UConn Hoops: No. 4 Huskies break record in win over Wildcats
As the unofficial end of the first part of the season winds down, No. 4 UConn men’s basketball still had one more piece of business to take care of. They finished their two game homestand against New Hampshire, the Huskies’ first New England state school opponent of the campaign. Withstanding an impressive shooting surge from the Wildcats, Connecticut exited with an 84-64 victory.
“We played really well in the first half,” Coach Dan Hurley said. “[New Hampshire] is a sneaky tough team to play against. Minus a two-minute stretch where we lost [Jaxon] Baker, I liked how we played. I was disappointed because the last 10 minutes were excruciating. We have some defensive things to clean up and our own shooting. We missed open threes.”
The win also had other significance. The Huskies broke the record for most consecutive non-conference victories by double digits, now up to 24 straight. They took the record from North Carolina, who collected 23 from 2008-2009. Though it’s a niche record, it’s a true demonstration of dominance.
“It’s great to share a record with the men from last year’s team,” Hurley noted. “It’s going to be tough to break going forward. It speaks to the respect we have for our opponents and the level of preparation we put in.”
It’ll be a difficult streak to keep up with a top-five matchup Friday, but it’s one to enjoy while it’s here.
“I think we’re ready for those,” Hurley noted of the tougher games coming up. “[The buy] games involve more anxiety—you don’t show up, you blow your season up. When you play games like the ones against Kansas, Gonzaga, they’re fun. It’s fun to play in games like these.”
UConn was outshot 48%-14% from deep, part of the reason why the game was as close as it was. They did gut it out though, outrebounding the Cats by 21. The Huskies relied on points in the paint, getting 52 to New Hampshire’s eight. It was a contest won by height, which can largely be attributed to Donovan Clingan.
The center scored 29 points and grabbed seven boards on the evening, taking complete advantage of an opposition that couldn’t compete with his size. Clingan has struggled at times lately, largely due to difficulty maintaining his conditioning after his preseason foot injury. This performance was a welcome sign, as many would argue he’s been outperformed by backup Samson Johnson lately. The Bristol-native should have quieted the noise with this contest, but Friday will be the real litmus-test.
“It felt good to see the ball go in,” Clingan noted. “I had a decent performance out there. As a team we need to be better for what’s coming Friday.”
Tristen Newton had a mixed bag of a game too. He neared another triple double with 17 points, 10 boards and seven assists, but did so with little efficiency. The graduate student needed 14 shots to get to his point total and missed on all five of his treys. If you only pay attention to his near-triple double he had a great performance, but future ones won’t be as forgiving on nights when he shoots this poorly.
Clingan got off to a hot start, scoring six of the Huskies’ first eight points, but they let New Hampshire hang around. Behind Clarence Daniels’ five points, The Wildcats trailed by just three after four minutes. Then came Johnson and things began to go off the rails for the Wildcats.
Johnson muscled his way into an and-one and Cam Spencer did much of the rest. The Rutgers transfer scored eight points in the Huskies’ 16-0 run that put them up 24-8 early. Even with a three from Baker, Connecticut kept pouring it on behind a few baskets from Clingan and one from Alex Karaban.
Baker nailed four more from downtown and all of a sudden, the lead was just nine. It was an unconscious performance from Baker, as he hit five of his six tries from deep, good for 15 of his team’s 23 points. Karaban, Solomon Ball and Johnson all converted shots to keep their northern opponents at bay, but the score was closer than expected. The Huskies led by just 15 at the break, a margin that would have been considerably wider without Baker’s efforts.
Clingan continued his dominant start over undersized New Hampshire out of the locker room, finding his way inside for a few shots. Spencer contributed with a layup and a triple, while Johnson got a putback poster, helping Connecticut finally extend their lead.
Spencer had another nice game, as the only Husky who didn’t have a lid on the basket from beyond the arc. He scored 17 points to go along with four rebounds and four steals, another solid outing. He’s quietly become UConn’s most consistent contributor, always finding a way to help his team out. Some nights he’s scoring, sometimes he’s finding his teammates, but getting something positive from Spencer has become an expectation.
“Cam’s a serious guy,” Hurley noted. “You want to coach serious people. People who are mentally dialed in. Such a great add for us with his maturity. Every time he shoots you think it’s going in. He’s helping us defensively too with the steals today.
The Huskies kept their advantage around 20 for much of the rest of the game, with the sides going back and forth. It was an underwhelming end of the contest as Hurley extended his bench and his Connecticut squad won by 20.
UConn will head to Lawrence, KS at the end of this week for what may be the toughest test in the Hurley era. They’ll face off against No. 5 Kansas in one of the biggest games in the young season.
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