Back on December 31, Houston managed to put a damper on the champagne-fueled New Year’s Eve of every Husky fan. No amount of alcohol in the world was going to wash away that painful memory. So it was with great hope, and not a little trepidation, that Husky Nation watched the rematch in Gampel Pavilion last night.
If anyone was worried about UConn (17-4, 5-3) getting up for their second bout with Houston (11-10, 3-5), the Huskies put those fears to rest almost immediately, sprinting to an early 18-3 lead. Even with DeAndre Daniels out with a sprained ankle, UConn managed to slaughter the Cougars 80-43. Revenge, my friends, it is sweet.
“We owed them kind of a butt whooping,” Bazz said after the game.
The Huskies played like this was the last game they were ever going to get to play. They came out with fire in their eyes, and never looked back. For a team that has consistently had trouble putting bad teams away, it was an unmitigated joy to watch them just put their foot on Houston’s throat from the word “go.” This game was essentially one long highlight reel.
Shabazz Napier was his usual Bazz-like-self, contributing 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a block. Kentan Facey and Phil Nolan also had seven rebounds. Ryan Boatright added 15 points, hitting threes to finish the first half and start the second.
With Daniels out, the Huskies went with a bigger line-up, starting Niels Giffey at the four, where he did some great work in the high post, and down low on defense. He finished with ten points, going 4-for-5 from the floor, including hitting both of his three-point attempts. He also got six rebounds, including a monster offensive-board-dunk combo. I wouldn’t mind seeing Giffey start at the four, with Daniels at the three when he returns.
The Husky frontcourt had one of its best games of the season. UConn out-rebounded Houston 55-40. As a team, they had 10 blocks, four from Amida Brimah and three from Facey. We also got to see some interesting big combos: Brimah-Giffey, Nolan-Facey, Brimah-Facey, etc. If these guys can keep it up, UConn can beat anyone in the country.
Terrence Samuel had some nice moments in his 12 minutes on the floor. He got three steals, including a straight up playground, pickpocket move. Coach Ollie said after the game that he’s seen Samuel’s confidence growing in practice. This effort can only help.
TaShawn Thomas was a nonfactor in the game. Compared to his 23-point, eight-rebound effort against UConn on New Year’s Eve, Thomas only managed four points and six rebounds.
Notes:
- Ollie-ism of the day: “They ruined my New Year. Now we just ruined their Chinese New Year.” Oh, KO, you classy, cultured bastard. I love you so hard.
- In what was surely foreshadowing of UConn Games Yet To Come, there was a particularly excellent Samuel-to-Facey alley-oop in the second half. Jot it down. You’ll definitely see that again.
- CBS Sports Net forgot to cut the mic at the end of the post-game wrap, and the announcer could be heard saying what everyone in Texas was thinking, “That was awful! Oh my God.”
- Omar Calhoun played 18 minutes, but only managed to get one point, missing all four of his shots from the field. He did get three rebounds and a couple steals, but he’s still broken.
- Houston, which shot 50 percent from three in the first contest, shot only 11.1 percent from three last night, going 2-for-18. I swear; I’m trying really hard not to laugh.
- Fan favorite walk-ons Tor Watts and Pat Lenehan managed to break into the box score with rebounds. Watts had one and super-smarty Pat had two.
- Fun stat of the day: Kentan Facey’s current rebounding pace is .361 rebounds per minute played. Meaning, if he played 20 minutes, he would be averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. That’s better than Bazz’s team-leading six boards per game. Facey has incredible rebounding instincts, and is more effective in his short time on the court than any of UConn’s other big men. We want more Facey Time.
Up Next: The Huskies have a week off before they head to Cincinnati to face the No. 13 team in the country on Thursday Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. The game will be on ESPN.
