This year’s UConn team has been one with two personalities. In some games, they play like they can beat anyone in the country. And sometimes, like on Wednesday, they play like a team who’s never seen a basketball before.
Coming off an ugly loss to SMU, the Huskies traveled to Tampa to play a team they beat a few weeks ago by more than 40 points. Yet Wednesday’s game went down to the final minute, as UConn (22-6, 10-5) edged past USF 61-56.
Let’s be clear. USF (12-16, 3-12) is bad. Really bad. But UConn looked even worse for about three quarters of the game.
The Huskies looked horrendous in the first half. Neither Shabazz Napier nor Ryan Boatright hit a field goal, both going 0-4 from the floor. The Huskies scored the fewest points in a half this season with 22. Watching them play was miserable. After losing to SMU in such a painful way, one would think the team would really get up for USF. But they just didn’t. The shot selection was terrible, and even when it wasn’t, it seemed like nothing would fall.
Boatright didn’t start the second half, getting replaced by Niels Giffey. Boat came in soon after, and hit his first field goal nearly 28 minutes into the game. UConn was down by as much as nine, but suddenly, the Huskies remembered that they were supposed to win this game. UConn went on an 18-0 run, with Boat scoring 11 of those points.
USF came back, cutting the lead to one, when Bazz had his most Bazziest moments, hitting a couple circus lay-ups while getting fouled. Bazz played like Bazz down the stretch, scoring 11 of UConn’s last 14 points. He finished with 17 points and seven assists.
Notes:
- The Huskies hit 7-of-9 three-point shots in the second half, after hitting only 2-of-9 in the first half.
- Giffey scored 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 from behind the three-point line.
- The one bright spot of the evening was the play of freshman Terrance Samuel. In just eight minutes, the New York City point guard got some key second-half steals, a couple points and an assist to light a fire under the floundering ass of the Huskies.
- Without question the best thing to come out of this game was the Pete Gillen drinking game created by Russell Steinberg on Twitter. As it seems Gillen will be doing UConn games on CBS Sports Net, you should brush up on the rules.
- According to Samuel, Bazz gave an impromptu speech halftime speech that got the team fired up.
- Inexplicably, Tyler Olander played 21 minutes, scoring zero points and getting two rebounds.
Olander was positively comical guarding the 5. I don’t understand the coaching decisions in this game. Why didn’t we play zone for most of the game? USF averages 3 made 3’s per game. Force them to shoot outside, and if they kick it inside, just double their inept freshmen big men. During that 18-0 run, we were in a 2-3 for a sizable chunk of it. They looked even worse than WE look against a zone.
Finally, for a college basketball game to only be broadcast on a station that doesn’t have HD, and doesn’t reach most homes in the state is fucking unacceptable. Man that grinds my gears.
Also noteworthy: Deandre is playing with zero intensity. It’s disappointing.