Greetings from the Civic (What’s so XL about it?) Center. Tonight, UConn (The Pride of the Big East) take on (probable) future Big East member New Hampshire in an enthralling matchup betwixt the two (future) bitter rivals.
As you probably noticed, UConn’s failed attempt to secure an invitation to join the ACC this week has cast a bit of a pall over tonight’s game. Hopefully the team has more success focusing at the task at hand than this humble writer.
Tonight marks UConn’s season debut in Hartford against a UNH team that has struggled so far this season – losing three straight games including a defeat to Holy Cross on Saturday.
Despite their record (2-3 overall), the Wildcats feature a relatively balanced attack, with four players averaging double-digit scoring. Junior forward Patrick Konan leads the team, averaging 13.2 points per game, followed closely by senior guard Chandler Rhoads at 13ppg.
The true test for UConn – as always – will be rebounding. UNH has three players who average more rebounds per game than Tyler Olander (UConn’s leader), including Ferg (yes, Ferg) Myrick who averages 7.2 boards and 11.8 points off the bench. UNH brings some size upfront with center Chris Pelcher (6’10”) and forward Chris Matagrano (6’9”), so UConn will have to employ some of that Ollie-effort we’ve been hearing about this week to win the battle of the boards for the first time this season.
Some notes & whatnot:
- Shabazz Napier is averaging 20.8 points per game so far in the young season. If he can keep it up, he’d be the first non-Kemba player since Caron Butler in 2001 to average over 20 points per game.
- RJ Evans is recovering well from his collarbone injury and the team expects him to return for the Dec. 7th game against Harvard.
- Omar Calhoun is coming off a really good second half against Stony Brook. Look for Kevin Ollie to get him some shots early and see if his success can carry over.
- Ollie also needs to make a concerted effort to get Napier some early shots. Shabazz has gotten off to slow starts in almost every game this season – much to the chagrin of Ollie – and a quick start would bode well for UConn’s chances.
- As we covered earlier in the week, it would be nice to see UConn use their speed to get out on the fast break tonight. Guard Ryan Boatright has been struggling a little recently and some transition opportunities could boost his confidence and help him out of his mini slump.
- If any of you make “Fergalicious” jokes about UNH’s Ferg Myrick, we can’t be friends anymore. Consider yourselves warned.
