Cam Spencer got the sold-out XL Center crowd going after a bit of a scuffle in the second half of Saturday's 69-65 UConn win over St. John's, and Dan Hurley loved it.
HARTFORD — UConn fans set an attendance record Saturday night, fitting a combustible 15,684 into Hartford’s XL Center for a prime-time matchup against St. John’s two nights before Christmas, in which the Huskies held on for a 69-65 victory.
Head coach Dan Hurley called for an atmosphere that resembled the one so disruptive in Kansas’ Phog Allen Fieldhouse, a big-time crowd for a big-time game, the Huskies needing to come back from Wednesday’s embarrassing loss at Seton Hall in order to enjoy their holiday break. It wasn’t The Phog, but on several occasions – like when St. John’s had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 17 seconds and missed both shots – side conversations were impossible.
Coming out of the half, UConn (11-2, 1-1 Big East) trailing by six and then eight after Glenn Taylor Jr. started the second half scoring, the crowd needed a jolt. Cam Spencer, the Huskies’ newest lightning rod, was there to provide it.
Spencer forced a turnover in the paint and Tristen Newton collected the ball, went coast-to-coast and was fouled before his fastbreak layup fell through the net. There were some words exchanged between him and Taylor, who didn’t agree with the call, and a bit of a shoving match as Spencer stepped in. Once it cleared, Spencer ran to center court and pumped his fists to get the crowd going. That stretch, which began with Spencer’s first 3-pointer of the night, turned into a 10-0 run.
“It was just heat of the moment,” Spencer said, casually. “I’m a fiery competitor. We weren’t giving them much to get involved with, with how we were playing on the offensive end and the game was kind of ugly at that point. Tristen had a great finish, just a little scuffle and heat of the moment trying to get (the fans) involved – they were great tonight.”
UConn center Donovan Clingan to miss 3-4 weeks with right foot injury
Spencer, the fifth-year guard who joined the program this year from Rutgers, had a similar moment in the game against North Carolina, pumping his fist to pump up the Madison Square Garden crowd after an exchange with the Tar Heels’ big man Armando Bacot.
Hurley, who regularly does his part to wave on the crowd after a big play or when he senses the team needs it, is a fan of Spencer’s moments. In fact, he wants more.
“We need players to interact with the crowd when they make shots or when players are shooting free throws in different situations,” he said, “just to ignite the crowd and really try to create that home court advantage. I mean, it got deafening loud in there late in the game, some of those big plays and finishes it was really loud. But a lot of the crowd responds to the personalities of players and they certainly respond to a guy like Cam.”
St. John’s Rick Pitino said UConn is a “decent team” after losing to the Huskies in Hartford on Saturday. This photo is from Big East media day, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
‘A decent team’
St. John’s head coach, Hall of Famer Rick Pitino, told reporters Saturday’s result was “a missed opportunity” but that it was also the best game his team has played all season.
He also toned down some of his praise for UConn, which began after he predicted the Huskies’ national championship after they beat his Iona team in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Pitino called UConn a “machine” before the season and, after St. John’s opened conference play by beating Xavier in Carnesecca Arena and there were “We want UConn” chants, he joked that “the intelligence of the crowd was lacking,” according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
“I think they’re a decent team,” he said Saturday, “but I think everybody in the Big East is a decent team. I haven’t seen a great team in college basketball yet. They’re all very good teams, all of them, but I haven’t seen a great team where I say, ‘Man, can they play.'”
After all three of the ranked teams in the Big East lost their conference openers, his reluctance for the word “great” isn’t out of line. UConn, without Clingan, certainly wasn’t the “machine” of last March and April.
“We had this game,” he said. “Should’ve won it, but we’re growing. Three weeks ago, if we were (still) playing that brand of basketball, they would’ve won by 25 today.”
UConn’s Stephon Castle (5) shoots against St. John’s Chris Ledlum, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Castle comes through
UConn’s touted freshman Stephon Castle was inserted into the starting lineup on Saturday for the first time since he injured his knee in the second game of the year. He missed six games and made his return off the bench against North Carolina, averaging five points and two assists in 16.8 minutes through UConn’s last four games as he eased his way back.
Castle, scoreless at halftime and, aside from his team-leading four rebounds, wasn’t much of a factor. He missed his first six shots from the field, picked up some early fouls, but was there when the Huskies needed him most. Playing with four fouls for the final 7:15, Castle had eight points down the stretch.
“I think he found something late there,” Hurley said. “He can’t put too much pressure on himself to try to be this electrifying guard who’s doing all of this stuff off the dribble and playing like he’s Dame Lillard out there. That guy just needs to fly around defensively and use his athletic ability, get on the glass, cut, get out in transition. His second half was huge and he was a hair away from getting another steal that would’ve really sealed it for us. But I think now he’s got a template that he can build from.”
Hurley, Nahiem Alleyne share moment
Nahiem Alleyne made his return to Hartford and earned a decent ovation from the crowd when he was announced in the St. John’s starting lineup after helping the Huskies win the Tournament last year. He struggled against his former team, finishing with two points on 1 of 6 shooting, four rebounds and as many fouls.
After the game, Hurley found him “to tell him I love him” and the two shared a hug as the teams made their way off the court.
“We loved that team, we loved every player on that team and I think, for me selfishly, I wanted to coach him again. It would’ve been awesome to bring him back and have a chance to go back-to-back with him. He would’ve been obviously a critical part of what we’re doing and he saw a much bigger role for him – or he was convinced that there was a much bigger role for him (at St. John’s),” Hurley said.
“I just love the kid, man. His family’s awesome, he’s a total soldier and he’s a great two-way player. And we wouldn’t have won the championship without him last year.”