Good evening from Storrs, Connecticut — where the UConn (don’t call ’em Connecticut) Huskies will take on the Titans of Detroit.
Payback is on the menu this evening. In 2001, Detroit came into Gampel Pavilion to challenge UConn in the first round of the NIT, and beat a stunned Husky team that famously featured freshman Caron Butler. One year later, Butler would lead UConn to a Big East title and an improbable Elite Eight run.
Detroit remains the last out-of-conference opponent to win at Gampel Pavilion. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
While UConn is a 19 point favorite this evening, the game is not completely without intrigue. Detroit is a relatively big team, with 6’10” center Ugochukwu Njoku starting alongside senior forward, 6’8″ Evan Bruinsma.
Detroit’s best player through their first two games (1-1) is junior forward Juwan Howard, Jr. As you probably assumed, Howard is the son of Fab Fiver and goatee-haver Juwan Howard. The younger is averaging a double-double with 20 points and 10.5 rebounds — Shabazzesque numbers, really.
Meanwhile, UConn will look to improve on an abysmal rebounding effort in Monday’s game against Yale. The Husky big men were virtually non-existent on the boards, as Shabazz Napier came to the rescue with 10 rebounds en route to a rare triple-double.
Coach Kevin Ollie will also look to get DeAndre Daniels on the right track. The junior forward has struggled early on this season. The Huskies will certainly need him in the next few weeks — and thereafter — so the sooner Daniels can figure it out, the better.
The game will tip at 7pm and you can watch at home on SNY.
