Championship Sunday in The American; Huskies Take on SMU for Automatic Bid to NCAA
Photo credit: Ian Bethune – SOX & DAWGS
The day is here. Championship Sunday, Selection Sunday, whatever else today is, it’s a big day for the UConn men’s basketball team. Through all of the ups and downs and there have been a lot of them, the Huskies are 40 minutes away from returning to the NCAA tournament. A team that could not win more than three games in a row all season, has won three in three days here in Hartford. A fourth and they reach two of the goals they set for themselves as the defending National Champions.
Perhaps the travel associated with playing in The American played a role in the Huskies inconsistencies this year, but that no longer matters, as they are ready for SMU.
“It’s going to be another dog fight,” Omar Calhoun said thinking ahead to today’s game after the victory over Tulsa. “We’re going to have to grind it out on the defensive end. If we come out making shots, we can come out with the win.”
It may have been overlooked yesterday, but one of the plays of the game in the comeback victory was the charge taken by Calhoun with the Huskies down by 6 with just 2:52 to go, in the middle of an 8-0 UConn run. Part of the stretch included a corner three from freshman Daniel Hamilton, his first and only make of the game.
“I knew that if I kept shooting, I was going to knock down one,” he said after the win. “It just so happened to be at a crucial time. I had confidence in myself, my teammates had confidence in me, especially when I was struggling all night. When I got the opportunity, I just knocked the shot down.”
Despite the lack of offensive production, Hamilton contributed with 12 rebounds and four assists, something he takes pride in when his shot is not falling.
“When I’m not scoring, I need to do something else to stay on the court,” he said. “I just tried to make as many plays as possible, try to make plays for my teammates and not just for myself.”
UConn has won nine straight postseason tournament games, including all six during last year’s championship run. With the crowd firmly behind the Huskies today, I like their chances to make it ten. So does Hamilton.
“It’s a real big advantage,” he said in the locker room last night about the energy from the crowd. “We just want to win for the them.”
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