UConn Basketball: Kevin Ollie is on the hot seat after blowout loss to Memphis

TUCSON, AZ - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Kevin Ollie of the Connecticut Huskies reacts during the first half of the college basketball game against the Arizona Wildcats at McKale Center on December 21, 2017 in Tucson, Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the Huskies 73-58. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

UConn basketball seemed destined to have another middle place finish in the AAC this season. But now even that seems in doubt after Tuesday’s loss.

Coming into the 2017-18 season, UConn basketball had hoped to be one of the top teams in the AAC, just maybe right below teams like Cincinnati and Wichita State. With key players returning from injuries and new talent coming in, things should’ve been different.

So far, that’s not the case. UConn already has eight losses on the season, and nearly had two more if the team didn’t pull it out in overtime against a couple of bad teams in Columbia and Monmouth. Once again, they’re in the middle of the pack and nowhere near competing for the top of the standings.

That was made even more clear on Tuesday night, when the Huskies traveled to Memphis to get dragged by the Tigers, 73-49. The game was looking bad from the get-go, with Kevin Ollie’s team only scoring just 18 points in the first half and 49 total points total against a Tigers team that’s okay but certainly not -34 point differential good.

Now it’s important to note that Terry Larrier, the team’s second-leading scorer, was out with issues with headaches. But that’s not really an excuse for this performance. If Memphis pulled out the win at home then that’s one thing, but this was the kind of loss that pops people’s eyes open.

UConn had as many made field goals as turnovers with 17 each. The only player who played well was Josh Carlton, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, both career-highs. But with top-ranked Villanova coming up, as well as three more games against Wichita State and Cincy, more losses are coming for sure.

And that’s a problem for Coach Ollie, as he and the program have been sputtering ever since winning the national championship in the 2014-15 season. He got a pass last season because of the number of season-ending injuries, but UConn fans aren’t so generous this time around. And add the multiple 25+ blowouts, and there seems to be little progress made for this program.

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Good news for Ollie is that he has that national championship on his resume. Bad news is that people don’t care at this point. There’s four big games left, and for his sake, one of them needs to end up as a win.