PHILADELPHIA – Jayden Ross’ impact on the UConn men’s basketball team always starts on the defensive end of the court. One of, if not the best pure athlete on the roster, the 6-foot-7 wing is an energizer bunny of sorts who can guard just about any position, and he’s shown exponential growth over the last month or so as he’s settled into the sixth-man role for the Huskies at just the right time.
Anything he can add on the offensive end is a bonus.
UConn needed the whole experience on Sunday to complement a masterful, 27-point effort from Alex Karaban. UCLA was having success driving the ball into the paint and built a five-point lead near the midpoint in the first half when Ross turned it on.
He missed a 3-pointer from the corner and sprinted back on defense, chasing down UCLA’s Jamar Brown and blocking his transition layup attempt off the backboard. UConn came out of the under-eight timeout with its deficit down to three when Ross nailed a 3-pointer through a foul. He went up for a contested catch on an inbound pass the next possession and landed a second 3-pointer to give the Huskies their first lead of the night, and, on the possession after that, drew yet another foul on a 3-point attempt to score nine straight points and completely swing the momentum.
“Any night can kind of go your way if you attack it the right way with your mindset,” Ross said, fouling out with the game in hand in the final two minutes and finishing his night with 11 points on 3 of 4 shooting, plus three rebounds, the block, an assist and two steals.
Sign up here to get UConn sports news straight to your inbox: UConn Alerts
“Whether that’s offensively, defensively, whatever the case is, whatever my team needs from me. There was a few opportunities to shoot the ball, I saw a few of them go down early and I was able to make some plays on defense and create some momentum,” he said. “I might’ve gotten a little over-excited, committed some bad fouls and stuff, you’re always going to critique yourself a little bit, but I think I did a solid job at guarding some of their actions, being able to be a little disruptive on the defensive end.”
UConn’s defensive effort, powered by Ross and Tarris Reed Jr., along with the return of Silas Demary Jr., who gave it his all only eight games removed from a high ankle sprain, frustrated Mick Cronin and the Bruins, especially in the second half. The Huskies finished the game with five blocks and seven steals, holding UCLA to just 39% shooting from the field, 33% after the break.
“Their defense was better than our offense, and I take responsibility for that. Got to have your guys ready for the opponent and what the opponent’s going to bring to the table,” Cronin said. “Not just with what they run offensively, but what they do defensively. And their physicality defensively was the difference in the game. I don’t have the stat in front of me, but I do know that we were 14-for-36 from two… I’m going to guess 20-25 of those were at the rim. We could not finish at the rim.”
UConn vs. St. John’s round four?
The Big East only placed three teams in the NCAA Tournament Field of 68, yet it will have two representatives in the Sweet 16. Unfortunately for the league, both UConn and St. John’s – which beat Kansas at the buzzer – will be in Washington D.C. this weekend aiming for the East Region’s spot in the Final Four.
“I think it speaks to the quality of what us and St. John’s are this year. I think they’re a great team. I think we’re a great team… I just think us and St. John’s are two of the best teams in the country. Obviously, we both hope for a meeting in D.C., a fourth meeting,” Hurley said. “It stinks a little bit that they threw us both in the same region. It feels like the combination of St. John’s being under-seeded, as well as putting us both in same region. I don’t want to get myself in trouble with the selection committee…”
St. John’s took 2 of 3 from the Huskies so far this year, including a 20-point win in the Big East Tournament championship game, which came less than three weeks after UConn beat the Red Storm by 32 in Hartford. If St. John’s gets past No. 1 overall seed Duke and UConn beats No. 3 seed Michigan State on Friday, Round Four will be appointment television on Sunday.
“I think we’ve got to try to support each other,” Hurley said. “It’s pretty brutal on Twitter and on social (media) between our fan bases, but I think we have to try to come together Friday night against our opponents so we can have a blood bath on Sunday.”
‘We’re vampires’
UConn is set for another late tip-off in its Sweet 16 matchup against Michigan State on Friday, which is set to start at 9:45 p.m.
The superstitious Hurley doesn’t mind it so much after the Huskies’ first round win over Furman tipped off after 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Sunday’s game started at 9:10 p.m.
“We’re night owls. I mean, we’re vampires. We’re used to this late-night situation,” he said. “And, hey, it’s the way the tournament started for us and it’s gone well. So I would rather play then than at noon.”
Greg McDermott retires
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott announced Monday morning that he will retire after the Bluejays’ season ends in the College Basketball Crown tournament. McDermott has a career coaching record of 645-383 over 32 years at Wayne State (1994-2000), North Dakota State (2000-2001), Northern Iowa (2001-2006), Iowa State (2006-2010) and Creighton, where he’s been since 2010.
“Congrats Big Mac!! One of the best coaches in the game and a great guy,” Hurley posted to X in response to the news.
Alan Huss, who returned to his alma mater last April as associate head coach and head coach in waiting, will take over as Creighton’s head coach.
