No. 3 UConn Basketball versus No. 4 Arizona preview; Storylines, Players to Watch
Pick the headline from the group below that best illustrates the hype surrounding No. 3 UConn basketball’s (4-0) game against No. 4 Arizona (4-0) on Wednesday night:
A Hump Day whiteout on two dollar beer night.
A four day long encampment outside Gampel Pavilion in the 40-degree weather.
Oh, not quite what you were looking for? Try these instead:
A top five matchup in mid-November between two teams already with top ten wins.
A frontcourt bejeweled by one of the top performing freshmen in the country meeting a Kodiak Bear in the low post.
Jaden Bradley versus Silas Demary Jr.
It’s hard to pick the top headline for Wednesday’s game in Storrs, judging as it’s just the second top five matchup in Gampel’s 35-year lifespan – according to Sam Calhoun — and the Huskies and Wildcats haven’t met in seven years (although that in itself could be it).
Instead, focus on the amalgamation of storylines and player matchups baked into this star-studded matchup. Who wins on the glass? How do the Huskies counter the Wildcats’ rim-running tempo? Who will guard Koa Peat?
The answers are below.
Game Trends — Keys to Victory
To paraphrase a famous Dos Equis commercial, the Wildcats don’t shoot the three ball often (5th percentile in 3PA per 40 minutes), but when they do, it tends to go in (40% as a team on the season).
It’s because the Cats, anchored by the outstanding frontcourt duo of Motiejus Krivas and Peat, live in the paint. Arizona averages over 40 rebounds a game as a team, over 12 of which come on the offensive glass (for context, the Huskies average 36.8 and 9.8, respectively) and rank in the 94th percentile nationally with 44 paint points per game.
Keeping Krivas off the offensive glass will be priority No. 1 for Tarris Reed Jr., who bounces from the smaller BYU frontcourt to the gargantuan unit of the Wildcats.
But Krivas isn’t alone down low. Peat, who erupted for 30 points and seven rebounds in Arizona’s opening night win over Florida, lives around the rim.
“Obviously two one-and-done level freshmen,” Dan Hurley said referring to Peat and his running mate Brayden Burries. “Koa Peat is really special.”
How could the Huskies counter the Wildcat battering ram down low? Enter Solo Ball.
The standout junior wing hasn’t been terribly consistent from behind the arc this season, hitting on just 8 of 26 attempts, but will need to be more of a factor against an interior-minded Wildcats squad.
“Taking what the defense gives me,” Ball said of his offensive philosophy. “But I think we’re really just focused on the defensive side of the ball going into this game.”
Good answer. The Huskies will need to prepare for a handful of tough matchups both on the perimeter and down low.
Player Matchups — Who to Guard and Where to Guard Them
The frontcourt matchups are relatively straightforward; Reed on Krivas down low and Alex Karaban on Peat on the wing.
“Just a physical frontcourt,” Hurley said of the Wildcats. “[They have] a two center system that reminds me a lot of what we had here [with Donovan Clingan and Adama Sanogo] and what we could potentially have at that position as Eric [Reibe] develops.”
Reibe may be in line for a larger role on Wednesday than he was in six minutes against BYU. Reed fell awkwardly while going up for a rebound against the Cougars and played with a noticeable limp the rest of the game – which carried into the post-game press conference.
Hurley said that Reed was playing at around 80% against BYU and admitted that he wasn’t as “sharp” as he’d like the Kodiak Bear to be. Whether or not his late-game fall has any implication on Wednesday remains to be seen, but Karaban has faith in Reibe’s ability to step in.
“Eric’s going to be ready,” Karaban said. “Eric’s had probably two of the best practices [of the season] these past couple of days and he’s going to be ready. We’re getting his confidence up, he’s been doing a great job and he’s a competitive guy.”
He’ll need to be competitive against Krivas, who, at 7-foot-2, presents the largest challenge (quite literally) of the season for the Huskies. The Lithuanian is finally healthy and has started the Cats’ first four games, averaging 8.5 points while rebounding at one of the highest rates offensively in the nation (16.9%, 93rd percentile).
Jaylin Stewart and/or Jayden Ross could both shoulder switching on Peat if need be, but the slimmer built Ross would fare better on Ivan Kharchenkov at the three.
Kharchenkov has split duties with Anthony Dell’Orso, one of the nation’s top marksmen (45% from deep this season), through the Wildcats’ first four games. Kharchenkov is a reliable on-ball defender that excels in transition – compensating for his 23.8% mark from the field.
Ball will be tabbed with Burries at the two, the second of Arizona’s premier freshmen duo. Burries presents a talented, physical, three level scoring threat for Tommy Lloyd on the perimeter but has struggled with consistency in the box score, yielding most scoring duties to his backcourt mates.
No matchup will hold as much weight on Wednesday night than Demary and Bradley, however.
Bradley has performed like the elder statesmen he is through the first four games of his senior season, averaging 15.8 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals as the Cats’ top offensive performer.
The former Alabama transfer notably took over at the end of Arizona’s games against Florida (27 points, 5 assists) and UCLA (15 points, 3 assists), draining a fistful of three pointers to either give the Cats the lead or put a lid on an opposing comeback.
“As the game goes on, he’s going to get more and more aggressive,” Demary said of Bradley. “Whether it’s in crunch time or not he’s going to be looking to make those plays.”
He stressed the need to force Bradley, who’s hit on 50% of his three pointers and 19 of his 29 two-pointers this season, into tough shots down the stretch.
Series History and Where to Watch
It’s certainly more expansive than BYU, who Connecticut played only once before last Saturday.
UConn leads the all-time series 5-2 but has dropped the most recent pair of games (2017, 2018). Both teams have been ranked in four matchups (1999, 2000, 2002, 2005), with UConn winning all four by an average of four points.
Arizona last came to Storrs in 2000, when then-No. 15 Connecticut defeated the then-fifth ranked Wildcats 71-69.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on FS1. Jason Benetti and Bill Raftery will be on the call.
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