By KEN DAVIS
UConn’s return to prominence in the Big East Conference hasn’t happened overnight. It couldn’t. It required a process.
But under the leadership of coach Dan Hurley, it has happened pretty fast. Hurley’s dedication to success, his recruiting, his installation of a system built on defense, rebounding and hard work, has elevated the Huskies and given them a new confidence level.
Step by step. Win by win.
At this stage, Hurley, his players, and UConn fans would point to the Feb. 22 victory over Villanova as the cornerstone of everything they’ve wanted to achieve. Led by R.J. Cole, UConn overcame the first-half ejection of Hurley and battled the Jay Wright Gang down the stretch, eventually winning 71-69 before an elated crowd at the XL Center.
Tonight at Madison Square Garden, in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, UConn has a bigger opportunity. A win over Villanova again would give the Huskies the season series, two games to one. That is important because Hurley and the Huskies have been chasing Villanova and its lofty Big East status since regaining membership. Hurley reminds his players of this so much they must hear it in their sleep.
No. 1 seed Providence plays Creighton in the first semifinal Friday. UConn can’t look ahead to either of those teams. The Huskies must focus on their 9 p.m tip against Villanova
A return to the Big East championship game would become the biggest step so far. Two more wins and another notch in the belt that Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun used to wear in the Big Apple would be a stunning accomplishment.
“It’s going to be a good matchup,” Cole said after UConn’s 62-52 win over Seton Hall in the quarterfinals. “We’re just ready to play [Friday] get back and go out there, and prepare for Villanova and we’ll play them and see what happens.”
If you saw the deep breath Cole took before tipoff Thursday night, you realize that is putting it mildly. He has been an All-Big East player and given his best to the Huskies this season. He is still haunted by the way UConn’s season ended last year, with a loss to Creighton in the Big East tourney and then a crushing defeat against Maryland in the return to the NCAA field.
It’s all about steps.
“My team didn’t finish well in those last five minutes [against Creighton],” Cole told me last summer in an interview for Blue Ribbon Yearbook. “We didn’t finish that game. Against Maryland, we just didn’t come ready to play. That’s what it came down to. We didn’t play those 40 minutes the way we were supposed to.
“Our motivation now is that we have to start finishing games. We don’t want that to happen this year.”
That hasn’t happened this season The Huskies are 23-8 overall and were 13-6 in the Big East. There have been close losses. The 85-74 loss at Villanova on Feb. 5 stands out as a game when the Huskies didn’t get it done. But winning six of seven down the stretch in February shows the Huskies have learned their lessons well.
It starts with defense and the Huskies showed that again against Seton Hall. It wasn’t pretty. If you want offensive efficiency, watch Gonzaga or Arizona or Kansas or Purdue.
The Huskies like it down and dirty. Of course, that’s a reflection of Hurley, who gets chills strolling the Madison Square Garden floor and thinking back to his playing days at Seton Hall.
“We can’t stray from our defensive identity,” Cole said. “That’s who we are as a team, that’s who we are as a group. And continuing to harp on that every day, we have to continue to do that. And that’s how we got these wins.”
Hurley was pleased Thursday night.
“I think we made just everything really hard on them,” he said. “At the rim, we made everything really challenging on them. . . . Just had a better plan. Made things harder on those guys.”
Villanova will be ready for UConn. There are no secrets at this point in the season. Wright is a master of making adjustments. That’s why Villanova hangs national championship banners. Point guard Collin Gillespie, an All-American if there ever was one, will remember how Cole beat him down the stretch in Hartford.
The Wildcats have the experience to handle anything. UConn is searching for that quality, because all the accomplishments by Calhoun, Donyell Marshall, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, and Kemba Walker don’t do the Huskies any good in the present. This UConn team must establish its own tradition now.
“This league, this year, you can tell it by all the games,” Wright said after the Wildcats held on to turn back St. John’s after taking a wicked shot from the Red Storm. “We all know this isn’t like there’s one team that’s dominant.
“None of us are surprised by this. That’s what great about this tournament this year. I think if you look at the tournaments across the country, you can see the crowds here. You can see the intensity here. It’s on a whole other level. This conference is as good as it’s ever been.
“We weren’t disappointed in how we played at halftime, down seven [against St. John’s]. We just said this is what it is.”
UConn will have to match Villanova’s intensity to have any chance of winning. The Wildcats don’t care how many floor burns it takes to win. Wright gets his players ready to dive on the floor and track down loose balls. No team does it better and it sets the tone.
Hurley loves that challenge and everything else that goes into the Big East tournament.
“This was our first real, live conference tournament game in a couple of years in front of fans. So it was just electric,” Hurley said after the Seton Hall win. “These guys, that’s why you come to a place like UConn to play. The big dogs play in the quarters and the semis. We’re just excited. The place was rocking with so many UConn fans. [Friday] it’s going to be insanity in here.”
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