In Wednesday night’s contest between the UConn men’s basketball team and Providence Friars, fans were treated to fouls, technicals and poor officiating, the recipe needed for a Big East classic. Despite all the theatrics associated with this game, Connecticut was the last team standing, fending off the Friars 74-65.
The Huskies did not come out of the gates looking like the No. 1 team in the country. Donovan Clingan only played four first-half minutes due to picking up two fouls in less than five minutes. As a result, the team got torched early on in the paint and couldn’t get anything going on either end. They were getting outrebounded and overall outplayed, which is a significant reason why the Friars had as much as an eight-point lead at one point.
Conversely, the Friars came out with a fire lit under them. They played excellent off-ball offense and defense. UConn’s inability to win the war on the boards was present, too, which led to them being outrebounded by seven. Halfway through the first half, the situation went from bad to worse: Alex Karaban went down with pain and immediately left for the locker room.
However, Husky fans got a happy ending to this nightmarish tale. The crowd quickly became engulfed in a frenzy, and it wasn’t from the play on the floor. The 6-foot-8 Southborough, Mass native came out from the tunnel and was ready to give the program much-needed life, and he did.
Karaban returned, and immediately, his impact was felt with a crucial three to give his side the 25-24 advantage. Cam Spencer followed that up with a massive triple of his own to put Connecticut back in control of this one. Karaban had a solid performance on Wednesday, scoring 12 points on 4-9 shooting. However, Dan Hurley revealed postgame that he did not think Karaban was 100%, which may have hindered his performance.
“[Karaban] was probably at 70%,” adding, “[Karaban] will get X-rays in the morning; [his ankle] was pretty swollen.”
The second half started on a sour note for the Huskies. Clingan picked up two additional fouls, and Hurley was assessed with a technical foul. The program quickly found itself unraveling only two minutes in.
However, the resurgent effort from Stephon Castle kept UConn in the game and, ultimately, proved to be the deciding factor. The Georgia native finished with 20 points and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes of play on 7-14 shooting, before he fouled out late in the second half.
Josh Oduro was a thorn in the Huskies’ side Wednesday night. The 6-foot-9 forward torched Clingan and Samson Johnson, scoring 20 points and accumulating 9 rebounds on 8-14 shooting. However, the 23-year-old’s night ended early, fouling out in the dying embers of this one.
Oduro was one of three Providence players to foul out, including Devin Carter. The Junior guard put up 20 points on 6-18 shooting.
Speaking of free throws, they changed the game in a major way. The Friars went 13-26 from the charity stripe and the Huskies 26-36, with both teams noting tonight’s performance was below their expectations. Another theme that haunted both teams was their efficiency numbers from downtown. UConn ended 4-23 from downtown and Providence 4-18. Either program would have run away with this one they could have matched their regular season percentages.
While Connecticut struggled to assert themselves down low, that changed in the second half. The program improved in the second half in that department, doubling Providence’s total.
Tristen Newton put together a solid performance, scoring 16 with ten made free throws. However, his 3-9 shooting from the field hampered his performance. Newton also led both sides with 11 rebounds. His effort on the boards has been a theme all season long, as the senior guard has a knack for coming away with many rebounds.
Despite the end result, the only thing that fans from both sides will take away from it was the poor officiating. While this is given in college basketball, the calls tonight were largely inconsistent. Both programs had something to say, which is why both benches received technical fouls. When it was all said and done, Providence finished with 27 fouls and UConn 19, including four technicals.
As Hurley describes it, “This was steel cage match.” Connecticut was the last team standing. Wednesday was a massive win for UConn, solidifying their lead over the rest of the Big East conference. The Huskies will return to action on Feb. 23 at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” looking to complete the season sweep of St. Johns.