1/28/2024 basketball Edit

UConn Hoops: No. 1 Huskies bulldoze Xavier; honor 2004 team

Stratton Stave • UConnReport

Staff Writer

In life, sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield. The same can be true for basketball. On Sunday at the XL Center in downtown Hartford, the top-ranked UConn men’s basketball team was the windshield. And Xavier? They made the trip all the way from Cincinnati, only to be smushed time and time again.

The Huskies absolutely wailed on their visitors on the day that the 2004 championship team was inducted into the Huskies of Honor. From the time the ball was tipped, Connecticut seemed to have a stranglehold on the game. And they didn’t let up. After this game, it’s hard to debate the Huskies’ spot as the top team in the land. They won 99-56 and it never looked competitive.

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“One of our best performances on both ends of the floor,” coach Dan Hurley said. “It was a special day, a special weekend to have some of the all-time greats, the championship teams. The 2004 team was around, it was an awesome vibe all weekend. I’m glad we rose up to the occasion.”

And they didn’t even have a great week of practice going in.

“These guys were horrible two days ago [in practice],” Hurley noted.” I was second guessing the week: did I work them too hard in practice? We emphasized the transition game. The biggest thing was that Donovan finally had 4-5 practices. Donovan is resembling Donovan. [He] impacts everything.”

And Xavier isn’t a bad team either. They entered the matchup at No. 34 in KenPom and are just on the wrong side of the bubble in most Bracketologists’ projections.

Tristen Newton played just 22 minutes, but that was all he needed to put together one of his most dominant performances of the season. He dropped 22 points to go along with four boards and four dimes and was efficient. The graduate was 9-14 from the field and 4-7 from downtown. As Newton puts together his All-America resume together, a game like this will certainly do him favors.

Another pair of Huskies who had great days were freshmen Stephon Castle and Solo Ball. Castle posted a solid 12 points on seven shots, to go along with five dimes. He injected excitement into the crowd a number of times, with a few big lobs and dunks. Ball was more efficient though, hitting four of his five tries from deep. His lone miss was on a late-clock attempt. After not finding minutes for much of the campaign, Ball’s outing was a welcome sign for everyone around the program.

“For us to get to our ceiling, we need to get Solo going,” Hurley noted. “Solo is a weapon, that shooting is real. He was the beneficiary of a bank, but he made three clean ones.”

Alex Karaban got free for a layup on the game’s first possession and the Huskies never looked back. Newton hit a jumper and then found Clingan on an alley-oop. Before long, it was 10-0. And UConn wasn’t even close to done.

Dayvion McKnight helped fight back with a few shots, but Connecticut had an answer each time. Up by 11, the shot clock wound down on the Huskies as they passed the ball around to no avail. Karaban tossed a grenade to Ball, who launched a try from deep, first finding the backboard, but then the net.

Then came a barrage. Castle found Stewart on a lob for the layup and then Newton on the next possession. Newton returned the favor with a huge alley-oop to Castle, as the home side could do no wrong. Donovan Clingan joined the party, putting a few layups through and all of a sudden UConn was on a 20-0 run.

Clingan was in the contest for just 19 minutes, but this was as close to himself as he’s looked in a long time. He recorded a strong 18 points and eight rebounds, only missing a single shot in his 19 minutes. In what was the play that got the crowd the most amped, he drained a three from the top of the key. The big man isn’t known as a shooter but teased his touch from deep in the preseason. It may mean nothing, but seeing his confidence from behind the arc is encouraging.

“That Donovan three, I’m still processing that,” Hurley joked after the game.

Xavier finally woke up a bit towards the end of the half, but the Huskies’ offense was still automatic, finishing the period with 61% shooting. Connecticut led by 26 heading into the locker room and that lead grew all the way to 44 in the second. The game was over much earlier than anyone expected, with the Huskies exiting with a 43-point win.

It’s hard to know exactly what this performance means long-term, but it shows everyone that UConn is going to punish underprepared teams. After the victory, UConn stays alone at the top of the Big East standings, now 8-1 on the year. They’ll stay home to take on Providence this Wednesday, at Gampel Pavilion.