Connecticut handled DePaul in its Big East tournament opener. Now the fun begins.
The Huskies – the defending tourney champs and NCAA champions – are now 19-11 after an 81-67 victory and face West Virginia on Wednesday. Unless they match last season’s performance and win five straight Big East tourney games, they’ll likely need to win that game, and possibly another if they are to defend their NCAA title.
Sounds easy, right? Sure.
Given the Huskies’ talent, it’s something they should be able to pull off. DePaul is the Big East’s worst team, but if guys such as Jeremy Lamb (25 points) and Andre Drummond (12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) perform like they did Tuesday, it’s possible. More importantly, if forward Alex Oriakhi produces like he did (9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks), UConn’s post game will finally have some consistency.
“I think today we moved the ball well,” Lamb said. “Early I had a couple open shots. I tried to set my man up and our big men had great screens so I was able to knock a couple down.”
And who knows? Maybe the Huskies can finally live up to their preseason billing.
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