Notes & Quotes: Is UConn the best team in the country?

UConn men’s basketball dispatched Georgetown, 80-67, in a game that wasn’t very close but felt closer than it should have been. Dan Hurley’s squad wasn’t at its best — that was expected with Donovan Clingan’s continued absence due to injury — but they still won by 13 in a game that had 44 fouls called.

The Huskies have won five in a row despite foul trouble, tough road environments, and some bruises and illness going around, in addition to missing Clingan, who Hurley reminds us, “is one of the most impactful players in the game.”

During the non-conference portion of the season, UConn proved itself to be among the top contenders in the nation, beating Indiana, Texas, UNC, and Gonzaga while losing a close one at Kansas without Stephon Castle.

Six games into league play, the Huskies are now in the discussion for being ranked No. 1, thanks to timely losses by every team ranked ahead of them and the fact that they’re succeeding through these injuries, road trips, and potential trap games.

“Connecticut, to me, is the best team in the country,” Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley said. “They have a lot of weapons, they have a lot of answers… They move the ball, they have a purpose, they have physicality [and] athleticism. They’re one of the elite teams in college basketball.”

Against the Hoyas on Sunday, Alex Karaban led the way with 26 points, 19 in the first half, while Cam Spencer added 20. When times are tough, UConn has been able to look to its veterans, with Karaban in particular stepping up as of late. His leadership extends beyond scoring; he’s also manning the five-role in the four-guard lineup that has been deployed increasingly during Clingan’s absence.

“When they go small with Karaban at the five, they’re a tough matchup. They can extend the floor,” Cooley said. The former Providence College coach later called Karaban a first-round NBA Draft talent and mentioned that he tried to recruit the Massachusetts native to Providence but Karaban “chose the right school.”

Only one other Husky was in double figures on Sunday, Stephon Castle with 14 points, though Tristen Newton once again filled up the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Both did a great job of getting to the free-throw line. Newton’s shots weren’t falling but he was second on the team in free-throw attempts, going 5-of-7, while Castle led the team from the charity stripe, going 9-of-12, and also dished out four assists.

Here’s a deeper look at the Georgetown win:

What Went Well

Leaders Leading. When you have the combination of Alex Karaban, Tristen Newton, and Cam Spencer, your team won’t be lacking in skill, and it’ll also be overflowing with confidence and character. These guys have put the team on their backs. Right now they are the Huskies’ top three scorers, separated by 0.8 PPG as they’re all hovering around 15 points per game. But it’s not just scoring, it’s overcoming bad shooting nights, vocal leadership on the court, and guidance for younger or less experienced teammates being asked to step up.

Hurley: “We’ve got three guys who are having great years, Alex, Cam, Tristen… when you’re talking about Big East Player of the Year, [Karaban] is right there with a few of our guys.”

Answering Everything. UConn was projected to win this game quite comfortably. While the result was never in question, the game also never got too comfortable for the Huskies as Cooley’s squad fought admirably to avoid a lopsided score despite shooting just 30 percent from the field. But every time the Husky lead got down to single digits, someone had an answer.

Hurley: ”Any time it got to eight, he’d step up, make a shot, make a play… It never really felt comfortable, but those two guys [Spencer and Karaban]…T-New couldn’t really find his rhythm out there shooting the ball [but persevered]…we needed that type of performance from those guys to get out of here, I guess, with a semi-comfortable win.”

Spencer: “It felt like we couldn't break away from that six to 10-point lead. So, in those moments, it's definitely important to get stops and, hopefully, capitalize on the offensive end.”

The Diarra + Castle Boost. Hassan Diarra is emerging as an elite two-way player and a key piece off the bench and in the four-guard lineup. Castle has been showing that he’s more than an ultra-talented phenom, he has that dog in him. The freshman can be seen diving for balls, defending aggressively, and playing within the offensive strategy to get his points while also facilitating. He’s also shined in the smaller lineup.

What Needs Work

Foul Discrepancies. UConn is seeing opponents shoot way more free throws, while also handling an approach to officiating in the Big East that Hurley says is different from non-conference play and the NCAA Tournament.

Hurley: “We’ve got to figure out why, just go back and watch the film, and figure out why we’re being called for more fouls than our opponents.”

Rebounding. Georgetown held a 15-8 advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to a 20-11 advantage in second-chance points. Against Xavier, the Huskies lost the battle on the glass, 42-30, while posting some of their worst offensive and defensive rebounding percentages of the season. This has been a trend with Clingan out, but also something that could be improved if Samson Johnson can find more time on the court. The junior big man has been dealing with foul trouble over the last few games and also struggling with the physicality of Big East play.

Hurley: “Defensive rebounding is obviously an issue…Samson had a tough night…our defense efficiency is not going to improve much because we didn't finish possessions with defensive rebounds and we didn't turn them over much.” 

Turnovers. The four-guard lineup has hindered UConn’s ability to stop teams and grab rebounds, but the tradeoff has been that the Huskies have been shooting a lot better lately. However, the Georgetown, Butler, Xavier, and DePaul games have all been bottom-half turnover performances on the season for UConn. The Huskies only had two games with a worse turnover percentage than their 19.4 percent against Georgetown. The worst was in the loss at Seton Hall.

Hurley: ”The first-half turnovers, and the fouling, [were issues]…we didn’t create a lot of turnovers on our defense, but held them to four assists and held them to 4-of-16 from three.” 

“Kling Kong Watch”

Hurley indicated that Donovan Clingan is close to making a return.

“Going into this week now you’re on Kling Kong watch,” he said.

Hurley added that it’s unlikely Clingan will play in the next game on Wednesday against Creighton, but the big man’s return is coming soon.

“He’s gone multiple days of doing things, he’s had no symptoms whatsoever. His weight is down. He’s really committing to getting his weight to where it was last year where he was flying around,” Hurley shared.

Misc. Notes

Karaban and Spencer combined for 57.5 percent of the Huskies’ points on the day as they became the first Huskies this season to score 20+ in the same game. … It was Karaban’s fifth 20-point game and Spencer’s fourth. … Karaban is shooting 18/24 (66.7%) from three over the last four games to bring his season percentage to 41.2 percent. … Spencer has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games, scoring at least 14 points in each of those eight games. He’s shooting 46.8 percent from three on the year. … With the win, UConn grabbed the all-time lead in its series with Georgetown, 37-36, and improved to 5-0 at the XL Center this season and 9-0 overall at home.

Up Next

The Huskies host Creighton at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday, January 17, in a huge matchup between two teams expected to compete for the Big East crown. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. on FS1.