UConn Has Played Their Way onto the Bubble

Well, that was huge. The UConn Huskies of 2009/2010 have finally arrived. This is the UConn team that was ranked No. 10 in Sports Illustrated's preseason poll.

After last night's 73-62 victory over No. 8 West Virginia, the Huskies now have three wins over top 10 teams. They sit at 17-11 (7-8 Big East) with three winable games left to play in the regular season.

In terms of confidence building, their three game winning streak has come against three very different styles of play. UConn beat Villanova in a man-to-man speed game.

The win at Rutgers was against a slow-it-down 2-3 zone. WVU plays a physical, rebounding-centered game, and last night played the triangle-and-two defense extensively in an effort to reduce their fouling. Coach Jim Calhoun called last night's game an old-fashioned Big East "street fight."

Three games that different in style, with the only constants being effort and patience, can only boost the confidence of a team that many (including myself) had written off for dead just 10 days ago.

The professional "bracketologists" all are in agreement that, as of now, UConn is squarely on the bubble and would need to "play themselves out" of the NCAA tournament field. Translation: keep winning and you're in.

The Huskies are not a "lock" by any means, and they know it. ESPN's Andy Katz observed to Calhoun that the team appeared to be playing the last three games as if they were all a "game 7"...Coach loved the analogy and agreed.

The team seems to have finally realized that their season goes down the toilet if they don't start playing like a UConn team. Like a "team" period.

Great quote from Calhoun illustrates this point. Calhoun said after last night's game, “Jerome has allowed Kemba to take over. He wouldn’t have done that mid-season." From the very start of the season, it was unclear who the leader of the team would be.

It was obvious that Dyson and Walker both thought they should have that role. The result was innumerable ill-advised 1-on-5 kamikaze drives by both players. Both trying to single-handedly win close games.

Since the Villanova game, it has become clear Dyson has embraced the role of "stopper," allowing Walker to lead the team offensively. Dyson has locked down, in succession, Scottie Reynolds, Mike Rosario, and Da'Sean Butler. Three of the best scorers in the Big East all neutralized by a superior defensive effort by Dyson.

Walker, for his part, has equally embraced the role of "point guard." That was always the position he played, but not so much the role. Walker is now running the offense...keeping people moving, getting the ball to others in a position to score, and then scoring when the team needs him to do so.

The whole rotation is playing cohesive and inspired basketball. The biggest indicator of that is rebounding. The Huskies have convincingly won the rebounding battle in each of the three victories.

UConn was not overrated to start the season. I actually thought it a little low. The talent was always there, but the team had trouble developing an identity...much more trouble than anyone predicted. Win three more games, and they get an opportunity to show how good they can be in the NCAA tournament.