Amida Brimah returned to the UConn lineup on Sunday for the first time in six weeks. While his stat line wasn’t overwhelming (six points, two rebounds, two blocks in 18 minutes), his presence on the court bolstered the Huskies’ defense and relieved Phil Nolan (who started) and Kentan Facey of some minutes, lengthening the bench.
The game itself, a 67-41 win over UCF, was never really competitive, but was fun and entertaining in its own right — like watching a mindless movie where shit blows up. And that has giants.
Because UCF has giants. And it’s fucking awesome.
Tacko Fall (7’6”, 300 lbs) is seven-foot-six and weighs 300 pounds, worthy of real words and parenthesis. He started for the Knights but criminally played only 14 minutes, recording three points, four rebounds and three blocks.
Presidential candidate (hopefully) Justin McBride (6’10”, 325 lbs), was equally imposing and unproductive, finishing with four points, three rebounds and two blocks also in 14 minutes.
Fall and McBride dwarf reserve forward Staphon Blair (6’9”, 255 lbs), who is ten pounds heavier than anyone on UConn’s roster and went scoreless in eight minutes on Sunday.
Look at those minute totals again and let the rage consume you. Despite their humungousness, UCF is terrible, and yet they refuse to play their big men significant minutes. UCF is now 10-9 this season. The attendance against UConn — arguably their biggest home game of the year — was a paltry 6,414. You would think a team that’s so unrepentantly bad would at least embrace their most interesting quality. Not only should UCF play their giant people more often, they should play them all at the same time. And no half-measures. Fall at the point guard. If you’re going to lose, lose in style baby.
In non-monster-people news, the win moves UConn to 5-3 in the AAC, tied in the loss column with the 6-3 trio of Cincinnati, Tulsa and Temple, as they compete for tournament seeding. The Huskies continued their string of impressive defensive performances by holding UCF to 23.5 percent shooting. Shonn Miller had five steals, matching a career-high set at Cornell in 2013.
The UConn offense was led by Jalen Adams, who had the best game of his young career. He scored 10 points, had five rebounds and five assists without a turnover. Adams got into the lane with ease and did a great job finding teammates in good shooting position. Had the Huskies knocked down more than seven of their 20 three-point attempts, Adams’ line would’ve looked even more impressive.
Daniel Hamilton celebrated the return of his buddy Brimah by tossing up a few alley-oops for the big guy like the good old days (December). He also had a decent shooting game, going 4-7 from the floor.
After UConn’s brutal loss to Cincinnati earlier in the week, perhaps UCF was just the medicine the Huskies needed to get back on track as they prepare to close out the regular season. Their next test will come on Thursday night as they travel to Memphis. Tip is at 9 p.m. (gross) and the game is on ESPN2 (cool).
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