MBB: Turnovers, Late Drought Dooms UConn In First True Road Game

The Huskies were held nearly scoreless for the final four minutes of a second half that saw them lose the ball ten times.

With the University of Connecticut Huskies missing two of its most vital contributors, the West Virginia Mountaineers welcomed back one of their own with a big statement win.

Reality hit UConn’s post-Tyrese Martin/Adama Sanogo era on Wednesday night in Morgantown, as the 15th-ranked Huskies (8-2) dropped their first true road game of the 2021-22 season to their former Big East brother by a 56-53 final. WVU (8-1) welcomed back senior sharpshooter Sean McNeil, who returned from a one-game absence induced by a back injury. McNeil and Taz Sherman united for 39 points on a sloppy shooting night for both sides.

Isaiah Whaley led the way for the Huskies with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting but his teammates united to shoot 15-of-46 (32 percent) from the field otherwise. Turnovers also defined UConn’s evening, as they lost the ball 10 times in the second half, but West Virginia failed to pull away thanks to their own shooting futility: the Mountaineers shot 39 percent (19-of-48) from the field and sank only 12-of-27 free throw attempts. These misfires kept the game close, as neither led by more than five at any point of the night.

UConn easily handled business without Martin and Sanogo on Saturday against mid-major Grambling but missed their contributions during Wednesday night’s game, particularly in the final stages: the Huskies were held scoreless for nearly all of the final four minutes in Morgantown, negating their own strong defensive effort that allowed no successful WVU shots from the field over the final 3:38.

Connecticut fast-breaks off turnovers appeared to give them a late edge, as they were able to take a 51-48 heading into the final media timeout thanks to an Andre Jackson dunk and Jordan Hawkins free throws. But the Mountaineers’ defensive crackdown closed down the scoring books for nearly all of the rest of the way. WVU nearly cost themselves a win thanks to a garish performance from the foul line, but the Huskies failed to capitalize and missed out on crucial rebounds that played a sizable role in their demise.

Shortly after the aforementioned timeout at the sub-four-minute mark, Kedrian Johnson secured his own missed freebie before a Sherman layup tied the game. West Virginia eventually took the lead for good on a Pauly Paulicap single that preceded an ill-timed shot clock violation, though the 52-51 lead prevailed through the final minute. When Sherman went to the foul line with 21 seconds to go, he sank only one but his miss on the second was secured by Gabe Osabuohien who dished it off to McNeil. The ensuring rare perfect pair made it a two-possession game.

UConn finally ended their scoring slump with Whaley’s second-chance tip (an opportunity originally set up by Akok Akok’s 10th and final rebound of the night) and had one last opportunity to create an extra period when McNeil sank only one freebie awarded on an ensuing intentional foul with seven seconds to go. But R.J. Cole’s would-be equalizer fell short as time expired, allowing the Mountaineers to take home the first meeting in Morgantown since January 2009.

The lack of Martin and Sanogo was plainly obviously upon viewing the final box score: on a night where UConn was missing two of its top three rebounders, they allowed West Virginia to earn 14 offensive rebounds (allowing only 8.6 per game entering Wednesday’s action) and shot 3-of-21 (14 percent) from three-point range.

The Huskies will wrap up their non-conference schedule on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, as they’ll partake in the Never Forget Tribute Classic against St. Bonaventure (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags