These Dawgs can hunt

What's the worst thing about sports? The injuries. Unfortunately, two critical pieces on tournament teams will miss the remainder of the season. On a bright note, UConn looked awesome, Tom Izzo bounced back and Indiana State might be the best mid-major in America.

Let's get to the news.

1. Huskies chomp Gators

For those who thought UConn might struggle in its first true road game of the season, well...it was never in doubt. The Huskies led wire to wire in their 75-54 win at Florida.

Similar to when Purdue's Trevion Williams and Zach Edey split time last season (with incredibly efficient results), UConn’s duo of Adama Sanogo and 7-2 freshman Donovan Clingan looked unstoppable against Florida (6-4). Sanogo had 17 points and seven rebounds (and helped limit Colin Castleton to 4-of-14 shooting) while Clingan had 16 points, eight rebounds and went 8-of-9 from the field. UConn already had the pieces to win a Big East title, but the emergence of Clingan gives the Huskies an advantage (literally and figuratively) over every other conference opponent.

"He's been good for us, if you haven't seen us play yet," UConn coach Dan Hurley said of his freshman after the game. "He's done this a couple times, he's a really good player and he's going to keep getting better."

Keep getting better. Those three words have to make the hair stand up on the back of opposing Big East fans' necks. Re-watch Clingan's defense on Castleton, then picture his improvement three months from now. That's nightmarish stuff.

UConn (10-0) also only allowed Florida's Will Richard to attempt one three-point shot. He's shooting over 50 percent from deep, and the Huskies wouldn't let him get the space to shoot perimeter jumpers. It's an under-the-radar component but essential on the road.

So: How far can UConn go? All the way to cutting down nets in Houston.

With Jordan Hawkins (15 points) emerging as the go-to scorer, and the backcourt of Tristen Newton and Andre Jackson (combined for 13 points, 7 assists) producing, the Huskies can play with any team. But when Sanogo and Clingan dominate opponents, it raises UConn's ceiling. The Huskies also have depth, are athletic and are incredibly tough defensively. That's a championship formula.

Florida coach Todd Golden spoke about UConn's connectivity: "The thing that I think UConn does at an extremely high level is not exactly their ball pressure, like picking up the ball or denying passes, but they cover up for each other so well. We got downhill a couple times on drives, and it looks like Loft [Kyle Lofton] will have that sneak left-hand layup, and then here comes Clingan or Sanogo to wipe it off the glass. We throw out to a shooter and they cover it up. They do a great job."

As for Florida, its defensive struggles against tournament-caliber opponents continued. The Gators allowed Xavier, West Virginia and UConn to score 75 or more points. The SEC has seven or more potential NCAAT teams who can exploit their issues, so that’s something that needs fixing in the next three weeks before conference play opens.

2. Spartans snag massive Big Ten win

An undermanned Michigan State team entered must-win territory Wednesday on the road. And the game didn't look promising to start.

The opening 10 minutes were all Penn State, as the Nittany Lions built a 21-12 lead with 9:40 left in the first half. Michigan State missed rotations left and right, leaving shooters wide open. It wasn't much better on offense, as it continued to look lost without Malik Hall.

But the momentum shifted in the final two minutes of the first when AJ Hoggard made three-point plays on consecutive possessions. From there on, Hoggard took over, scoring 23 points and grabbing six rebounds in the Spartans' huge road victory.

Michigan State relentlessly attacked Penn State in pick-and-roll situations and got downhill at will. It also only attempted 14 3s compared to Penn State’s 27 3s.

The win stopped the Spartans' slide and hopefully provided a confidence booster for the team. Tom Izzo certainly didn't sugarcoat how important the game was: "Well, to say that was a big game for us would be an understatement. I think people are gonna look at a Northwestern loss or Penn State win and think of years ago. I'm gonna tell you for you Penn State people, that's a great basketball team. They have experience, they have shooters and an excellent coach."

Jalen Pickett (16.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 7.6 apg), meanwhile, deserves serious All-American buzz right now. He’s the best stat sheet-stuffing point guard in the country in one of the best top-to-bottom conferences in college basketball. Plus, Penn State could get in the NCAA Tournament conversation (its lack of a post presence will greatly hurt them in conference play, though). Regardless, Pickett will likely appear on the mid-season Bob Cousy award watch list.

3. Other notable results from Wednesday

Virginia Tech 77, Dayton 49: The score tells the story. Virginia Tech (9-1) dominated all 40 minutes, holding Dayton (5-5) to 30 percent shooting. Hokies forward Grant Basile led all scorers with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Who thought that Dayton’s NCAA Tournament dreams would hinge on the A10 tournament by December? I didn’t have that one on my bingo card.

Eastern Washington 50, California 48: The Golden Bears didn't have leading scorer Devin Askew, and it showed against a pedestrian Eastern Washington (3-5) defense. Kuany Kuany had a chance to get Cal (0-10) its first win but fell short on the last possession. Cal will be underdogs against Butler and Santa Clara in its next two games before facing UT-Arlington on December 21. Santa might bring a W as an early gift by then.

Vanderbilt 75, Pittsburgh 74: Pittsburgh (6-4) was slowly building an NCAA Tournament résumé with road victories over Northwestern and NC State. But a loss to Vanderbilt (5-4) puts a damper on those plans. Two Tyrin Lawrence free throws iced the game for the Commodores.

St John’s 86 DePaul 67: St John’s (9-1) rolled the Blue Demons, led by 17 points and 14 boards from Joel Soriano. The Johnnies did something that has hindered them in recent years: Beat a bad Big East team. That’s a step in the right direction for an NCAA Tournament hopeful. DePaul, on the other hand, saw freshman Zion Cruz establish himself with 14 points, which could lead to more playing time next to Umoja Gibson during conference play.

UNLV 77, Hawaii 62: The U in UNLV stands for unbeaten! UNLV is 9-0 after another double-digit victory, this time over Hawaii (5-3). The terrific defense of UNLV forced 18 turnovers from Hawaii and held an opponent below 65 points for the seventh time this season.

Indiana State 74, Southern Illinois 71: Take a bow, Indiana State. The Sycamores (9-1) normally attempt 3-pointers on 48 percent of their possessions, yet they were just 5-of-18 last night and still managed 1.05 points per possession. They're now 2-0 in Mo Valley play after beating Southern Illinois (5-4), who knocked off Oklahoma State last month. Indiana State now stands as the team to beat in the league.

Indiana 81, Nebraska 65: Indiana (8-1) had no problem taking down Nebraska as the Cornhuskers played without lead guard Sam Griesel. Trayce Jackson-Davis notched his first triple-double at Indiana, scoring 20 points, grabbing 11 boards, dishing 10 assists, and for good measure, he added three steals and three blocks. Then again, our AFTER DARK crew didn't seem that impressed.

4. Razorbacks suffer devastating blow

Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile (11.8 points, 6.0 rebounds) is done for the season with a right knee injury, according to multiple reports.

The 6-10 forward provided the Razorbacks with length, athleticism and shooting ability at the four and occasional minutes at the five. His early-season surge put him as a first-round candidate on many NBA mock drafts — a testament to his productivity as their sixth man.

Arkansas has the depth to overcome an injury like this, but it won't be easy. Some thoughts:

• Use a four-guard lineup with more Makhi Mitchell at the five. He already starts, but this means brother Makhel or Jalen Graham will get more time. The guard option could work since Anthony Black (6-7), Devo Davis (6-4), Ricky Council (6-6) and Nick Smith (6-5) all have great size for the guard spots. They won’t have an athletic 6-10 machine who can knock down triples but the roster has more than enough talent to go deep into March.

• What could the Black-Smith-Council-Walsh-Mitchell lineup provide? Well, five guys 6-5 or taller, loads of athleticism and defensive prowess, but that's only two above-average shooters from deep. Teams will likely sag on defense and force outside shots unless the Hogs can crisply move the ball on lob threats or drive-and-kicks.

5. Michigan, N.C. State also dealing with injuries

Michigan hit the transfer portal to address a specific need this summer: Point guard play. A month into the season, that need has resurfaced.

Jaelin Llewellyn suffered a non-contact injury in Sunday’s loss to Kentucky, which turned out to be a torn ACL. He'll miss the rest of the season. The 23-year-old Princeton transfer averaged 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26 minutes per contest but started looking more comfortable in his final two games. With a Princeton degree already in hand, Llewellyn can move on from college or try to get a medical redshirt.

How does Juwan Howard adjust? He'll have to play freshman Dug McDaniel or increase Kobe Bufkin's minutes. While both guards have plenty of talent, putting younger guards into tough situations could affect them. But look at Purdue and Ohio State — two Big Ten schools that didn’t pursue point guard transfers, instead relying on Braden Smith and Bruce Thornton, respectively. Could McDaniel have the same outcome? We'll see his first conference road test today at Minnesota.

Meanwhile, NC State will be without Dusan Mahoric for the foreseeable future. The Wolfpack's starting center collided with a Coppin State player during their win Tuesday night when he landed awkwardly on his right leg and fell to the floor in pain.

He started nine of their first 10 games. Coach Kevin Keatts did not speculate how long he will be out.

“Dusan came in, an older guy who knows what it takes,” teammate Jarkel Joiner said. “He knows this is his last year, so he’s going to get healthy and figure out what’s wrong with him, and our athletic department will do everything it can for him to come back.”

One hot logo

Is this the greatest Final Four logo of all time? Nah. (That would be either 1990 or 2008). But the 2024 Phoenix Final Four logo that was released this week is pretty sweet, and certainly worth an image, even if we had to go overtime to include it.

A moment he'll never forget

Most players dream of playing at Madison Square Garden. Few get the chance. And fewer still deliver when it matters under the bright lights of NYC.

But that was Jayden Epps' night on Tuesday against Texas. Illinois' freshman guard hit a 3-pointer in the final 35 seconds, calmly sunk two free throws to tie the game in the final eight seconds, then blocked Marcus Carr's would-be game-winner as time expired.

That's a helluva night. So we caught up with him for Four Questions.

Q: Were you nervous at the free-throw line at the end? That's a big crowd and a big moment for you. I assume your confidence was high coming after that corner 3-pointer.

Jayden Epps: It was a big moment, but I wouldn't say I was nervous. I have high confidence in myself because of how hard I work. You're gonna make mistakes, but you just keep your head up and something good is gonna happen.

Q: Is going through Big Ten play going to be easier now given the non-conference schedule you've played?

Jayden Epps: We've still got stuff we have to learn. It's gonna be a hard league.

Q: Has this season been what you'd expect as a freshman? Given the schedule you guys have played, has any of it surprised you?

Jayden Epps: It's going good for me, and for all the freshmen. We're adapting well. Of course, you have to get used to college, so we have some learning curves and bumps. But we're gonna get through it. We're very talented and tough.

Q: Where would Madison Square Garden rank for places you'd want to play?

Jayden Epps: Probably No. 1. You hear so much about this place. Playing here is just a big moment and I just took it all in.

Illinois plays host to Penn State on Saturday.

It has the juice

Iowa vs. Iowa State. A true in-state rivalry as good as they come that also has NCAA Tournament seeding implications. It's also a contrast of styles as the Hawkeyes (6-2) are one of the nation's most efficient offenses, while the Cyclones (7-1) boast an incredible defense. Kris Murray leads Iowa with 19 points and 10 rebounds per contest, but leaving out the Iowa-Georgia Tech game (where Murray had 31 points and 20 boards), he's struggled in three of the past four games. He combined to score 29 points on 9/40 shooting and 2/14 from 3 in matchups against Clemson, TCU and Duke. Iowa State's length and athleticism could pose some problems for the Hawkeyes, who aren't super lengthy or athletic. They're more athletic than past Iowa teams, but it's no match for the Cyclones' massive frontcourt. (8 pm ET, FS1)

Other games to watch (All times ET)

• Rutgers (6-2) at Ohio State (6-2), 7 pm (ESPN2)

• Colorado State (6-3) at Colorado (4-5) 6 pm (ESPN2)

• Marshall (7-1) at Duquesne (7-1) 7 pm (ESPN+)

• UMass Lowell (9-1) at UMass (8-1), 7 pm

The surprise of the season*

*To everyone except Terrence Oglesby. Well, kinda. Even TO didn't know how good Mississippi State would be this season.

Chris Jans' Bulldogs are 8-0, with non-conference wins against Marquette and Utah behind their nasty defense. They don't allow easy looks at the basket, force turnovers and don't surrender many second-chance points. That's a recipe for success. The DTF crew can dive into even more.

Subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube here and subscribe here to the DTF podcast.

Links while you try to figure out if Drake or Indiana State will win the Missouri Valley.

• The NCAA is reportedly narrowing in on a new president and could have an offer out by Christmas.

• Would winless Cal or winless Louisville win in this hypothetical meeting?

• Evansville guard Blaise Beauchamp entered the transfer portal.

• OH. MY. FRANKIE. COLLINS. Arizona State's point guard levitated for this rim-rocking slam.

We just dropped a bunch of new merchandise, just in time for holiday shopping. (Pretty sure Rob Dauster is getting all of his friends and family this tee.)

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