After missing last season’s tournament due to a ban, the Connecticut Huskies are set to return this year, and are poised to make some noise as one of the lower seeds who could spring a surprise or two.
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[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Key to Success – Backcourt play
The guards run the show for Kevin Ollie’s UConn. The Huskies’ starting backcourt of Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright combine to produce an average of 30 of the team’s 74 points, nine of their 36 rebounds, nine of their 13 assists and half of their seven steals. As Napier and Boatright go, so go the Huskies.
MVP – Shabazz Napier
It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that Napier might be the most important to his team of any in college basketball. The senior and Wooden Award candidate leads the team in points (17.8), rebounds (6.0), assists (5.3), steals (1.9), free throw shooting (89%) and three-pointers made (55). He’s also pretty clutch, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Achilles Heel – Big Men
No offense to Napier, but it’s generally a bad sign when a 6-1 point guard is a team’s leading rebounder. The Huskies’ big man rotation of Amida Brimah, Tyler Olander and Philip Nolan (all 6-10 or taller) is averages just seven rebounds combined.
The trio also doesn’t provide any post scoring for the Huskies, who make only 48% of their two-point shots (ranked 223rd out of 351 teams). Great guard play can count for a lot in college basketball, but without the balance to score when a team attacks Napier and Boatright, UConn will be hard-pressed to sneak by some of the more complete defenses in the tournament.
Season Highlight – Napier Buzzer-Beater Beats Florida
UConn has the distinction of being the last team to beat current no. 1 Florida, and it did so in dramatic fashion with Napier’s clutch buzzer-beating jumper back in December.
Prediction
UConn knows all too well how a point guard can single-handedly carry a team all the way to the national championship. With Shabazz Napier leading the way, the lower-seeded Huskies can certainly surprise – expect them to crash into the Sweet 16.
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