UConn lands two on Naismith Defensive Player of the Year list

Defense was the Achilles heel for last year’s UConn men’s basketball team. Now the Huskies are back to being one of the five best defensive units in the nation.

Both Silas Demary Jr., the point-of-attack defender who’s keyed the turnaround, and Tarris Reed Jr., the Huskies’ anchor, were recognized Thursday on the 25-man watch list for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. UConn was one of six programs to have two players on the list.

The Huskies are No. 5 in defensive efficiency by KenPom after spending most of last season in the 100s and finishing No. 75. Demary and Reed are ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Big East in terms of EvanMiya.com’s Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating.

UConn ranks No. 11 nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 64.3 points per game. It has allowed 65 points or more in regulation only seven times in 21 regular season games and held 11 opponents under 40% from the field. UConn is fourth in the country in effective field goal percentage against at 44.0%, 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense at 39.1% and leads the Big East in rebound margin (plus-4.7).

Demary’s team-best 1.8 steals per game is good for fifth in the Big East and his pressure on the perimeter has helped the Huskies hold opponents to just 28.5% shooting from 3-point range (No. 7 nationally).

Reed ranks third in the Big East in blocks per game at 2.1, good for No. 25 nationally, and is fifth in the league with 7.9 rebounds per game. He has also helped UConn limit opponents to a 44.6% two-point field goal percentage, which is ninth best in the country.

UConn had two of the three Big East representatives on the Naismith DPOY watch list, which also included St. John’s center Zuby Ejiofor.

The midseason team will be announced on Feb. 26, then cut down to finalists on March 25 and a winner on April 5 during Final Four weekend.