Overall very good performance tonight by UConn which covered the 34.5 point spread.
Liam McNeeley showed pretty quickly why many think he is a lottery pick (18 points, 10 rebounds, 3-6 on 3s), but Alex Karaban was the best player on the floor tonight and looked like a 1st team All American. 20 points, 7 assists, 7 blocks, and some of the best defense I have seen him play.
This game went pretty much as I expected, although I didn't expect Aidan Mahaney to get bagelled. He looked more like the guy I saw at the Open Practice than the guy I saw against Rhode Island. What I did expect was an aggressive pushing of the tempo and 90 plus points. Some guys did better with that than others. Mahaney was 0-3 and missed his only 2 3s, had very little impact on the game and looked out of synch with his teammates. Hopefully, it's first night jitters.
Reed Jr. had 15 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, which is pretty good, and he looks like the first UConn center in a while who can actually shoot FTs. Solomon Ball with 16 points and 4-7 on 3s continued the stellar play we saw in the URI exhibition.
UConn shot 52% FGs, 13-31 on 3s, (42%), outrebounded SHU 47-25, and held SHU to 34% FGs. UConn also assisted on 25 baskets, to 8 for SHU. UConn also blocked 13 shots. There is nothing to dislike in any of this. When you consider it's a first game, it's very good stuff.
