Despite losing Liam McNeeley until at least the end of January, the No. 11 UConn men’s basketball team (12-3, 4-0 Big East) overcame a 14-point deficit to beat Providence College (7-8, 1-3 Big East) on Sunday afternoon.
The jump ball was won by UConn, and the Huskies went right to work, beginning with a signature game-opening dunk from Samson Johnson, who scored six points in the game’s first six minutes.
“The center play was never going to be the issue with the team,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said.
Jayden Ross made his first career start, making four of the five players in last season’s freshman class having started a game at one point in their UConn career. Despite the hype he received heading into the season, he only played 11 minutes and missed both of his two attempts.
“[His] game could have been a whole lot different if he makes that corner three,” Hurley said. “If he hits that floater in the first half, he probably plays 18, 20 minutes in the game. But he’s still a young, developing player.”
Providence came into the game with a chip on their shoulder and showed a fight from the beginning, making 11 of their first 20 shots and leading by as many as four points in the first 10 minutes. For a team in the 3rd percentile in 2-pointers attempted this season (averaging 28 per game), the Friars attempted 25 2-pointers and scored 28 points in the paint in the first 20 minutes.
The Huskies had their worst half of the season and seemed to miss Liam McNeeley, going on multiple scoring droughts and trailing by as many as 12 points, which was the Friars’ lead at the midway point and the Huskies’ largest halftime deficit of the season (previously seven vs. Dayton).
“Kim English had his team ready to play today,” Hurley said on Providence’s performance. “That was an impressive road performance by them.”
Providence went on a 13-3 run to close the first half, including nine unanswered points. On the other hand, Connecticut only made one of their last 10 baskets.
UConn averages 19.4 fouls per game and only had two in the first half, which for box score readers showed that the team did not show the physical effort that the team normally plays at. That was apparent to those who watched the game, as there were multiple occasions of players on Providence being able to get around the Huskies’ frontcourt in the post.
UConn showed more fight to begin the second half, scoring their first two baskets while drawing a foul and a third off a jumper by Solo Ball.
That fight would grow into a ferocious comeback, as what was once a 14-point deficit turned into a 7-0 run capped by two made free throws by Tarris Reed Jr. to tie the game. He also gave the Huskies a 62-60 lead with a tip-in basket with just under 7.5 minutes left in the game. It was the Huskies’ first comeback win after being down double digits since beating Columbia in overtime on Nov. 29, 2017.
The Huskies scored an astounding 60 points in the second half, led by a 17-point effort by Hassan Diarra, who had a career-high 19 points and a game-high eight assists. His performance included incredibly tough shots, including one as the shot clock was about to expire in the second half. Hurley said that the game was about Diarra and “his will to not allow us to lose what would have been a really rough game.” He also took responsibility for not starting him from the opener, which he now says would have made more sense.
One of the major issues of the game was the team’s performance on the glass. Providence dominated the game from a rebounding standpoint, with a 34 to 22 advantage. The 22 total rebounds by the Huskies were a season low.
“We’re not used to being –12 here,” Hurley said on the rebounding margin. “That’s not part of our bulletproof basketball formula.”
Despite one last spark of a comeback late by the Friars and a lot of fouls called on the defensive end, UConn pulled away with a huge victory as they returned to Gampel Pavilion for the first time in 33 days.
UConn will head back on the road for the next two games of the week, taking on old-school rivals Villanova and Georgetown, beginning with the Wildcats on Wednesday night.