After finishing 18-2 in-conference, winning the Big East Championship and earning the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, the UConn men’s basketball team kept the momentum rolling on Friday, blowing by the Stetson Hatters 91-52.
Husky fans didn’t have much to complain about in their first-round victory. From tipoff, the program set the tone early on with an 8-0 run, and from there, Connecticut took off running.
Early on, it was evident that the Huskies were the more physical team down low, and from there, the entire floor opened up for them. The Hatters had no answer for 7-foot-2 big man Donovan Clingan, who quickly put this game out of reach.
The Bristol-native scored 12 first-half points, either from slamming a lob or using his massive frame for an easy bucket. Eventually, Stetson double-teamed Clingan, doing all they could to keep the big man out of the paint. However, that move only opened up scoring from the other Huskies, primarily Cam Spencer.
The 6-foot-4 guard had it his way in the first half, scoring 13 points on 5-8 shooting, including 3-6 from beyond the arc. Spencer not only got it done offensively; his defense was also a massive positive.
Alex Karaban was another player who had an encouraging first half. The Massachusetts-native accumulated 9 points on an efficient 4-5 line. While this, in and of itself, is not the most game-changing in a blowout game, how Karaban did it should be noted. He was a menace in the paint, bullying his way to the hoop for an easy layup. Similar to Clingan, this spaced the floor for the Huskies and made it that much tougher for Stetson to defend.
Something else of significance from the first half was Connecticut’s defensive effort. The Hatters had only 19 first-half points, and this was not just a one-man effort. The program as a whole was firing on all cylinders. UConn’s opponents shot 8-26 from the field, including 10 turnovers. They were unable to assert themselves down low, as the tandem of Clingan and Samson Johnson clogged any possible lanes. Whether it was Spencer or Hassan Diarra at the top of the key, any outside shot taken was heavily contested.
In comparison, the Huskies lit up the scoreboard with 52 points on an absurd 22-32 slash, including 7-14 from three.
Connecticut picked up right where they left off to start the second half. Stephon Castle got the Brooklyn crowd back into the game, finishing a tough and-one layup. However, the Hatters responded well, going onto a 9-0 run of their own. Stetson certainly had an improved second half, largely in part to Stephan Swenson’s offensive showing. The senior guard had an excellent second half, scoring 12 points on 3-7 shooting. His ability to draw fouls was one of the few thorns in the Huskies’ side, going 5-6 from the charity stripe.
Clingan continued his dominance from the first half, accumulating 7 points and 5 rebounds in 11 minutes of work. Head Coach Dan Hurley noted postgame how the big man gives Connecticut a winning edge over other programs.
“[Clingan] was awesome today. You see, he’s just a game changer [and] what he creates for us on offense. How he spooks people at the rim, the rebounding presence, the fire and the life that he shows up with every day,” said the Connecticut head coach.
Despite the big win in a “do or die” situation, the program as a whole is not 100% content with how things went, particularly their second half defensive effort.
“First half, I thought we did a great job,” Spencer noted postgame. “We were communicating, all helping each other, very connected. Then [in the] second half, I think we let our offense affect our defense. We need to do a better job of that going forward.”
Something of note from this game is how deep of a team they are. Some programs rely upon one or two players to do all of the scoring, but not UConn. The next guy up mentality has been a theme all season long. All of Connecticut’s starters scored over 10 points, but perhaps the more impressive feat was how well the Huskies performed on offense despite All-American guard Tristen Newton only shooting the ball eight times. Hurley mentioned postgame how Connecticut’s depth has been key to their success.
“The strength of this team is just the versatility of the five starters, and obviously, six through eight now on the bench has given us big-time stuff.”
The Huskies will return to action this Sunday against the Northwestern Wildcats, who won earlier in the day 77-65 in an overtime thriller. A win on Sunday would send UConn to the Sweet Sixteen, and the team believes it needs to iron out a few minor issues before then. More importantly, they want to keep their foot on the gas. With Connecticut’s “kill or be killed” mentality, even in a blowout matchup, fans shouldn’t expect anything less than their A-game against Northwestern.