When both the UConn men’s basketball team took the court at Madison Square Garden to face off against the North Carolina Tar Heels, it was naturally going to be an incredible environment. These are the games you want to play if you’re a top 5 team in America and the Huskies certainly felt the intensity of their opponents early.
Connecticut knew that it was in for a difficult fight, despite getting back Stephon Castle in limited minutes on Tuesday. On top of that, there was immense pressure for both Donovan Clingan and Cam Spencer. To take on a matchup like Armando Bacot in the paint was going to take everything from the Bristol native specifically and the first half certainly showed that.
From the jump, the Tar Heels quickly got to work. Thanks to the play of Bacot, the group quickly jumped out to a 6-3 lead with 17:52 to go in the first half. But, the Huskies responded with their own firepower thanks to the play of their guards throughout their roster. Specifically, Spencer provided the energy that this team needed to withstand the attack from North Carolina. He was finding plenty of ways to score on Tuesday night, whether it was at the free throw line or finding some tough finishes in the paint.
Yet, despite the Spencer’s play, UNC kept the game close. By the 7:48 mark, the Tar Heels made it a 23-23 game and it looked like this would be a back-and-forth affair from both squads. However, Connecticut responded in a big way as Tristen Newton got hot at exactly the right time.
After an and-one layup from the former East Carolina transfer, along with a beautiful stepback jumper, UConn stretched their lead to 5 and continued to pile on the momentum. With players like Spencer and Newton both leading the charge, the Huskies went into the half with a narrow 44-39 lead.
Going into the second half, one of Connecticut’s main concerns was their three-point shooting. The program shot just 4-16 from beyond the stripe but that concern was certainly put to rest during the final 20 minutes. After the struggling Alex Karaban sunk a three pointer, UConn proceeded to make four straight shots from beyond the arc. As the squad’s offense surged to a 65-58 lead, the Tar Heels turned on their full court press.
Despite North Carolina climbing back to make it a 65-60 game with 11:02 to go, the team didn’t have enough juice to outlast the Huskies as their defense fell apart. Meanwhile, Connecticut took advantage of easy baskets throughout the final 10 minutes without much resistance. As the final buzzer sounded, Connecticut had grabbed an incredible 87-76 dub over the No. 9 team in the nation.
“When we scheduled this, we just got absolutely everything that we wanted to get out of when we put this on the schedule. The opponent is one of the best teams in the country. It was just such a great test coming off the disappointment of the Kansas loss on the road,” said coach Dan Hurley.
While it’s certainly not the end of an eventful non-conference schedule for UConn, the program will look to build off this game with two more opportunities for games before the Big East schedule with games against both Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Gonzaga before Big East competition.