HARTFORD, Conn. — March couldn’t have started any better for the UConn men’s basketball team.
The 14th-ranked Huskies dominated their way to a 32-point halftime lead and kept the pressure on until the final buzzer of an 88-59 victory to close down the XL Center for this basketball season.
Adama Sanogo’s game-high 26 points with five rebounds, a block and two steals led the way for a UConn offense that featured six players with at least eight points. Andre Jackson came close to registering a third triple-double in the Hartford Arena this season with 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. After a stretch of tough shooting games, point guard Tristen Newton made five of his seven shot attempts for 12 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Huskies came out in shut-down mode on defense, forcing the Blue Demons to start 1-for-14 shooting from the field. On the other end, UConn erupted to an 11-0 run over two minutes, highlighted by a rare 3-pointer from Jackson and a pair from Newton. Sanogo, who started the scoring, pushed the Huskies’ lead to 17-2 with a three-point play under the basket. He was awarded a breather after the free throw, bringing in Donovan Clingan off the bench.
As if there wasn’t enough for the final home crowd of the regular season to get excited about, Clingan drove through the lane and caught a lob pass from Joey Calcaterra. By the time the 7-footer’s hands came off the rim from the dunk, UConn’s lead was 29-2 with 10:58 still on the clock in the first half.
DePaul responded with a pair of free throws and its first made field goal in nearly eight minutes. The Blue Demons started the game 1-for-14 from the field with a handful of turnovers.
Though they’d broken the seal, the Blue Demons were only able to get five more shots from the field to go in before the break.
Jordan Hawkins, usually first, was surprisingly the sixth different Husky to score; his 3-pointer with 7:24 on the clock built UConn’s lead to 30 points, 38-8.
Jackson, who finished the first half with eight points, five rebounds and seven assists, caught an outlet pass on the fast break and took off from just inside the free-throw line. As he floated through the air, clutching the ball, UConn fans moved to the edge of their seats, ready to be amazed. Jackson opted for the safer option and laid the ball in.
Sanogo scored his game-high 15th point just before the buzzer to bring UConn into the break with a 51-19 lead, the Huskies’ second straight game with a 50-point half.
Clingan scored back-to-back buckets for the Huskies four minutes into the half, reaching double-figures in the scoring column for the first time since he scored 20 at Marquette on Jan. 11. He finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds.
Calcaterra made his second and third 3-pointers of the game to maintain a 67-37 advantage on the scoreboard for the Huskies. He has made at least three 3-pointers in each of the last two games after not reaching the mark since Dec. 10 against Long Island.
DePaul’s scoring picked up in the second half but the Huskies were able to maintain a 30-point margin for much of the final 20 minutes. UConn assisted on 24 of its 35 made field goals and outrebounded the Blue Demons, 40-29.
The Huskies travel to Philadelphia to wrap up the regular season with a surging Villanova team on Saturday. The Wildcats have won six of their last seven games, while UConn has won seven of its last eight.
