HARTFORD – The third-ranked UConn men’s basketball team completed its season sweep of Richard Pitino and Xavier in a 92-60 rout at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford Tuesday night.
UConn improved to 22-1 and 12-0 in the Big East, and will carry its 18-game winning streak into the toughest game of the conference season so far when it meets Richard’s father, Rick, and second-place St. John’s in primetime on Friday night.
Tuesday served as a solid warmup for the league’s first ranked matchup since the Huskies visited Seton Hall, then No. 25, on Jan. 13. The 32-point win came only three days after a 27-point win at Creighton.
“I just thought the group showed a high level of class today by playing at such a high level at both ends and on the backboard after such a quick turnaround and a long trip,” coach Dan Hurley said. “So I just feel like the team is starting to figure out how to play more bulletproof basketball.”
With an overwhelming matchup and talent advantage, UConn continued the relentless effort it showed in Omaha Saturday and took hold of the game early on its home floor.
The dominance started on the first possession, when UConn controlled three offensive rebounds, though its effort was fruitless after four tries. But Braylon Mullins made a 3-pointer the next time down the court and started a string of seven straight makes, including two transition dunks from the star freshman as he raced to 10 points and the Huskies’ lead ballooned to 16-2 in the first five minutes.
“That guy’s a warrior, he’s a dog, he’s one of the best freshmen, if not the best freshman in the country,” Tarris Reed Jr. said. “Having a player like that on our team is such an honor. He’s a warrior, he works his tail off in the gym every day. Just credit to him.”
UConn didn’t need much else from Mullins and he finished as one of five in double-figures with 13 points in 24 minutes. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. led the way with 17 points, four rebounds, eight assists and two steals, connecting on 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and Reed finished with 14 on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds.
The Huskies got 11 points from Jayden Ross and 14 with seven rebounds from Eric Reibe off the bench as Alex Karaban went for nine points, six rebounds and six assists and Solo Ball added nine of his own.
Hurley started emptying the bench around the six-minute mark and UConn finished the game shooting 56.75 from the field and 10-for-27 (37%) from beyond the arc.
The Huskies had a 41-24 advantage on the glass, 26 assists on 34 made shots and outscored the Musketeers 46-20 in the paint and 17-3 in transition.
“Regardless of who our opponent is next, you’re not thinking about who’s next a game out or two games out, you’re really just locked in on who you’re playing. And we obviously look like we’re doing a better job rebounding, a better job at the offensive end of the court, and the depth is showing up for us,” Hurley said. “To have J-Ross, to have Eric today as good as they were off the bench, Jaylin (Stewart), that’s what makes us tough to beat.”
Demary, having the most success he’s had in his career from beyond the 3-point arc on fewer attempts this season, made back-to-back 3s as the lead grew to 22-6. Stewart got involved with a triple of his own and the Musketeers had no answer for Reed, who didn’t miss on five attempts in the first half. He assisted Demary on a third 3-pointer before the break and UConn took a 50-22 lead into halftime.
The Huskies shot 61.3% from the field and had assists on 17 of their 19 made shots before the break, connecting on 7 of 13 from beyond the arc (53.8%). They dominated under the basket for a 22-12 rebounding advantage and a 24-10 difference in the paint.
Defensively, UConn limited Xavier’s leading scorer Tre Carroll (18.3 points per game) to nine points on 4-for-9 from the field, and its second-leading scorer Jovan Milicevic (11.6) to just two points on 1-for-4 shooting.
“That kid (Carroll), he’s real impressive,” Hurley said, revealing that he was a player UConn looked at when he was in the portal this offseason as a potential replacement for Karaban if he’d gone to the NBA. “We did a good job I think sending him right, trying to keep him off his right shoulder in the post, tried to keep it on his left hand driving, trying to take the 3-point line away as much as we could.”
Xavier didn’t totally fold, matching UConn’s shotmaking to start the second half until it used a 9-0 run to cut a 34-point lead to 25 with 12 minutes to play.
But Reed drove into the lane and threw a no-look pass over to Ross in the corner for his second 3-pointer of the game. Then Demary used his physicality in the paint for a three-point play on a putback and dunked on the next possession. Ross hit again from deep off an assist from Karaban and the Huskies’ lead was back to 33 around the eight-minute mark.
“I think this is who we believe we can be, who we think we are,” Hurley said.
Friday’s matchup, No. 3 vs. No. 22 at Madison Square Garden, is set to tip-off at 8 p.m. on FOX.
