Sometimes a team has your number. For the UConn men, that team is Creighton.
The Huskies dropped to 0-5 against the Bluejays after losing a close one, 64-62, on Wednesday night at Chi Health Center.
With their fifth win against UConn, the Bluejays joined an exclusive group. Creighton, Fordham, UMass, New Hampshire, New York University, Syracuse and Worcester Polytechnic are the only teams to start 5-0 against the Huskies.
UConn also lost to the Bluejays on Feb.1, 59-55. Like that one, this game was a completely winnable for the Huskies.
UConn started the game poorly on both sides and quickly went down big, trailing 34-24 at the half. The usual stellar Huskies defense struggled to contain Creighton on the offensive end, allowing them to shoot 15-for-29 (51.7%) from the field in the first half; this included a stretch where the Bluejays didn’t score for over four minutes.
The Huskies made a valiant comeback in the second half but fell short.
UConn coach Dan Hurley felt his team was unprepared.
“Tough loss,” he said. “Obviously, we knew coming in it would be a tough game to win. It’s disappointing. Digging a hole on the road like that, to start the game, they just took it right to us.”
The No. 18 Huskies ( 21-8, 12-6 Big East) currently sit at fourth in the conference. UConn has one game left, against DePaul, on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. The game is Senior Night and an advanced sellout. After the DePaul game, the Huskies will head to Madison Square Garden to compete in the conference tournament which begins on Wednesday.
Let’s look at some of the key numbers from Wednesday night:
Creighton’s 40 paint points
The Bluejays had no problem scoring on the Huskies in the paint in both halves. After scoring just two points in the first half, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field. He primarily did it using a variety of post moves as the Huskies struggled to guard him. UConn’s Adama Sanogo had trouble guarding Kalkbrenner as he used his quickness to get to his spots and get comfortable shots. Sanogo finished with four fouls.
Kalkbrenner and Arthur Kaluma combine for 37 points
The game plan for the Huskies was to limit Creighton’s key players in Ryan Hawkins, Alex O’Connell and Trey Alexander. UConn limited the trio to 23 points on 9-for-21 shooting from the field, but in the process, Arthur Kaluma and Kalkbrenner had great nights. Kaluma did damage in the first half and then Kalkbrenner took over the second half.
Hurley felt that was what ultimately cost them the game.
“We went into this game really wanting to limit Hawkins, O’Connell and Alexander,” he said. “We wanted to keep all of those guys under their average and we felt like we would be in great shape. Their starting four and five went for 37 in Kalkbrenner and Kaluma.
Sanogo’s 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting
Sanogo never really looked comfortable. He seemed to be forcing shots in the paint early as the offense struggled in the first half. Creighton did a great job of rotating its defense and not letting Sanogo get inside post positioning. His offensive struggles ultimately hurt the Huskies as they play inside-out through Sanogo. UConn shot 11-for-33 (33%) in the first half and it led to them being down 10 at the half. Sanogo’s foul trouble also didn’t help as he seemed to play at irregular times because of it, which didn’t allow him to get into a rhythm.
Isaiah Whaley and Andre Jackson combine for 3-for-15 from the field
Before the game, Hurley said the defense Creighton played last game on Isaiah Whaley and Andre Jackson was disrespectful. Last time, Whaley made them pay. In this game, the Bluejays’ game plan appeared to be to keep the ball away from Sanogo, R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin as much as possible and force other players to shoot. Jackson and Whaley are primarily non-shooters, so they were left open and dared to shoot, which was a disaster for the Huskies. Playing two bigs who don’t shoot well has made offense difficult at times for the Huskies this year and it was on full display against Creighton.
