This week is certainly a big one for the red-hot UConn men’s basketball team with the upcoming top-five matchup in Hartford against Marquette on Saturday. However, before things go down at the XL Center, this team has to take care of business against the DePaul Blue Demons in an evening matchup at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
As the current holder of last place in the Big East, it’s no secret that things have been more than tough for DePaul, especially after an ugly 85-57 loss to St. John’s on the road. Along with head coach Tony Stubblefield being let go, this program has just three total wins on the season paired with a disastrous 20 losses, and they’ve been without their leading scorer Chico Carter Jr. as he nurses a rib injury that’s kept him out of play. In short, everything that could go wrong for the Blue Demons this season has gone wrong.
Unfortunately for DePaul, it’s going to get even worse with the defending national champions coming to town. Riding a 12-game win streak in the Big East, Connecticut looks like a team that can’t be stopped. Even with a recent injury scare to Tristen Newton, who reportedly had a bruised hand in UConn’s last game against Georgetown, things have continued cruising smoothly in Storrs. With that being said, now is not the time to take their foot off the gas, even if their opponent may not be the most difficult challenge they’ve faced throughout a tough schedule.
“Every one of these games counts the same in the Big East,” said coach Dan Hurley. “Luke’s been preaching that to the group. We didn’t play well the first time that we played DePaul. We’re coming off a lackluster second-half performance. The benefit for us is that this type of year, you have to be playing championship-level basketball if you want to pursue championships at this point.”
Hurley has admitted that these games against opponents like DePaul make him more nervous than those against tougher competition, even when his guys are the heavy favorites.
“Playing those big, high level games, it’s not going to affect your seeding a great deal if you’re unsuccessful. Whereas, these types of games, quad-3 or quad-4 road games, are brutal games to play because they’re losable games and they can potentially wreck months of great work.”
For these Huskies, it’s a perfect opportunity to make sure that they’re sticking to their brand of basketball with a fully healthy unit on the court. As Hurley puts it, straying away from their identity could make them as vulnerable as any team in the country and with the harsher side of their schedule getting closer and closer, it’s essential to not let human nature set in on the road.
Fans can catch Wednesday evening’s action at Wintrust Arena on CBS Sports Network.