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UConn men’s basketball downs Gardner-Webb, 86-46, in season-opener
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- UConn men’s basketball downs Gardner-Webb, 86-46, in season-opener
HARTFORD – The UConn men's basketball team rolled to a 86-46 win over Gardner-Webb in its season-opener at PeoplesBank Arena Monday night behind a combined 34 points from Braylon Mullins and Nik Khamenia .
It was the 200th win at UConn for coach Dan Hurley (200-75) as he begins his ninth season leading the Huskies.
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He was in his element, frustrated with his team's offensive rebounding, undisciplined fouling and poor free throw shooting, and letting his players hear it regardless of the cushion that existed on the scoreboard. And, in the first meaningful game of the year, four days before a national championship rematch with Michigan, Hurley is still solidifying his rotation and substitution patterns. The Huskies played all 14 healthy players (minus Solo Ball) and had nine in the scoring column.
"The best thing about this team is gonna be the balance," Hurley said. "Coming out of this, we're just figuring out what the rotation's gonna be. You're still playing with the rotation in this game a little bit. I did not sub this game the way I'm gonna sub the Michigan game, I can promise you that. We're still kind of giving people a look, and now whoever's earned that top eight, top nine potentially, those will be the people that play in Boston."
Mullins and Khamenia, of course, will have major roles in that.
The sophomore duo had its chemistry on display with a no-look pass setting up Mullins' fourth 3-pointer of the night as he finished with 20 points on an efficient 7 of 12 shooting, riding the exercise bike with heat compression on his knees whenever he checked out. Khamenia continued to show his versatility as he finished with 14 points (6 of 11 from the field), six rebounds and three assists.
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"(We're) just trying to make the game easier for each other, I think that's as simple as it gets," Mullins said. "Just gotta make the right read, the right pass, I mean, if you're gonna see somebody open in the corner… (Nik's) been doing great and we've just got to keep stacking games. This game is gonna be nothing like Friday, so we've just got to prepare the right way."
Point guard Silas Demary Jr., playing with what was presented to him, only took three shots from the field but still did some flirting with a triple-double as he finished with five points, eight rebounds and eight assists, with three steals and no turnovers. Freshman Colben Landrew continued to prove he's ready for the college level as he played solid on-ball defense and added 11 points (4 of 6), five rebounds and three assists while center Na'jai Hines posted a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double with three blocks in 22 minutes.
The Huskies didn't play with their food, so to speak, as they started the game on an 8-0 run, punctuated by a two-handed slam in transition from Jayden Ross, who was plus-41 in a team-high 29 minutes and scored seven points. Landrew and classmate Junior County each saw 3-pointers fall to make it a 20-point game with seven minutes left in the first half.
But the end of the half, sending the Runnin' Bulldogs to the foul line three times and missing three of their last four shot attempts in the final three minutes, didn't meet Hurley's standards.
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"It's probably a frustrating game," Hurley said. "The way we closed the first half, I think we're a better 3-point shooting team than 9-for-29, obviously I think we're a better free throw shooting team that 15-for-24. I hated the way we ended the first half, I thought that was really low level. And then to get only nine offensive rebounds in the game, it's like, it's really disappointing and it's not really who we are in terms of our identity."
Mullins was aggressive early, active defensively on the perimeter and making it pay off in transition. And he shot the 3 well, at one point sandwiching a pair of triples around an alley-oop pass to Ross.
The Huskies finished the game shooting 51.7% from the field and outscored Gardner-Webb in transition, 21-3. They only had seven second-chance points on the nine offensive boards.
"I thought we flew around, I just thought we were just a little immature and it was just a little frustrating," Hurley said.
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Friday's game against the reigning champion Wolverines, at Boston's TD Garden, will begin a stretch of games that includes seven power conference opponents and six that came into the season ranked in the AP Top 25.
"It's a lot more fun and exciting, those are the games that are easier on coaches, I think," Hurley said. "Coaching games like tonight, you're dealing with human nature, you're so on edge that your team is just not going to be ready to play because they're not going to have the same respect for the opponent – although we practice a certain way every day that should lend itself to not ever showing up and not being at our identity… And then just the opponent, obviously couldn't have more respect for Michigan and the great players."
