UConn Hoops: Huskies blast Marquette in top-five battle
Domination. It’s a word that is reserved for only the best of the best. Teams that don’t falter when the moment gets big and protect their home court. For the past 59 days, domination has been a term on par when describing the UConn men’s basketball team, as they’re undefeated in that span. Prior to tipoff though, the NCAA tournament selection committee released their midseason picks of the nation’s top 16; essentially how the seeding would look if it started today. Connecticut was No. 2 behind Purdue.
As if trying to prove their point again and again why the committee was wrong, the Huskies were ruthless Saturday. And No. 4 Marquette was the victim. Though the game was close early, UConn showed the entire country who is the premier basketball team is, winning by 28 points.
“I think going into this game with all the anticipation, unbelievable crowd, it spurred us on to play at our maximum,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “We knew we had to dominate on the glass. The building was awesome, the game went about as well as it could have for us and as poorly as it could have for them. There’s no program in the country I have more respect for. We expect to play them a couple more times this year and we don’t expect them to go like this.”
Marquette coach Shaka Smart had a lot of admiration for the hosts after the game.
“Heck of a game by UConn,” Smart said. “They’ve been playing terrific, and I thought they played better today. I liked how we started the game, but once the offensive rebounding flipped and they got second chance points, that hurt us…Hats off to them.”
One of the biggest factors in the win was how well the Huskies contained All-America repeat hopeful Tyler Kolek. The point guard is averaging a 16-5-7 line on the campaign but was held to 7-3-3 in Hartford.
“[Donovan] Clingan had a lot to do with it,” Smart said of Kolek’s rough outing. “Tyler got 11 shots, a lot of them were very good shots. Picking him up full court, [guards Hassan] Diarra and [Steph] Castle did a nice job of that. That makes you have to work harder.”
Speaking of Clingan, the center had a lot to do with Connecticut’s win, even past rim-protection. He was the star of the show, completing a number of flushes en route to a 17 point, 10 board night. Amazingly, it only took the sophomore eight shots to get to that total. It was one of his best games as a Husky and it came on a stage where everyone in the nation was watching.
“His cardio’s gotten so much better,” Hurley mentioned of Clingan. “He’s moving so well. There are so many other centers who have gaudier numbers. But they don’t play on a team like ours. I don’t know what he averages, but he’s one of the two or three most valuable players in the country.”
The factor that enabled his incredible performance? The fact that he didn’t pick up a single foul.
“Finally,” Clingan joked of staying out of foul trouble. “In the back of my head, if they score a tough two against me, that means less than a foul does. I’m trying to stay on the floor, trying not to foul. I was trying to be as smart as possible.”
Hurley appreciated his center’s poise, citing how much easier it made his job.
“He showed tremendous discipline,” Hurley said of Clingan’s job staying on the floor. “We’ve been on his butt about stopping putting us in a position where we have to coach around foul trouble. He’s one of the most impactful players in the country. We have the best offense and defense in the country when he’s in.”
Another impactful player in the contest was Diarra, the senior from Queens. While Castle struggled to find his flow as he was in and out of the game with foul trouble, Diarra stepped up to the moment. He his big shot after big shot and was tremendous in putting pressure on Kolek defensively.
“I just go into the game giving my team whatever they need,” Diarra said. “I’m trying to make the right plays out there.”
His coach was complementary of his hustle and play, providing exactly what the team needed at the right time.
“This is the best game he’s played,” Hurley said. “He’s had some games like this. This is the exact player that we recruited out of the portal. [He’s] a junkyard dog.”
Though it didn’t come as much of a surprise, Tristen Newton also had himself a day. He flirted with a triple double, scoring 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists. The guard hit big shots when he needed to and didn’t force anything. His plus/minus of 28 was a team-best, doing things on the floor to help win.
Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban, while not having their best nights on the box score, also did very well. Spencer had 14 points on 10 shots and Karaban had seven points on inefficient shooting, but they both played good basketball. On this team, not everyone has to have a good night to win and when things aren’t working, players are more than happy to defer to the ones who are on.
Neither team could get any separation in the opening minutes, with Clingan scoring six of the Huskies first eight. Marquette found some nice variety with their first four buckets coming from four different Golden Eagles as the sides were tied at eight.
Spencer and Diarra’s back-to-back triples gave Connecticut a little breathing room, but four straight by Stevie Mitchell knotted things right back up. Then came the Huskies.
Jaylin Stewart hit a gorgeous layup and blocked a shot, while Castle added a three and Johnson finished an alley-oop. Marquette hit a pair of threes, but that didn’t deter UConn. They went on a 13-0 run with Newton responsible for seven. By halftime, the Huskies led by 16 in a game that was getting out of hand.
And it didn’t get any better for the Golden Eagles early in the second. Diarra banked in a three at the shot clock horn and Clingan slammed in a second chance dunk. Marquette continually tried to push back, but UConn didn’t let them. The Huskies ended up winning the second half by 12 points, ultimately leading to a 28-point win that saw the benchwarmers get some action.
The victory gives the Huskies a 3.5 game lead over the field in the Big East standings with just five to play. They’re riding a 14-game win streak and are getting very close to locking in a one-seed.
UConn and Marquette play again in two and a half weeks, which seems like eons away in the college basketball world. Smart hasn’t even started thinking about that matchup.
“As for what we have to do next time against UConn,” Smart contemplated. “It’s like Santa Claus’ list that just keeps on going.”
The Huskies will take the floor next against No. 17 Creighton in Omaha this Tuesday with a chance to get even closer to the Big East regular season championship.
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