UConn made 39 free throws. Quinnipiac grabbed 39 rebounds. In a game where the statistics were bizarre enough to match the play on the court, UConn outlasted their in-state competitors and clawed their way to their 4th victory of the season.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: UConn has trouble rebounding. For the 4th consecutive game, the Huskies were outrebounded. This time by a 39-29 margin. Tyler Olander, who played so well against Vermont, lead the team with 7. Enosch Wolf, who played so well against Wake Forest, finished with one in a mere 9 minutes of play. The most effective post player was Phil Nolan who managed 5 rebounds and 6 points in only 8 minutes of play.
The complete inability to rebound is a problem for reasons beyond the obvious ones. Against Quinnipiac, the Huskies were unable to utilize their speed and get out on the break because their guards were busy fighting for balls under their own basket. Shabazz Napier and Omar Calhoun each had 5 rebounds. When you shoot as poorly as UConn did in the first half, you can’t rebound, and you can’t run the break, it’s almost impossible to win.
Sure enough, UConn trailed at the half and were down 10 with a little over 4 minutes remaining in the game. Two things saved the Huskies from sure defeat: free throws and Shabazz Napier. Both Napier and guard Ryan Boatright struggled for most of the game. Boatright didn’t make a shot until the 2nd half and Napier struggled with shot selection. When the deficit climbed to double-digits, it looked like UConn wouldn’t recover. It was precisely the scenario where last year’s time seemed to quit. But not this time.
Napier led a ferocious effort and, almost single-handedly, dragged UConn back into contention. He scored 13 points in the last 4 minutes including the driving layup that tied the game and sent it to its first overtime.
Boatright picked up the slack in extra time and got to the rim at will. Napier and Boatright took a combined 25 free throws and missed only one each. Freshman Omar Calhoun also came to life in both overtime periods and UConn escaped the Paradise Jam semifinals with a 89-82 victory.
Notes:
- It’s hard to come up with a takeaway from this game. You could be encouraged by their heart and effort in overcoming a late deficit. You could be disheartened by their inability to run Quinnipiac out of the gym. Maybe it’s best to just take the win and move onto the next one.
- The refs really gave their whistles a workout. The two teams combined to foul out 4 starters and had a whopping 55 fouls between them. It was hard to watch at times.
- Shabazz Napier showed his true leadership abilities. I’ve argued in the past that Napier was trying too hard to be Kemba Walker. He knew he was supposed to be a leader but didn’t know how, so he tried to take over games when he shouldn’t have – admonishing teammates and taking poor shots. Last night was the exact opposite. He willed his team to victory.
- Omar Calhoun had another very impressive game. DeAndre Daniels had another unimpressive game. When those two play well at the same time, this team is going to take off to another level. Unfortunately, that might not happen until next season.
- UConn would be well served to reform their shot selection. After shooting an abhorrent 3-18 from deep against Wake Forest, they went 4-16 against Quinnipiac. Hoisting up bad threes is a recipe for disaster; even more so when you can’t get offensive rebounds.
- Phil Nolan was downright useful, especially in the first half. He’ll get all the chances in the world to succeed this year with UConn’s anemic frontcourt.
Non-Game News:
- Both Maryland and Rutgers have abandoned their conferences to join the Big 10 in all sports. As much as UConn’s identity is tied to the Big East, it would be a great win for the university to be invited to join the ACC. Rumors are that the ACC is considering both UConn and Louisville so stay tuned.
- UConn has climbed up to #21 in the latest AP poll.
- Shabazz Napier has been named the Big East Player of the Week.
Up Next:
- UConn will face New Mexico in the finals of the Paradise Jam. Tonight (Mon. November 19th) at 10pm on CBS Sports Network – assuming there’s not a super important dirt truck racing event.
