Rainy skies, hollowing winds and a hole in Gampel Pavilion. While these conditions marked the perfect storm for a rescheduling of Wednesday night’s contest between the UConn men’s basketball team and Marquette Golden Eagles, the only storm that the Basketball Capital of the World saw on Wednesday came from the unranked Huskies and the shooting of Alex Karaban.
After a brief delay, Wednesday night’s contest finally began, and the stakes were massive. A win for Connecticut means that the program would essentially clinch the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament, assuming they beat Seton Hall. This implies that Connecticut would be entitled to a first-round buy in the tournament, a huge advantage as that is not only extra preparation time, but rest throughout the start of a brutal tournament week and March Madness start.
Early on it was evident that Liam McNeeley would have a big night. The freshman’s shooting was contagious, with McNeeley draining three shots from beyond the arc. While the forward started hot, he cooled off fast, not recording another bucket for the half and finishing 3-10 from the field.
An advantage that the Huskies held early on was on the boards. Connecticut led by as much as 11-3 in this department. This helped UConn balloon out to an early six-point advantage. However, this was short lived.
The Golden Eagles started tightening up their defense. While Solo Ball and Karaban each powered through, the rest of the team struggled to find the bottom of the net. Suddenly, Connecticut’s rebounding advantage dissipated, and David Joplin shot the lights out early on.
The forward played nearly all 20 minutes, scoring 14 first half points. Joplin hit five of his seven attempts, two of them from downtown. However, for as good as the senior was shooting the rock, Marquette also made a killing in the paint, scoring 24 of their points down low. This is also where Kam Jones in particular thrived.
Jones put up 10 points on 4-8 shooting, though his ability to lose his man and draw a mismatch led to his success. His ability to lose his man caused him to match up with and fake out Samson Johnson, leading to a foul and a pair of free throws to cap off a 9-0 Marquette run. UConn was held scoreless for the final 3:21 of the first half, and the Golden Eagles also regained the lead on this run, ending the half up 37-33.
The Huskies came out of the second half with a fire lit under them. Whether it was Johnson finishing at the rim, Karaban knocking down some free throws or Ball cashing in on some second chance points, the Huskies eventually tied the game thanks to a quick 8-2 run. Suddenly, the Gampel Pavilion crowd was getting loud and acting as the sixth man that the program desperately needed.
Karaban was particularly feeding off this energy in the second half. The redshirt junior went nuclear, scoring 16 points on 4-6 shooting, 2-3 from beyond the arc and 6-6 from the charity stripe. This was a huge step up from the forward’s five-point first half and helped put the program over the top.
A huge momentum swing came halfway through the second half. On a missed layup from Tarris Reed Jr., Jaylin Stewart rose up for the rebound and nearly killed Stevie Mitchell on a putback dunk that will follow the Marquette guard for some time to come. This was the catalyst of a 10-0 Connecticut run where the program seemingly couldn’t miss. Head coach Dan Hurley elaborated postgame on how massive of a momentum swing that putback slam was for the program and how plays like this are on par for Stewart, as uncommon as they are at the collegiate level.
“That was exceptional. That was explosive. That’s the type of talent this kid’s got, and he’s got an awesome future. That was a big momentum play, just a big, big, big momentum play,” Hurley said.
The second half of this contest also saw a significant rebound discrepancy. Connecticut outrebounded their Big East rivals 26-13, and Johnson primarily led this charge. The senior completed the double-double with seven second half rebounds. This was also the Togo native’s first collegiate double-double, with Hurley speaking upon what he believes led to his success.
“Today the matchup was probably more favorable for Samson because of his athleticism and all the switching we have to do,” Hurley said. “Samson is a UConn guy. He loves UConn so much. He knows his career’s winding down, and like a lot of older players, you know, he’s going to miss this place; his heart is in Storrs. Just the ultimate UConn warrior, and so I just think he had a better spirit about him today.”
Jones continued his solid second half for Marquette, putting up an additional 11 points, on 5-12 shooting. Joplin also had an excellent second half putting up a nine-point performance, on notable 4-4 free throw shooting. Marquette head coach Shaka Smart emphasized how free throws were decisive in Wednesday night’s result. UConn failed to record a singular free throw attempt in the first 20 minutes. However, the program slashed an excellent 13-14 mark in the second half.
Despite the Golden Eagles’ ability to keep Wednesday night’s contest close, this was all moot due to Karaban’s ability to hit big shots down the stretch. The Massachusetts native hit a massive layup with nearly a minute and a half left to extend Connecticut’s lead to five. While Marquette immediately responded to this with a four-point run of their own, Karaban called the game. With 25 seconds left and nearly no time left on the clock, the two-time national champion hit a deep dagger three, putting Connecticut up four with no time left. Both Johnson and Hassan Diarra kept it brief postgame, saying they “knew it was going in.”
A pair of free throws from Diarra later and Wednesday night’s contest was officially on ice, with the Huskies coming out ahead 72-66. This was a massive win for the program and sets the Huskies up nicely for the Big East Tournament. The Huskies will host Seton Hall this Saturday at home for senior night, and a win against the Pirates guarantees the program a bye for the upcoming in-conference tournament.