University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Creighton University
UConn MBB Faces Another Top 25 Matchup At Creighton
2/10/2023 11:23:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / Feb 10, 2023
With just six games remaining on its regular-season schedule, the UConn men's basketball team is only running into teams it has seen before and one team or the other is going to have the motivation of revenge.
The #21/#21 Huskies settled a score with Marquette on Tuesday, rolling to an 87-72 victory after losing at Marquette earlier this season.
Saturday, the Huskies (19-6 overall, 8-6 BIG EAST) will be on the other side of the equation.
UConn defeated Creighton, 69-60, at Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 7 and it will be the Bluejays (16-8, 10-3) seeking revenge when the teams clash again on Saturday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha (2 p.m., FOX).
After losing to UConn, Creighton also lost its next game at Xavier, but has since gone on a seven-game winning streak and finds itself in the thick of the first-place race in the BIG EAST, only one game behind frontrunning Xavier.
"Minus maybe some great depth, their starting five is as good as there is in college basketball," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "They have a great blend of players. You just knew, after sharing the court with them here, that they weren't going to lose many more games before we saw them again.
"We're going to have to play at a very, very high level to win on Saturday."
The #23 Bluejays, 11-1 at home this season, boast a starting five that all average in double figures, led by center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, .724 fg pct.). Guards Baylor Scheierman (13.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg), Trey Alexander (13.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, .406 three-point fg pct.) and Ryan Nembhard (11.6 ppg, 5.2 apg) and forward Arthur Kaluma (12.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg) complete the potent starting unit.
"They have five starters who are all all-conference level players," Hurley said. "Kaluma killed us on the backboards (16 rebounds in the first game). He was a real force. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds, which is uncharacteristic of us. Our ball screen defense has got to be on point. They are a problem to deal with, especially in Omaha."
UConn has put together a streak of its own, winning its last three games and four of its last five.
While junior Adama Sanogo, who scored 26 points in the first game against Creighton, continues to lead the Huskies in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (7.2), the UConn backcourt has been surging. Sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins is averaging 21.1 points and shooting 49.4 percent overall, 44.2 percent from three-point range, and 92.5 percent from the foul line over UConn's last seven games. Senior guard Tristen Newton is averaging 15.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists over UConn's last six contests.
"This would probably be our best road win since we've been here and a win that would carry a lot of weight in terms of NCAA seedings," Hurley said about the upcoming game. "But for our players, it's all about trying to get back to being that team that we were the first six weeks of the season and the team that played Creighton in early January and the team that showed up in Hartford the other night (against Marquette)."
