Attempting to enter the New Year with a perfect record, the No. 2 UConn men’s basketball team (14-1) dropped its first game of the season to No. 22 Xavier in a hostile road environment at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
Facing a two-point deficit with 2:25 remaining in the game, UConn guard Tristen Newton fouled Zach Freemantle. After the star forward made his first free throw, UConn coach Dan Hurley was whistled for an unfavorably-timed technical foul as he continued to argue the call. A four-point swing with Boum hitting both technical free throws gave Xavier a six-point lead and left the Huskies scrambling.
UConn’s shooting struggles persisted as the Huskies tossed-up six 3-pointers in the final 90 seconds and missed all.
The Musketeers doubled Adama Sanogo with Jack Nunge or Freemantle and Colby Jones, who leaked off of Jackson on the offensive end, leaving the Huskies to shoot over the top early on. In the first 12 minutes, UConn shot 12 3-pointers and missed eight.
With teams doubting his ability to shoot and leaving him open from the perimeter, Jackson — who picked up technical fouls after made 3-pointers in the last two games — decided to respond in a different way when the Xavier defense gave him space on Saturday.
Rather than turning to the opponent’s bench, Jackson trusted his shot and scored 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Xavier’s 7-footer, Nunge, battled through flu-like symptoms to score 15 points and affect several UConn shots. His frontcourt counterpart, the 6-foot-9 Freemantle, led the team with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Colby Jones (16 points), Jerome Hunter (15) and Souley Boum (11) made up the five different Musketeers who finished with double-digit scoring.
Jackson missed his first two from deep but buried the third and brought the Huskies within one early on.
UConn (14-1) struggled to find answers for Xavier’s big lineup which often features Nunge and Freemantle playing high-low on the court at the same time, and shot 47% from the field in the first half — a number that greatly improved as the half went on. It didn’t help that the Huskies struggled early on the defensive end as well, allowing Xavier to shoot 57% from the field, 16 points coming inside the paint in the first half.
Jackson made a second 3-pointer, his fifth attempt, which stopped the bleeding as Xavier consistently made shots and handed the Huskies their first double-digit deficit of the season (10 points with just under six minutes to go in the first half). Minutes later, with UConn’s defense intensified and the Musketeers unable to score, Jordan Hawkins made an unselfish pass to a wide open Tristen Newton (whose block gave the Huskies possession) in the corner for 3, cutting the deficit to four.
Xavier had a chance to hold the ball for the final shot of the half, but Boum instead attacked the Huskies, missed inside, and Jackson found Alleyne for a 3-pointer that gave UConn a 42-41 lead at the break.
Inside the Musketeers’ huddle, as Fox broadcasted, head coach Sean Miller stressed the fact that “UConn is a team that makes runs” — and it wasn’t long before the scoring run came.
UConn finished the opening half 4 of 7 from beyond the arc, contributing to a 13-5 run that provided the one-point halftime lead. Still hot after the break, Karaban and Jackson got the Huskies’ first two 3-point attempts in the second half to fall and extended the lead to seven before turnovers and fouls allowed Xavier back into the game.
Jackson’s fourth 3-pointer came with under five minutes left, bringing the Huskies within two before the captain tied the game with a steal in the backcourt that led directly to a fast break layup.
The Huskies finished the game shooting 41.8% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc, while turning the ball over 16 times.
The New Years Eve matchup that featured the only two ranked teams in the Big East lived up to expectations with seven ties and seven lead changes.
Sanogo finished with a game-high 18 points (9 of 17) and Hawkins added 11 on a night where he struggled to get open and shot 1 of 5 from beyond the arc. Jackson, who was shooting at a 30% clip from 3-point range entering the game, attempted 12 3-pointers and made four, though three misses came trying to make something happen in the final 90 seconds.
Xavier scored 40 points in the paint and 18 off turnovers to pull away.
UConn heads to Providence (11-3, 3-0) for another tough road game beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
