By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
The game can still play out as advertised, even as the individual matchups have taken a hit.
An Adama Sanogo-Osun Osunniyi faceoff down low and Kyle Lofton-R.J. Cole duel in the backcourt have given way to a more pressing question: Which team will better handle being shorthanded on Saturday, the 8-1 St. Bonaventure Bonnies or 8-2 Connecticut Huskies?
St. Bonaventure is 2-0 since Lofton went down with an ankle injury. UConn is 1-1 without Sanogo, the Huskies’ second-leading scorer who was averaging 15.6 points per game before he suffered an abdominal injury on Nov. 30.
The Huskies managed to outrebound West Virginia and outscore the Mountaineers in the paint on Wednesday without Sanogo and leading rebounder Tyrese Martin, who was sidelined a third consecutive game with a wrist injury. UConn missed a prime opportunity to tie the game or take the lead late, however, when WVU forward Gabe Osabuohien rebounded teammate Taz Sherman’s missed foul shot over UConn big Akok Akok, setting up two more Mountaineer free throws.
Each team has the ostensible depth to overcome its missing stars in the Never Forget Classic. Jaren Holmes has seamlessly handled point guard duties in Lofton’s absence, while redshirt freshman Quadry Adams had a career game against Loyola Maryland on Wednesday. UConn freshman Jordan Hawkins, who scored 16 points off the bench in the Huskies’ Battle 4 Atlantis victory over Auburn, has replaced Martin in the starting five.
“You prepare for everybody playing. That’s how you do it,” Schmidt said. “They’re really talented, and if [Martin] doesn’t play, there’s someone as good as him stepping in. They’ve got a lot of depth and that’s one of the reasons they’re so good, so him playing or not playing doesn’t change the way we’re gonna play or the way we’re gonna go about the scout. But he’s a really good player.”
Akok, a prep teammate of Lofton and Osunniyi at Putnam Science Academy, is expected to start again at center. He may not even be the Huskies’ most formidable defensive threat, however; 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward Isaiah Whaley is tied for 38th nationally with over two blocks a contest.
“They’re aggressive to the basket, shot-blockers,” Schmidt said of Akok and Whaley. “Both 6-9, long, athletic. That’s what UConn is- they’re long, athletic guys. They’re terrific. They can screen and pop; they can take you off the bounce; they can post you up. One of the reasons why they’re so good is their frontcourt.
“The big guy is hurt but they still have really good players and these two kids are extremely talented.”
One of the signature wins of Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt’s career occurred against UConn coach Dan Hurley, when Bona defeated Hurley’s University of Rhode Island team 77-74 at the Reilly Center on Feb. 16, 2018. The Rams, who entered that contest ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press poll, were previously unbeaten in Atlantic 10 Conference play.
Hurley has compiled a 58-39 record (.598 win percentage) through his first 97 games at UConn after reeling off a 65-32 record (.670 win percentage) in his last 97 games at Rhode Island. The Huskies, like the Bonnies, lost in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.
“He’s an aggressive coach,” Schmidt acknowledged. “They play an aggressive style; in-your-face, a lot of pressure defensively, on the ball. A lot of pressure offensively by going downhill, pushing the ball in transition.
“He’s an aggressive personality and usually your team takes on the personality of the coach; they did at Rhode Island and they’re certainly doing it at UConn. Just very, very aggressive.”
That aggressiveness shows on the glass, where the Huskies are third in the country in offensive rebounds per game, with over 14, and 18th in overall rebounding rate, at 56.3 percent. Bona is 109th in rebounding rate, at 52 percent.
UConn’s most frequently used lineup over the past five games, according to KenPom, features Cole with the 6-foot-5 Hawkins, 6-foot-6 Andre Jackson, 6-foot-9 Akok and 6-foot-9 Whaley. Bona’s top lineup combinations feature one player (either Osun Osunniyi or Abdoul Karim Coulibaly) over 6-foot-5.
Boise State was the only team Bona played thus far with a taller average height (78.5 inches) than UConn’s roster (78.2). The Bonnies narrowly beat the Broncos on the boards, 36-34. Bona has outrebounded its opponent in each of its eight victories and was outrebounded by Northern Iowa in its lone defeat.
“We’ve gotta try to limit them to one shot,” Schmidt noted, “and that’s [easier] said than done, because they’re long, they’re athletic. At some points in the game, they can have four 6-9 guys out there.”
UConn thrashed Bona the last time the programs met, albeit in 2003 when the Huskies ranked No. 5 in the AP poll and SBU held a sub-.500 record. Bonaventure stunned Jim Calhoun’s squad by 18 points the season before, when Caron Butler, Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor were underclassmen who eventually made the East Regional Final that year.
The fourth meeting in series history is arguably the first time the teams line up with the same goals, separated by just two seed lines in ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket projection. Schmidt, who often publicly downplays an individual game’s importance, even acknowledged the significance of what will unfold in Prudential Center.
“They know it’s a big game, a national stage, playing a great opponent in UConn,” Schmidt remarked. “And I think the guys know if they don’t play their ‘A’ game, it’s not gonna be a game. So a little bit, you play in fear. If you don’t play at 100 percent against UConn, you’re not gonna win, and I think our guys understand that. And they understood that against Boise State, and Clemson, and Marquette, and UB. It’s just human nature.
“So I would think that our guys will be ready to play: motivated, excited, and understanding they have to play our ‘A’ game if we have a chance to win.”
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