The UConn Fast Break - 12/16/2022
Bowl prep, (bad) injury luck, and the tremendous vibes on this men's hoops roster.
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Firing on all cylinders
Everyone is saying UConn men’s hoops is really good. At this point, there’s nothing we can do to stop the hype train.
Now ranked 3rd in the AP Poll, the Huskies rose to No. 1 in KenPom for the first time ever. A deeper look at the advanced stats show us this has been a historic start to the season.
Dan Hurley’s team is one of the final seven undefeated programs and is among the final four power conference teams to reach mid-December unscathed. The Huskies have done so with 11 consecutive double-digit wins. Heading into Big East play, all of us are understandably re-assessing our expectations, compared to the modest hopes we had before the season.
Simply put, it looks like we’re witnessing the next truly great UConn team. It can beat you in many ways; the Huskies have captured wins by shooting the lights out some games, getting the ball inside to Donovan Clingan and Adama Sanogo in others, and coming out the victor in a rock fight a time or two, while playing lights-out defense the entire way, as no team has scored more than one point per possession against them.
Weekly Rewind
Men’s Basketball
Sharks bit - UConn scored over 100 against LIU.
Nahiem Alleyne could help UConn reach great heights - The transfer from Virginia Tech offers UConn even more upside this season.
Joey Calcaterra more than a shooter - The transfer from San Diego has played a tremendous role off the bench.
Reassessing expectations - UConn rolled through non-con play. What’s next for Big East games?
No. 3 in AP Poll - The Huskies moved up two spots after Houston and Texas both lost.
Women’s Basketball
Terrapins top hurt Huskies - UConn held an early lead but didn’t have enough at Maryland.
UConn WBB Weekly - This year’s injuries are starting to feel like last year.
Chasing Perfection - It has been a wild week for women’s hoops.
Just one (1) healthy ballhandler would be nice ($) - The team struggled with turnovers against Princeton and Maryland.
Men’s Hockey
Terriers clip Huskies - A 3-2 defeat closed the first half of the season.
The Forecheck - It’s been a season to remember for Tage Thompson.
First-half review ($) - A hot start has faded over the past few weeks for Mike Cavanaugh and the Huskies.
A loss that felt all too familiar ($) - The Huskies limped into the end of the first half.
Football
Huskies add two commits - UConn adds a transfer DB and an in-state freshman.
AP All-American honors for Christian Haynes - The junior is UConn’s first All-American since 2010.
Defensive grades - This side of the ball was the Huskies’ strength in 2022.
Antonio Wilcox joins staff - New RB coach comes from Furman.
Women’s Hockey
Defense leads Huskies - UConn is ranked No. 15 after a strong first half led by its goaltending and defensive prowess. Head coach Chris Mackenzie even signed a new deal!
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Highlights
Andre Jackson was playing around with LIU on Saturday.
Memory Lane
Happy birthday Jalen Adams! The former UConn guard turned 27 on Sunday and the Huskies celebrated by reminding us about one of the craziest shots in UConn history.
UConn, Great Pic
It was a tough Sunday for UConn men’s hockey, as the Huskies closed the first half of the regular season with a loss. Ian Bethune was out at XL Center to grab some shots of the action.
Parting Thoughts
Despite the defeat at the hands of No. 20 Maryland on Sunday, UConn women’s basketball showed a whole ton of fight. It’s a program that’s used to winning—they had previously never lost to Maryland—but their performance was still something for fans to be proud of.
Even Geno was effusive with his praise.
Geno Auriemma had just seven players at his disposal, with none of his usual ballhandlers in uniform. Inês Bettencourt, who was originally planning to attend junior college in Florida as recently as August, stepped up to start at point guard for a top-10 team.
The Huskies were ahead after one quarter, but down double digits in the third. However, UConn battled to tie the game early in the fourth and kept the game within two possessions for much of the final stanza.
The finals break couldn’t come at a better time for UConn, with the return of Nika Muhl and Dorka Juhasz hopefully coming soon. In the meantime, it’s clear that this squad won’t give up, and is very well-coached.
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