UConn still looking to improve after winning National Championship rematch, 85-77, over Michigan

Revenge is a beautiful, yet rare thing when it comes to the Men’s Basketball National Championship. When tracking NCG rematches since the inception of KenPom in 1996, we’ve seen the previous season’s National Champion and Runners-Up run it back a total of 13 times–11 times in the regular season, twice during the following year’s NCAA Tournament. The 13th occurrence of this rare treat saw UConn take down reigning National Champs Michigan, 85-77, Friday night in Boston, marking the fourth time since 1996 that the rematch went in favor of the National Runners-Up.

While happy with the win, revenge was not really on Huskies head coach Dan Hurley’s mind in the post game press conference. Instead, he was mainly focused on where his team needs to clean things up heading into other top matchups later this season.

“I think we’re one of the best teams in the country of having a game that you should win by 15 and you win by 8,” Hurley said in his opening statement.

After taking a 13-point lead into halftime, the Huskies were held to just 34.8% shooting from the field in the second half, allowing the Wolverines to cut the deficit down to 8 by the end of the game. Michigan’s Trey McKenney was a particular threat for the Huskies, scoring 22 points in the second half after being held scoreless in the first. UConn went without a field goal for the final 5:38 of the game. 

Despite the late scare, there were plenty of highlights for the Huskies to take into the rest of the season, first among them being the performance of freshman forward Colben Landrew. Foul trouble in the second half limited his playing time late, but Hurley was happy with the high-quality minutes he was able to get in the early portions of the game.

“You could just see the talent and the different things he could do,” Hurley said. “Driving the ball, making a three, getting on the offensive glass. Whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, he’s going to play starter minutes.”

The win over Michigan was Landrew’s second double-digit performance of the season, scoring 14 points, a team-high 8 rebounds, and 2 assists against the Wolverines.

In terms of UConn’s actual starters, Silas Demary Jr. posted another strong performance. In terms of his mentality throughout this season, Demary hopes to keep his offense flexible based on what opponents are throwing at him. 

“I feel like coach has told me, ‘be an All-American point guard,’” Demary said in the post game. “So that just [consists of] being able to go out there and run the offense and if it’s time to score, [then] score. If it’s time to get the guys involved, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Demary finished the game with 21 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists. Braylon Mullins led all UConn scorers with 23 points. 

UConn returns to action on Monday when they host the Wagner Seahawks–a program formerly coached by Dan Hurley–at 7 pm.