Men's Basketball Preview: Connecticut

With the rest of the College off for break, The Back Page is keeping up with the Harvard men’s basketball team (13-1) as it finishes the remainder of its nonconference schedule. With Harvard starting Ivy League play on Jan. 11 against Dartmouth, staff writer David Freed takes a look at the Crimson’s penultimate nonconference opponent—the Connecticut Huskies.

After winning 13 of its first 14 games of the season—Harvard’s best start of the century—the Crimson will travel to Gampel Pavilion to play the Connecticut Huskies (11-3) on Wednesday.

Coach

Connecticut is coached by alumnus Kevin Ollie, who played for the Huskies under his coaching predecessor, Jim Calhoun, from 1991-95 before spending fifteen years as a journeyman in the NBA. Ollie played for 11 different professional teams before returning to Storrs as an assistant coach in 2010, when Connecticut won the national championship behind star guard Kemba Walker.

Ollie served briefly as interim head coach when Calhoun was suspended for the first three Big East games of the 2011-2012 season and took over full time when Calhoun retired in 2012. In his first year as head coach, the Huskies went 20-10—including wins over Syracuse and Michigan State—but were banned from postseason competition by the NCAA because of several years of below-standard scores on the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate metric.

Roster

The Connecticut attack is centered around senior guard Shabazz Napier. A part of the 2010 championship team, Napier has improved every year and is now a Naismith Award candidate who does it all for his team, leading in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Napier’s backcourt partner—junior Ryan Boatright—complements the senior nicely, averaging nearly 13 points and four assists per game. Both players shoot over 43 percent from beyond the arc.

Overall, the Huskies are one of the best shooting teams in the country. Collectively, Connecticut shoots 41 percent from behind the arc, and four starters shoot higher than that mark. Even 6’9” junior forward DeAndre Daniels shoots 42 percent from deep and has taken more threes (40) than free throws (37) on the year.

The Huskies are a deep team, with eight players averaging at least ten minutes per game. In its win over Florida, Connecticut used ten players. Senior guard Niels Griffey—a 61.8 three-point shooter—gives UConn a deep threat off the bench, and underclassmen Phillip Nolan (6’10”) and Amida Brimah (7’0”) are part of a deep frontcourt rotation.

Nonconference Play

Connecticut started the season on a nine game win streak—including a 65-64 win over Florida on a buzzer beater by Napier. After the win against Florida, the Huskies briefly cracked the Associated Press Top 10 before losing its first game at home to Stanford, 53-51. After losing to the Cardinal, the team dropped two of its next four games—including its first two conference games on the road—to Houston (75-71) and SMU (74-65).

The Crimson and the Huskies have one common opponent: Boston College. Connecticut beat the Eagles at home, 72-70, in late November, behind 23 points from Daniels. Harvard defeated the Eagles by 15 points at home, 73-58, on Wednesday.

Series History

The two teams have met 18 times, with the Huskies winning 16. Two years ago, the Crimson came into Gampel Pavilion with its first-ever national ranking, but the ninth-ranked Huskies emerged with a 67-53 victory, knocking the Crimson out of the Top 25.

Last year, the Huskies took out the Crimson, 57-49, behind 23 points from Daniels. Boatright added 16 points for Connecticut, which blew open a three-point game midway through the second half with a 15-4 run. Then-sophomore Wesley Saunders led the Crimson with 14 points and held Napier to just six points on the night, including none in the first 33 minutes of play.

Overall Matchup

Despite his success at Harvard, coach Tommy Amaker has yet to beat Connecticut in four meetings. Whether he can do so in 2014 will likely rest on the shoulders of sophomore guard Siyani Chambers. Saunders will get his points and shoulder the tough task of guarding Napier, but Chambers’ ability to beat Boatright off the dribble and get into the lane to create space for Harvard’s shooters could be the deciding factor.