Despite being ranked #24 in the AP College Basketball poll this week, there are some obvious and consistent issues with the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team this season. Their return to the Big East has meant tough conference games every few nights and this UConn team has struggled with bad stretches throughout the season. Take this past week for example, the now 17-7 Huskies took care of business at home with an 8-pt win against the then ranked #18 Marquette Golden Eagles on Tuesday, then lost on the road to then #25 Xavier by 6-pts, then squeaked out a 3-pt road win at their home-away-from-home Madison Square Garden against St. Johns. The up and down performances have been framed by a few consistent issues, the most glaring is their horrible efficiency on close shots and layups which is head-scratching.
UConn is ranked #225 in the country in 2-pt field goal percentage (out of 328 total schools). They are shooting just 43.3% on 2-pt tries, which is awful for a team with NCAA Tournament expectations. If they want to make a deep run, for me, this is the #1 thing they need to fix in the next few weeks. When you look at the 7 losses UConn has this season, only 1 was by more than 6-pts and 5 of the 7 were 4-pts or fewer. Just imagine what this team would look like with a respectable field-goal percentage, even just 2 more layups made per game. It’s within the realm of possibility that this team could be sitting at 23-2 and in the top 10 in the country with better offense. The good news for UConn is there is still time to improve this number with an eye toward the postseason and if they can, watch out.
Thus far, the awful layup percentage has been mostly offset by UConn’s ability to pull down offensive rebounds. UConn is ranked 7th in the country in total offensive rebounds at 321 and they are averaging and impressive 13.4 per game. If they continue to struggle inside the arc, this could be their saving grace in close games come tournament time. If Adama Sanogo, Isaiah Whaley, and Tyrese Martin can stay out of foul trouble and continue to pull down offensive rebounds at more than 2 per game, then this team can make up for poor shooting nights against some opponents. As great as the offensive rebound number is, it would be nice if UConn didn’t have to grab an offensive rebound on so many gimmie 2-pt field goals.
Overall, UConn’s defense has been very solid this season and they are continuing the tradition of being a block powerhouse. They are currently 2nd in the nation in blocked shots with 163, behind only the far and away leader in #2 Auburn (who lost to UConn in November). Like offensive rebounding, a staunch defense can compensate (to some degree) for a weaker offensive performance. The frustrating piece is that this team is capable of putting both together and overwhelming opponents, but has, unfortunately, had very few truly complete games all season. When the defense is humming and the layups are falling, UConn can beat any team in the country. Can they put it all together in March?
Sitting at 3rd in the Big East only behind top-10 teams in Villanova and Providence, UConn is poised to make the NCAA tournament barring a catastrophic meltdown. As of today, according to Joe Lunardi at ESPN, UConn is projected as a #6 seed, which can, and will, fluctuate a ton before the tournament begins. With 4 of their last 6 games against projected tournament teams (including current #10 Villanova), UConn has a chance to build on it’s resume and improve it’s seed. Once the Big East Tournament begins at Madison Square Garden, all bets are off for the Huskies because they have some historical magic in that building. A strong finish will quiet a lot of the Husky doubters and give the team momentum going into March.