Forty minutes down, only 80 minutes separate the No. 2 seed UConn men’s basketball team (28-4, 17-3 Big East) from a record-breaking ninth Big East Tournament title.
The Huskies dismantled Xavier in the quarterfinals, led by Tarris Reed Jr.’s 17 points and 14 rebounds. Solo Ball paced the team with 19 points, but the bench’s 24 points defined the game.
The Huskies improved to 44-30 at the Big East Tournament, with an 8-4 mark in the Hurley era. Under Hurley, Connecticut has reached the semifinal round in each of the last six seasons, including winning the program’s eighth tournament title in 2024. UConn is now 18-15 in the quarterfinal round of the Big East Tournament.
There is no place like home, but Madison Square Garden feels like home every time UConn comes to town (outside this year’s loss at St. John’s). That was the case on Thursday night, and the Huskies’ record at the World’s Most Famous Arena improved to 80-63, with an 18-9 mark under Hurley. Connecticut has now won 12 of its last 15 games at the self-proclaimed “Storrs South.”
Georgetown is shocking the entire Big East with its Cinderella run, trading shots with Villanova in the stunner of the Big East Tournament, 78-64.
Julius Halaifonua had the game of his life, scoring 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, with 14 points coming in the first half alone. He also had a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds. He will go up against Reed in what should be an exciting individual matchup.
“[Reed is] one of the better bigs in the country,” Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley said to the media around midnight in Madison Square Garden. “But last I checked, we have a couple of bigs too.”
What helped was Georgetown shooting 50.8% from the floor and holding Villanova, a good offensive team, to 37.7% overall.
It also did not hurt to have five players score in double figures, including a 14-point performance from Kayvaun Mulready, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor, three of which were from downtown.
The Huskies are 6-2 against Georgetown in the Big East Tournament, with the last meeting coming in the second round of the 2011 tournament. Yes, that was the year Connecticut won five games in five days to clinch its seventh Big East Tournament championship.
Dan Hurley has never lost to Georgetown, with a perfect 12-0 record. However, there were two close calls this season, and Cooley pointed that out in the Huskies’ Valentine’s Day win over the Hoyas.
“We’ve played them in two games, and we have a total of [six] points separating us from the No. 6 team in America,” Cooley said.
It will be the third game in which former Husky Isaiah Abraham faces his former school. He has started 30 of the 32 games played for the Hoyas, averaging 5 points per contest. He was held scoreless in 15 minutes in action at UConn but had 5 points in a 64-62 thriller in the nation’s capital.
Georgetown finished last in the conference but is playing with house money in the World’s Most Famous Arena. Their first-round upset win over DePaul was a 63-56 grind in the nightcap on Wednesday, with Vince Iwuchukwu coming off the bench and leading the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting.
Cooley had a lot of praise for the Huskies after the Hoyas’ win, previewing the semifinal matchup.
“We’re going to play one of the best teams in America, and they’ve earned that right,” Cooley said. “We know tomorrow is going to be a monster, [UConn’s] playing for a No. 1 seed, they’re playing for a championship.”
The Huskies will already know their opponent should they advance to Saturday’s championship game. Tip-off from Storrs South is set for 8 p.m. and can be watched on FS1.