While the season itself hasn’t been up to expectations so far, the UConn men’s basketball team has continued its dominance from its home away from home: the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. On Wednesday night, the Huskies improved to 8-0 at the Insurance Capital of the World, with their 93-79 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas.
A significant storyline heading into Wednesday night’s contest surrounded Georgetown forward Thomas Sorber, who was announced to miss the rest of the season due to a foot injury. The freshman from New Jersey averaged 14.5 points and 8.5 boards per night up to this point.
As has happened in so many of Connecticut’s games this season, the program typically starts off slow, with Wednesday being no exception. Neither the offense nor defense was clicking, as the Hoyas jumped out to a commanding 14-4 lead. Micah Peavy hit a pair of threes, and after a UConn turnover, it seemed like it would be a long night for Connecticut — until it wasn’t.
After a quick timeout to get readjusted, UConn fired back. Solo Ball hit a quick pair of threes, Hassan Diarra went coast to coast, and suddenly, the XL Center crowd was sent into a frenzy.
For a significant portion of the first half, both sides were trading blows, with neither side gaining a real edge. However, an important reason why the first half shook out the way it did was due to the performance of Tarris Reed Jr. The 6-foot-10 big man made a killing in the paint, scoring 11 points on 5-6 shooting and grabbing six boards in 14 minutes of work. Reed also gave Connecticut their first lead of the game with a little under six minutes to go in the half, fighting for an and-1 bucket. The Michigan transfer’s performance was even more critical considering that Samson Johnson did not get out to the start he would have liked, picking up a quick pair of fouls and logging only six minutes of work in the first half. Despite this, Georgetown did not go down without a fight.
Jayden Epps led the way for the Sorber-less Hoyas,’ putting up 11 points in 16 minutes of work. Peavy also continued his early scoring success, finishing the half with 10 points, though he could not hit another three-pointer. However, the same success was not reciprocated across the program. Not only this, but the UConn defense was closing out better, and the Hoyas had to scrap for points. On the other side of things, UConn’s main contributors were contributing, and Reed’s presence down low allowed Solo Ball to similarly make a killing shooting the basketball.
At this point, it seemed like just your typical UConn game, as the ball did not lie for the 21-year-old sophomore. Ball scored 11 first-half points on 4-6 shooting, including 3-5 from downtown. Liam McNeeley also got out to a solid 8-point (3-6) start for the program. This scoring duo greatly contributed to UConn’s seven point first half lead. However, a significant advantage for UConn early on was that Hoyas’ forward Drew Fielder committed three first-half fouls, which undoubtedly altered the final score of Wednesday’s contest.
Fiedler responded to a three-point first half in a big way, as the sophomore forward put up eight straight points for the Hoyas’ in the second half, bringing the contest to within three points. However, within the first five minutes of the half, Fiedler picked up fouls No. 4 and 5, meaning that his night was over, and this deflated the shorthanded Georgetown offense.
“I don’t think we showed any type of defensive discipline at all,” head coach Ed Cooley noted on his side’s defensive effort. “A couple of early fouls and you’re going to make a gamble,” adding, “You got to use verticality when you are in that situation, but maybe I should have subbed [Fielder out], so that’s my fault for leaving him out there.”
Peavy kept up his first-half scoring success in a significant way, putting up an additional 15 points on 6-8 shooting. As devastating as the swingman’s shooting was, the rest of the program struggled to put points on the board. Conversely, the UConn offense was still firing on all cylinders, and Reed was again making a killing.
The Michigan transfer put up nine more points on 3-4 shooting. Reed also completed the double-double with an additional four rebounds. Head coach Dan Hurley expressed how dominating this version of Reed was and how the program needs that inner Kodiak Bear to emerge.
“When I get that version of Tarris Reed, he plays 28 minutes,” Hurley said. “If he could ever just unlock in himself this motor and this ferocity and this violence and this dominating mindset… he’s a difference making player.”
McNeeley kept on rolling from the first 20 minutes, putting up nine additional points, including a 4-4 performance from the free throw line. Free throws were a significant part of the result of Wednesday night’s contest, with UConn shooting a perfect 15-15 from the charity stripe in the second half.
However, perhaps the most encouraging performance from the program came from Hassan Diarra, who built off a four-point first half in a significant way with a 10-point second-half flurry.
“When he was healthy, he was kind of playing games like this; he was like 12 [points] and eight [assists]. When he was physically in worse shape, the production wasn’t there because he was basically in survival mode. He had much better pop today physically,” Hurley said.
While Georgetown was shorthanded on Wednesday night, UConn’s home win was still a massive bounce-back win after dropping a Storrs South showdown to St. John’s 89-75. UConn has a chance to keep the momentum going this Saturday at Providence for the program’s final Big East Road Trip showdown.
i am glad Reed had been impressed to me. my favorite player is mcneedly.