At the beginning of the year, it was clear that the UConn men’s basketball team had their Jan. 7 date with Creighton circled on their calendar. Some harsh words said by Bluejay Ryan Kalkbrenner about the legitimacy of star Adama Sanogo’s Big East Preseason Player of the Year only added fuel to their fire. The Huskies would walk away from that contest victorious, with Sanogo’s 26 points leading the way.
Now, the No. 23 Bluejays had a matchup they were looking towards: Feb. 11 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha for round two with No. 21 Connecticut. The fans certainly showed their excitement, bringing a sold-out crowd of 18,286. Despite UConn keeping it close the majority of the way, it was Creighton who walked away with the 56-53 win on Saturday afternoon.
The Bluejays took their fuel and ran with it, jumping out to an early 14-5 lead early. While the home team’s offense quickly found a rhythm, the same couldn’t be said for the Huskies. Guards Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins had trouble finding their footing, each missing their first four shots. From behind the arc, typical sharpshooters Hawkins and Joey Calcaterra finished a combined 0-for-4 in the first half. Meanwhile, unlikely deep threats Sanogo and Hassan Diarra knocked in a combined 4-for-6 before the break.
Connecticut slowly started to work their way back into the game, thanks to some key moments from transfer guard Nahiem Alleyne. The Virginia Tech product added three free throws alongside a nice second-chance jumper in the first half to provide much-needed points.
The Huskies trailed by five entering the last possession of the first half, but a big 3-pointer from Sanogo at the buzzer cut the deficit to two points. This strong shot from the big man gave the team some more momentum despite shooting just 35 percent from the field.
Down the stretch of the second half, there was more of the same back-and-forth, with Creighton leading the majority of the way. Bluejay Trey Alexander hit some big shots down the stretch despite some strong defensive efforts from the Huskies. Alexander finished his night 6-for-8 for 17 points. UConn’s defense started to really limit the Creighton offense in the last ten minutes, holding them without a field goal in over 7:30 of play. Over that stretch, Alexander saw limited minutes, picking up an early fourth foul after fighting for a loose ball with Diarra.
In the last two minutes of play, Hawkins tried to play hero ball for the Huskies, hitting a big second-chance layup to put the game within three. A missed free throw from Alexander in a one-and-one opportunity gave UConn the ball back for a potential last possession. Sanogo found room for a 3-point attempt that hit off of the iron, but Hawkins grabbed the ball with limited time to shoot. He ended up making his 3-point shot with less than three seconds to go – or so he thought.
After a long look at the replay, the referees decided that Hawkins’ foot was on the line, leaving the Huskies down one point. Even with a quick foul, there wasn’t enough time to get the ball down the court and the Bluejays walked away with their eighth-straight victory.
While the breakout sophomore impressed late in the game, it really wasn’t Hawkins’ night, finishing with 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting and four rebounds. Fellow guard Tristen Newton, fresh off his triple-double performance over Marquette, disappointed as well with two points and four assists in 26 minutes.
Captain Andre Jackson struggled offensively as he seemed thrown off by the Bluejays allowing him to shoot at will. He hit three of his 11 shots and snagged six rebounds in the loss.
One of the biggest storylines was the rivalry between bigs Sanogo and Kalkbrenner. Both finished with shooting percentages in the 40s. Sanogo put up a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Kalkbrenner had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
One of the biggest differences in this contest was the disparity between free throw attempts. While UConn committed 14 fouls to Creighton’s 10, the Bluejays got to the line 17 times, earning 13 points from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, the Huskies knocked down all four of their free throws, all coming from two shooting fouls on three-point attempts. Creighton did a spectacular job limiting Connecticut’s damage at the line.
With the loss, the Huskies fall to 19-7 on the year and 8-7 in Big East play. They get a week off, picking things back up in a revenge game with the Seton Hall Pirates at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for noon on Saturday, Feb. 18, and the game will be broadcast live on FOX.
