Two down, one to go. On Sunday, UConn will put a bow on the preseason when it takes on Army in its final exhibition. After that, the games will finally start to count.
This is the earliest extended look we’ve ever gotten at the Huskies by this point in the calendar. Last year, they played Boston College in an exhibition on Oct. 13 then didn’t take the court for another game until Oct. 26. Now, UConn will be done with its preseason slate on Oct. 25.
Given that, UConn has been better than expected by any measure. Sarah Strong has emerged as a vocal leader, Jovana Popovic looks like a star in the making and the team has played well despite missing Blanca Quiñonez, who projects as the No. 2 scorer. Even though the Huskies return most of their roster, they’re already establishing a new identity. UConn isn’t just running it back sans Azzi Fudd.
The Huskies still have a lot of work to do, though. Geno Auriemma has plenty of items on his checklist for Sunday.
“Making sure that we become a more vocal team, a more disciplined team defensively, a more consistent team offensively, finding our rhythm,” he said when asked what he’s watching for. “But some of these things just take time.”
UConn will not have everything figured out against Army. But there’s three big questions it can work to answer.
Can UConn clean up its sloppy play?
In its first two exhibitions, UConn recorded 28 turnovers and committed 51 personal fouls in total. The Huskies have been sloppy so far.
Those problems aren’t atypical for this time of year. Again, UConn is usually preparing to play its first exhibition around now, not its last. The Huskies just have to show some improvement — especially after they had more turnovers and fouls against Texas than they did against Syracuse.
The turnovers are largely a product of poor decision-making, which should improve with more time on the court, both in practice and in games. Auriemma didn’t sound overly concerned about UConn’s 17 giveaways versus Texas.
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