UConn Hoops: Huskies power past Stetson, advance to second round
Since UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley made the tournament for the first time with the Huskies in 2021, the first round has not been easy. In their first visit as a 7-seed, the Huskies struggled in a loss to Maryland. In 2022, they faltered against New Mexico State in an upset. Even as they won the National Championship last year without much trouble, many forget that the closest call came in their tournament opener against Iona where they trailed at the half.
Things are a bit different this year. The Huskies have had a dominant campaign with just three losses in 34 tries, with their reward being the No. 1 overall seed in this year’s NCAA tournament. As a part of that, they got to play against 16-seed Stetson. The Hatters aren’t a bad basketball team by any stretch. They won the Atlantic Sun conference behind a 22-12 record, but they aren’t UConn. And it showed.
From the start, the Huskies looked much better, as they emerged with a 91-52 victory. UConn’s effort defensively from beyond the arc was admirable, holding Stetson to 15%. Connecticut also rebounded the ball well and dominated on the interior, scoring 56 points in the paint. It was a dominant effort and there are countless stats that support that notion.
Donovan Clingan was the man of the hour, scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 boards on just 11 shots. The standout center absolutely dominated the overmatched and undersized Hatters, with great efficiency. It might be tougher for him as the opposing big men get more menacing, but this is now two straight great contests for Clingan. In the span he has 41 points and 24 rebounds, an incredible pair.
Tristen Newton was arguably the next best player on the afternoon, with 13 points and 8 assists. The All-America has demonstrated time and again his desire to get his teammates involved when his offense isn’t needed and this game was no exception. He could have taken more than 8 shots, but the Huskies didn’t need that from him. Newton instead kept the team relatively steady en route to the big win.
Each of Alex Karaban, Cam Spencer and Steph Castle also played well, doing their parts in the triumph. On 11 shots and 4-5 rebounds each, the trio all were undistinguished, but impressive. It was another game where UConn’s depth showed nicely, as it’s easy to see how they can sustain off nights from multiple of their top options.
It was uncompetitive from the jump, with Karaban and Clingan trading layups and dunks. Stetson couldn’t manage a point until after the first media timeout and the points didn’t exactly roll in after. Their third basket didn’t go through until the period was over halfway through, as UConn poured it on.
Karaban and Spencer each drilled three pointers, while Newton found some luck in banking a deep one in. Surging freshman Jaylin Stewart also got free on the fastbreak on an alley-oop and Castle was pure on a three.
As if that wasn’t enough, Clingan scored 6 points during a Connecticut 13-0 run. By this point, the Huskies were up by 36 and Stetson was just trying to make it out of the Barclays Center alive. The Hatters went on a little surge to end of the half, but the 33 point deficit was still a tremendous one to overcome.
UConn was slow to start the second frame, with Stetson putting through eight straight points. The contest had long since been decided, but that run woke the Huskies up enough that they finished with a 39 point win.
Next up is a matchup against 9-seed Northwestern, who caught fire in overtime in a win over FAU. The time of that game is TBD, but will be on Sunday.
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