People get caught up in the busyness of their everyday lives and think that they never get a break. Those individuals would realize things could always be worse if they saw how busy the whistles were when No. 4 UConn took on Marquette.
The Huskies (14-1, 4-0) came out on top 73-57 on Sunday afternoon, in a game that saw 21 fouls called in the first half. Four Golden Eagles, three of which were starters, finished the game with four fouls. Both teams had entered the bonus with more than eight minutes left before the intermission.
UConn made its return to Gampel Pavilion for the first time in nearly a month. The Huskies haven’t lost to the Golden Eagles (5-10, 0-4) in Connecticut since New Year’s Day 2013, and the win was their sixth straight over Marquette since 2023.
The six-time national champions improved their record in the Big East to 4-0 and are one of the two remaining undefeated teams in conference play alongside Villanova. UConn has won its last 10 consecutive games.
The Huskies perimeter shooting fell flat on Sunday after netting a season-high 13 three-pointers in their previous contest against Xavier. Two of the Huskies top marksman, Alex Karaban and Braylon Mullins, shot a combined 1/12 from three. Mullins hit the tandems loan triple with less than seven minutes to play in the game.
The team only hit five total three-pointers on the night, the team’s lowest mark since Nov. 23 against Bryant. 20.8% from the three-point range was also the Huskies’ worst since that game.
“Today was a game where we should have shot 50 percent from the field,” Head coach Dan Hurley said. “I felt like we got good enough looks for three that should’ve been double-figure threes made.”
UConn missed its first five attempts from beyond the arc before Silas Demary Jr. hit the team’s first with 10:57 to play in the first half.
Demary was the most efficient scorer on the floor as he did not miss any of his three attempts from deep and just one from the field. He finished the night with 14 points. Demary was one of three Huskies to dish out four assists, joining Karaban, Jaylin Stewart and Tarris Reed Jr.
Hurley has credited the addition of Demary as being the “sole reason” for the Huskies defensive evolution. The team jumped from the No. 75-ranked defense last year to No. 2 this season in KenPom’s defensive efficiency.
That was evident on Sunday as the Huskies totaled eight blocks from six different players. Marquette’s 57 points marked its lowest scoring total of the season. UConn limited the Eagles leading scorer Chase Ross to 11 points while shooting 4/11 from the field. He entered the night averaging over 16 per game.
Solo Ball’s defensive improvement from last season has stood out. He halted a fast break from Damariu Owens in the first half that would have brought Marquette back within seven points late in the first half.
He was the lone defender back as it seemed like Owens would glide to an easy layup. Ball managed to force a dribble pickup at the block without fouling, which allowed Stewart to catch up and swat the ball into the crowd.
“I feel like it definitely got a lot better,” Ball said. “That was our Achilles’ heel as a team, and I feel like it affected us all, because my defense, and also just the team defense, just wasn’t there.”
The Huskies had far more size at their disposals than Marquette, with Ben Gold being Marquette’s largest player at 6-foot-11 and 235 lbs. That didn’t show in the first half as the Golden Eagles managed to win the battle on the glass by a margin of two.
UConn shifted gears coming out of the break and nearly doubled Marquette’s rebounds in the second half to finish the game with a +12 margin. The Huskies had four players finish the game with at least six rebounds, while Reed led the team with nine.
“Coming into this game, it was a big emphasis on winning the rebounding battle,” Reed said. “We knew what we had to do in the second half, and that was keep relentlessly attacking the glass.”
Reed dominated inside. The 265-pound center finished the game with 13 points and was just a rebound shy of his third double-double of the season. Marquette’s lack of size allowed the Huskies to come away with 40 points in the paint.
UConn will continue its conference slate against Providence on Wednesday at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Friars (8-6, 1-2) just earned their first Big East win with a comeback victory on the road over St. Johns.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on Peacock and NBC Sports Network.