UConn turned a tie game at the half into a 60-51 loss at Tulsa on Thursday night, in a game that felt more important than a simple contest between two conference rivals.
The Huskies looked unprepared and overmatched, launching 29 three-pointers against a serviceable Tulsa zone defense, making only eight (27.6 percent). Even as it became apparent that coach Kevin Ollie’s game plan was not working, the team failed to adjust. Clinging to a three-point lead with 6:16 remaining, the Huskies shot and missed an additional seven threes as Tulsa caught up and closed the game on a 17-5 run.
“I give Tulsa credit,” Ollie said. “They had a great defense and our guys just didn’t shoot the basketball as well as we can, but you know, that’s the game.”
Tulsa had been allowing opponents to score over 68 points per game. You can feel free to credit the Golden Hurricane defense, but the only Tulsa opponent to score fewer points than UConn this season is basketball powerhouse East Carolina.
UConn’s offensive problems can be traced back to bad strategy and bad luck. Rodney Purvis saw his consecutive double-figure scoring streak end in his worst game of the season. He finished with only five points on 1-9 shooting, missing all seven of his three-point attempts. Daniel Hamilton also continued his bewildering slump. His five points were a season low. Following his 2-12 performance on Thursday, Hamilton is shooting 20.8 percent from the floor over the past four games.
Shooting slumps happen. A slump this prolonged — now extending into its third week — is concerning. In typical fashion, Hamilton made up for it in other ways on Thursday, leading the team in rebounds (14) and assists (five), but it is abundantly clear that UConn is not a great team when Hamilton is not a great player. He looks lost. It’s one thing to have an off night with your jump shot, but Hamilton was 1-7 from three point range and did not attempt a single free throw. The Huskies need him to take control of the offense and find ways to score points even on nights when his shot isn’t falling.
Which brings us right back to strategy.
The most concerning aspect of the Huskies’ listless performance against the zone was how familiar it looked. After navigating some soft excuses for zone defense against some early cupcake opponents, UConn has since been unable to consistently execute. On Thursday, the Huskies attempted several half-hearted schemes.
Early in the game it appeared their first priority was to swing the ball around the perimeter until space at the foul line opened up, typically for Shonn Miller. They would enter the ball to him and ride with his decision-making. If the back of the zone rose to meet him, he could attempt to drive at them, drawing a foul, or drop a pass down low to Kentan Facey or Phil Nolan on the block.
Miller attempted only two free throws. Facey and Nolan combined for two points in 27 minutes.
Alternatively, if the back of the zone sagged on Miller, he could pop a 15 foot jump shot. That failed as well. Miller only made two of his six two-point attempts, one of which came on a garbage time dunk with the game out of reach.
Finally, if the guards at the top of the zone collapsed in on Miller, he could kick the ball out to the wings for a three-pointer. Decent strategy in general, but not on Thursday when Sterling Gibbs (4-9 from three) was the only capable shooter on the perimeter.
Given that none of those strategies was working, you would think that the Huskies would adjust to try something else.
They kind of did, at one point trying a more pick-and-roll based offensive plan, often involving Hamilton setting high screens for Gibbs. The issue here was that the Huskies pick-and-roll rapidly turned into a pick-and-pop, where Hamilton would screen and then drift far behind the three-point arc — not a great strategy when you’re not shooting well.
As the plan failed, UConn looked more and more desperate and more and more lost. The culmination of this came late in the game when Gibbs dribbled on the perimeter and Nolan flashed to the foul line at the same time Hamilton came to set a high screen. The result was three Huskies within a few feet of each other, none with any idea what they should be doing. Gibbs took a three. He missed.
Considering the lack of success with Miller as the point of entry against the zone, and with the outside shooting of Hamilton, it was surprising and unfortunate that Ollie didn’t change the roles on offense and let Miller play on the block with Hamilton handling the foul-line passing — a role he’s excelled at as the team’s best passer.
The other obvious conclusion that can be drawn from this loss was just how bad UConn misses Amida Brimah.
The Huskies had only one blocked shot in the game, and hardly any transition game. They scored two fast break points. Having Brimah on defense helps transform the UConn offense. They looked small and slow on Thursday on both ends of the court. Having a seven-footer at the bottom of the zone is also a nice luxury, especially for Hamilton whose struggles have corresponded with the loss of his favorite alley-oop target. Brimah waiting at the rim for a dunk attempt was a nice security blanket for the Huskies and they really need some security right now.
In effort to ease some of the above pessimism, there were some positives on Thursday. Gibbs continues to look like the scorer the Huskies were hoping for. He’s been in double-figures in seven of the team’s last eight games, is shooting the three well and is getting to the foul line much more frequently than he was at the beginning of the season.
Miller made all three of his attempts from long-range, doubling his season total.
Jalen Adams again provided a spark on offense. He scored only five points but his two field goals were gorgeous floaters in the second half when UConn was having trouble both scoring and getting inside the perimeter of the Tulsa zone.
After the game, Ollie took some culpability, saying “we’ve got to do a better job of executing, and I’ve got to do a better job of coaching this group.” It’s good to see Ollie publicly accept some responsibility for the team’s performance.
Now they need to improve.
Life won’t get easier for the Huskies as they travel to Houston on Sunday, where they’ve lost their last two matchups. The game tips at 2 p.m. and can (in theory) be seen on CBS Sports Network.
Hamilton just is not the player people hyped him up to be, he over dribbles to get into the lane then he misses the easy shot in the paint. Uconn problem is they’re just not hitting shots. Why doesn’t Uconn give the ball to Facey in the post? he works hard and be open.
This team lacks not of talent, but of leadership from the top. Sadly, that has been missing the past 1 1/2 years, and a 2nd year in a row return to the NIT is not acceptable for any squad wearing the name Uconn on the front of their jersey. Coaching staff needs their 10 Toes in along with the players, and they need to motivate and inspire and coach their team on a much more consistent level. It makes us fans prefer not watching sometimes, and saving the heartache. We all know the classic definition of “insanity”. Please make some changes fast!!! Let’s play and coach like our life depends on it; because it basically does.
The part that really drives me mad unwillingness to divert from whatever ‘plan’ is in place.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Houston looked very very quick and fast vs Cincy in the limited possessions I watched & they are relentless no matter what results they obtain. Houston will be very difficult for UCONN and expect another road loss. What current players on UCONN would even play for one of the top current teams in America? Also, watch closely when Brimah stands next to a bonafide 6-10 opponent like in last year’s game vs Longhorns in Storrs. This man simply is not seven feet tall. Please UCONN, check your roster listings to make corrections to heights and stop prevarication.
UConn, not UCONN