Coming off a close 72-61 home win against DePaul, many wrote the UConn men’s basketball off for their weekend road clash at Marquette. After all, Connecticut’s defense has been anything but good, ranking near the bottom of the country, according to KenPom. On the other hand, the Golden Eagles came in as a top 10 team in the country fresh off a three-game winning streak. However, the Fiserv Forum was treated to the Solo Ball show last Saturday night, as he and the Huskies pulled off the 77-69 upset.
Connecticut got off to a quick start Saturday night and never looked back, thanks to the early shooting of Jaylin Stewart. The sophomore hushed the amped-up Marquette crowd early on thanks to his ability to knock down a trio of threes within the game’s first four minutes, though it wasn’t just him making game-winning plays. The UConn defense came to play, forcing stops and creating opportunities for Stewart to get out in space and hit a shot. Despite Stewart’s early hot play, the forward quickly cooled off and struggled to find his footing for the rest of the contest. The sophomore failed to record another bucket and turned the rock over four times in the first half, though it wasn’t just him. Turnovers quickly became an issue for the Huskies as the program gave up the rock on 13 occasions in the first 20 minutes, allowing the Golden Eagles to stay afloat.
Kam Jones put together an excellent first half for Marquette. The senior played nearly the entire half and, in that span, put up 12 points on 4-8 shooting, including a triple. Perhaps the most impressive part of the guard’s first-half performance was his ability to draw contact and get to the free-throw line, getting five whistles. However, there seemed to be a lid on the rim for Jones and the Golden Eagles at the charity stripe. Jones finished 3-8 from the free throw line, while Marquette went 10-20. Even though Chase Ross put together a 12-point performance of his own, this was not enough to negate the poor free-shooting from the program. Not to mention, the Huskies were firing on all cylinders offensively, including from beyond the arc.
The Huskies shot as well as they have all season in the first half, finishing 6-12 from downtown, which Ball led. The Virginia native scored eight points on a pair of triples and free throws. However, Ball shined on the glass for the Huskies, leading both sides at the break with six rebounds despite being a 6-foot-3 guard. The rebounding played a significant factor in why Connecticut led by 13 at the break. The Huskies outrebounded their Big East rivals by a healthy 11-board margin, one of the best 20-minute stretches the program has experienced up to this point. The Huskies were so dominant that they led for nearly the entire half, as after the first bucket, Marquette never tied or led the game, which carried into the second half. However, this didn’t come without its challenges.
The Huskies still had issues holding onto the basketball, turning the rock over 12 additional times; Marquette closed the large rebounding discrepancy that existed in the first half, and David Joplin made a killing for the Golden Eagles when they needed it most.
The senior forward shrugged off a lackluster two-point first half in a big way, leading the Marquette scoring effort with 11 points on 4-7 shooting, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Jones added to his excellent night with 10 additional points on a 5-12 slash. Not only this, but the Golden Eagles made a living in the paint and off UConn turnovers, scoring 22 and 19 points in these departments, respectively. Despite this, the Huskies didn’t go down without a fight, and no matter how many times Marquette scored off a turnover, they never had an answer for Ball.
The sophomore guard had his best half of basketball yet in a UConn uniform. Not only did Ball go off for 17 second-half points, but he did it on perfect 5-5 shooting from downtown. Ball also kept his excellent rebounding effort going, snagging five additional boards in 20 minutes of work. Postgame, the guard noted that his teammate’s efforts at finding him in advantageous positions are what led to his second-half shooting success.
“Definitely just the guys finding me,” Ball said. “There was actually one point in the game where [Marquette] would trap, and they would leave me, so I would just try and find some open space.”
Marquette did an excellent job trapping UConn ball handlers and forcing turnovers all night. However, when they failed to force a turnover, Ball was always in the corner, shooting a three over everyone. If the program couldn’t find the sophomore in space, Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson were also significant reasons why the program emerged victorious.
Karaban never sat on Saturday night, scoring 15 points on 4-8 shooting, including a perfect 6-6 performance from the charity stripe. Samson Johnson also put together one of his best scoring nights all season, accumulating 13 points on four makes.
Whether it was a Johnson as a rim runner or Ball splashing a three, UConn killed any chance Marquette had at making a run. Whenever the program needed a big bucket, they had a multitude of players ready to step up to the challenge. Marquette never had an answer to the Huskies’ offensive gameplan, meaning UConn held on 77-69 to complete the upset.
Saturday night was a massive confidence-boosting win for the program. The 2024-2025 campaign has not gone to plan for Connecticut, and this was a much-needed win. The Huskies will get six days of rest before they host St. John’s at Gampel Pavillion Friday night. These six days will be massive for the program, as not only will Hassan Diarra get some much-needed rest, but freshman Liam McNeeley has a chance at suiting up for UConn for the first time since New Year’s Day.