Kemba Walker Leads Scary UConn Team Into Tourny

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Connecticut Huskies (26-9, 9-9) came into the season, unranked with nobody giving them much of a chance as a contender.

The Huskies did lose a lot from the season before but returned their potent guard Kemba Walker, forward Alex Oriahki and added many talented freshmen.

Early in the season, the Huskies went from un-ranked to No. 7 in the AP poll after winning the Maui Tournament with wins over Michigan State and Kentucky, who were both top ten teams in the country at the time.

To cap off the regular season, UConn went on a similar run, except this time the Huskies capped off a five game win streak over four straight ranked teams to be crowned Big East tournament champions.

After the game, head coach Jim Calhoun chocked on his words when he talked about this week's focus and handwork showed by his Huskies squad.

With their 69-66 victory over Louisville in the Big East tournament final, UConn pulled off arguably the toughest stretch in college basketball this season, possibly even history.

"This is what I worked for, the whole summer, this is what our whole team worked for and all of our hard work is just paying off," Walker said following their Big East championship win.

Throughout the year, the Big East has been noted as the nations best conference. Projected NCAA Brackets and experts have 11 Big East teams dancing, and amongst them will be UConn, despite the 9-9 record during conference play.

This makes their five-game win streak that impressive. In the past three days, the Huskies pulled off wins against teams that dominated them in the regular season.

Pitt defeated UConn by double-digits, Louisville defeated them twice, and Syracuse pulled away from the Huskies as well.

Not only did the Huskies prove that they can compete against some of the best teams in the country, but showed their ability to win tough games with a NCAA tournament like atmosphere.

At neutral sites this season, UConn has been a perfect (8-0). Six of the eight wins have come against top-25 opponents, and five of the matchups were against top-15 ranked teams.

Credit junior guard Walker for his leadership and perseverance down the stretch for this young Huskies team with just five upperclassmen. At neutral sites Walker averages 27.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.1 assist, and 2.7 steals.

Granted, Walkers stat line is very impressive but other Huskies have certainly put forth effort to pull out wins.

Oriahki, Roscoe Smith, Jeremy Lamb, and Shabazz Napier are all key contributors and chip in just enough to lead UConn to victory.

In mostly all of the losses to UConn this season, a player outside of Walker failed to step up and contribute. But, heading into March Madness, I don't think the Huskies will have to worry about that.

When asked how this will translate to the NCAA tournament coach Calhoun said, "I'm caught up in the emotion of what happened here."

"I think we showed in the past four days, particularly, that we're a good basketball team." Soon after, coach Calhoun stated that he's anxious to lead the Huskies through the tournament.

No team in College Basketball history has won five games in five days at any site to win a conference title, until now that is. Going back to what coach Calhoun said, the Huskies are a really good basketball team.

UConn has proven they can win at neutral sites and junior Walker has great leadership skills that should aid the Huskies well come tournament time.

One thing sticks out to me about this UConn team now, and that's they can win without requiring Walker to get a crazy stat line.

Other players on the team have stepped up and proved that their is more to UConn than their future first-round draft pick, Walker.

The Huskies are well conditioned, balanced, anxious and dangerous headed into March. I'm saying UConn has the best chance at sneaking up on an NCAA title after a performance like this.

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UConn Survives Against Pesky Wildcats

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The No. 9 UConn Huskies (6-0) made a quantum leap inside the top-10 after not being ranked previously.

Their upcoming game against the New Hampshire Wildcats (3-2) was conceived as a tune-up game for the Big East conference race. However, the Wildcats made it much more than a tune-up game.

New Hampshire came out firing on the Huskies taking the lead in the first half, and not relinquishing it.

The Wildcats went into the half with a 24-23 lead, and a chance to pick up a marquee victory over a top-10 squad.

However, Kemba Walker just did not let that happen. The Huskies got on the right track in the second half and defeated New Hampshire 62-55.

Walker finished with a game-high 30-points, which stays consistent with his average. Walker also chipped in five rebounds, and two steals.

Shabazz Napier was the only other player in double-figures for UConn with 11 points, and four steals. Alex Oriahki battled foul trouble for most of the game but still acquired seven points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks.

The Huskies displayed just how young they were as a team. UConn struggled from the field, and on the glass, but with the leadership of Walker, the Huskies were able to escape New Hampshires upset bid.

Two players were in double-figures for the Wildcats. Ferg Myrick had 19 points, eight rebounds, and four steals. James Calladares also chipped in 12-points off the bench for New Hampshire.

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Connecticut Huskies a Legit Title Contender?

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

The Connecticut Huskies lost both Jerome Dyson, and Stanley Robinson from last year's squad leaving talented guard Kemba Walker to fend for himself in a tough Big East conference.

The Huskies were tabbed as the No. 10 team in the Big East, and wasn't expected to make such a statement early in the season.

However, that is exactly why they play the game. UConn was not anyone's choice to possibly contend for the National Championship, or even contend with a team like Michigan State, or Kentucky.

If you believe in preseason hype, UConn came from being a team in turmoil transitioning into one of the best teams in all of College Basketball.

UConn has knocked off the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans, and the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats in two days. Their days out of the top-25 should be over once the new poll is released, but high expectations also follow.

Many point the finger at Walker for scoring 132 points in four games, more impressively 90-points in the previous three outings, three-points shy of a NCAA record.

However, the Huskies success has come from more than Walker's ability to light up the stats sheet. The Huskies were able to pull down a season-high 18 offensive rebounds against Michigan State that resulted in an upset victory.

A day later, the Huskies out-rebounded Kentucky, shot 58 percent from three, and dished out 16 assist.

There is many things that the Huskies are doing good right now. UConn is pulling down 44 rebounds a game, and scoring 81 points per game, while holding their opponents to dismal 67.6 points per outing.

Despite Walker scoring 30-points per game, the Huskies have a lot of balance on offense. Alex Oriakhi has averaged 13.4 points, 12 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. Shabazz Napier averages 9.6 points, Roscoe Smith jumps in the scoring column with 7.6, with many other player chipping in for UConn.

A so-called transition season for the Huskies has become more significant. Head coach Jim Calhoun has led his Huskies to a (5-0) record, with two top-10 victories under their belt once selection sunday approaches.

With a great start by the Huskies, the stage is set for UConn to prosper this season. The Huskies can only go as far as Walker takes them, and I believe it could be deep in the NCAA tournament.
 
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