Tonight, your UConn Huskies will be playing one of their biggest non-conference games of the year – the #6 Maryland Terrapins at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. The Terps will obviously be a tough team, and the Huskies will need to bring their A game to win. But what, specifically, does that mean?
1.) Hit your shots. This UConn team needs to hit their open jump shots, particularly from three, in order for their offense to be effective. In particular, the Huskies need Sterling Gibbs to break out of his slump. Gibbs shot 44% from 3 last year with Seton Hall, but is 3-of-15 over his last three games.
2.) Contain Melo Trimble. Trimble is one of the best players in the country, and Maryland’s offense runs through him. If UConn’s guards can’t slow him down, he could take over the game.
3.) Shonn Miller vs. Robert Carter. The battle of the transfers. Carter, formerly at Georgia Tech, has been outstanding for Maryland thus far, averaging 13.6 points and 6.6 rebound in only 25mpg. Miller, averaging a solid 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds of his own, needs to live up to his reputation as an ace defender and rebounder. He can’t allow Carter to control the offensive glass and give Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon too many opportunities.
4.) Limit turnovers. Daniel Hamilton has been a dynamic playmaker for Kevin Ollie’s squad so far this year, averaging a team-leading 6.3 assists, but he has a tendency to turn the ball over when he tries to do too much. Turnovers tonight will lead to fast-break points the other way, and that’s something the Huskies cannot afford.
5.) Amida Brimah must assert himself on offense. Brimah has remained an outstanding defensive presence this season, and he has continued to be an effective finisher around the basket for Hamilton and his lob passes, but he’s going to need to be more aggressive in this game. Maryland freshman Diamond Stone is starting to come into his own on offense and on the boards, but he has been caught out of position on defense a number of times, and has seen some foul trouble as a result. If Brimah can bring it to him, he might be able to get Stone on the bench with foul trouble.
In all, Maryland has a loaded roster and is going to be a tremendous challenge for the Huskies. There isn’t a hole in their starting lineup of Trimble, Sulaimon, Jake Layman, Carter, and now Stone, and they have a strong bench with a number of effective players. The Huskies definitely have the talent to win, but they need to come in with the right game plan, and then they need to execute it.
Good luck, gentlemen.
If we shut down Trimble (or slow him considerably), we win. Easier said than done though- that kids a BEAST