STORRS – The UConn men’s basketball team started getting tired of only playing against each other in Dan Hurley’s practices, antsy for some new competition during the week-long stretch without games before Sunday’s matchup against Xavier.
There was time for rest and recovery, but it was hardly a break as the leaders in the Big East look to continue riding the momentum of their seven-game winning streak. When they went to Cincinnati about two and a half weeks ago, part of that streak, the Huskies erased a small second-half deficit and led by as many as 14 with less than four minutes left. Xavier clawed back late to make it a five-point final: 80-75.
The Musketeers scored 30 of their 75 points inside the paint and added 22 from the free throw line after fouls that mostly occurred inside. It was only the second time UConn was outrebounded this year (Gonzaga) as Xavier pulled in 20 offensive rebounds to the Huskies’ eight and had a 15-9 advantage in second-chance points.
This time, with a chance to sweep the season series after Xavier did the same last year, UConn has its 7-foot-2 game-changer Donovan Clingan back. The sophomore center played 24 minutes in the last outing against Villanova, his second game after the foot injury that kept him out for six. Part of the week was spent incorporating him more into the offense.
“We got destroyed by these guys the first time on the backboard; we got away with some things from a defensive standpoint where we lost the edge on drives,” Hurley said Saturday. “Some aspects of that, like the defensive rebounding, Donovan can change. … But if you don’t guard the ball and not give up the edge in dribble penetration, if you quick spun in the post and wedge dribbled, you’re going to get scored on and Donovan can’t fix all of those things.”
Xavier scores more than half of its points inside and makes up for its field goal percentage deficiency (44.2%, eighth in the Big East) on the offensive glass where it averages over 12 offensive rebounds a game – third-best in the conference.
Entering the weekend, both Quincy Olivari (17.9 points per game) and Desmond Claude (16.2) rank among the Big East’s top 10 scorers. The backcourt duo combined for 39 points despite shooting just 9 of 27 from the field the last time the teams met.
“They have three tremendous guards who start for them (Olivari, Claude and Dayvion McKnight) and they love getting to the paint, they love creating their own shots, they…
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