Marquette Basketball: 3 keys for Golden Eagles to upset No. 1 UConn Huskies

Contain the Bigs

When Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon back in 1984 NBA Entry Draft, the entire league was put on notice. 

Ray Patterson, the Rockets’ General Manager at the time, viewed the pick as the solution for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s dominance in Los Angeles for the past decade. Olajuwon would slot in alongside 7’4” unheard-of to create the “Twin Towers”. This unheard of combination of size would change the tides in Houston en route to seven-straight playoff berths.

Back in the present day and 1,700 miles to the Northeast, the University of Connecticut has assembled their own nightmare for opposing defenders.

Sophomores Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban have been a revelation for Dan Hurley’s squad. Measuring in at 7' 2” and 6' 8” respectively, the duo down low have feasted on Big East competition to the tune of 27 combined points per game. Karaban ranks second in the Big East on two-point field goal percentage among qualified players at .679 percent, with Clingan close behind in third at .647.

While Olajuwon and Sampson thrived when forcing the ball inside, Karaban’s ability to stretch defenders to the three-point line has added another layer to this already dynamic tandem. The big target Clingan provides down low allows Karaban to become a forgotten man for opposing defenders. This season, the Massachusetts native is shooting .415 percent from beyond the arc on 5.6 attempts per game. 

On the defensive end, the Huskies maximise their size to swat away 5.6 blocks per game; nearly double the amount Marquette tallies. The Golden Eagles will need to deploy a defence-by-committee policy to plug the lanes down low.

Oso Ighodaro and David Joplin, along with Ben Gold off the bench, will all be called upon to patrol the paint. Without a clear deterrent around the rim, look for deflections and defensive intensity to play a key role in this uphill battle.

Action tips off at 3:00 pm ET on Saturday, February 17, 2024 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, broadcast on FOX.