University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
St. John's University
No. 6 Huskies Face St. John's At XL Center
1/14/2023 11:52:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / Jan. 14, 2023
HARTFORD – Beginning Sunday, the UConn men's basketball team is looking at a busy schedule of four games in an 11-day span, beginning with longtime BIG EAST Conference rival St. John's at the XL Center in Hartford, Sunday at noon (FS1).
The congested slate continues with league contests at Seton Hall (Jan. 18), against Butler in Hartford ((Jan. 22), and against Xavier in Storrs (Jan. 25).
"The three games we've lost have been against three really tough teams in really three difficult environments (at Xavier, at Providence, at Marquette), where those teams are not going to lose many, if any, at home," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "We need Hartford to be the same kind of environment for us that we've just experienced. We've got to defend home court and find a way to win on the road – but first we have to defend home court."
The #6/#7 Huskies (15-3 overall, 4-3 BIG EAST) are looking to get back in the win column after an 82-76 loss at Marquette on Wednesday. The bright lights in the defeat were UConn's two freshman -- Donovan Clingan (20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks) and Alex Karaban (17 points, 7 rebounds).
"For those two freshmen to play the way they did in that environment is beyond impressive," Hurley said.
Hurley will be looking for the same kind of production from UConn's older players as the Huskies enter the coming stretch of games. Junior Adama Sanogo still leads the team in scoring (17.4) and rebounding (6.7), while sophomore Jordan Hawkins is also averaging double figures (14.4). Junior Andre Jackson leads in assists (4.9) with senior Tristen Newton right behind (4.3).
St. John's (12-6, 2-5) just snapped a five-game losing streak with a solid 77-61 win over Butler. No matter what its record, the Red Storm always seem to bring their hardest effort against UConn.
"They're hard to play against," Hurley explained. "They play the motion offense, so you can't always script the things you're going to see from them offensively. They are aggressive, attacking players. In their last two games, they have played more like the team that in the preseason people said were an NCAA Tournament team."
St. John's is led by 6-11 senior center Joel Soriano, who leads the team in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (12.0) and leads the country in 15 double-doubles with 15.
Tough defender Posh Alexander leads the BIG EAST in steals (2.4), while junior Andre Curbelo comes off the bench to lead the team in assists (5.2).
"Our guards can't be as robotic as they've been," Hurley said. "When there's opportunity to get in the paint and make plays, they have to do it."
Jackson is one of those UConn guards who will be making plays.
"We have to find ways to make plays within the offense and not always trying to set something up," the junior said. "If there is a set, and we get to the end, find a way to set different ball screens, quick rolls – just find a different ways to play in the flow.
"St. John's is really disruptive defensively and Soriano is a completely different player than last year. I'm looking forward to competing with them."
UConn may have lost three of its last four, but there are 13 games remaining in the regular season, meaning there's plenty of time to accomplish the goals the Huskies have set for themselves.
"That's the mindset, that's what we're telling each other," Jackson said. "We're going to put it together, we're going to figure it out. Big East basketball is different than the other teams we played. It's all about adjusting, locking into the scouting reports and being more ready and more prepared than the other team."
