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- No doubt UConn's the 1
No doubt UConn's the 1
In Clingan's return, Huskies dominate Creighton, while Houston, Kentucky and Auburn all deliver impressive wins. Also, we had a couple of buzzer beaters and a couple of angry coaches. Plus, Four Questions with UC Irvine coach Russell Turner.
Mike Miller
January 18, 2024
Good morning! Oh, sorry. Was that too loud? Maybe you were at UConn’s game last night, enjoying a few $2 Miller Lites.
Tell you what, we’ll just dive into a fun night of hoops, and you take it slow.
1. Cling Kong returns, UConn rolls as new No. 1
Wednesday was UConn’s first game in nearly 15 years as the No. 1 team in the AP poll. How does one avoid a letdown in that scenario?
You schedule $2 beer night for the students’ return to campus. And you welcome back Donovan Clingan for his first game in nearly a month after nursing a foot injury.
And boy, did they relish the big guy’s return.
HE'S BAAAAACK!💪
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB)
1:18 AM • Jan 18, 2024
Clingan’s return spearheaded a defensive masterpiece by the Huskies, who steamrolled No. 18 Creighton, 62-48. UConn (16-2, 6-1 in Big East) held the Jays to 34.6% shooting and just .77 points per possession, their second-worst mark of the season. .
"You can't lose the next game after you're ranked first. We all knew that coming in. The problem was we were playing one of the best teams in the country here,” said coach Dan Hurley. “We should play so hard to keep this thing right now that somebody's got to rip it out of our lifeless body"
Now, were Clingan and UConn a little too comfortable in the second half? It led by 21 with just under 7 minutes to play. Creighton (13-5, 4-3) did sneak in an 18-8 run to cut into the lead, but never got closer than 10 points. UConn crushed the glass — it had to considering it missed 45 shots — grabbing 44% of its misses as Creighton just seemed overwhelmed.
“We couldn't keep them off the glass and if you let this team get on the glass and when you turn it over, a live-ball turnover, they're going to score,” said Creighton coach Greg McDermott. “They're just elite at that.”
Or, as Hurley put it: “We were man-shit tough tonight.”
Clingan finished with 6 points, 5 boards and 2 blocks off the bench, while Tristen Newton’s 16 points and 8 rebounds led UConn. So. Is anyone going to stop UConn in March?
2. You can’t take your eyes off Kentucky or Auburn
Some conferences races (Big East, Big Ten) might already be over. Some (Big 12, MWC) are a grind.
The SEC’s might be the most fun.