Notes from UConn men’s basketball’s exhibition win over Michigan State: ‘A good physical test”

Between the 56 total fouls and 74 combined foul shots, there was a men’s basketball game at PeoplesBank Arena Tuesday night. And UConn, minus some lack of discipline, looked pretty good.

The Huskies, ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP poll, took down No. 22 Michigan State, 76-69, despite missing two starters in center Tarris Reed Jr. (hamstring) and freshman wing Braylon Mullins (ankle).

Alex Karaban and Solo Ball led the way in the wire-to-wire victory with 18 points a piece, each adding three rebounds and an assist. Jayden Ross, who is vying for an expanded role in his junior season, broke out for 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting off the bench. And point guard Silas Demary Jr., making his debut after missing the first exhibition against Boston College with a calf injury, scored nine points (2-for-3 from beyond the arc) with four rebounds and three assists, finishing a team-best plus-17 in 20 minutes.

UConn men pass final audition in impressive wire-to-wire exhibition win over Michigan State

UConn’s defense – the main focus of this offseason – was as aggressive as ever, challenging ball-handlers as soon as they crossed midcourt and contesting just about every pass – maybe too much, coach Dan Hurley said, as foul trouble quickly became an issue for both sides.

The Huskies held Michigan State to 18-for-46 shooting from the field and forced 12 turnovers, but gave up 29 points on 44 free throw attempts.

“It was a good physical test for us,” Hurley said. “Obviously the fouls are an issue, they’ve been an issue in both (exhibition) games. … We’re much better defensively, even with Tarris out, than we were last year, but we’ve got to figure out the fouling thing.”

Jayden Ross going mainstream

Heading into last season, Hurley said Ross had “taken off like a rocket ship,” but when the games mattered, his preseason success didn’t translate.

Tuesday, with minutes opening up on the wing due to Mullins’ injury, Ross took advantage of the opportunity. He made four of his five shots from the field, including a 3-pointer, and used his athleticism to be a disruptor on the defensive end while only finishing with three fouls – an impressive feat given the way the game was called. UConn and Michigan State agreed to push the foul limit to six for the exhibition, and the Huskies had four players whistled at least five times.

“Obviously I love J-Ross,” Hurley said. “I mean, I’ve seen that movie in my home a lot, streaming in my house. But let’s hope that movie is now going to theatres so the public can see it. I mean, that’s the Jayden Ross that we’ve seen on a daily basis a lot. That was exciting to see that, and we need that, especially with Braylon out.”

Koroma finding his role

Dwayne Koroma, the Le Moyne transfer brought in to serve as an extra front court player, has been impressive through both exhibitions as the backup center to Eric Reibe. A smaller big at just 6 feet 8, he has shown he can hold his own as a strong rebounder in a smaller lineup and could find himself with decent minutes as a third center.

“I thought he played well, I don’t know what he was doing. I want to watch the film, I don’t know what he was doing out there,” Hurley said after Koroma finished with four points, four rebounds and six fouls. “I don’t understand how and what he was doing to just keep fouling people. Because he had four rebounds in 10 minutes, he gives you a different look at center, he rolls and puts pressure on the paint because he’s so quick and mobile, which opens up things on the perimeter.

“I think Dwayne can really help the team, I just – he was a battering ram today, I gotta see the fouls, I don’t know what he was doing, but I love that guy.”

All class

When the exhibition was hard to watch, the sideline certainly was not. Hurley and Tom Izzo were both in midseason form Tuesday night, coaching their teams with intensity and working the referees as the whistles blew nonstop. There is a clear mutual respect between the programs.

“I’ve modeled so much of how I’ve tried to be a coach and then a college coach by watching and trying to model and learn as much as I can from Coach Izzo,” Hurley said. “Just awesome for us to be able to get an exhibition versus one of the greatest coaches to ever do it in college and then one of the classiest, winningest programs.”

“You’ve got to love his passion,” Izzo said of Hurley. “What you’ve got to understand about guys like that is players still want to play for him. So what goes on behind the scenes that you don’t see has got to be pretty awesome. I think he coaches them hard and he loves them hard, that’s a hell of a feat.

“I’m not worried about Danny, he’s done a good job, he’s a good coach. But don’t get carried away by what you see in his demeanor sometimes because those players, they play for him. And they rally around him, I absolutely love it, personally.”

Hall of Famers reunite

Izzo made sure to meet up with legendary UConn coach Jim Calhoun before the game.

“He hasn’t changed, still ornery,” Izzo quipped. “He came into the locker room before the game, it was good to see him. He talked about all the times they beat us and I think that was depressing before the game, so maybe I blame this poor performance on him because I didn’t give a good enough pregame speech after listening to his BS.”