The UConn Huskies took care of Butler on Tuesday. Now, it’s time to do it again.
The team travels to Indiana for another Big East matchup, and with just a single day of rest for both teams, it will be a true test of strength for two quality Big East lineups.
“I haven’t experienced that before,” said Butler head coach LaVall Jordan on having experienced such a close set of games in his coaching career. “I know last year with everything when everybody was trying to get games in and playing the same teams back to back, we didn’t do that in the Big East so this would be a first.”
UConn head coach Dan Hurley admitted to many of the Huskies key mistakes during Tuesday’s win, including missing easy open looks at the rim and being unable to stop guard Jayden Taylor and guard Simas Lukosius.
The Huskies aren’t alone in looking to correct their mistakes as they head on the road to take on the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs certainly will have to play differently on Thursday if they want a road win against the Huskies. UConn held the Bulldogs to just a 30.5% field goal percentage and 31.3% from the three point range. In the first half of Tuesday’s game, UConn nearly had as many three-point shots and blocked shots, with six and five, respectfully, to Butler’s eight made field goals.
Rather than focusing on the situation of playing two games in such close proximity and the lore of playing at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Hurley is choosing to focus on fixing the team’s mistakes and pushing his team toward their best possible performance.
“I’m just going to focus on what we watch on film and making the corrections that are appropriate.”
Dan Hurley, UConn men’s basketball head coach
To grab their second consecutive win, the team will certainly need better play out of big man Adama Sanogo. Hurley admitted that this was a bad game from the superstar in which the sophomore put up 13 points and 15 rebounds on 6-14 shooting splits.
“It just wasn’t sharp as he normally would be … that probably should have been a 9-14, 19 [points] and 15 [rebounds] game,” said Hurley.
UConn most recent time facing the same opponent in consecutive games dates back to 1996, when the Huskies took on Seton Hall in the team’s regular-season finale and then again in the Big East Tournament.
Will UConn get the job done once again for their third consecutive Big East win? Could Butler turn the tides and grab a win at home against a formidable Huskies lineup? That will be decided at 9 p.m. on Thursday and televised on Fox Sports.
