After surviving by the skin of their teeth in an exciting overtime clash last Tuesday against Butler, the UConn men’s basketball team returns to action this Saturday on the road at Xavier. The Huskies will have their work cut out for them this weekend, as not only will Liam McNeeley sit out for a sixth straight game, but the Musketeers are no joke of a squad. However, despite the tall task ahead, there are a few ways in which the Huskies can pull out victory.
Despite McNeeley not playing and practicing, Head Coach Dan Hurley did offer a status update on the freshman saying that he is “progressing onto the court with some things.”
Hurley also noted that Alex Karaban did not practice this week. Still, the forward will suit up for Connecticut, which is a positive sign for the program, considering how neck and neck this matchup is expected to be.
These two programs come into their Jan. 25 matchup after a little over a month since their XL Center clash, where UConn pulled out the victory 94-89 in overtime, a matchup where McNeeley played. In this contest, the defense from the guards was better than it has been in recent times, though the program will need to defend the three-point line better in this contest, as Dante Maddox Jr. and the rest of the Musketeers shot the lights out from downtown in the second half of that concert, going 8-10 in that regard. Despite this, Head Coach Dan Hurley told the media that how the sophomores perform defensively will be key to limiting the damage that Xavier does from downtown.
“We want to see growth from the sophomores,” Hurley said. “We really need Jaylin Stewart and Solo Ball to start really developing as two-way guys right now. They have had enough experience, and, in particular, I think with those guys, it could really help our defense,” adding, “We need those guys to grow up.”
Despite Xavier’s high level of shooting, the Huskies have some weapons of their own and will lean primarily on Solo Ball, who is coming off a heater of a scoring performance. The sophomore scored 23 points on 8-14 shooting, including 5-10 shooting from downtown in 41 minutes of work. This performance is one of many from Ball, who has significantly stepped up his offensive game since McNeeley got injured.
A player that Connecticut will need to step up his recent performance in a significant way is big man Tarris Reed Jr. While the UConn big man has by no means been struggling, the Huskies will hope for him to replicate his performance nearly a month ago when these two sides met. Reed Jr. scored 20 points in 35 minutes of work, including a 6-6 performance from the charity stripe, indicating his high ability to draw fouls and get to the line. If Reed Jr. can match that “kodiak bear” performance, it will benefit not only him but also his teammates. Causing that much havoc down low was the direct cause of UConn winning that matchup a month ago. Reed Jr. drew so much attention down low that it allowed his teammates to feat, which is why Ball and Alex Karaban had excellent shooting nights.
While their 12-8 record would indicate mediocracy, Xavier hasn’t exactly been getting blown out and has the potential to beat any team on any given night. The Musketeers’ most recent win came on the road at Marquette, a matchup where Zack Freemantle nearly dropped a double-double on the Golden Eagles but didn’t play against the Huskies early this year. How the Connecticut gameplan revolves around containing the senior big man could decide Saturday’s contest.
Something to watch on Saturday is how many minutes Hassan Diarra plays. Hurley told the media, “[Diarra] can’t keep going on the minutes [he’s been playing]. It’s starting to wear on him.”
Not only does Diarra see the floor for nearly 30 minutes a night, but in the program’s last two contests against Creighton and Butler, the New York native has played 37 and 39 minutes, respectively. This staggering number is unsustainable for the long run, meaning players such as Aidan Mahaney or Ahmad Nowell could see extended minutes come Saturday, and the short-handed Huskies will need that out of their two newcomers.
Despite the tall task ahead of UConn this Saturday, the program has a good chance of leaving Ohio victorious. A on the road at Xavier would be huge for the Huskies and will not only move them up in the Big East standings but help them as the road to March Madness looms ever closer.