A shorthanded UConn men’s basketball team was handed its first loss of the season Wednesday night, as the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats held off a late Huskies comeback to secure a 71-67 victory.
Without star
big man Tarris Reed, who was ruled out with an ankle injury shortly before tip-off, UConn struggled on the glass as Arizona imposed its will physically. The Wildcats size and strength was eventually too much for the Huskies without Reed, but UConn otherwise held its own, overcoming a double-digit deficit despite a poor shooting night and being “punked” on the boards.
Our staff takes a look at what stood out from the loss to Arizona.
Reibe Holds His Own
Aman Kidwai: With Tarris Reed Jr. out injured, UConn turned to the freshman center to start a big matchup against the Arizona forwards. He did quite well, scoring a team-high 15 points across 28 minutes with four rebounds before fouling out. The Huskies were dominated on the glass and didn’t have enough depth behind Reibe as he dealt with foul trouble, but in a vacuum, Reibe’s performance and ability to stand up in a big game are really impressive.
Dan Madigan: Reibe was excellent Wednesday, performing about as well as you could possibly ask for from a true freshman. He had the impossible task of trying to keep the likes of Koa Peat and Motiejus Krivas off the boards, and while he did, in Dan Hurley’s words, “get punked” a little in the paint, he was improving rapidly in real time. By the end of the game, Reibe hit a game -tying three, blocked a shot and secured a key rebound to give the Huskies a chance to win. He is a special talent that will provide a totally different look on both ends and should thrive in shorter bursts of playing time once Reed returns.
In Defense of the Midrange
Patrick Martin: Hurley talked at length last year about deconstructing the playbook given his limited personnel. You can make the case that UConn should be doing some deconstruction this year, for different reasons; nobody can guard Silas Demary Jr., and UConn’s ball screening has been excellent.
The Georgia transfer has shown he can turn the corner off a pick-and-roll and do whatever he well pleases. Tristen Newton, for all his abilities, had to use his craft and size because he wasn’t a lightning-quick athlete. Has anyone stayed in front of Demary Jr yet this year? UConn had all the space in the world versus Arizona in the paint just off simple high ball screens, almost as many options as letting UConn’s sets develop.
It’s not just Demary Jr., either; UConn’s screens this year are creating that initial separation so much better this year that options are opening up, quickly. On nights without Reed’s gravity inside and Arizona defenders glued to UConn shooters, sometimes that means settling for midrange. Solo was great at it; coming off curls, taking two dribbles, and pulling up. Demary Jr. has that in his bag too.
It’s not the shot the data boys want, but if defenses like Arizonas are running guys off the three point line and have the length inside to also pack the paint, you take what’s given to you. It’s not #analytics if you keep running your stuff mindlessly as defenses are overplaying it. You need a change-up to keep teams off balance, and UConn has that this year.
On nights without your double-double machine inside, it helps to simplify things. Put three shooters on the floor and have Demary Jr or Malachi Smith play the two-man game with a screener. And with Reibe showing he can stretch the floor with a pick-and-pop, the spacing will open up even more.
UConn’s sets will always have intricate motions and counter actions. But it’s nice to know when things aren’t working, you can go back to the basics with straight-line athleticism and good old fashioned pick-and-rolls.
An Abundance of Wing Depth
Madigan: Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross complimented each other almost perfectly in the loss to the Wildcats, combining for 13 points, five boards, two blocks and two steals. Stewart brought the offensive firepower with 10 points and did his best to slow down Peat in the post, while Ross brought some stingy perimeter defense and pushed the pace on the fast break. While the likes of Solo Ball and Alex Karaban went a little radio silent (and were hampered by foul trouble) in the middle of the game, Stewart kept UConn in the mix. Ross’ speed and pairing with Malachi Smith off the bench gave Arizona a totally different look to contend with despite a less than optimal Huskies lineup.
With Braylon Mullins coming back sooner rather than later, both might see a dip in minutes, but have shown that they can hold their own on both ends now for significant stretches. That wasn’t necessarily the case last season, and this improvement and depth will be incredibly useful when March rolls around.
