UConn 76, Michigan State 69
Short-handed and still in preseason mode, UConn never trailed at PeoplesBank Arena, closing exhibition play with a 76–69 win despite missing Tarris Reed (hamstring) and Braylon Mullins (ankle). While I don’t want to place too much emphasis on an exhibition game, here are some raw takes on last night’s performance.
The Good
- The Win
- UConn never trailed in gutting out a win without two key pieces while introducing another key piece into the lineup for the first time. Regardless of what you can glean from the box score, a win in the win column will always be most telling.
- Defense
- Our scrappy defense held the Spartans to 39.1% from the field and 28.6% from deep while forcing 12 turnovers. It was nice to see Demary out on the floor and the on-ball pressure he can provide, teaming up with Malachi Smith to force MSU point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. into 6 turnovers.
- Jayden Ross
- Ross added 13 points in 22 minutes off the bench on 4-5 shooting. If this level of contribution becomes consistent, we are in store for quite the battle for minutes at the wing.
To Clean Up
- Fouls
- We committed 34 fouls resulting in 29 MSU points from the charity stripe – including more than half of their first-half total. This effectively kept the Spartans in a game they otherwise would have been out of.
- Front Court Depth
- Given our foul problem and Tarris Reed’s tendency to pick them up, I am a bit concerned with having to rely on Reibe if Reed gets in foul trouble. Reibe was no match for Michigan State’s frontcourt duo of Cooper and Kohler (who both posted double-doubles), and he won’t be a match for talented Big East froncourts either (yet).
- Jaylin Stewart
- If Reibe and Reed find themselves in foul trouble, Hurley will be forced to go small, which means more minutes from Stewart. I expected more from Stewart than 3 points on 1-6 shooting in 24 minutes of play – though again, I don’t want to make too much of an exhibition game.
UConn returns to action Monday, November 3rd in the season-opener against the New Haven Chargers at Gampel Pavilion.
