(PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – DERIK HAMILTON)
UConn was handed their second straight loss at the hands of Villanova on Saturday, 85-74. The Huskies dropped to 15-6 overall with the loss and 6-4 in conference play.
The Big East is tough enough, but games against Villanova have become the boogeyman for this UConn team. Coming into Philadelphia, the Huskies were looking to put the Creighton loss behind them and move forward with a marquee win against another Big East powerhouse.
That wish was not granted, as Villanova controlled the game after the first ten or so minutes were back and forth. UConn had the game at 20-19 with 9:15 left in the first half after a Tyrese Martin 3 pointer, but a quick 8-0 run pushed a Villanova lead to 9 that they would never give back. The rest of the game was filled with UConn struggling to put down tough shots, and when they did fall, giving up an immediate bucket on the other end.
Credit for this lead can be given to Collin Gillespie and Eric Dixon, who combined for 43 of the team’s 85 total points. Gillespie, the experienced 6’3″ senior point guard, ran the offense as he usually did, making minimal mistakes and punishing the Huskies for any misstep on both ends of the floor. Dixon, on the other hand, had his way with UConn’s big men all day, posting a double-double with 24 points and 12 boards, outscoring and rebounding Sanogo, Whaley, and Johnson combined. Gillespie and Dixon were always the answer to stem the tide of a UConn run, whether it would be a dagger three-pointer to extend the lead back to nine after Tyler Polley buried one of his own from Gillespie or creating space down low and finishing strong with his left for Dixon.
Despite the obvious issues scoring and defending the post for UConn in the stat sheet, UConn fans watching the game will tell you of the precarious position the team was in just over 4 minutes into the game. UConn is a deep team when it comes to perimeter play, with Gaffney, Hawkins, Polley, and Akok all finding time. The frontcourt is a more significant issue with depth but is usually not a problem with Sanogo and Whaley. They play together, or if UConn chooses to play smaller, only one could be in while the other sits. A nightmare started for UConn as Whaley and Sanogo picked up two fouls, each just after the under-16 media timeout. Dan Hurley was faced with a difficult decision but had no choice but to take both out with two fouls and play Samson Johnson and Tyler Polley in their place. Both are solid bench pieces for UConn but stepping into the paint and defending Eric Dixon proved to be a tall task for the inexperienced Johnson, who was no match for the stronger Dixon.
UConn needed to hang around until Whaley and Sanogo came back in but didn’t have to wait forever as they were back in less than 10 minutes later, each of them playing with two fouls. Dan Hurley could feel the urgency surrounding the situation and realized keeping Johnson in was a dangerous game to play and could let the game get out of hand too soon. Despite the return of both Whaley and Sanogo, the Huskies couldn’t get an offensive rhythm going and were trailing by 14 with a couple of seconds left to play and had no momentum. RJ Cole gave the Husky faithful a jolt after hitting a halfcourt shot to end the half and trim the lead to a manageable 11.
Beat the Buzzer🗣️🗣️#ThisIsUConn | #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/fEAjZdEpdC
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 5, 2022
The jolt helped UConn’s second-half offense wake up, starting the half with a couple of easy buckets, but didn’t translate to the defensive end where Villanova continued to get whatever they wanted whenever they chose and stretched out a massive 23 point lead out against the Huskies.
To make matters more uncomfortable to watch, Collin Gillespie came down awkwardly on his ankle and had to be taken to the locker room for evaluation. There has been no official diagnosis on Gillespie up to this point.
UConn took the lack of Gillespie in the game to mount a comeback. Villanova looked lost on the offensive end without their leader, where they turned the ball over a couple of times, leading to easy UConn baskets like this Adama Sanogo fast-break dunk.
AND 1!!
Sanogo on the break flushes it home with the foul!#ThisIsUConn | #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/XQ8jeDvtNi
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 5, 2022
This run cut the lead to eleven with the help of timely Jordan Hawkins three-pointers, but the lack of strength and toughness on the defensive end for UConn ultimately allowed Villanova to keep their 11 point lead up to the end of the game. UConn’s lack of discipline on defense paired with costly fouls allowed Villanova to win comfortably. UConn will have another crack at the Cats in the XL Center on February 22nd. Their more immediate focus will be to end their skid and beat a tough Marquette team at home on Tuesday.
The next game for UConn will be at the XL Center Tuesday at 6:30 pm. The game will air on FS1. This game marks the first time the Huskies have hosted a game against a top 25 opponent in almost two years.
Although the game is on a weeknight, and the XL Center generally hardly gets close to capacity, I expect Hartford to be much louder than a standard Big East game on Tuesday night. The Huskies will have their hands full and will get a massive boost from the UConn faithful. Look for Jordan Hawkins to get more playing time after a strong showing in Philadelphia.
Go Huskies!
