UConn's Resurgence

Sorry for the time off between posts, it’s been a busy week. I know I’ve disappointed millions of fans.

After the first 16 games of the season, the UConn Huskies sat at a respectful 11-5, but it wasn’t as respectful as it sounds. UConn played a weak non-conference schedule and lost to the only tough teams they played; Memphis and Gonzaga. In fact, their most notable non-conference victories were over Gardner-Webb, who they beat twice, and that is only notable because of GWU’s early-season stunner over Kentucky. So even with a decent record, UConn was expected to hit some hard times entering Big East play, and they did. They had a 9-2 non-conference record, and then started 2-3 in the Big East leading them to that 11-5 record. That’s when things began to turn around for Husky nation.

The hot streak actually started on a cold note, when UConn lost guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins, both intricate and valuable players for the Huskies, due to an off the court legal incident. It’s safe to say that the result was a lot better than anticipated. UConn has gone 8-0 (including the win over Notre Dame tonight) since that 11-5 mark, with 6 of those wins coming in Big East play and 5 over top 25 teams. They also got a huge non-conference win over what was a top ten team at the time in Indiana, and now UConn is one of, if not the hottest team in the country.

While the loss of Dyson (Wiggins has since returned) has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, his return will only help the Huskies maintain their scolding temperature. The biggest reason for their success, however, has been to giant 7’3” Hasheem Thabeet. Literally before our eyes, Thabeet has turned from a somewhat uncoordinated, take-up-a-lot-of-space kind of big man who can’t really do too much on offense, to a legitimate threat on both ends of the court. Thabeet is averaging 11.2 points per game and 7.5 boards, but the most crucial stat is his 4.0 blocks per game, which is third in the nation. And while there are two people ahead of him in this category, believe me that there is no one more valuable in middle on defense. The number of shots Thabeet alters and empty possessions he yields for opponents are too many to be counted. There’s no reason why UConn will not continue this torrid pace into March.

Like I said, I will post my four #1 seeds about once a week, and here are mine for this week:

1-Memphis
2-Duke
3-Kansas
4-UCLA

I still have to put Kansas and UCLA ahead of Tennessee despite both teams losing this week. I just think they are more stable, solid teams all-around.


*Stats from ESPN.com