University of Connecticut Athletics
Tight Connection Gives No. 1 Huskies Extra Edge
2/18/2024 5:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By PHIL CHARDIS
Special to uconnhuskies.com
HARTFORD – There are tons of statistics to explain why the UConn men's basketball team has risen to No. 1 in the country at 24-2, No. 1 in the BIG EAST Conference at 14-1 and is currently on a record-tying 14-game conference win streak.
The Huskies lead the BIG EAST in scoring, scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, three-point fg percentage, three-point fg percentage defense, and so on and so forth.
But there are plenty of other teams with impressive statistics.
What sets the 2023-24 Huskies apart may well have nothing to do with statistics. In fact, it might just be an intangible that cannot be measured in numbers.
"They are a very, very connected team," Marquette coach Shaka Smart said after his No. 4 Golden Eagles succumbed to the UConn buzz-saw, 81-53, on Saturday. "They have an understanding and a trust in what they do and in each other that is superior right now to anyone. That goes along with their terrific system, coaching and players. I don't know how many points that's worth, but it's worth a lot."
That connection -- a clear product of the winning culture that UConn coach Dan Hurley and his staff have worked so hard to build from the moment they arrived on campus in March, 2018 – shows itself on both ends of the court.
Offensively, it manifests as the extra pass, looking for the open man, for the better shot. Against Marquette, it showed up as 24 assists on 29 hoops. For the season, UConn has assisted on 61.9 percent of its made baskets. In BIG EAST games, it's even more, assisting on 63.2 percent. It's obvious that the Huskies care little about which of them scores, as long as one of them does. Six different players have led the Huskies in scoring in various games this year.
"I would say we love each other, we want to see each other win," said senior Hassan Diarra. "I think that's the main thing. That's why we have so many assists each and every game. We love to see our teammates prosper, we love to see them succeed, that's why we're so unselfish. You can see that on offense and on defense."
Defensively, the connection results in solid communication, calling out switches and defensive alignments. That's how the Huskies hold an offense like Marquette, which had been averaging 82.6 points per game and shooting 53.6 percent during its eight-game winning streak to a season-low 53 points and just 36.8 percent. It's how star Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek was limited to just 7 points, 13 below his average during Marquette's winning streak.
"I think it was more of a team effort, just giving him different coverages, different looks," Diarra explained about the defense on Kolek. "I think the coaching staff did a great job with their scheme and it worked."
Diarra was one of three defenders on Kolek, along with freshman Steph Castle and grad Tristen Newton.
"The different looks caused some issues for Tyler today," Hurley explained. "You have 6-6 Steph on him at times, who is physical and strong and tall. And then Tristen, 6-5 with length was also guarding him. Then, you bring in a smaller guard (Diarra), who is pesky and can really get into him and pressuring him a bit. So, you had three different types of guard defenders and then two different types of ball screen defenses, too – the high flat with the 7-3 guy (Donovan Clingan) and then the hard hedges with Samson (Johnson). It was hard for Kolek to get a rhythm."
Elite offense and elite defense have certainly contributed to UConn's outstanding season so far. But as the season winds down and the postseason looms ahead, it is their tight connection that makes the difference between the Huskies and everybody else.     Â
