The Big East Tournament has been a must-watch for basketball all week. With upsets, big performances and more, the conference looks as strong as ever. For UConn men’s basketball fans, the week has treated them well so far. The program’s latest 95-90 win over St. John’s means that the program will face off against Marquette for the Big East Conference Championship.
The first half on Friday had everything fans could want: a lively atmosphere, back-and-forth action and a star-studded performance from Tristen Newton. Despite the end result being a UConn victory, it took them a minute to find their footing.
St. John’s quickly jumped out to a 7-0 run. However, Connecticut started to pick it up offensively, and Donovan Clingan was the catalyst of their success. While he only played 7 minutes, the impact that the Bristol native made was massive. At the five-minute mark, Clingan had a nice block on Joel Soriano, and as Husky fans have seen so many times before, the team took off running. Hassan Diarra was ahead of the rest of the pack and finished a tough and-one layup to put the Huskies within a bucket. This seemed to be the boost Connecticut needed, with U-C-o-n-n chants erupting in the Garden. Nevertheless, it also rejuvenated the St. John’s bench. Shortly after Jaylin Stewart went to the free throw line, Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley got involved in a shouting match that stopped play for almost three minutes and nearly saw a fan whisked away.
When play resumed, Pitino was teched up for arguing a close call. From there, it was clear that it would be an all-out war.
The first half of this Big East Semifinal matchup belonged to Newton, and it wasn’t even close. The El Paso native went nuclear, scoring 20 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, 3-6 from downtown and 7-8 shooting at the line. Newton was shooting the ball at a highly efficient clip and setting his teammates up left and right, leaving the first half with six assists. Fellow guard Cam Spencer noted all of the ways that Newton impacts the game, not only for himself but the program as a whole.
“[Newton] impacts the game in so many ways — rebounding, assists, points, defensively,” Spencer said postgame. “He is just so easy to play with. When you have a leader like that, it makes it so much easier for everyone else to play with.”
His performance was crucial for the Huskies, considering that the rest of the program took a minute to find its footing. UConn started off Friday down 7-0, and Stephon Castle notably struggled early on, throwing the ball away on a bad pass and picking up a pair of fouls.
Another Husky who put together a solid first-half showing was Spencer. The veteran guard had 10 points on perfect 2-2 shooting from beyond the arc. The Rutgers transfer has also thrived at getting his teammates involved, finishing with 9 assists.
Another encouraging performance for the Huskies came from Stewart. While the 6-foot-7 forward has not played many minutes, he has filled in solid minutes every time he steps out on the floor, and Dan Hurley acknowledged this postgame.
“[Stewart] had a great night. He helped us big time in the first half,” Hurley said. “He’s the type of player that freshman year to sophomore year will take an enormous jump, and he’ll be playing at the level of [Newton, Spencer and Alex Karaban.].”
The Johnnies’ offensive bright spot came from Daniss Jenkins. The senior guard scored 16 points in 18 minutes of work and was a major reason why the Red Storm only trailed by 5 at the break.
If you bet the under, you were in for a disappointing evening. Like the first 20 minutes, the second half featured little to no defense and absurd scoring lines from both sides. While the Huskies did come out on top in this heated Big East rivalry, it wasn’t without its challenges.
Jenkins continued his offensive barrage from the first half, putting up an additional 11 points on 4-10 shooting. Additionally, Jordan Dingle stepped up his game in the second half for the Red Storm. However, the duo’s outburst was not enough thanks to the numerous Huskies who asserted themselves offensively in the second half, including Karaban.
The 6-foot-8 forward had a 9 point flurry on 3-6 shooting in the final 20 minutes. While that alone is not the most impressive feat, Karaban thrived on the intangibles that won’t show up on the box score. Not only did Karaban play great defense, but he was involved in nearly every scoring play. He was always active in setting screens, cutting to the rim or running to the corner. Make no mistake, Karaban is a threat from deep, and St. John’s was well aware of that. Being a 6-foot-8 forward who can shoot stretches the floor for the Huskies and opens up chances down low. This facet of the sophomore’s game played a crucial role in Samson Johnson finishing with three second-half buckets at the rim.
Spencer is another player who came up big in the second half for Connecticut. The 6-foot-4 guard accumulated another 10 points, this time on a less efficient 3-7 slash from the field. A major factor of UConn’s success stems from their willingness to win. Spencer is one of the more vocal Huskies in this regard, vocalizing his winning attitude on numerous occasions, and his unselfish play proved that on Friday with 5 additional assists.
All season long, and tonight in particular, the Connecticut coaching staff has utilized a team-first game plan. The program finished an excellent 31-54, with 23 of those buckets being assisted. Diving deeper into this feat alone indicates that the Huskies are not only moving the ball around a large amount but also finding the open man in space for high-percentage looks. Add this to the raw talent they exhibit, and Marquette will have their hands full on Saturday.
When the season began, the program set itself boxes to check. First, it was winning the Big East regular season, which the Huskies did in convincing fashion. Next on the slate is redeeming last year’s disappointing semifinal exit to Marquette, and Connecticut has a real opportunity to do so. They are prepared for the challenge. They have dominated a loaded Big East conference, beat numerous ranked opponents and have multiple NBA-caliber players. The Huskies have that championship identity; they just have to prove it. What better way for Connecticut to jumpstart its NCAA Tournament run than by redeeming last year’s unfinished business?