The UConn Fast Break: Let's preview the Gonzaga game

Welcome to this week’s Fast Break, and thank you for being a subscriber. Anyone else dreading the 10 pm tip-off?

This weekly newsletter is brought to you by the folks who run The UConn Blog on SB Nation and the UConn WBB Weekly, UConn Hockey Hub, Hook C Baseball, and Husky Football Forum newsletters! Please consider sharing or supporting our work!

Late Night Feature: UConn MBB at Gonzaga - The Rematch

When: Friday, December 15, 10:00 PM ET

Where: Climate Pledge Arena – Seattle, WA 

TV: ESPN 2

Radio: UConn Sports Network

Odds: UConn -5, over/under 149.5

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 76, Gonzaga 74 | 58 percent win probability

Last Meeting: The Huskies walloped the Zags in the 2023 Elite Eight. They held a seven-point lead at halftime before exploding in the second half in an eventual 82-54 victory. Jordan Hawkins dropped 20 points shooting 6-of-10 from three in the final college basketball game of Drew Timme’s storied but trophy-less career.

With nearly a week off from games after beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, UConn men’s basketball has traveled across the country to Seattle for another challenging matchup against a ranked opponent.

Mark Few’s squad is ranked 10th in the country as it gets ready to “host” the No. 5 Huskies at the semi-neutral site. While the memory of the Elite Eight beatdown is surely in Gonzaga’s mind, these two teams have changed quite a bit since then. Few recruited point guard Andrew Nembhard from Creighton and a big man from Wyoming in Ike Graham.

UConn head coach Dan Hurley and his staff should know what to expect from Nembhard. Hurley has also pointed out that the Zags offer strong depth in the frontcourt in addition to Graham.

Stats Comparison

The Huskies have an edge offensively in all major categories, including eFG% and overall offensive efficiency.

Defensively, the stats tend to be a little more split but still favor UConn. While Gonzaga holds the advantage in three defensive categories, Hurley’s squad holds a better defensive efficiency and has limited their previous opponents to fewer points this season. 

Weekly Rewind

Men’s Basketball

UConn looks strong against tough competition - The Huskies tested themselves against Indiana, Kansas, and North Carolina. We took a closer look at their performance in those games.

UConn dominates Arkansas Pine Bluff – Alex Karaban’s career-high 26 powered the Huskies through. | Photos

Notes & Quotes: Arkansas Pine Bluff – What the players and coaches had to say after the APB win.

Fast Break Pod – In this new episode, we discuss the Huskies’ performances against Kansas and North Carolina and what it means for their upcoming matchups. 

Women’s Basketball: 

Chasing Perfection – Injuries continue to ravage the Huskies.

Patterson expected to miss the remainder of the season – Sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson is dealing with a knee issue. 

UConn defeats North Carolina – The No. 17 Huskies earned an impressive 76-64 victory over the No. 24 Tar Heels.  | Photos 

Paige Bueckers’ best game of the season ($) – Bueckers’ defense shined in the Huskies’ win over the Tar Heels leading to the junior guard’s best game this season. 

UConn is set to play UNC next year – The Huskies are expected to face the Tar Heels in Greensboro next year. 

Hockey: 

Huskies land five-star defenseman – A commitment from ‘07 prospect Shayne Gould.

UConn’s poor execution in the first half of season – Despite playing well, the Huskies have struggled all season long to score and win games. 

CT Ice start times – SNY announced the start times for the CT Ice Tournament with UConn set to play Sacred Heart at 4 pm on January 26. 

Support the most in-depth coverage of UConn men’s hockey around!

UConn, Great Pic

Some shots by Ian Bethune from the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s basketball game at Gampel and the women’s basketball game against North Carolina at Mohegan Sun.

Parting Thoughts

Former UConn tight end Justin Joly may have touched some nerves last week in an interview with 247 Sports.

“UConn is in a constant state of rebuilding,” he said in an article published December 7. “It’s hard not being in a conference and not knowing who you’re going to be playing year to year. Being an independent can be fun, but there is never a set schedule. The only rivalry game we have is literally with UMass. That’s among the lowest rivalry games, unfortunately. Don’t get me wrong, I love UConn, but I want to go somewhere that is going to win a lot.”

While UConn fans may not love to hear any of this, Joly didn’t say anything incorrect.

UConn’s high water mark since 2011 is a 6-7 bowl season, which has happened twice. The football team hasn’t had a winning season since 2010, when Joly was in the first grade. With four different head coaches in less than a decade, there isnt a player who’s come through the program who has not seen multiple head coaches.

It surely stings to hear it, but it was far from disrespectful. It’s totally reasonable for a guy to want to play at a place that wins, especially when he’s proven himself to be a high-level player. Joly has since announced his commitment to NC State. Another teammate, Yakiri Walker, is transferring to Colorado.

At the end of the day, these P5 transfers are a good thing and something that can help UConn recruit. This is a new era for college sports, where the diamonds in the rough that a program like UConn finds may end up going elsewhere.

If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it with a friend or two - it would mean a lot to us!

Be sure to follow The UConn Blog!

• FACEBOOK

• INSTAGRAM

• TWITTER

• TIKTOK