The UConn men’s basketball team has been on a tear lately, sitting as the AP No. 1 for the fifth straight week, outclassing the rest of the competition. The red-hot Huskies kept on chugging late Wednesday night, pummeling the DePaul Blue Demons 101-65.
The story of the first half for Connecticut was domination, and for the Blue Demons, it was death by turnovers. The Huskies’ defense was ferocious in the first half, scoring 18 points off of nine first-half turnovers, and it only went uphill from there. Alex Karaban put together the best first half of any Husky, scoring 12 points on 3-6 shooting. Cam Spencer put together a solid 9-point outburst for the first 20 minutes. However, the most encouraging first half performance of any Husky came from sixth man guard Hassan Diarra.
In closer contests, the Queens, NY native has been more passive offensively, opting to take fewer shots in an effort to set his teammates up for an easy bucket. It is encouraging for Husky fans to see Diarra go on his quick scoring run. Having multiple guys who can go out and get a clutch bucket is such an invaluable asset, especially for a squad looking to make a deep March Madness run.
Despite the excitement and dominant play for UConn, it wasn’t perfect. Donovan Clingan and Samson Johnson both got into early foul trouble, playing a combined 11 first-half minutes. While this was a blowout game, Wednesday was not the first time the pair missed extended time with foul trouble. The Connecticut big men need to clean up this aspect of their game. To make it 14 straight in-conference wins, the Huskies need to outlast No. 4 Marquette at home this Saturday.
The second half was more of the same story for UConn. Karaban was front and center in the program’s blowout win over DePaul, finishing with 21 points on 6-10 shooting. His performance was all the more encouraging considering the 6-foot-7 forward missed his first two attempts from downtown and is coming off of a recent ankle tweak.
Another encouraging sign from the Huskies was the effort plays. Even though the program led this game by as much as 39 points, there was no stop in sight. Not only did Connecticut implement an intense defensive presence from the opening tip to the final whistle, but they were relentless in crashing the glass, outrebounding the Blue Demons 41-25.
Arguably the leading candidate for National Freshman Player of the Year, Stephon Castle had another solid outing for the Huskies. The Georgia native put up 15 points on an absurd efficiency, going 7-10 from the field. It wasn’t just scoring that Castle was doing right. The freshman guard was actively setting up his teammates for offensive success, leading all players with six assists.
Wednesday night’s blowout win moves UConn to 23-2 for the year, although their job in Big East play is far from finished. The schedule will quickly ramp up. The Huskies are set to clash against the Golden Eagles on Feb. 17. Three days later, Connecticut will then trek out to Omaha, NE, to try and complete the sweep over No. 17 Creighton. Games like these matter, as the Huskies want to maintain their lead over the rest of the Big East conference. A first place finish gives them the best chance of winning this year’s in-conference tournament, which is excellent preparation for the annual NCAA March Madness tournament.