Challenges set to increase as No. 4 UConn faces Ohio State

After a three-game acclimation process for the new season, No. 4 UConn has marquee nonconference matchups coming fast and furious now.

After beating low-major opponents in two of their first three games, in addition to a victory oner then-No. 16 Michigan, the Huskies (3-0) start a stretch of three consecutive games against power-conference foes when they welcome Ohio State (2-1) to Hartford, Conn., on Friday night.

UConn rolled to an 83-41 win over Wagner on Monday. All five starters scored in double figures, while the Huskies racked up nine 3-pointers, 37 points off turnovers and 14 steals.

The Huskies did lose Duke transfer Nik Khamenia (10.7 points per game) to a lower-leg injury after only seven minutes. Khamenia went 3 of 3 from 3-point range before exiting.

“For a guy like that, if he missed extended time — weeks, months, whatever it would be — devastation to the person,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said. “Some (athletes), it bothers them a little bit. That guy, it would be devastating for him — and, obviously, it would hurt us.”

Plenty of Huskies gained confidence ahead of the crucial stretch of the schedule, with Silas Demary Jr. notching a game-high 18 points with six steals. Braylon Mullins had been UConn’s leading scorer over the first two games.

Without Khamenia, who was expected to be in a walking boot for the short term, breakout freshman Colben Landrew would likely slot into the starting lineup and fellow freshman Egor Amosov could see more action.

“Our margin for error would be thinner (without Khamenia), but it’s not like we’ve got scrubs,” Hurley said.

Friday marks Ohio State’s second ranked test and first true road game of the season. The Buckeyes took a season-opening loss to then-No. 25 BYU in Salt Lake City before bouncing back for home wins against Youngstown State and Marshall, the latter an 84-74 victory Monday.

Like many teams across the country, coach Jake Diebler’s group is still coming together with nine newcomers and only four players having worn an Ohio State uniform before this season.

“Our first message was that winning is hard in college basketball, especially when you got a team who’s got some older guys and some experience on it,” Diebler said. “For us, we’ve got to continually fight to sustain the level of excellence that we show at times, and that’s the biggest challenge for this team right now.”

The Buckeyes, who had a 19-point lead trimmed to five in the second half, used 10 players against Marshall. John Mobley Jr. continued to lead the way with 19 points and four assists. The third-year guard is averaging 19.3 points and 5.0 assists per game.

Duquesne transfer Jimmie Williams scored 16 points, and touted freshman Anthony Thompson added 11 points and six rebounds in a show of his potential.

“The bright spot for me (against Marshall) was those two guys playing well,” Diebler said. “Obviously, I would have loved to play better longer, but we did what we needed to do to get the job done. Now we got to get ready to have a great practice with a tough road game coming up.”

Challenges set to increase as No. 4 UConn faces Ohio State

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