UConn Hoops: Huskies tune up against DePaul, win big
Every team has various strengths and weaknesses that are shown as the season goes. Watching every game that a team plays reveals a lot about them. Their quirks come out in different ways and after 25 games, you tend to get a pretty good sense of how a squad functions. As for the top-ranked UConn men’s basketball team, it’s becoming clear that their biggest weakness is losing.
In 25 tries, they’ve walked off in defeat just two times. In terms of other weaknesses, we can go with shot missing, allowing opposing teams points, you get the idea. And it keeps getting tougher to find the words to discuss exactly how good they are.
On a lovely Valentine’s Day, they picked up their 13th straight win, this time in the Windy City. It wasn’t pretty, as the best team in the country beat the DePaul Blue Demons, the worst high-major team, 101-65.
UConn won every single major stat category, highlighted by a 41-25 advantage on the glass. Their three point shooting was also lights out, nailing 46% of their tries from beyond the arc, compared to DePaul’s measly 30%. The Huskies moved the ball well too, dishing out 22 assists. Simply put, it was a masterclass of dominance and they didn’t lose focus.
Connecticut got off to a blazing start, going on an 11-2 run after DePaul took a 3-2 lead. That was the last time the Blue Demons were ahead. The Huskies scored over and over again, whether it was an Alex Karaban jumper, a Tristen Newton or Steph Castle layup or a free throw. By the time the game hit its halfway point, UConn led by 23, with the game out of question.
As the second half got going, the visitors did not relent. Karaban and Newton hit a pair from downtown, Castle flushed home a windmill slam and Jaylin Stewart drilled three straight threes. Eventually, the starters exited, the benchwarmers entered and that was it from Chicago.
The man with the hot hand was Karaban, who again impressed with his impact on the game. He poured in 21 points on the evening in just 10 shots, thanks to his 5/8 shooting from three point land. Every shot he took looked like it was bound for the bottom of the net and his teammates kept feeding him. Karaban has been on fire of late, totaling 46 points in the past two games, and will need to continue as the team heads for a tough stretch.
A player who frequently found the Southborough, MA native was Castle. He notched six assists on the night, seeming to make a point of getting the ball moving. And the ball found him too. He added 15 points to the team’s effort, including the windmill dunk and another putback jam on Hassan Diarra’s missed floater. The freshman is living up to all the hype he entered college with his diverse offensive and defensive skillset.
Newton also had a solid outing, though it wasn’t great by his standards. He added 10 points, eight boards and four assists, with two of those figures below his season average. The graduate student is able to defer to his teammates when he isn’t needed and this was one of those games. Newton seems to be the fallback option when everything goes awry, but doesn’t always need to be the top scorer, the hallmark of a great leader.
A somewhat surprising contributor was Stewart, who’s threes helped him get to 11 points, a career high. It’s not shocking that he’d have a career night against a team so poor, but it was his shooting that could have happened against any opponent. He came into the game 3/17 from distance, but hit 3/4 Tuesday. As the team looks to figure out how the pieces come together down the stretch, it appears that Stewart may be earning himself the eighth or ninth slot in the rotation.
The Huskies will need that depth this Saturday, as they enter a marquee matchup. It’s shaping up to be one of the games of the year, with Connecticut playing host to No. 4 Marquette. This game last year saw the Huskies dominate the Golden Eagles behind Newton’s triple double in Hartford. The star guard will have to use that type of aggression this time too if they want to improve to 14-1 in the Big East.
The contest will tip at 3 p.m. from the XL Center and can be viewed nationally on FOX.
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