UConn won another nail biter in The House That Kemba Built, beating a talented Indiana team 59-58 in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic in truly MSG-appropriate fashion.
Shabazz Napier won the 2K Classic MVP award, surprising absolutely no one, as he scored 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line. He also pulled down six rebounds, had three assists and a block and just generally won the game all by himself.
“Every big shot, he made,” Coach Kevin Ollie said.
For the second time in two nights, the game went down to the final seconds. Despite leading for nearly the entire evening, the Huskies were down five with 5:15 to play, until DeAndre Daniels and Napier hit a pair of three pointers. The lead changed hands repeatedly, and it was all Bazz down the stretch, as he drove into the lane, getting fouled, or stepping back for jumpers with defenders in his face. His jump shot with 1:02 to play put the Huskies up 59-58.
Lasan Kromah and Tyler Olander (Yes! Tyler Olander!) each got a steal, but the Huskies couldn’t capitalize, and Bazz was called for a heinous charge with 22.4 seconds left. And just like against BC, Indiana had the final possession. Yogi Ferrell took the final shot, which bounced off the rim and resulted in a scrum on the hardwood. Giffey slid out of bounds with the ball, and Indiana got to inbound the ball with 0.7 seconds left. Indiana wasn’t able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded, and UConn left Madison Square Garden with another championship trophy.
It was another slow start for the Huskies, as UConn struggled to find its offensive rhythm. With 11:39 to go in the first half, the score was tied at 8. Eight. The good news is that UConn held their own on the glass, tying Indiana with 19 first half rebounds, and pulling down seven offensive boards to the Hoosiers six.
Things finally got exciting at the end of the first half. The score was tied 24-24 with a minute to go, when Bazz decided to put on a show. He sank a three with 45 second to go, putting UConn up by three, and with just seconds left drained a shot from somewhere in Times Square. It was reminiscent of the ridiculous shot he hit in overtime against Villanova in 2012. Good ahead and watch it. We’ll wait. The Huskies went into the half up six, 30-24.
Despite some offensive woes, UConn’s defense was in fine form, particularly in the closing minutes. The Huskies got 12 steals and forced 19 Indiana turnovers.
This was a big, early season win for the 6-0 Huskies, who face Loyola-MD on Tuesday, and then the 16th ranked Florida Gators on December 2.
Notes:
- Fouls were a problem for UConn (again); Amida Brimah, Philip Nolan and Neils Giffey all picked up two first half fouls. This brought in the little-used Tyler Olander, who played better then anyone remembers. He went 2-for-4 from the floor (though he missed two three-point shots. Yeah. I know.) and pulled down three boards, including a big offensive rebound, which he followed up with a nice put-back.
- Unfortunately, that didn’t carry over to the second half. Nolan picked up two quick fouls to start the second half, and Olander made another appearance. But the inside defense and rebounding suffered greatly. At the end of the game, Nolan and Brimah both had four fouls, Giffey had three and Olander had two.
- Rebounds! We got them! Indiana came into this game out rebounding its opponents by more than 20, but UConn managed to stay close to the Hoosiers on the boards, only getting two fewer, 33 to Indiana’s 35.
- There were, inexplicably, two (TWO!) carry calls against UConn. One against Bazz in the first half that even on close inspection during the replay was totally ridiculous. Ollie got about as mad as anyone has ever seen him after that call. Boat got called for one early in the second half. Also made no sense. Apparently Bazz and Boat are too fast for both defenders and refs’ eyes.
- UConn racked up 17 turnovers. Against Boston College on Thursday night, UConn only turned the ball over three times.
- DeAndre Daniels inconsistency was on display again. After two good performances against schools from Boston, he only scored seven points in 31 minutes. Omar Calhoun’s shooting was ice cold, as he scored only two points on 1-for-7 shooting, including going 0-for-5 from three.
Next up: UConn faces Loyola-MD on Tuesday, November 26 at 7 p.m. at the XC Center in Hartford. The game airs on SNY.
