By Michael Letendre
In case you didn’t realize it, the big game is today as the men’s basketball team from the University of Connecticut will be competing in the Final Four from NRG Stadium Houston, Texas.
The Huskies are battling a familiar opponent from days gone by in the form of Miami (29-7) as the former Big East rivals clash in the biggest game ever between the two programs.
It will be the second showdown of the day, scheduled for an 8:49 p.m. start, after upset bound Florida Atlantic battles San Diego State (6:09 p.m.) in the opener.
And you can be sure they’ll be a small but mighty contingent from Bristol in Houston while thousands of people in the city will be watching the game live from their living rooms.
The Huskies (29-8), and our main man Donovan Clingan, are in a primetime spot and the honor is truly deserving.
Clingan, the star of Bristol Central’s state title team from 2022-23, is for all purposes the sixth man of the UConn program and is a huge change of pace when subbing in for junior Adama Sanogo (17.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists-per-game) who could be leaving for the NBA if UConn can capture its fourth ever National Title.
The former All-Stater from Bristol is the only center listed on the UConn roster (I guess you can’t call him a 7-foot-2, 265 pound guard) and, just like he did for the Rams, Clingan looms larger than life with his spacing, wingspan and hustle.
Clingan is the blocked shots leader for the Huskies this season (1.8 per-game) and has played in every contest to date.
In 37 games, Clingan chimes in at 7.1 points-per-game in just 13.1 minutes played.
That’s simply incredible production in limited minutes for the outstanding coach at UConn, Dan Hurley.
Clingan hits 65.5-percent of his field goals and averages 5.7 rebounds-per-game.
His prorated stats are off the charts on a 40-minute basis.
Those are stats we’ve looked at here before in TBE.
If Clingan plays the whole game, at his current scoring and overall production, he’d post 21.5 points, 17.3 rebounds and 5.6 blocks-per-game.
That production mirrors his numbers from days gone by at Bristol Central.
And not that we’re placing wagers here at TBE but UConn is currently favored by 5.5 points as all signs point to a date in the National Title Game via a victory by Connecticut.
The Huskies enter the contest against the Hurricanes with a couple of key issues.
According to ESPN, slick shooting Jordan Hawkins (16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 38.5-percent from three) missed Friday’s practice due to illness while Sanogo is fasting while observing Ramadan.
It’s no matter as the Huskies have been locked and loaded since the opening tip of the tournament and the contest against Miami should be no different.
Joining the Sanogo/Hawkins duo will be Tristen Newton (9.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists), freshman sensation Alex Karajan (9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 40.6-percent from 3), and Andre Jackson (6.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists).
However, the tenth ranked Huskies will have their hands full against the sixteenth rated Hurricanes.
Guard Isaiah Wong (16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists) can do a little of everything while guard Jordan Miller (15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists) along with fellow backcourt mate Nigel Pack (13.8 points, 2.4 assists) provide a strong backcourt.
Center/forward Norchad Omier (13.3 points, 10.1 rebounds) is a double-double machine and Woogo Poplar also provides some scoring punch.
This game won’t be easy but the formula that UConn’s been using during March madness has done the trick.
UConn has been crushing all the competition during NCAA Tournament play, scoring no less than 70 points while notching at least 82 points three times in a game.
And that 70-68 loss to Marquette back on March 10 in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament seems like light years ago.
The Huskies are winners of nine of their past 10 games and are looking for two additional victories before things are said and done.
Frankly, this is UConn’s game to lose, and all the locals will be watching with a keen eye.
And one last thing: Go Huskies!
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