UConn men face stiff test in its first Big East game as the No. 1 ranked team
Jan. 16—STORRS — Sounds of a birthday celebration could be heard from the UConn basketball locker room after Tuesday's practice at the Werth Center.
The Huskies sang Happy Birthday to head coach Dan Hurley, who turned 51, and devoured cupcakes specially made for the occasion by Hurley's wife Andrea.
"I got a soft cone, chocolate cake, vanilla frosting and blue and white sprinkles," Hurley said of his cupcake choice.
What would be a great gift for Hurley is a win over No. 18 Creighton (13-4, 4-2) in Big East action on Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion. Game time is 7 p.m.
It is UConn's first game since rising to the No. 1 spot on Monday.
Last year, Hurley was miserable on his birthday, which came the day after losing at home to St. John's. He contracted COVID that week and missed the next game at Seton Hall, another loss.
"Probably the two low points for me here, (a 2022 NCAA tournament first round loss) to New Mexico State in Buffalo and that week of St. John's and Seton Hall," Hurley said. "That was complete rock bottom type of stuff.
"You find out a lot about yourself in adversity."
UConn (15-2, 5-1) has avoided repeating the sort of losing streak that happened last January when it dropped four of five to start the month.
The Huskies are riding a five-game winning streak despite playing without starting center Donovan Clingan (foot), who has a chance to return to action against the Bluejays.
Their recent successful stretch has even surprised Hurley a bit.
"The confidence from last year certainly has helped," Hurley said. "Just all the things that we have in place. To do what we've done without Donovan, I'm incredibly impressed by the organization here.
"To lose everything that we lost from last year's team and then to only go in the portal for one guy and then to basically do this with a lot of freshmen running around, it's been very impressive and surprising on some level. What these guys have done has been really special."
The Huskies face a huge challenge to try to stretch their winning streak on Wednesday.
Creighton has given them fits, winning six of seven meetings. UConn won for the first time in the series last January in Storrs by a 69-60 margin.
The Bluejays feature one of the most productive trios in the country in Trey Alexander (16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists), Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.5 blocks) and Baylor Scheierman (18 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists).
"They've got three of the best players in the country at their position — center, combo guard and on the wing," Hurley said.
Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot-1, 270-pound center, is a particularly difficult matchup, especially if Clingan sits out again.
Forced to play a smaller lineup in recent weeks, the Huskies have been beaten up on the boards.
"It looks like a really bad matchup for us with Kalkbrenner because of what's happened around the rim lately...," Hurley said. "We're vulnerable everywhere the way it's looked on film for us in terms of being able to stop him the way we're currently constituted. We're scrambling and looking at different ways to try to guard centers and some different things to do when the ball goes up on the backboard."
It certainly would help the Huskies if Clingan can play for the first time since suffering his injury Dec. 20 at Seton Hall.
Even if Clingan returns to action Wednesday, he'll be on a minutes restriction.
"This is the best he's been physically probably since we even started practice and the lightest he's been," Hurley said. "(Wednesday) is a big day because he's practiced back to back days. ... We'll huddle up with the medical team tomorrow and just see how he's feeling.
"If not tomorrow, I would think that worst case scenario, unless there's a major setback, he's in for the weekend (at Villanova Saturday). Because of the way we performed here and where we're at right now, there certainly doesn't feel like there's any pressure to have him back for this one game."
There is added pressure for the Huskies being the No. 1 ranked team.
They're taking the program's top ranking for the first time since 2009 in stride.
"It's a great feeling to be No. 1," senior Hassan Diarra said. "We come in and work regardless of our ranking. We're not really too worried about that. But it is a good feeling."
No. 1 UCONN vs. No. 18 CREIGHTON
Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs
Tip time: 7 p.m. (FS1)
Records: UConn 15-2, 5-1; Creighton 13-4, 4-2
Last game: UConn beat Georgetown, 80-67, Sunday; Creighton defeated St. John's, 66-65, Saturday
Series: UConn trails, 6-1, with all seven meetings decided by single digits.
Probable starters: UConn, 6-5 graduate guard Tristen Newton (148 pts, 6.5 rebs, 6.1 assists), 6-4 graduate guard Cam Spencer (15.6 pts, 4.2 rebs), 6-6 fr. guard Stephon Castle (10.1 pts, 4.7 rebs, 3.8 assists), 6-8 r-so. forward Alex Karaban (15.4 pts, 5.8 rebs), 6-10 jr. center Samson Johnson (6.3 pts, 3.5 rebs)
Creighton, 6-4 jr. guard Trey Alexander (16.3 pts, 6.1 rebs, 4.5 assists), 6-1 sr. guard Steven Ashworth (8.2 pts, 2.8 rebs), 6-7 sr. guard Baylor Scheierman (18 pts, 8.3 rebs, 3.9 assists), 6-9 so. forward Mason Miller (7.3, pts, 4 rebs), 7-1 sr. center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.9 pts, 7.4 rebs, 2.5 blks)
Noteworthy: UConn won five straight, Creighton four in a row. ... Creighton's Big East wins versus Georgetown, DePaul, Providence and St John's, losses to Marquette and Villanova. ... Huskies own 41-9 record playing as No. 1 team. ... Bluejays hit 10.4 3-pointers per game, 11th in the country. They commit the fewest fouls in the nation at 10.8 per game. ... Creighton 0-5 all-time vs. No. 1 team. ... Top reserve: 6-3 sr. guard Francisco Farabello (4.3 pts, 2.8 rebs). ... Hot: Kalkbrenner is averaging 20 pts and 10 rebounds over the last three games. Cold: In Big East action, Newton is shooting 27.9% from the field, 20.6 percent from 3-pt range. ... Huskies 3-1 vs. ranked foes this season. ... UConn is 9-0 at home, Creighton 4-2 on the road. ... Up next: UConn visits Villanova in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. Saturday.
