The No. 15 UConn Huskies are playing their first “home” game at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport today. After an embarrassing loss to Stanford, UConn bounced back to beat those other Huskies from Washington last Sunday, 82-70.
Coming off the Christmas break, UConn faces the Eastern Washington Eagles. This is the first time these two teams have played each other, so I have no interesting series history tidbits to share.
The last time UConn played a home game outside of Storrs or Hartford was on January 3, 1987, when they played Syracuse at the New Haven Coliseum. This game represents UConn’s first real athletic foray into Fairfield County. The university is hoping a game scheduled in our state’s southwestern corner will help make the team and the university belong to the whole state.
When the schedule was originally announced, officials said there would be a student section at the game. It’s not clear if student tickets were sold for today’s match-up, so it’ll be worth noting what kind of environment a game in Bridgeport can foster. (Though, really. It’s Bridgeport. And we all know what people think about Bridgeport.)
Eastern Washington (5-5) is unranked out of the Big Sky Conference, and is led offensively by sophomore guard Tyler Harvey, who averages nearly 20 points per game.
Notes:
- The Eagles attempt more than 22 three-point shots per game, connecting on 37.5 percent of them. The Husky defense has to be tenacious on the perimeter.
- Phil Nolan lost his starting spot to Amida Brimah against Washington, but played one if his best games of the season off the bench. Look to see who gets the start this afternoon, and who can stay out of foul trouble long enough to rack up some minutes.
- Omar Calhoun is still in a slump, and Lasan Kromah is playing some of the best defensive basketball we’ve seen since his coach Ricky Moore graced us with his presence. Also keep an eye on the rotation between these two players.
- Coach Kevin Ollie and Ryan Boatright both had a birthday yesterday. Ollie turned 41, and Boat hit the big 21. Happy birthday, gentlemen!
