WASHINGTON — After Connecticut won an unprecedented five games in five days to win the Big East Tournament, the Huskies have been asked over and over this week if they will be able to recover before the NCAA Tournament begins.
But as far as Kemba Walker is concerned, it’s a non-issue.
“They’re making way too much out of it,” Walker said yesterday ahead of third-seeded Connecticut’s opening game tonight against No. 14 seed Bucknell. “I feel great. We all feel great. We’ve been having some great practices. People have some bumps and bruises, but that’s what’s gonna happen.”
Paul J. Bereswill
YES, U-CONN: Kemba Walker and the Huskies insist their historic five-game run to a Big East title did not sap all their energy, and they are ready to face a Bucknell team that has pulled a first-round upset before.
Walker stole the show at the Garden last week, setting an NCAA record with 130 points, the most ever scored by a single player in any conference tournament. But he still sounded like he had something to prove, repeatedly saying he felt people thought the Huskies were lucky to make it out of New York with the title.
“I think so,” Walker said. “But, like I said, it’s all about effort. ... That’s what won us those games.”
Walker has an admirer in Bucknell’s third-year coach Dave Paulsen, who appreciates the Bronx native’s diverse skill set.
“He does a million things,” Paulsen said. “Getting in the paint, scoring in the paint, getting to the foul line. He’s unbelievable how he gets to the foul line. And the last thing is, he creates so much attention their big guys get so many offensive rebounds, because your big guys are looking to help [defend Walker].
“They’re trying to help and trying to rotate, and then [Connecticut] just comes in and blasts you on the glass.”
This is a position that Bucknell has found itself in before. The Bison entered the 2005 NCAA tournament as the No. 14 seed, and were matched up against No. 3 seed Kansas. But the Bison upset the Jayhawks, 64-63, to become the first Patriot League program to win an NCAA Tournament game.
That win, combined with Bucknell’s victory the following year as a No. 9 seed over eighth-seeded Arkansas, has the Bison thinking big.
“Like Coach said, Bucknell just doesn’t come to tournaments to enjoy the ride,” sophomore center Mike Buscala said. “We come here to win games.”
The Bison had two shots against Big East opponents in their first two games this season, on the road against Villanova and Marquette. The Bison hung tough with Villanova until late in a 68-52 loss, and they led Marquette by 12 with 10:32 remaining before the Golden Eagles went on a 27-4 run to end for a 72-61 win over Bucknell.
“We felt like we should have won that game, and maybe Marquette wasn’t ready for us, but the guys didn’t think of it as a moral victory,” Paulsen said. “Forget moral victories ... you should have won that game.”
The Marquette loss may not have been a moral victory, but it did instill the belief in the Bison that they can repeat history, and do to UConn tonight what they did six years ago to Kansas, the seminal game in the program’s history.
“Every single guy on our staff, and every single guy in our locker room believes it, and they all came to Bucknell because of Kansas,” Paulsen said. “I came to Bucknell because of Kansas, so these things can happen, and hopefully will happen.
“Our margin for error is slim, but I believe we’re gonna win.”
tbontemps@nypost.com
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