UCONN Basketball . . . Tournament Bound?

A team that is 15-11, 5-8 in the Big East and 12th out of 16 teams in the conference cannot possibly make the NCAA tournament, right? Or can they? The team I am referencing is the University of Connecticut Huskies, who have gone a less than stellar 4-8 over their last 12 games.

I will be the first to admit that the UCONN hoop program is one of my least favorite in the country. I have little respect for head coach Jim Calhoun who, like many other big time basketball coaches, is deceitful and deceptive with regard to recruiting and scheduling. Remember the recruiting scandal of Nate Miles, or maybe you remember the time when Calhoun essentially kicked Holy Cross out of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic because he did not feel comfortable with his young Husky team matching up with the tenacious defense and meticulous offense of a Ralph Willard coached Crusader squad. You may ask, why am I predicting a UCONN team coached by Jim Calhoun to go to the Dance? Well, because I truly believe they will make it to March Madness. Hear me out.

Jim Calhoun, as much as I don't like to admit it, is one of the best coaches in college basketball today. He has won two National Championships, been to three final fours, and has won six Big East Championships. The guy can coach; there is no doubt about that. In Calhoun's second game back from his medical leave (the Huskies went 3-4 under associate head coach George Blaney, including a victory over Texas, who was ranked first in the country at the time), UCONN defeated the 3rd ranked team in the country in Villanova. Having Calhoun back, and the dynamite combination of Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson beginning to click, UCONN seems poised to make a late run to end the regular season.

If the season ended today, UCONN certainly would have its NCAA Tournament bubble burst, but the Huskies still have five Big East regular season games remaining, plus the Big East Tournament. The combined Big East record of Rutgers, (8) West Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame, and South Florida (which happen to be the teams UCONN will face in their remaining games) is 29-32. With the way UCONN has looked against Syracuse and Villanova in two of their last three games, it is feasible to think the Huskies could go 4-1 over this five game stretch. Yet, with their putrid performance against Cincinnati, they could very easily go 2-3 or 1-4. The talent is definitely there -- this team should have an above .500 record in the Big East -- it is simply a matter of execution and showing up to games.

The Walker and Dyson combo (one of the better backcourt combinations in the Big East) have been averaging 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists over the past three games. If this production continues, there is no reason to think the Huskies can't go 4-1 to conclude this season. And, looking even further ahead (I know, of course the UCONN basketball team can't do this, but me as a sports writer/blogger and you as a sports fan allows us to do so), if UCONN can win two games in the Big East Tournament, they would have a 21-13 record.

This record is far below the standards for UCONN basketball, but may be good enough for the Tournament Committee. They would have a top 40 RPI most likely, a Strength of Schedule inside the Top 10, wins over, at the time, number one Texas and number three Villanova, and would end the season with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games. 

This UCONN team draws many similarities to the 2007-2008 University of Kentucky team, a team that had an 18-12 record going into the NCAA Tournament. Remember, this was the Kentucky team who lost to Gardner Webb by 16 points in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. Kentucky, after beginning the season 9-9, went 9-2 over their next 11 games to conclude the regular season with an 18-11 record. Kentucky got hot at just the right time, and UCONN needs to do the same. The toughest part of the Huskies schedule is behind them, it is now time for them to convert wins over teams they should beat.

Blaney is back in the second seat on the bench, Calhoun is back roaming the sidelines, Stanley Robinson has been Mr. Consistency this year as he has scored in double digits every game this season (and has been throwing down dunks like this), and Walker and Dyson pose match-up problems for every team in the Big East.

The puzzle pieces are on the table, and as much as I can't stand to watch Jim Calhoun lead UCONN, he is a coach that can certainly put the pieces together.