declined. Expect that to start evening out soon.
- It’s going to be rainy in Hartford tonight. The Weather Channel forecasts a 100% chance of rain at 9pm — around the time the game will be ending. If you’re headed to the XL Center, bring an umbrella for the gross walk back to your automobile (or the bar, whatever).
The game will tip at 7pm and you can watch at home on SNY.
