The UConn men’s basketball program is known for winning championships. After all, they have won six national championships, eight Big East Tournament titles, the 2016 AAC Tournament title, 11 Big East regular season championships, the 1988 NIT championship and not to mention the many early-season tournaments they have won.
On Wednesday night, the Stars of Storrs have a chance to add the Syracuse Regional in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) to that list.
Behind a game-winning 3-pointer by Ryan Boatright, the Stars of Storrs defeated the Green Mountain Men 78-76 on Monday night. Boatright, the team’s captain, scored 17 points and now has sealed both games this season.
Boatright is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18 points per game. He has also impressed with 3.5 assists and three steals per game. The 2014 NCAA champion has shot 58.8% from the field, 57.1% from deep and has made all eight of his free-throw attempts.
Leading the way on Monday night was former Seton Hall guard Isaiah Whitehead, who scored a team-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 34 minutes. He’s averaging 14.5 points (third on the team) and leads the team in rebounding with six per game.
Elijah Thomas did not impact the second game like he did in the tournament-opener, but still ranks second in scoring on the team with 15.5 points per game.
As a team, the Stars of Storrs average 84 points per game, and shoot 48.7% from the field, 31.5% from downtown and 76.1% from the charity stripe. After dominating the glass in the first game and seeing the opposite happen in their second-round game, the hopes are for a better performance rebounding the basketball.
The Stars of Storrs add two former Connecticut guards to their roster as RJ Cole and Terry Larrier joined the team on Tuesday. They are expected to play but there are no indications that head coach Tyler Olander will change the starting lineup.
We Are D3 did the unthinkable on Monday night as they upset top-seeded Boeheim’s Army, 81-78.
Ty Nichols was unstoppable, dropping 36 points to lead all scorers. The former Keene State guard hit the game-winner to push the underdogs to the Syracuse Regional Championship game.
Along with the high-scoring effort, which included a 13-20 shooting performance that saw six 3-pointers made, Nichols had five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Nichols leads the team in scoring through two games, averaging 28 points per game. He is shooting 54.5% overall, 47.4% from deep and has made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts. With a backcourt of him and former UMass Dartmouth guard Marcus Azor, We Are D3 poises a threat despite not playing at the same collegiate level as the Stars of Storrs.
“We have the best backcourt in all of TBT,” said We Are D3 head coach Mike Rejniak after their upset win in an interview posted to X.
Azor ranks second on the team in scoring, averaging 11 points per game. Through two games, he has shot 35% from the floor, 37.5% from the 3-point line and has made all five free-throw attempts. He had 17 points in the team’s 75-71 win over Laynes Hope on Saturday. He leads the team in assists, averaging three per game, and is tied for the team lead in rebounding with an average of 7.5 per game.
That is a tie with former Mount Union forward Christian Parker, who scored 10 points off the bench in the upset win over Boeheim’s Army.
Motor City Cruise guard Samuel Peek is one of the four double-digit scorers for We Are D3. The former Stetson Hatter averages 10.5 points per game on 31.8% overall shooting and 7-8 from the free-throw line.
The last double-figure scorer on We Are D3 is Dimitrius Underwood. Most recently playing for KK Bosna in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 6-foot-3 guard averages 10.5 points per game on 40% shooting from the field. He also boasts an average of 5.5 rebounds per game.
As a team, We Are D3 averages 78 points per game while shooting 37.8% from the field, 30.2% from deep and 87.5% from the charity stripe.
Tip-off between the Stars of Storrs and We Are D3 is set for 7 p.m. ET at the SRC Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. It will be available to watch on FS1.
Calhoun's Corner 