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 the potential to make plays,” Hurley said. “The message to Liam and all these guys is like, this thing has been built on two-way players. We’ve had great two-way players across the board and at pretty much every position, and men that were relentlessly on the backboard. So it’s great to have him back in here. It takes pressure off other people offensively, it takes pressure off Alex (Karaban) and Solo (Ball) and a variety of other players.
“But in the end, we need Liam showing up like a two-way player that’s all over the backboard like we need everyone on this team. That’s been a challenge for this team this year.”
UConn was outrebounded 34-22 in its first matchup with the Friars.
Providence, just 12-16 overall and 6-11 in the Big East, has had a disappointing season in Year Two under Kim English, who’s received a few more technical fouls this season than Hurley, at one point being fined $5,000 for comments he made to a referee after he was ejected against Xavier. Both English and Hurley received technicals when they met in Providence last season – a 74-60 UConn win.
On the court, the matchup to watch on Saturday will be at the point guard spot, where Hassan Diarra will guide the Huskies against Jayden Pierre and the Friars’ ball pressure.
Dom Amore: Hassan Diarra soldiers through pain, puts UConn men back in attack mode
Diarra had one of the best games of his career “until the last couple minutes,” Hurley said, with 19 points, eight assists and three steals in that first matchup in Storrs. His knee injury slightly improving, Diarra had 14 points, seven assists and two steals on Wednesday.
Pierre, a junior, has had to take on most of Providence’s scoring load alongside senior Bensley Joseph (both averaging 12.9 points per game). He had a career-high 24 points against the Huskies in January.
“It starts with the effort he puts in on the defensive end, just him and Bensley Joseph there, they do a really good job pressuring the ball and getting into you and getting physical with you off the ball, pressuring you on the ball,” Hurley said, acknowledging another area his team has struggled in this season. “Any time you have the speed he has and the quickness he has with the 3-point shooting, it causes problems for you because you can’t really go under screens with him. He’s a hard guy to help off of and he’s obviously a clever player, he’s a New Jersey guard.”
Ahmad Nowell provided six decent minutes off the bench in the first half on Wednesday to give Diarra some rest. Aidan Mahaney has seen his minutes decline and didn’t play at all in that game, but he had 15 points in 20 minutes off the bench against the Friars and could see time Saturday as Hurley continues to tinker with his rotation.
“it’s game-to-game right now like who’s going to be in those eighth, ninth (spots). Whichever one of Tarris (Reed) and Samson (Johnson) is playing better is going to get the minutes, whichever matchup is more favorable is going to get the minutes and then you’ve got Jaylin Stewart (at the seventh spot in the rotation),” Hurley said. “What you do at eight and nine just depends on how people looked in practice. Obviously Aidan had one of his better games against Providence, so he practiced well (Friday). I’m sure it’s not sitting well with Aidan to not play in the last game, so he was locked in in practice.”
What to know
Site: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence
Time: Noon
Records: UConn: 19-9 (11-6 Big East), Providence:
Series: UConn leads, 39-36
Last meeting: Jan. 5, 2025 – UConn 87, Providence 84 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs
TV: CBS — Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas
Radio: Fox Sports 97-9 – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman
Pregame reading:
