Always take the bad news first. Let’s start with the obvious. UConn lost. Again. It was their second loss in a row and marks their fourth losing streak this year. The Huskies are now 14-11 on the season and 7-6 in the American — good for 6th place and (at least temporarily) positioning them for a first-day matchup in the AAC Tournament next month.
Also troubling was the performance of Ryan Boatright. The senior guard scored only seven points on two-of-six shooting and claimed only two free throw attempts. We have nearly a season’s worth of evidence at this point that this UConn team can’t win without Boatright at the top of his game, and they proved that again on Thursday. In his defense, Boatright was clocked in the face during a fracas in the first half and never seemed like himself after returning.
The Huskies looked completely lost for large portions of the game, letting Memphis expand the lead to 15 early in the second half. UConn’s defense was especially porous in the first half, when Memphis shot 57.7 percent from the floor. The Huskies again struggled with their three-point shot, connecting on only five of their 20 attempts, with Rodney Purvis the biggest culprit (1-7 from deep).
Now, we at A Dime Back are more the glass-half-full kind of group so now let’s dig deep and hunt for some silver lining.
UConn played a generally terrible brand of basketball for most of the game and still had a chance to win. They could have quit several times along the way, but maintained their composure and put a decent effort together, culminating in a last-second miss by Daniel Hamilton that would have tied the game.
Speaking of Hamilton, not only did he put up an impressive stat line — 25 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 38 minutes — but he showed a superior level of talent that has been building all season.
Hamilton — and at times Purvis — maneuvered the floor very well. When he penetrated the first level of Memphis’s zone and got to within 15 feet of the basketball, Hamilton was near unstoppable. Had UConn employed more of that strategy along the way, they may not have had such a tough time trying to close the score.
Amida Brimah also had his best game in two months. He finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds — both the most he’s recorded since his 40/12 outburst against Coppin State back in December. Even better, Brimah played a season-high 38 minutes. With only six guaranteed games remaining, Brimah needs to be on the court. ← Bold statement.
Our last note is both good and bad. Despite falling behind Memphis in the conference standings, UConn may have failed their way into a more winnable tournament path. As the six seed, UConn would miss out on the first-round bye, but would face (as it stands) a lesser brand of competition than five seed Memphis will encounter on the other half of the bracket — SMU and Cincinnati specifically. All of this is subject to change, and UConn should probably win some games, but it’s funny how that worked out.
Up Next:
UConn will play their penultimate game at Gampel this season on Sunday when Tulane comes to town. The game tips at 4pm and can be “seen” on CBS Sports Network unfortunately.
