Yahoo Autos These 3 UConn players are fighting for an NCAA title. They’re also fasting for Ramadan
The University of Connecticut’s Final Four game against Miami in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set to tip off at 7:49 p.m. CDT in Houston on Saturday.
That will give three of the team’s players just enough time after sunset — around nine minutes — to eat and drink for the first time since the sun rose that day.
Adama Sanogo, Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson are all Muslim and they’re all observing Ramadan even as they chase a March Madness title along with their team.
Since Ramadan began on the evening of March 22, they’ve been fasting from sunrise to sundown, despite the element of difficulty it’s added to their games.
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Last weekend, the players weren’t able to eat until midway through UConn’s Elite Eight game against Gonzaga, which they won 82-54. Members of the team’s training staff prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as fruit, for Sanogo, Diarra and Johnson, since those foods would be easy to eat and digest.
“The staff prepared easily digestible foods so that nourishment will flow through the players bodies as quickly as possible,” CT Insider reported.
