UConn Basketball defeats Michigan State 76-69 in Preseason Finale
Dan Hurley admitted that he was preparing for Tuesday night’s scrimmage versus Michigan State differently than he will for next Monday’s opener versus New Haven.
He was under no obligation to honor that gaudy claim.
A few sprints up and down the coach’s box – and a few onto mid-court to voice his glaring displeasure with a call, a handful of face palms and leans on the scorer’s table, some not-so-nice words to the referees and a lot of head shaking epitomized Hurley’s day on the sideline.
But Hurley’s Huskies staved off Sparty, ending the preseason with a 76-69 win over Tom Izzo’s Spartans.
Speaking of Izzo, he wasn’t much of a saint either. The 31-year veteran crumpled his stack of rolled up papers as he watched his Spartans dribble the ball out of bounds on open fast breaks and leave defensive assignments open in the lane.
The two weren’t in the wrong for using their outside voices more than the arena guidelines advised them to. It was a sloppy, mistake-laden rock fight of a first half. A combined 28 personal fouls, 13 turnovers and a 40% mark from the field quantifies that claim.
“I’m doing a bad job and I’ve got to coach better technique and discipline,” Hurley said postgame. “We practice real hard, but when you get to the game, we have to clean some things up. Maybe I have to start calling my fouls in practice.”
Michigan State turned the ball over on each of its first two possessions and missed a shot on its third. Silas Demary Jr., who saw his first action as a Husky during Tuesday’s exhibition, took advantage of the Spartans’ shooting woes. Outside of a Jaylin Stewart putback, Demary accounted for six of Connecticut’s first eight points, hitting on two three pointers from the left wing.
“Having a big point guard can really help us,” Alex Karaban said. “He definitely pressured and was after it defensively. He shot the three ball well, too.”
But he didn’t stay in for long. The Georgia transfer picked up two early fouls and was subbed out for fellow transfer Malachi Smith – who wasn’t any cleaner. The two point guards contributed six of UConn’s 16 first half personal fouls.
Solo Ball led all first half scorers with 12 points, which he compiled with only one three pointer, and a plus/minus of +11. Karaban didn’t hit a field goal until the 2:42 mark but went to the locker room with nine points in 17 minutes.
Hurley’s defense played aggressive – more aggressive than it did at most times last year – but it wasn’t mistake free. Twelve turnovers forced and a stiff 39.1 field goal percentage allowed were offset by missed assignments along the perimeter and breakdowns in coverage off two-man actions.
The defense was evidently more organized (and saltier down low) than it was against Boston College, however. Eric Reibe, who started for a second consecutive game, notched two blocks and seven defensive rebounds. The 7-foot-1 freshman also chipped in five points in a low post battle against Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler.
“They’ve played against other very talented Big 10 centers,” Karaban said of Cooper and Kohler. “So for Eric to go up against them, I think it was great for him, it was a great learning experience. He battled out there, he showed that he fought during the moment.”
The offense wasn’t shabby either, outside of a mid-half slump in the first frame. A string of three consecutive three pointers from Jayden Ross, Smith and Karaban gave the Huskies a lead as large as 19 points midway through the second half.
Ross finished one point shy of a career-high, totaling 13 points and on 4/5 shooting. The junior duo of Ross and Stewart, who were challenged by Hurley to become “assertive men” in the wake of Braylon Mullins’ injury, combined for 47 minutes in split duties on the wing.
“I’ve seen that movie in my home a lot, streaming,” Hurley said of Ross’ performance. “Let’s hope that movie is going to theaters.”
It wasn’t a conventional day on the court for the Huskies. Much like what Geno Auriemma did on Sunday, when his UConn women romped Southern Connecticut by 66-points, Hurley tested a pair of small ball lineups for a handful of minutes at a time.
Dwayne Koroma, Jaylin Stewart and Alex Karaban all spent time as the primary post player for the Huskies, with Koroma getting the most time out of the three at the five. The Le Moyne transfer saw the floor for a little over 10 minutes and picked up six – yes, six – fouls (players can tally up to six fouls in an exhibition when both coaches agree) to go with his four points and four rebounds.
“I think Dwayne played well,” Hurley admitted with a chuckle after looking at the box score. “I don’t know what he was doing, I want to watch the film. I don’t know what was going on out there.”
The Huskies slipped from 13 made field goals in the first half to nine in the second, but held off Sparty’s comeback attempt with a mixture of on-ball pressure – courtesy of Smith – and three pointers from its bench.
Connecticut begins the regular season next Monday in Gampel Pavilion, welcoming in New Haven for the Chargers’ first game at the Division I level.
“I love this team,” Hurley said. “I feel like this team has a chance to be a contending team in the Big East. We have a lot of answers.”
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