University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Georgetown
UConn MBB Heads For Washington D.C. To Meet Georgetown
2/25/2022 9:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / Feb. 26, 2022
The UConn men's basketball team puts its four-game winning streak on the line in Washington D.C. on Sunday as it takes on longtime BIG EAST rival Georgetown at Capital One Arena (noon, FOX).
The No. 21/20 Huskies (20-7 overall, 11-5 BIG EAST) are looking for a season sweep against the Hoyas (6-21, 0-16), whom they defeated, 96-73, on Jan. 25 at Gampel Pavilion.
UConn has already clinched a bye to the quarterfinals of the upcoming BIG EAST Tournament, but could still finish anywhere from second to fifth in the final league standings.
The Huskies are coming off one of their most exciting wins of the season, a 71-69 thriller over No. 8 Villanova on Tuesday – a game which featured 18 lead changes and 9 ties. It was not decided until grad guard R.J. Cole, who had just scored the go-ahead basket with 5.9 seconds remaining, drew an offensive foul on Villanova with 1.1 seconds to go.
The win secured UConn's first 20-win season under Coach Dan Hurley and also equaled the highest total of conference wins under Hurley with three conference games still to play.
Cole (16.0), sophomore Adama Sanogo (15.3) and senior Tyrese Martin (13.4) form the highest-scoring trio in the BIG EAST. Sanogo (8.5) and sophomore Andre Jackson (7.3) lead the UConn rebounding, while Cole hands out the most assists (4.3).
The Huskies have dominated most opponents with blocked shots and rebounding. They rank second in the country in blocks per game (6.6) and total blocks (179), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (13.9), and sixth in total rebounds per game (40.9).
Georgetown is obviously struggling, especially defensively, where the Hoyas are giving up 80.3 points per game in conference games. Grad student guard Donald Carey and freshman guard Aminu Mohammed are tied for the team scoring lead (14.0 ppg), while Mohammed is the leading rebounder (8.1) and Carey is the leader in assists (4.4).
The Hoyas are shooting 37.3 percent overall in the BIG EAST, but they are allowing opponents to shoot 48.2 percent. They are minus-13.1 points and minus-3.2 rebounds per game against opponents.
The Hoyas are 6-9 at home overall this season and 0-7 in conference home games. UConn is 4-4 on the road overall and 4-3 in road conference games.
The Huskies are 4-5 against Georgetown at Capital One Arena.
