UConn entered the NCAA Tournament on Thursday without its starting point guard. In March, that’s where seasons usually fall apart.
Malachi Smith made sure it didn’t.
The Huskies’ starting point guard, Silas Demary Jr., went down in the Big East Tournament Championship game with a low ankle sprain the week before. He was ruled out for the first game, leaving Smith to make his first start in a UConn uniform.
Smith logged 32 minutes in the first-round win over Furman. He finished with seven assists with just one turnover. It was the most minutes Smith had played all season, with his previous high coming on Jan. 4 against Marquette.
“He saved us,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said. “32 minutes with the pressure that their guards put on you… that’s not easy.”
Demary returned for the second-round game against UCLA but was not yet at full strength. Smith remained in the starting lineup and again played 32 minutes. He tallied six more assists while only committing two turnovers.
Hurley applauded Smith’s toughness and “will to take care of the ball” for “stabilizing” UConn’s offense in the tournament opening weekend.
The word “stabilizing” encapsulates what Smith brought to the floor over the weekend. The Huskies did not need someone to post 20 points; they already had Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. each putting up monster numbers throughout the weekend.
What UConn needed was a point guard to protect the basketball and make the right plays in its decision-making offense, and that is exactly what he did.
“I didn’t really have nerves,” Smith said. “I know what I can do when I run the team, and I play with good confidence.”
His confidence is rooted in how he has always approached the game. Smith has built his game around being a pass-first point guard, more concerned with creating scoring opportunities for others rather than chasing his own.
“Growing up, I’m always making reads, trying to get my teammates involved… that’s my game,” Smith said.
While UConn’s starting point guard has improved throughout the season as a facilitator, Demary acknowledged that the role comes more naturally to Smith. He said that his backup has helped him develop that part of his game.
Demary finds comfort in having Smith behind him in the backcourt, knowing that the offense remains in steady hands.
“I feel Malachi has been ready for this moment ever since he came on campus,” Demary said. “I have the utmost confidence in him…knowing that if I’m out, I know he’s going to take care of business.”
That trust is shared throughout the locker room. Teammates like Karaban point to the “energy” and “spark” that he brings to both the locker room and on the court.
Freshman center Eric Reibe sees it firsthand every day. While both were new to the program this season, Smith arrived in Storrs with four years of college basketball under his belt. Reibe said that he and Smith are always on the same team in practice, giving him plenty of guidance in navigating the collegiate level.
“Malachi is a great guy on the court and off the court,” Reibe said. “He showed me how to be a good teammate… he has a lot of experience, and that helped me a lot.”
Smith’s final season of college basketball could have looked a lot different. Hurley has said all season that the graduate transfer could have started at a number of major programs and made significantly more money after leaving Dayton last summer. Yet he still chose UConn with a different priority in mind.
“We all sacrifice something to be here. We all could have been somewhere playing major minutes… probably more money,” Smith said. “But we decided to come here so we can win…that’s the only reason why we came here. That was top of the list.”
That has meant embracing his complementary role behind Demary for most of the season. But in the NCAA Tournament, it meant being ready to step up when his number was called.
So that’s what he did.