UConn impressive in road test at Marquette
MILWAUKEE -- Connecticut gave Marquette a taste of its own medicine Wednesday night in the Huskies' 93-82 victory at the Bradley Center, and also gave coach Jim Calhoun his 800th career win.
The Golden Eagles like to use their speed to get up and down the floor and rely heavily on their jump shots. The Huskies shot 11-for-22 from 3-point range, led by A.J. Price, who was 8-for-13. Even Stanley Robinson, who was 0-for-15 on 3s this season, hit his only attempt.
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| Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut escape a close call vs. Marquette. (US Presswire) |
Calhoun said the performance reminded him of some of the greats in his program's history.
"When I think of what A.J. did," Calhoun said, "I think of Ben (Gordon). I think of Ray (Allen). I think of Richard (Hamilton). I think of some of the great players we've had, just guys who can light up a gym."
Connecticut was also able to dominate in the post -- when it chose to, that is. Hasheem Thabeet had 14 points and 15 rebounds in 36 minutes, but he spent many of those minutes just taking up space in the offense. When he asserted himself, Marquette couldn't do anything to stop him.
His best stretch came after the first media timeout of the second half. From that point on, he worked hard to get open in the post, and his teammates rewarded him with the ball. Once he was in deep, it was an easy bucket or a trip to the line. He was 4-for-4 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the line.
Thabeet did do what he does best on defense, and that is control the paint, change the direction of some shots, and reverse the direction of some others.
While Thabeet was invisible at times, Jeff Adrien was off completely. Adrien, the team's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game, was held to two free throws and only four rebounds, six below his average.
Adrien's bad night though gave Robinson the opportunity to star. Robinson has had a tough year. He missed the first eight games with a personal issue, and has averaged only 5.6 points per game since returning. But against Marquette, he was a force inside, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 19 points.
With 6:50 to go and Marquette leading by one, Robinson keyed the decisive 13-2 run with a baseline drive for a dunk followed by two putbacks that resulted in three-point plays.
Calhoun was quite pleased with his team's effort.
"I was asked today about some significant wins, and I might put this one down because of the fact that Jeff (Adrien) had probably the worst game of his career," Calhoun said.
"Stanley Robinson, it's been a long trip back for him, through the frustrations -- for both of us sometimes. I couldn't have been happier with his performance. I thought it was one of the better performances, and one of the hardest performances for me as a coach because I had to go with my gut instinct, to get some of those kids into the game. I couldn't be more proud of my team."
Marquette had its moments to be sure. The Golden Eagles were able to assert their will, force some turnovers and get some shots in transition. Their hot 3-point shooting kept them in the game also. They were 11-for-21 from long range, which is 52.4 percent, but only 42.2 percent from the floor overall. It was tough for them inside with Thabeet patrolling the lane.
The night got off to an ominous start for Marquette though. A few minutes in, guard Dominic James broke his foot, ending his season, and the senior's college career. He'll need surgery and three to four months of rehab.
Maurice Acker did an admirable job filling in for James, especially given an unusually heavy workload. Acker, who averages only about nine minutes a game in conference play, put in 33 minutes Wednesday, scoring six points, handing out four assists and doing so with no turnovers.
But the Eagles missed James' defense, and that's partly why they had no answer for Price.
James' absence also meant no rest for Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Both played all 40 minutes and combined for 46 points (26 for McNeal), but seemed to wear down at the end. McNeal only hit one of his last five shots, and Matthews missed his last three.
In the end though, it was Connecticut's ability to assert its own style when it had to, and to run with Marquette when it had to.
That ended up being the difference.
For those who are concerned about how the Huskies will perform without injured guard Jerome Dyson, Wednesday answered some of those questions. This was a big victory, against a very good team, in a tough environment, and in front of the largest crowd to watch a college basketball game in Wisconsin.
You had to be impressed. Calhoun was.
"A performance like tonight gives you a hint that we can do some special things," he said.
That it did.
