When UConn Ryan Boatright hit the ground with an ankle injury, he was forced to watch as Texas forward Jonathan Holmes sank an open corner three. In an instant, UConn had lost the basketball game, and their captain.
“When I realized my man was setting a screen, when I planted to go back the other way, it just gave out,” he said.
Boatright had injured his left ankle earlier in the game, but remained on the court, giving UConn a team-high 24 points in another clutch performance. As the final buzzer sounded — officially after a Husky turnover with two seconds left — Boatright was helped to the locker room by the training staff.
The bizarre ending feels appropriate in the context of the game, which was truly strange.
UConn took a 43-42 lead on a Boatright layup with 10:46 to go in the game and didn’t trail again until the final shot. Yet the last basket UConn scored was with 6:51 remaining. At the time, UConn held a four-point lead. The Huskies would miss their final eight shots, any one of which may have effectively sealed the game in their favor.
For their part, Texas shot only 27.3 percent in the second half, and had made only one of their eight three-point attempts prior to Holmes’ game-winner.
UConn will be haunted by this loss, in part because the game was so winnable despite a relatively poor performance. Guards Rodney Purvis and Omar Calhoun were again unable to play as they recover from injuries (Texas was also without star guard Isaiah Taylor). Amida Brimah struggled mightily against stronger frontcourt opponents, going 1-7 from the floor and scoring only four points, while grabbing two rebounds. The backcourt combo of Terrence Samuel and Sam Cassell, Jr. didn’t fare much better. Samuel was 0-2, while Cassell shot 2-11 including 1-7 from three-point range, each in 24 minutes.
As a team, UConn went 0-7 from deep in the second half.
It became obvious early on in this game that UConn would need to ride Boatright and Daniel Hamilton on the offensive end. Hamilton scored 13 points (though only four after halftime) and grabbed seven rebounds. The two combined to shoot 13-34, accounting for over 60 percent of UConn’s shot attempts.
Until Purvis, and possibly Calhoun, get healthy, UConn will struggle to find points. The Huskies are 224th in the nation in three-point shooting (31 percent). Hamilton, who went 1-4 on Sunday, is the only UConn player shooting better than 35 percent from deep.
The remedy, according to UConn coach Kevin Ollie, is clear:
“It can’t just be the two hours in practice. You gotta get in the gym. You gotta live over there in the Champions Center. If you’re not working on your academics, you need to be working on your game. Because you don’t want to be exposed on national television when you’re having wide open shots and not making them. We’re gonna do that as a team.”
UConn will have five days to practice their shots and rebound from the loss. The Huskies return to Gampel Pavilion on Friday night to take on Yale.
Notes:
- UConn had only seven assists as a team, combined with eight turnovers. On the year, those numbers now stand at 49 and 59, respectively (a 0.8 ratio). With Boatright expected to handle so much of the scoring load, UConn needs to find an offensive scheme that can operate more efficiently.
- Kentan Facey deserves credit for another good performance. His eight rebounds were a team high, and he made several crucial plays down the stretch.
- Rakim Lubin was reinstated after his 1-game suspension. He played only two minutes and was not a factor.
- UConn actually beat Texas on the glass 36-35, even with Brimah’s poor showing.
Up Next:
As we said above, Yale on Friday. Tip is at 7 p.m. and the game will be on SNY.
