UConn's Aidan Mahaney Delivered Versus Xavier, But Can He Stay Consistent?

Aidan Mahaney looked like the player that UConn needs him to be on Saturday versus Xavier.

Mahaney finished with 14 points on 2-for-3 from three and was playing with confidence. The junior guard also finished with three boards and three assists.

“We brought him in to play exactly like he just played,” Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said during the postgame press conference.

“He let the threes go today … (he’s) the most offensively talented of … our point guards. Hassan (Diarra)’s a tough guy, (a) gutsy guy … but if we could obviously get Liam (McNeeley) back and we could get some consistency from Aidan … we could be a much different-looking team.”

Mahaney has displayed resilience this season by continuing to push the envelope despite being demoted from the starting lineup. The next step for Mahaney is to become a consistent scorer for the Huskies. Mahaney has scored in double-figures just four times this season.

Mahaney has the shooting stroke and mindset to average more than the 5.2 points per game he’s produced for UConn this year. He averaged 13.9 points per game for Saint Mary’s in 69 games.

Of course, Mahaney’s usage rate is far lower on the Huskies, so to expect him to average anything close to his Saint Mary’s numbers would be insane.

But what Mahaney needs to avoid is being a non-factor in any game moving forward, because when teams can take him completely out of the game offensively, UConn becomes a much easier team to guard. Mahaney has had seven games this year where he’s scored zero points.

Xavier might be a sign of great things to come for Mahaney this season. Hurley and his staff are better than anyone in the country at developing players on a short timeline.

Mahaney wouldn’t be the first Hurley player to transform from a non-factor into a real threat within the span of a couple of months.

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