A new rivalry was born on Thursday night as UConn (14-3, 2-2) outclassed Memphis in a hostile FedEx Forum. The win was the biggest of the season for the Huskies, who simultaneously notched their first road conference win, and a quality victory that will look great on their tournament resumé come March.
DeAndre Daniels picked a great time to play his best game of the season. His 23 points and 11 rebounds netted his first double-double of the year. When the Huskies’ offense stalled in the second half, Daniels put the team on his back and kept UConn in the game.
Senior guard Shabazz Napier did his usual bit of everything, finishing with 17 points and 10 assists. It was his fourth double-double of the season. When the game got close late, Napier pulled his typical heroics, hitting several big shots and finding teammates for easy baskets.
While Daniels and Napier excelled, fellow starters Amida Brimah and Ryan Boatright struggled to get in rhythm. Brimah was met with his standard foul trouble — although he did play fairly well while on the court. Boatright went 2-7 from the floor and finished with only seven points — tying a season-low.
Luckily for the Huskies, Lasan Kromah strapped on his superhero cape and played a near-perfect game. The fifth-year swingman played his typical stellar defense, but was also perfect from the both the floor and the line (5-5, 2-2), finishing with 13 points that could not have come at a more opportune time for UConn.
#17 Memphis (12-4, 3-2) gave the Huskies all they could handle. Making a mockery of the scouting reports, the poor-shooting Tigers buried three after three for much of the game. Luckily for UConn, Memphis went cold down the stretch, finishing 7-17 from behind the arc. Their big men (and some friendly home-court refereeing) were very successful in drawing fouls from UConn’s front court. Both Brimah and Phil Nolan were disqualified with under five minutes to play.
However, with the game on the line, UConn’s defense and clutch shooting closed out the victory. Despite some odd lapses — failing twice to inbound the ball late, and allowing entirely too many open threes in the first half — coach Kevin Ollie did a good job keeping his players on task and managing tempo and momentum. After two terrible road performances in Texas two weeks ago, it was an encouraging performance that speaks to UConn’s talent and potential going forward.
Notes:
- UConn out-rebounded Memphis. The third consecutive game in which they’ve done so. Remarkable considering how hapless they looked up to that point.
- Tyler Olander gave the Huskies some important minutes. He played tough defense and even dropped in a lay-up off a nice pump fake in the second half.
- Omar Calhoun was 3-4 from the field including a first half three-pointer. Calhoun has been mired in a terrible slump. If he can round back into form, it will be a huge addition for the Huskies.
- If there’s one thing UConn fans love, it’s t-shirts! Fun news from tonight’s game: UConn’s rock star Branding Director Kyle Muncy challenged UConn fans to show their spirit on twitter. The takeaway? UConn will produce and sell shirts with the famously-hilarious 1959 logo on them. A true win-win really.
- Also, this happened.
Up Next:
Drink some coffee and take an afternoon nap, because Saturday’s matchup with Louisville at Gampel Pavilion should be raucous. The game will tip late at 9pm. The game will be part of ESPN’s weekly College Gameday segment. A live show from Gampel will begin at 8pm (on ESPN, obviously) and the game will follow.
