Thursday’s showing against Colorado reinforced the belief that it’s never wise to doubt UConn on this stage. CU shot 50 percent in the first 20 minutes against one of the nation’s leaders in defensive field goal percentage while forging a nine-point halftime lead.
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Both versions came to the NCAA Tournament.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Two years ago, a CT team with an afterthought seed toughed its way through the NCAA Tournament to win the national title.
The work has been worth it for UConn.
UConn outscored Colorado 47-31 in a dominant second half and held off a furious rally by the Buffaloes in the closing minutes, led by Rodney Purvis (19 points, five rebounds two steals)-who heated up in the second half after registering just four first-half points-and Daniel Hamilton (17 points, 10 rebounds). However, he was also the poster boy for the free throw shooting woes that plagued the Buffs all game long.
“They applied the pressure on us, and that really got us speeded up”, Colorado’s Wesley Gordon said.
UConn got off to a lackluster start, missing 11 of its first 15 shots. “It’s about falling in love with your routine, and you kind of just lose sight of the crowd”.
That will certainly be put to the sternest test now; No. 9 UConn (24-10) has a marquee matchup with top-seeded Kansas in the second round on Saturday, as another March ride unfolds with the weight seemingly lifted, rather than added, to the Huskies’ shoulders. Colorado entered the tournament ranked fourth in the country in rebounding.
All-Pac-12 forward John Scott had a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds for Colorado and was 13 of 18 from the foul line. The Irish had a stretch from 2011-2013 when they won seven of the eight meetings, including knocking UConn out of the Final Four in 2011 and 2012. Then they had to hang on as the Buffaloes scored nine consecutive points and made it a one-possession game, 66-63 with 59.6 seconds left. Yes, Kansas is the better team here, but that hasn’t stopped upsets in the past. Still if the Huskies’ past history plays any role, it’s very rare that a team beats them in the NCAAs when they don’t play in the regular season. But the current group, although Amida Brimah, Omar Calhoun and Phil Nolan had varying amounts of responsibility on the 2014 title team, doesn’t have a great deal of postseason experience. “I’m not saying that’s going to bring a national championship, but our team is playing their best basketball now because they’re understanding their roles and understanding now to play hard”. Kevin Ollie has yet to lose an NCAA tournament game since taking over as head coach of the Huskies.
“The future of Colorado basketball is in good hands in terms of the players we have in our program and the ones we have coming in”, Boyle said.
“We just couldn’t come back all the way”, Talton said.
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Ollie was yelling, “No, no”, as Purvis launched the second three-pointer, but it went in and, as he passed the bench, Purvis patted Ollie and said “I got you”. “They’ve done a lovely job”. CU went 19-for-30 at the free throw line and 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. Shonn Miller is averaging 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds while Rodney Purvis is averaging 12.5 points and 2.1 assists.
