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Nik Khamenia, UConn men impress in preseason road win at Michigan State
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- Nik Khamenia, UConn men impress in preseason road win at Michigan State
Dan Hurley blew a kiss to Michigan State's student section, the "Izzone," during his halftime TV interview, which had a backing track of boos from the riled up crowd in their white shirts and green tinsel headwear.
"This is so great for both teams," the UConn head coach said, before his team held on for an impressive, 78-70, exhibition win over the AP preseason No. 6-ranked Spartans on Tuesday night.
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Like last fall, when the two programs began their home-and-home exhibition series in Hartford, it was a physical, intense battle – Hurley called it "heavyweight sparring" – that looked more like it belonged in conference play or March Madness than in late October. Last year's preseason bout, a 76-69 UConn win, proved to be mutually beneficial as the teams met again in a hard-fought Sweet 16 matchup that UConn also won, 67-63.
"It was like two boxers that are getting ready for a major fight that starts in November for both of us," Hurley told reporters in East Lansing. "To get a chance to play and coach here, too, for somebody that loves the game and has grown up in it… it was just an honor to be in the building here, play a game here, and hopefully we're able to put something together and maybe make it regular season games being played here."
Tuesday's win was UConn's third over Hall of Famer Tom Izzo and Michigan State in the last 357 days, though only one counts in the history books.
"Last year I didn't feel like we deserved to be on the same floor (in the exhibition), this year I really did," Izzo told reporters. "It's just, we didn't do the things we needed to do to win the game."
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The Huskies pulled it off without star Braylon Mullins, who remained unavailable as he continues to make progress in recovering from an undisclosed injury. Mullins was also sidelined for UConn's first exhibition game, a 72-52 win over Syracuse, but has since participated in some live practice and could return for the team's third and final exhibition against Purdue in Hartford on Tuesday.
It was Duke transfer Nik Khamenia who stepped up and continued to make a strong early impression on the fanbase with a team-best 19 points, four coming in the final minute and 10 seconds to hold off Michigan State's late surge. He shot 6 of 11 from the field and 2-for-4 from beyond the arc, grabbing six rebounds and dishing two assists in 34 minutes.
Freshman Colben Landrew was ready for his first true road environment in college and scored 13 points in 31 minutes, with five rebounds and a steal. And, in a battle of two of the nation's best point guards, Silas Demary Jr. paced the Huskies with 15 points (3-for-6 from 3) and four assists.
Jeremy Fears Jr., the preseason national player of the year by Blue Ribbon Yearbook and CBS Sports, had Michigan State's offense on his back in the second half as he finished with a game-high 23 points (5 of 12 from the field), eight assists and three steals.
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"The fact that that was an exhibition game blows my mind. Because it's probably the closest thing I've seen to like a Kansas type of feel with the crowd. So it lived up to everything I thought it would be," Hurley said.
Despite foul trouble from centers Na'jai Hines (who earned the start) and Oskar Giltay, the Huskies held Michigan State to 39.6% shooting from the field and just three made 3-pointers on 20 attempts from beyond the arc.
UConn, ranked No. 4 in the AP preseason poll, shot 47.4% from the field and made 10 of 25 from deep. Both teams turned the ball over 12 times.
"We were bracing for impact just playing against these guys," Hurley said. "I have so much respect for the culture, the way they go about playing, their staff, the physicality. I mean when you play them, you're gonna wake up sore and feel it the next day. I was pleasantly surprised with how we held up."
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Shaking off the physicality, Landrew scored the Huskies' first eight points in the second half as Michigan State quickly cut an eight-point deficit to two. Jayden Ross got involved on the offensive end, hitting a 3-pointer from the wing off of a nice kickout pass from Hines, who had three assists in the game and fouled out with 2:15 remaining.
Hines played just 17 minutes in his first – unofficial – UConn start, and had eight points, two rebounds and two blocks. Giltay had four points and six rebounds as he collected four fouls in 16 minutes.
Demary helped the lead grow to nine with his third 3-pointer of the night and the Spartans fought back, but the offensive operation from the Huskies looked as smooth as it has all preseason for about nine minutes. They made seven consecutive shots from the field – including 3-pointers from Junior County and Nils Machowski, and a two-handed jam from Hines – to build their first double-digit lead of the game with less than nine minutes to play.
UConn's largest lead of the game was 15 points with less than six minutes to play as Machowski, the Wofford transfer, left his mark with a second 3-pointer in three attempts. He contributed nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 13 minutes off the bench.
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Fears did what Fears does down the stretch and scored 13 points in the final six minutes – eight from the foul line – but Khamenia provided answers at the other end to keep the Huskies ahead.
"What we just talked about with (the team) in the pregame was: You win it, you don't get anything for it. It's not gonna help our tournament resume, it doesn't really do anything for your season itself, except you're just kind of planting a seed," Hurley said. "In these exhibition games, you're just trying to plant a seed about who you are."
