The Friars will travel to Storrs on Wednesday with a massive opportunity. With a victory the Friars would keep pace for the Big East regular season crown and get a huge win in the metrics, we know how Husky fans love those, for their resume. the Friars once again find themselves with a chance to sweep a Big East foe.
It would be quite the feat considering Providence hasn’t swept UConn since well technically last year. In all seriousness it will in fact be a tough task when you think about how top Big East teams defend home court and the Huskies are looking to close the season strong as March fast approaches.
If the Friars want to avoid the 8/9 line a win at Connecticut would all but solidify that. The Friars were able to beat the Huskies 73-61 back in January when UConn was ranked 4th in the country. The Huskies remained within the top-25 since then despite going 6-5 during that stretch. UConn was able to avenge road losses against Marquette and Seton Hall, can they do the same against the Friars? Should be a great game so let’s take a deeper look.
Here’s Our Preview and Recap of the First Meeting
Hopkins v Karaban Rd 2?- Dan Hurley can’t have Alex Karaban guard Bryce Hopkins all game again can he? In the first game Hopkins got whatever he wanted against Karaban to a tune of 27 points. Hurley seems like a stubborn guy so it wouldn’t surprise me if he want with the same defensive assignments. Personally I think he should have Andre Jackson play a hand in slowing down Bryce. If he goes with Karaban expect them to provide help a lot earlier and even try and double Hopkins. A matchup to certainly worth paying attention to.
Be Competitive on the Boards– In the first meeting at the AMP the Friars were able to play to a draw on the glass. Friars must do a better job keeping the Huskies off the offensive glass, they had 17 in the first meeting. Regardless though if they can find themselves close to UConn in rebounding they’ll put themselves in a good position to win.
Lead Guard Play Pivotal- Hopkins, Carter, Sanogo, and Hawkins are the guys who do the most of the damage for their respective teams lead guard play in this game will be pivotal. In my opinion UConn is at their best when they get a good game out of Triston Newton, he wasn’t at his best in the first game. He shot 3/11 and finished with 6 points, 5 assists and 2 turnovers. The ECU transfer has had an up and down season for the Huskies but does have two triple-doubles this season. I’d expect him to be better in this one. I’d also expect Jared Bynum to play more than he did in the first meeting, as he was limited to 9 minutes due to injury. UConn may not be the best matchup for Bynum but he’s a guy you want on your side when looking to get a road win.
Carter Looking for Repeat Performance on Hawkins- Carter didn’t light it up offensively against the Huskies but he did a solid job on Jordan Hawkins. Hawkins scored 15 points on 5/14 shooting in the game at the AMP. While this may seem like a good night Hawkins has gone for 20+ in 10 games this season, he can really light it up. Alyn Breed will also have to chase him around the perimeter as well.
Sanogo or Clingan, or Both?- It will be interesting to see the minute dispersement for the Huskies two bigs. Clingan’s size seemed to give the Friars fits in the first game, he had a double-double in 21 minutes of action. Sanogo was solid however feel like Croswell matches up much better with the 6-9 forward. Hurley clearly saw this and had Clingan log season high 21 minutes and even featured both centers on the court at once.
Predictions
Crier: No doubt the Friars will be playing in a raucous environment, it’s senior night (granted a game early) and UConn fans will be hungry for a victory. I really don’t UConn has the personal that will be able to slow down Hopkins and they’ll see a more confident offensive option in Devin Carter. Having said that I think Huskies will play desperate and grind out a win. However if they fail to do so it will almost certainly break the brains of Husky fans. They’d also run out of excuses, maybe this time it will they’ll blame the 6:30 start. PC 71 UConn 74