MBB: 3 reasons why the Huskies are a Final Four team
Their return to the Big East Conference has brought about welcome familiarity to the University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball program. Such traditions have started to manifest on the NCAA Tournament bracket.
The Huskies (23-9) and their best pre-tournament win tally since their run to their fourth and most recent national championship in 2014 were rewarded with the No. 5 seed in the West Region. That position marks their best on the bracket in over a decade, dating back to a spot in the third slot in 2011, another championship year.
UConn has moved up on the bracket but the new challenge becomes moving forward. The Huskies haven’t won a national postseason game in six years, missing their opportunity to end the drought in last season’s opening round against Maryland, accounting for a majority of the “45:07” that head coach Dan Hurley used as a mantra to fuel the team in its latest endeavors, uniting with the final five-plus minutes of the Big East semifinal collapse against Creighton. Connecticut’s new opportunity comes on Thursday night against No. 12 New Mexico State, the champions of the Western Athletic Conference (6:50 p.m. ET, TNT).
While the Nos. 5 vs. 12 matchup has been a breeding ground for upsets (though UConn avoided the trope in 2000 and 2003), the Huskies remain one of the most intriguing representatives in the West, a bracket portion topped by Gonzaga. The Huskies and Bulldogs are two of six West squads that likewise appear in the most recent edition of the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll, with UConn coming in at 21st after their run in Manhattan’s Big East Tournament ended in the semifinal round.
How can the Huskies make up some ground on the hallowed bracket? Huskies Report investigates…
Rebound through rebounds
When you’re blessed with the services of Adama Sanogo, Tyrese Martin, and Andre Jackson (who united to haul down over 18 rebounds a game), you’re expected to win rebounding battles. The Huskies acquiesced and then some, placing eighth in the nation in rebounding margin (plus-7.8, second-best in the region behind Gonzaga). To that end, the Huskies led the Big East in extra scoring chances per game, once again placing second in their region in the category (this one led by No. 16 seed Georgia State).
Rebounding and extending possessions was one of the few things that went right for the Huskies in their most recent tournament excursion: the primary reason they were able to keep pace with the Terrapins last season was a 22-4 advantage on the offensive glass. If they can get their scoring and shooting on the right track…the 54 points earned against Maryland was
their worst output in a national tournament game since 2011…the Huskies could be well on their way toward clearing a clean path to the regionals in San Francisco.
Identity Politics
Falling short of the Big East Tournament’s championship was painful for anyone associated with the Huskies’ program as is. But the fact that the finale between Villanova and Creighton played out almost perfectly in sync with the Huskies’ established identity centered around defense and rebounding: the teams shot a combined 33 percent from the field but the Wildcats squeaked out a 54-48 win thanks in part to a slight advantage in the rebounding margin (38-37) that came up especially big when both teams’ shooting reached freezing temperatures over the final stages. Their defense allowed the Bluejays only two points from the field over the final five minutes.
It seemed to live up perfectly to the dreams of low-scoring defensive triumphs Hurley and his players believe they’ve built their modern success upon. Though none of them were a part of it, the aforementioned worst scoring output, ironically enough, came in the last stage of the 2011 national championship run: they the Huskies shot only 35 percent from the field, they outrebounded Butler 53-41 and allowed them to shoot only 19 percent from the field.
“We’ve won with our defense and our rebounding which, as you know, is our identity,” Hurley said after holding Seton Hall to 36 percent shooting and a minus-13 rebounding disadvantage in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal win. Martin concurred, saying that defense and rebounding routinely top the team’s gameplan whiteboard before tip-off.
“We just can't stray away from our beacons of identity. That's who we are as the team and who we are as a group,” R.J. Cole added in reference to the victorious identity. “Continuing to harp on that every day, that’s how we win these games.”
An opportunity to make up for lost time awaits in Buffalo and potentially beyond.
Jackson’s Actions
Sanogo, Martin, and leading scorer Cole are the headlining attractions for the Huskies, but Hurley has been recently impressed by the emergence of sophomore Andre Jackson, calling him by name in discussing the Huskies’ potential postseason difference-makers.
“The statsheet lies a lot sometimes when it comes to game impact…you can’t take your eyes off Andre when he’s playing,” Hurley said during the conference tournament. “He just has such a huge impact all over the court. He's enhanced the games of R.J., Adama, and Tyrese, all the guys that kind of get the headlines with the scoring and the production on the offensive end. Guys like Andre and Isaiah (Whaley) make things so easy for those guys.”
Injuries put a snag in Jackson’s debut plans last season, but the potential he flashed on the road to recruitment from Albany Academy has been on display over the late stages of the year. He was thrust into a major role when injuries ate away at the top of the lineup in January, but he
has established a major role for himself in the regular rotation with the team back at full strength.
Risers from both the bench and the youngsters en route to hardwood glory are nothing new to the Huskies’ cherished history: the 2011 program featured major contributions from then-freshman Shabazz Napier, three years before he’d headline another national title run as a senior. Though Napier is lauded and valued for his scoring contributions, Jackson’s role as a facilitator has come up big as the Huskies have built up late momentum. Such depth could be the difference between an early exit and a deep run.
