UConn men’s basketball vs Michigan: Instant analysis of Huskies’ big win
· Yahoo Sports
BOSTON, Mass. — The crowd at TD Garden couldn’t wait to erupt.
Visit afnews.co.za for more information.
When the final buzzer sounded, the roar of the UConn faithful reverberated throughout the walls of one of basketball’s most sacred grounds.
The final score told the whole story: UConn 85, Michigan 77
Seven months after losing to Michigan in the national championship game, UConn got its revenge as the Huskies defeated the Wolverines comfortably on Friday night.
Silas Demary Jr. led the way for UConn, scoring 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
Braylon Mullins led all scorers with 23 points, hitting 10-of-11 of his free-throw attempts.
UConn used a 9-0 run to end the first half with all the momentum. Then, held firm in the final 20 minutes to seal the win. The Huskies led by as much as 18 and trailed for just 24 seconds of Friday’s game.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Friday’s game:
Demary’s revenge game
The preseason Big East player of the year came to play.
Demary scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half while controlling the pace the entire night.
The senior point guard also took on the assignment of guarding Michigan’s electric point guard Elliot Cadeau, who couldn’t get into a rhythm all night.
Demary finished with a +13 plus-minus.
How did UConn handle Michigan’s size and physicality?
Michigan’s frontline featured 7-foot-2 Moustapha Thiam, 6-11 J.P. Estrella, and 6-10 Quinn Costello.
The Huskies didn’t back down.
Despite multiple players being in foul trouble, rebounding wasn’t an issue for UConn. Even though they were the much bigger team, Michigan only won the rebounding battle 35-33.
UConn center Oskar Giltay was big in the win. He scored just two points, but more than held his own on defense. He affected a good number of Michigan’s shot attempts in the paint while discouraging a ton of shots at the rim.
The Huskies even took the physicality to the Wolverines, getting into the double bonus at the 7:50 mark of the second half.
Elite perimeter defense
UConn's coach wasn’t lying when he said this might be the best perimeter defense he's had.
The Huskies shut down Cadeau, who finished with a measly eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. The senior guard fouled out with 2:16 left in the game.
UConn bottled up shooting guard Trey McKenney, who went scoreless in the first half. The sophomore from Flint eventually got going in the second half, but by then UConn’s cushion was too big.
Michigan shot just 41% from the field and turned the ball over 14 times, which led to 16 UConn points.
Landrew steps up
The freshman had a statement game.
Playing a team as physical as Michigan, Hurley needed someone who wasn’t afraid to hit back. Landrew made clear that he was going to be that guy early on.
With starting small forward Nik Khamenia in foul trouble, Landrew got big minutes in the first half. He impressed, scoring nine of his 14 points in the first 20 minutes.
Hurley went back to the freshman early in the second half. Landrew was a force in transition and helped the Huskies on the glass, finishing with eight rebounds.
If Landrew can maintain this level of play, UConn will be tough to beat.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: UConn men’s basketball vs Michigan: Instant analysis of Huskies’ big win