UConn cruises on UMass Lowell; Sid Wilson debuts

SHOPS – After UConn took a 23-point lead over the first 10 minutes of play on Tuesday night, it appeared that the only remaining plot in the last 30 minutes would be Sidney Wilson's countdown to college debut.

Alas, someone forgot to say that to UMass Lowell, who decided to make things competitive, shot within 10 minutes at half-time and refused to go in for the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The Huskies have finally managed to win 97-75 behind their typical well-balanced offense. Christian Vital scored 17 of his 19 points in the first 10 and a half minutes, Jalen Adams also scored 19, Josh Carlton had 15 points and eight rebounds and Alterique Gilbert also scored 15.

UConn has improved to 6-1, its best start to the season since seven games since 2013. When they arrived in Arizona, however, the Huskies improved their defense.

UConn authorized UMass Lowell (4-5) to shoot 49.1% for the match and 41.7% to score 3 points. The River Hawks dominated the Huskies 25-12 in the last 9 minutes of the first period and shot 55.6% in the second period.

"I thought it was a terrible defensive performance," said coach Dan Hurley. "If we do not improve, at this end of the field – quickly – we will have big problems from Sunday."

UConn hosts Arizona at the XL Center Sunday at 1 pm.

"We are going to focus the next two days on the defensive side of the field," said Hurley. "To understand, to beat a team like Arizona, the way they play and their behavior over the years, they need to understand possession by possession, how solid and supportive it is, generous and determined to win. to be on Sunday. "

Carlton, for his part, thinks his team will be ready.

"I think we're going to build on those few days of preparation," said the six-by-ten student center. "I'm just trying to chain some good practices before we tackle Arizona and focus on the game."

As for Wilson, he made his long-awaited debut with 8:58 left to play and … well, his rust (nerves?) Showed a bit. Wilson missed an easy pass for Jalen Adams in his first minute of play, then resumed an offensive rebound before being thrown off the rim in a missed attempt, leading to a breakaway from River Hawk.

Wilson, a 6-foot-7 Redshirt striker, did not play the Huskies' first six games because of an undisclosed violation of the university's rules dating back to last season. He spent the entire season after leaving St. John's just before the start of the school year.

Accompanied by Vital's 17 points, the Huskies took a 32-9 lead. When Vital scored a 3-pointer with 9:25 to go in the half, he was already more than half of his career high by scoring (30) and 3 (in seven) for a match.

"I was just playing," said Vital. "My teammates were very good at finding me and I managed to knock down the shots. I appreciate that my teammates find me. "

But the Huskies were a little careless, or lax, and the River Hawks outclassed them 25-12 over the last nine minutes of the half. UConn did not score in 3:56 of the final and, after returning the ball twice in 17 minutes, made three turnovers in the last three.

Oh, and Adams had three mistakes.

"Incredibly frustrating," said Hurley, "and that had nothing to do with the problem, but with our defensive state.This game, at half-time, should never have been at 10. It should have been 22 or 24. It's just bad habits, a bad state of mind, you can not learn to change that in seven or eight months. "

Adams opened the last half with a classic 3-point game, scoring a 9-2 start. But UMass Lowell was still in the 14 halfway way through the half, until a 10-2 run – crowned by a Adams robbery and a dunk – left UConn a flexibility.

It's the beginning of the Sidney Wilson era … and Dan Hurley's concern about the defense of his team certainly did not stop.

"If we keep at this level, as if it was a basic football game – without insulting the basic football coaches, because grassroots football teams play better defense than that – we are not an offensive juggernaut, so we'd better tighten it, or we're going to have major problems. "

RIM RATTLINGS: Wilson ended up playing just under five minutes (which was what Hurley had planned for him), scoring three rebounds, missing both shots and returning the ball one time.

"It was Sid's first few seconds in college basketball," said Vital. "Once he has begun to understand, that he will find the spirit to play in the games, you will all see a Sid that you have never seen before. I promise you.

Hurley added, "We had to move on without him with the team we had for the first seven games. It's now Sid's responsibility, day by day, to get into the field with his practice habits and attention to detail to learn our system. "

A minute of silence was observed before the match in memory of Tony Hanson, the all-time leading scorer at UConn, who died Sunday at age 63.

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