Notes & Quotes: UConn Over UCF, 67-46

STORRS, Conn. – It still remains to be seen if UConn is NCAA Tournament bound, but the Huskies at least avoided another blemish on their résumé with a 67-46 win over the University of Central Florida in front of a sellout crowd Sunday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion.

Daniel Hamilton scored 12 points and Sterling Gibbs added 10 for UConn (21-10, 11-7 American Athletic Conference), which swept UCF (12-17, 6-12) this season. The Huskies open conference tournament play Friday as the fifth seed in Orlando, Fla. against No. 4 Cincinnati, which won both regular-season meetings.

“We still have work to do,” UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. “We don’t want to put it in (the NCAA committee’s) hands. We want to make sure we are in there for sure. I just want to take every minute and coach these guys the way I know I can coach them and make sure they are believing no matter what we are going through. And we’ll take it day-by-day, minute-by-minute and then where ever it falls, it falls.”

Seven-foot-6 Tacko Fall led the Knights with 13 points.

Here’s a closer look at how things went for the Huskies in their regular-season finale:

WHAT WENT WELL

1. LATE ARRIVAL: The opening five minutes might not have been pretty (see below), but the Huskies did what they had to do – beat UCF and go into the postseason on a high note. The 11-0 run that got UConn into the game started with a whimper, but after the Huskies led 11-10 on an Omar Calhoun jumper, they lost the lead – and just briefly – once the rest of the way. After a 3-for-17 start from the field, UConn shot 55 percent the rest of the game.

GIBBS’ TAKE: “We just talked to each other. It started on the defensive end just getting stops and then getting out running, moving the ball on offense and getting good shots.”

2. THE TWO SIDES OF DANIEL: First-half Hamilton (three turnovers, four rebounds, 0-for-2 from field) was such a liability for the Huskies that Ollie sat him the final 13:03 and didn’t put him back in until 15:04 left in the game (UConn led 39-31). It was a different story from there, with Hamilton shooting 4-for-7 for 12 points, adding one assist while committing no turnovers.

He still played a career-low 17 minutes, but was a much better player after being benched.

HAMILTON’S TAKE: “You just got to be tough, you can’t get down on yourself. I knew was going to eventually go back in the game, and I didn’t know exactly when … the coaches put me back in and trusted me. I just came in and made a couple plays.”

OLLIE’S TAKE: “He responded the right way.”

3. KNIGHTED: UCF came in as the opponent who scored the fewest points in a game this season after losing 67-41 at their place in late January. The Knights came close to duplicating that feat with another sub-50-point outing. The defense forced 17 turnovers and that turned into 24 points for the Huskies at the other end. UCF also shot 34.8 percent from the field and managed just 2 of 9 on 3-pointers in the second half (4-for-10 in the first). UConn outscored them 37-22 in the second half.

UCF COACH DONNIE JONES’ TAKE: “I thought they were playing pretty good D we just weren’t scoring the basketball, but I thought that was a continuous struggle for us and I give UConn credit for that. They’re a good defensive team with the way they guard us that some of our starters really struggled.”

4. PHIL-ING IN: Senior Phil Nolan’s family was unable to attend Senior Day, so his Husky family had his back and went out to center court with him when the center received his framed jersey before the game.

OLLIE’S TAKE: “It’s something (the team) wanted to do. I don’t think Phil wanted it, but guys were like ‘we care about you Phil we’re all going to come out there.’ I think it was just a great gesture. Of course Phil didn’t want the attention … but I think he really got a nice warm feeling inside when they all came out and everybody hugged him. His grandparents are older so it’s hard for them to get on planes and come up here, so that’s why they weren’t able to come up.”

WHAT NEEDS WORK

1. STAR STRUCK: Maybe the Huskies were too caught up in the pregame festivities because they didn’t take the floor ready to play. UCF raced out to an 8-0 lead before UConn scored its first basket – Purvis fed Brimah for a dunk at 16:47 – and the Gampel fans could finally sit down. In the postseason the Huskies can’t afford to sleep in.

GIBBS’ TAKE: “Just missing shots, not turning the ball over, playing how we wanted to. I think once we got locked in, we did a good job.”

2. TOURNAMENT RESUME: The Huskies appear to be right on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament depending on which bracket you look at. And those that have UConn in have them around that 10-to-11 seed, which is not a lock going into conference tournament play.

OMAR CALHOUN’S TAKE: “We are still hungry for more. We want to win the conference tournament, that’s our mindset, and from there we’ll see what happens.”

NOTES: Seniors Calhoun, Nolan and Nnamdi Amilo as well as grad students Sterling Gibbs and Shonn Miller were honored before the game. …. Nolan and Calhoun each started. … Putnam Science Academy’s Hamidou Diallo (a 2017 target) and Mamadou Diarra (2016 UConn commit) attended the game. … The Huskies have lost in the AAC finals two straight years. … The Huskies finished the regular season without having played an overtime game. … When asked after the game if UConn was tournament worthy, UCF head coach Donnie Jones said “without question I think UConn is a tournament team.”

UP NEXT

Friday, vs. Cincinnati in AAC quarterfinals in Orlando, 2 p.m.