The men’s programs of the UConn Huskies and BYU Cougars will do battle in Boston for an early college basketball statement win.
The BYU Cougars and the UConn Huskies are shipping up to Boston to find not a wooden leg, but an early statement victory in this men’s college basketball season.
TD Garden, home of the NBA’s Boston Celtics, will host a weekend tilt between the two accomplished programs on Saturday night as part of the “Hall of Fame Series” commissioned by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Both the Cougars and Huskies carry top 10 rankings entering Saturday’s showdown and are looking to overcome disappointing finishes in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
UConn, placing third in the latest Associated Press poll, has handled business in the early portions of its non-conference slate, earning sizable victories over New Haven, UMass Lowell, and Columbia to open things up. The most recent triumph came against the Lions in the form of an 89-62 shellacking that saw Storrs staples Solo Ball and Alex Karaban lead the way with a combined 42 points.
The Huskies have hit over 55 percent of their shots over their opening trio with second-year Storrs rep Tarris Reed Jr. leading the way with a 19.5-point, 10-rebound double-double. Seeking to atone for last year’s second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament after consecutive national championships, the Danny Hurley-led Huskies are set to begin a stretch of facing five currently ranked opponents over the next four weeks, starting with the bout in Boston.
BYU began the year ranked eighth and moved up a spot after opening the year with a win over UConn’s Big East foe Villanova in Las Vegas. The Cougars have since defeated Holy Cross and Delaware, surviving an early scare in Provo to defeat the latter 85-68 on Tuesday night. Richie Saunders led all men with 26 points to accompany 10 rebounds, while Robert Wright III matched his scoring tally while coming an assist and rebound short of a triple-double.
Last March, the Cougars reached the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2011, but fell to Alabama by a hefty margin. That led to an active offseason that saw Provo add several talented names from abroad such as the Baylor point guard Wright and top five-star recruit AJ Dybantsa. BYU is led by second-year boss Kevin Young after Mark Pope moved onto Kentucky. Saturday will be part of de facto homecoming weekend for Dybantsa, who was born in Boston before starting his nationally-lauded amateur career at nearby Saint Sebastian’s School in nearby Needham.
This will be the second all-time meeting between UConn and BYU’s men’s programs, the first coming in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Spokane. Future NBA Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor led the way with 20 points and eight boards in that win while Ben Gordon added 14 more.
Who: No. 7 BYU Cougars (3-0) vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies (3-0)
Where: TD Garden, Boston MA
When/Watch: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, Fox
Who’s Favored: UCONN -3.5 (o/u 153.5)
Cougar to Watch: Richie Saunders
The boosted BYU lineup was partly headlined by the arrival of Kennard Davis Jr., fresh off a breakout sophomore season at Southern Illinois. But, already facing growing pains on the floor (12 shot attempts from the field and three assists against Villanova and Holy Cross), Davis missed Delaware’s visit after he was arrested on suspicion of DUI. His status against the Huskies will likely come down to a game-time decision.
Stepping up in the early going has been Saunders, a lasting talent in Provo that recently picked up the Big 12’s Most Improved Player title. He struggled in the Sin City opener, but has since recovered to the tune of shooting over 61 percent from the floor while pulling in 14 rebounds. Such a dual-threat showing, as well as his lauded defense (four steals in the win over Holy Cross) will be vital against the dangerous Huskies and his experience in rebuilding the Cougar program could be huge in helping Provo newcomers Dybantsa and Wright acclimate to big BYU games. His scoring, however, could make the ultimate difference: last season, the Cougars were 11-2 when he reached a double-decade and they were 13-1 when he sank at least three threes.
Husky to Watch: Tarris Reed Jr.
Few titles in college basketball have probably been more prophetic than the Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year Award: the title has given way to names on the All-American (Kris Joseph) national champion (Hassan Diara) lists, as well as NBA contributors like Dion Waiters, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo.
Reed, fresh off a sterling transfer season in relief from Michigan, could be the next name on that list. He’s leading the Huskies in the major categories and possesses the multi-faceted dangers that have helped Hurley make his championship name. Reed was one of the few consistent bright spots for the Huskies amidst last year’s privileged carnage—basically college basketball’s personification of a first-world problem—and escaped with an injured hamstring over the last preseason to show for it. Saturday is one of his first true chances to prove his impact at a national level since enduring the ailment and, with Dybantsa in town and Keba Keita also manning the interior, the competition will be fierce.
They Said It
“I think some of the games we’ve played early have helped us get ready for it, but I’m looking forward to going on the road on a longer trip with our guys. I think that’s good bonding and so forth. And it’s cool to have AJ back in his hometown. It will be cool to see how many BYU fans will show out at TD Garden. So we’re looking forward to it.”—Young on facing UConn on Boston (h/t Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald)
“It’s a good barometer for where you’re at. I think you have a pretty good sense of where you’re vulnerable, but it’s really gonna expose vulnerabilities, especially when you go into the deep water now with BYU and whoever’s coming up after that. You just focus on a one game at a time mentality. When you watch clips of BYU, A.J. (Dybantsa) and (Richie) Saunders, they’ve got one of the best point guards in the country, when you see that quality on film, I mean, you get scared straight. Things that worked in the first three games won’t work. But it’s fun, we’re excited to get a chance to go play in Boston this weekend versus one of the best teams in the country, so it should be fun.”—Hurley on BYU (h/t Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant)
Prediction
Two teams eager for statement victory are set to do battle under the prestige of the Celtics’ championship banners. The Huskies get a chance to start making up for lost time after last year’s disappointment, while BYU has what many believe to be its best case for a national championship behind recruited and transferred talent.
But despite retaining Provo familiarity in talent like Saunders and Keita, we’ve seen some growing pains in the Cougar organization through early tests against Villanova and Delaware. It’d be a tall task for the Huskies to emerge from this elite stretch fully unscathed but they’ve handled business to date and are in prime position to do so this weekend.
Back by Boston boosters, expect the revamped Huskies to come out fiery and not let up.
UConn 85, BYU 79
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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