Those filing into the XL Center in Hartford Saturday morning should not arrive with the expectation of viewing anything artistic. And that has nothing to do with those expensive murals that were removed last summer, then relocated at the Hartford Public Library.
No, this is all about the style of basketball that will be played when Cincinnati (11-3, 2-0 American) and UConn (8-5, 1-1) get together for an important conference game. Don’t blame the 11 a.m. start time (ESPN2) if the ball doesn’t go in the basket very often. When the Bearcats and Huskies get together it’s all about brass knuckles and punches to the gut.
Defense will be the theme. Victory means survival.
“Just very defensive minded,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said Friday when asked for an explanation. “We grind it out. The game is the game. We put a lot of emphasis on our defense. Hopefully it’s not a low scoring game for us. Hopefully we can break out of that. At the end of the day, it’s going to take heart, it’s going to take will and it’s going to come down to every possession.”
Low scoring games been a trend in college basketball this season and the Huskies have been playing along lately. UConn lost its AAC opener against Temple 57-53 in overtime on Dec. 31. The Huskies return home on a two-game winning streak after traveling south for wins over Florida (63-59) and USF (58-44). Cincinnati brings a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s game, holding Wagner, SMU and East Carolina to an average of 48.6 points.
Cincinnati ranks seventh in the nation in scoring defense (54.1). while UConn ranks 35th at 59.7. Kentucky leads the nation at 50.6 and there are 38 Division I teams holding opponents under 60 points a game.
“It’s going to be a physical game,” Ollie said. “They’re a big-time rebounding team. We’re going to have to box out. We don’t want to give them second possessions so they can run the shot clock down again. It’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be a war. I think our guys are going to be up for it.”
UConn beat Cincinnati in two of three meetings last season, including a 51-45 decision at the XL Center on March 1, 2014. The Huskies were 15 of 48 from the field and Cincinnati was even worse at 13 of 48.
“There wasn’t going to be a lot of Xs and Os this game, there was going to be a lot of punches thrown,” Ollie said that day. “And thank God we threw the last punch and we got out with a victory.”
No one scored more than 63 points in those three games last season.
The only difference Saturday will be the absence of Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin, who is sidelined the remainder of this season with an arterial dissection, a vascular condition in his brain. Cronin is staying close to the program as an advisor. Assistant Larry Davis has taken over as interim head coach but the Bearcats haven’t haven’t changed their style.
Davis calls it “supreme toughness.”
Ollie has texted to Cronin, whose presence is being missed in the AAC.
“It’s good to see he is listening to his body, listening to his doctors,” Ollie said. “I know the passion he has for his program. I know he’s dying to be out there on the basketball court coaching his team. We miss him on the sideline, but I know he’ll be back and strong enough for next year. Hopefully he’ll come back and stay healthy throughout his whole life.”
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