In three full games without Donovan Clingan, Dan Hurley and the UConn men’s basketball team have had to manage a tight rotation in the frontcourt to elongate the minutes of Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson.
So far, it’s worked.
UConn beat St. John’s with Karaban and Johnson each at four, one away from fouling out. Then the Huskies routed DePaul (Karaban with three fouls, Johnson four) and on Friday came back to beat Butler on the road despite Karaban fouling out late and Johnson on the bench for half the game with four.
“It’s not a sustainable way to win for us, the lineups that we’ve been fortunate to win games against St. John’s and Butler and the quality that those two teams bring to the court while missing Donovan and having some just crazy lineups on the court,” Hurley said Tuesday. “The margin for error is very thin – it’s thin with those guys on the court, it’s not sustainable if they’re not on the court.”
UConn is in the same spot as it heads to the Cintas Center in Cincinnati to play Xavier, Clingan still unavailable as he hits week three of the initial three-to-four week diagnosis.
“Those guys getting in foul trouble and no Donovan right now, to be where we’re at recordwise and to be where we’re at in terms of our resumé at this point, losing what we’ve lost (from last year’s team) and Donovan either being out or not being himself physically from the start,” Hurley said, “we’ve just got to keep grinding out games however we’ve got to do it.”
In the short term, Karaban and Johnson will likely play a major role in Wednesday’s game against Xavier, a team that has struggled to find consistency in the frontcourt. Losing Zach Freemantle, one of the best four-men in the Big East for the last three seasons, to a season-ending foot injury and Jerome Hunter to a heart issue, Sean Miller has had to rely on international players Gytis Nemeiksa and Lazar Djokovic, from Lithuania and Serbia, respectively, to fill the void.
Abou Ousmane, a senior transfer from North Texas, has been a mainstay at center for Xavier, replacing 7-footer Jack Nunge, who graduated.
“You can see the improvement that you know is gonna happen with Sean, he’s one of the best coaches in the country,” Hurley said.
Xavier beat St. Mary’s and took down Cincinnati in its crosstown rivalry game with a six-point loss to Houston, currently ranked No. 2 in the country, in between. The Musketeers also lost to Oakland and Delaware. To start Big East play, they sandwiched a 20-point win over Seton Hall – in which Ousmane had 16 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals – between losses to St. John’s and Villanova.
Rice transfer Quincy Olivari, a senior, is Xavier’s best scorer at 17.9 points per game and is shooting a team-best 41.1% from beyond the arc. New Haven native Desmond Claude has also seen an increased role and is the second-leading scorer at 14.8 points per game and Dayvion McKnight, a senior point guard from Western Kentucky, averages 9.7 points and 5.2 assists.
Quick facts
Cam Spencer averaged 16.6 points on over 54% shooting from the field and 48% from 3-point range with 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists through UConn’s 13 wins this season. In two losses to Kansas and Seton Hall, Spencer averaged just 5.5 points on just over 21% shooting from the field and 16% from 3, with 3 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Xavier has the second-best defense in the Big East by field goal percentage but is just eighth in scoring margin at plus-5.29.
Xavier is seventh in rebounding margin (plus-2.79) and has allowed the most rebounds to its opponents in the Big East (37.5). UConn has the best rebounding margin in the conference (plus-10.27) and has only allowed 28.6 rebounds to its opponent per game.
After season-ending ailments to both Zach Freemantle (foot) and Jerome Hunter (heart), Xavier added 10 newcomers to its roster, six of whom are freshmen.
UConn and Xavier are the top two assist teams in the Big East, both a fraction over 17 per game. Dayvion McKnight leads the Musketeers at 5.2 per game and Tristen Newton leads the Huskies at 5.7.
What to know
Site: Cintas Center, Cincinnati
Time: 8:30 p.m.
Records: No. 4 UConn: 13-2 (3-1 Big East), Xavier: (7-7, 1-2 Big East)
Series history: Xavier leads, 4-3
Last meeting: Jan. 25, 2023 – Xavier 82, UConn 79 at Gampel Pavilion
TV: FS1 – Jeff Levering, LaPhonso Ellis
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports Radio 97.9 – Mike Crispino, Wayne Norman
Pregame reading: