Over the course of a year, I covered the UConn Men's Basketball Program for SB Nation. I wrote breaking news stories, game previews, recaps, and featured pieces for the site. Provide live coverage and analysis on social media, resulting in greatly increased fan feedback and interest. Here is a collection of my work.
UCONN BASKETBALL REPORT CARD
This hype-machine was in full force in Storrs going into this fall. UConn was ranked as high as #16 in the polls. The frontcourt was supposed to be deeper and more experienced. Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert were set to lead a fast and dangerous backcourt deep into March. Husky fans delirious with anticipation of Kevin Ollie’s top-10 recruiting class.
How quickly things can change. Nine games into a challenging non-conference slate, the Huskies sit at 4-5 with only eight healthy scholarship players available. UConn has grinded out every single game, but the early returns leave fans questioning what could have been.
RECAP: UCONN LOST JALEN ADAMS, AND THEN TO AUBURN 70-67.
Despite another impressive defensive performance by an undermanned UConn team, the Huskies came out ice cold in the second half and then lost Jalen Adams to injury. They came back late to force overtime but ultimately floundered, losing 70-67 in front of a good-sized crowd at the XL Center.
For the fifth straight game, UConn held its opponent under 35% shooting as Auburn hit just 33% of its shots. Unfortunately, the Huskies shot an abysmal 4-of-28 from deep and 35% from the field. In a disturbing trend, they once against struggled at the line, making just 68% of their freebies.
STATEMENT GAME? TAKEAWAYS FROM UCONN'S WIN OVER UCF
With the frustrations of four-straight losses after an already rough start snowballing, it has taken far too long for the Huskies to play at the high standards their predecessors set. But at least it happened on Sunday in the win over UCF.
The Huskies came out hungry from the opening tip and rode their defense to a satisfying victory. It was refreshing to see them effectively spread the ball on offense, win 50-50 balls, and play 40 minutes of dominant defense.
In what was the most complete team-win of the season, here's what we learned from Sunday's action:
SEASON ON THE BRINK: TAKEAWAYS FROM UCONN'S TOUGH OVERTIME LOSS
Auburn’s basketball may not be on par with football, but Bruce Pearl has turned around the Tiger program as a competitive SEC squad this season. UConn could not capitalize on the chance to earn a resume-building win.
With the Huskies opening conference play Wednesday against Houston, here are a few things we learned from Friday.
What’s Cooler than Being Cool…Ice Cold: At this point, UConn’s offense lives and dies in the paint. The bigs are playing well and the guards are attacking the rim. Which is why it’s so puzzling to see the Huskies take 28 shots from three. It’s bad enough they only made *four* of them. It’s even worse that the guards settled way too many times for contested jumpers rather than attacking the paint. In the last six games, UConn is shooting 27% from three.