There is a buzz and expectation around the UConn Huskies this time of year.
Someone on that team always comes up with the big shot or the big play. And no matter where UConn finds itself on the bubble the single-elimination tournament brings the best out of the team. Every year from Ray Allen to Richard Hamilton to Kemba Walker to Shabazz Napier.
Jalen Adams got the heroics Friday as UConn defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats in quadruple overtime. No such pressure-packed heroics were necessary Saturday in the semifinal to send the Huskies to their third straight American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Game.
Defeating the top-seeded Temple Owls in a thoroughly dominating game in the semifinal Saturday at Amway Center 77-62 was just another brick in UConn’s long history in March. A legacy that goes back to the programs foundations.
“It starts with Coach Calhoun and ends with Coach Calhoun,” coach Kevin Ollie said. “He always told us to play our best basketball in March. It is ups and downs, but throughout the season he makes us tougher. He has breathed that into me. I just want to be playing our basketball now. I don’t get too discouraged over the bad days. Bad days are days of experience. Good days bring happiness. I know these days are going to build this if we stay together. We have just one more game left. Hopefully third time is the charm.”
There have been some bad days for UConn. The Huskies entered the tournament at 21-10 and their NCAA Tournament future was extremely precarious. The team was squarely on the bubble and needed a win over a good Cincinnati team just to ensure they made the field.
Instead now, UConn got an overall solid game. Daniel Hamilton and Shonn Miller each scored 19 points and they helped lock down the top-seeded Owls. Top scorer Quenton DeCosey scored 14 points on 4-for-17 shooting. This after DeCosey averaged 19.0 points per game and shot 13 for 29 in the first two games against UConn.
Temple struggled all game to keep pace with UConn once UConn began to assert itself midway through the first half. The Huskies took control with a 21-6 run to go up by 16 points late in the first half and never seemed to look back. The Owls could never muster up enough points in a row.
That is what happens when a team shoots 9 for 32 in the first half (28.1 percent) and 35.9 percent for the game.
“I think we stayed more mentally tough,” Miller said. “We got stops when we needed to. We got scores when we needed to. We stayed together and came out with the right energy.”
It also happens when a team has built itself up and has the confidence to in these situations to go out and win. Even with losses to Temple in the first two matchups, UConn has always made itself at home in the conference tournament and in the Big Dance.
The Huskies were the aggressors from the start and leaned heavily on stars who could deliver. Hamilton and Miller took 26 of the team’s 56 shots. Their efficiency and ability to get inside consistently overwhelmed Temple. The Owls never truly recovered.
UConn has owned the tournament both in the stands with the amount of fans that have traveled to Orlando from Storrs and all parts in Connecticut to the play on the court. The Huskies have had the moment, the swagger and the confidence to win this whole thing.
Hamilton has looked like the best player in the conference the last two games with his strong shooting and defense. He has had an up-and-down season 12.3 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting and needs continued refinement still. But one thing has stood out about him, according to Ollie.
His calm.
He has been rock solid and steady for UConn in these games. So has the entire team. There were so many times the Huskies could have folded against the Bearcats on Friday.
UConn is playing its best basketball and ready to survive and advance.
“We were definitely feeling confident after a win like that,” Hamilton said. “With the shot Jalen made, it is a real confidence booster. We wanted to come out here and build off that game and come out with more intensity like we did. We wanted to keep building off it especially going forward in the tournament.”
They have disposed already of the two teams most secure in the Tournament, probably securing their own ticket in the process.
Now comes the part they have wanted for three years after two failed trips. The chance to control and secure their own destiny in the American Conference Tournament Championship Game.
