For the second time, Phil Knight, the creator of shoe and fashion giant Nike, is hosting an early-season tournament with some of the best teams in the country to celebrate his birthday. Last time in 2017, the UConn Huskies began the weekend with a win over the Oregon Ducks. On Thanksgiving Day this year, the No. 20 Huskies gave a beaten up Oregon team the romping of the year, winning 83-59 in the first round of the PKI, thanks to Tristen Newton’s 23.
Newton got the Huskies’ scoring started with a deep three and then Sanogo swatted a shot away. Quincy Guerrier and N’Faly Dante each scored a pair and Will Richardson hit a runner to make it 6-3 early. Dante threw down a slam, but a calm Sanogo hit a post hook and Newton got another triple to tie it up. Rivaldo Soares splashed a three, but Jordan Hawkins responded with one of his own. Calcaterra took the lead with a nice floater off the glass but Kel’el Ware answered with a slam.
Calcaterra rattled in his first deep ball of the tournament but Dante once again flushed one in. Sanogo tipped in a putback, Clingan swatted a shot and Hawkins swished a three in transition. Ware got a deuce, but Calcaterra hit again from long range, demonstrating his post-grad leadership in the Huskies’ biggest game of the season to date. Newton hit from three again, the most simple and effective answer to the zone that Oregon employed.
The Ducks cashed in for a pair from the charity stripe but Newton splashed another from NBA range and then again from the corner. The El Paso native didn’t stop there, euro stepping in transition for the layup and foul. Soares nailed one from long distance as the shot clock expired and Ware got three points the old fashioned way. Newton got his first half total to 19 with a fancy layup but free throws kept Oregon in the game. The Huskies missed a pair of threes to close the half, up 39-28.
Will Richardson got a layup off the scrum but Hawkins once again for loose for a three. Clingan had a pair of great defensive stops and got rewarded on the offensive glass with a putback. Hawkins tossed up a lob to Clingan, who slammed it home. Hawkins blocked a shot beyond the courtside seats, but Richardson once again kept things afloat with a three. Hawkins splashed another from deep though and Newton drew a charge, seemingly having an answer to every Oregon punch.
Clingan and Calcaterra each helped the cause with buckets and the Huskies were up by 20 with 15 minutes to play. The pair connected for an alley-oop slam and UConn was really rolling in Portland. Hawkins got an and-one conversion and Clingan got another rejection, but Guerrier received a gift from the refs, avoiding his fifth foul. Sanogo, who had been quiet, hit a three to extend the lead to 25 and then got a layup. Karaban joined the party, hitting a pair of threes.
Hawkins tied the UConn school record for single-game threes and the game was all but over. Dante got a few for the Ducks and Ware hit a triple, cutting the deficit to 22. Alleyne silenced the Oregon run with a mid range jumper and Sanogo hit a contested three, the most impressive of his career and the one that broke the school record.
TAKEAWAYS...
Newton didn’t have much of an impact after his explosive 21 point first half, but he was the difference early with his lights-out shooting. He separated his squad from the Ducks with some nice shots from deep in one of the better games of his UConn career. Newton also added six dimes, demonstrating his versatility. He’s been a great point guard for the Huskies early on in the season and if he can continue to take the reins, there’s no reason to believe he can’t take home All-Big East Honors.
Hawkins played well too, scoring 18 points on relatively inefficient scoring (6-16). What UConn wants from him is to not get discouraged from misses, which has aligned with his mindset thus far. If he can have a better shooting night, he could have a series of 30 point games, which is well within reason in the near future.
Clingan also had a great game against strong competition, including Ware, a top 10 recruit this past year. He continually showed why the Husky coaching staff has been so high on him, scoring nine points, collecting eight boards and blocking four shots.
The Huskies also benefited from Calcaterra’s graduate leadership, igniting the Connecticut offense with 11 points and four assists. The guard has been a pleasant surprise for UConn so far, demonstrating his scoring assets and also his facilitating abilities.
UConn suits up next tomorrow at 9:30 EST to play the winner of No. 12 Michigan State/ No. 18 Alabama in the semifinals.
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