UConn men's basketball welcomes No. 20 Marquette for consequential game in Gampel Pavilion Wednesday

STORRS – The UConn men’s basketball team will be pressured Wednesday night.

Taking care of the ball was a main focus in practices leading up to the matchup against No. 20 Marquette and its active full-court defense, which forced 25 UConn turnovers in Milwaukee on Feb. 1. The Huskies still managed to win, 77-69, in spite of their giveaways and the top-10 road win provided a confidence boost before the final and most difficult stretch of the season.

A win on Wednesday would be even more beneficial as it would jump UConn ahead of the Golden Eagles for the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament, which would hold if the Huskies can handle business in their Senior Day matchup against Seton Hall Saturday. Either a No. 2 or a No. 3 seed, both still in the cards if the Huskies win out, would be significant in placing them on the opposite side of the bracket from St. John’s, which swept the season series in convincing fashion.

“Obviously the regular-season goal of a championship has come and gone, but we could still position ourselves to have a better March than we’ve had the previous months,” coach Dan Hurley said Tuesday. “But if we don’t take good care of the basketball, if we don’t defend better, if we don’t have two-way playmakers all over the court that are on the backboard and playing with incredible effort, then … Then it won’t be a good March.”

UConn has seen a return to form since losing to the regular-season champion Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 23, picking up decisive wins over Georgetown and at Providence to build momentum into March. But the Huskies are more focused on continuing to refine their game and their rotations than they are tournament seeding with a week to go.

“I just think we’re trying to play a consistent game, trying not to turn the ball over 25 times like we did when we played Marquette the first time. We got away with some things from a defensive standpoint. I think it’s just focusing on the respect that we have for the opponent tomorrow night and then trying to play better in this building,” Hurley said. “We haven’t played well offensively or defensively, at least in league play, at Gampel. So obviously we need great support from the crowd, a crowd that helps us play better.”

Defensively, the Marquette game was a turning point for the Huskies.

They switched everything one through five and held the Golden Eagles under 40% shooting from the field (39.7%) and just 7-for-22 from beyond the arc. Marquette did miss a few layups and 10 of its 22 free throws, which helped, but the overall defensive effort was one of the team’s best to that point in the season.

“I think it actually kind of helped us when everyone was switching onto different matchups and they couldn’t get a feel for our defense,” said sophomore Solo Ball, who shot 7 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished that game with 25 points and 11 rebounds. “Usually we’re one of those teams who like to stay attached and and stuff like that, so to switch it up I think kind of threw them off.”

Hurley expects Marquette coach Shaka Smart to have his team prepared for that game plan the second time around. So the Huskies have worked on alternative plans, but switching will still be a critical element.

“With Ben Gold at the five and Royce Parham at the five, their ability to pick and pop and make 3s, and just Kam Jones and (David) Joplin and (Chase) Ross and Stevie Mitchell – if you just play conventional ball-screen defense against those guys, they’ll destroy you,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to have alternative plans and we’ve got, hopefully, a couple things that we can do that we haven’t shown and some things that we would traditionally do.”

Marquette has struggled with the league’s top teams this season. The loss to UConn began a three-game losing streak with additional setbacks against St. John’s and Creighton. But the Golden Eagles enter Wednesday’s game having won four of their last five, losing only to Villanova during that stretch, and will also be hunting their own resume boost.

While Smart has been able to start the same five players every game this season, each of them with years in his system under their belt, UConn has juggled injuries and is finally reaching optimum health.

“We’re still trying to find a better version of ourselves,” Hurley said, in contrast. “We’re still trying to play a full, complete game. We’re still looking for production and minutes at critical spots.”

Jaylin Stewart, one of the bench pieces the Huskies are looking at to step up, was still in the starting lineup against Marquette with Liam McNeeley out and set the tone with three early 3-pointers. UConn ended up shooting 12-for-19 from beyond the arc (63.2%) in that game even without McNeeley, who made his return the next game and has been a critical piece as the Huskies have gone more off-script on offense.

That, too, could help with the turnover problem.

“Just getting stops and getting out in transition and letting these guys play more. When people are pressuring you out of the stuff that you’re running in the half court, you could really only cut it or you could drive it,” Hurley said. “You’ve got to be able to do one of those two things when people pressure you out of the stuff you’re trying to run because they’re pressuring the ball and they’re blowing up screens. To soften up that defense, you’ve got to be able to beat people off the dribble, cut people, back-cut them and make plays in the paint to get people to respect your ability to create off the dribble.”