UConn men’s basketball gears up for final true road game of season at Providence: What to know

[ad_1]

STORRS – Dan Hurley was reminded of the time his UConn men’s basketball team “cheated death” at Gampel Pavilion as he watched the film from the Providence game almost two months ago.

The Huskies fell behind by 14 points early in the second half and fought back to get up 12 with two minutes to go, only to let that lead slip away and end up in a one-possession game in the final seconds. The 87-84 final was UConn’s first of eight games without Liam McNeeley and the last of what had been an eight-game winning streak.

“It was fun to relive that,” Hurley said. “It feels like there’s been a lot of games like that.”

There have.

UConn went 7-6 in its 13 games since, with seven decided by five points or less. Wednesday’s 93-79 win over Georgetown was the team’s first double-digit margin of victory since Jan. 29 against DePaul.

Currently a game behind Marquette for fourth in the Big East standings, UConn will make its return trip to Providence to begin the month of March on Friday. It will be the final true road game of the season for the Huskies, who close their regular season at Gampel Pavilion with Marquette Wednesday and Seton Hall on Saturday, March 8.

“On the road in your league, it’s hard to win. Especially this time of year when it’s a grind and it’s like mentally tough teams that have a lot to play for and have got to reach down deep and find ways to win critical games that can improve your positioning,” Hurley said. “What’s ahead for us is we’re trying to get as high as the two, three (seed) here in this league, and then just trying to improve our positioning.”

The Providence film is a bit less harrowing knowing that McNeeley is healthy and settled back into the starting lineup. The Friars will still be without their star forward, Bryce Hopkins, who reinjured his knee and was shut down for the season near the end of January after playing in only three games.

“Just to have another good player, another tall, good perimeter player that has…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/uconn-men-basketball-gears-final-233300332.html

Author : Hartford Courant

Publish date : 2025-02-28 23:33:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.