Second-ranked UConn has yet to face a team in its weight class so far this season.
The degree of difficulty will go up on Monday, however, when the Huskies meet Memphis in the opening round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
UConn (4-0) owns lopsided nonconference victories over Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, Le Moyne and East Texas A&M.
Although the Huskies have won by an average of 37.8 points, head coach Danny Hurley said his team has been underwhelming at times. He especially was critical of UConn’s effort in its 81-46 victory over East Texas A&M on Tuesday.
The Huskies turned the ball over 19 times in that win, shot 29.2 percent from 3-point range (7 of 24) and were outrebounded by the undersized Lions 21-17 over the game’s final 20 minutes.
UConn, the two-time defending NCAA champion, held a 26-17 lead with 5:57 left in the first half before igniting its offense. The Huskies made their next five shots from the field and ended the half on a 16-3 run.
“Ball security throughout the game … it’s been a long time since we’ve been that bad,” Hurley said. “To (have) a negative assist-to-turnover ratio? We’re one of the best passing and ball security teams in the country. You know, I think at times we played hard, but once we got it to 37 with 12 minutes to go it turned into just a debacle out there. (We) just played so far below the standard across the board. Older players, younger players. Some steps backwards.
“When you’ve established such a level of play in our program and we work so hard at what we do as a program, you can have bad shooting nights, but you just can’t play like that.”
Memphis (4-0) received a strong performance off the bench from Dain Dainja in Thursday’s 68-64 victory over San Francisco. Dainja recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for the Tigers, who overcame a 31-22 halftime deficit.
Memphis also has defeated Missouri, UNLV and Ohio. The Tigers have trailed at halftime in three of their four games but are averaging 49.5 points in the second half this season.
“I told the guys we gotta stop doing this, stop putting ourselves in this situation (trailing at halftime),” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said following the win over the Dons. “First half was good looks, we just didn’t make them. In the second half we went at their guys in foul trouble.”
The winner of the UConn/Memphis game will play either Michigan State or Colorado on Tuesday. The eight-team field also includes No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 10 North Carolina and Dayton.
“Maui’s no joke,” UConn forward Alex Karaban said. “You see the teams in there? Playing the best of the best.”
Hardaway said he wanted to put together a strong non-conference schedule for his team.
“It’s part of the recruiting tool as well,” he said. “For guys to see that schedule, their eyes light up — they get big — and they go, ‘Man, this is a great non-conference schedule.’ And you put yourself in some deep water because you’re going against some great teams every game, and a lot of coaches won’t do this.”
–Field Level Media
