UConn basketball finally picked up a ranked road win, taking down Marquette, 74-67.
It was Senior Night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as the #8 ranked Golden Eagles hosted the #2 ranked Huskies in what was the second top-10 matchup between these two teams this season. Last time around, UConn basketball dominated in an 81-53 victory on their homecourt in Hartford. This time around, the two teams faced off at the Fiserv Forum, but Marquette was without reigning Big East POY Tyler Kolek as he will miss the remainder of the regular season with an injury. Although this wasn’t the regular season title-deciding matchup that it almost panned out to be, there were still some Big East Tournament seeding implications for Marquette as well as the opportunity to get revenge for their loss in Connecticut earlier in the season.
It was a strange start to the game for Marquette as they went scoreless for the first three and a half minutes, but then responded with 12 straight points to take the lead. During that run, Marquette’s defense was all over the Huskies as they focused on applying ball pressure which helped them to create turnovers. After a timeout where Head Coach Dan Hurley could be heard yelling “Fill my huddle!”, UConn basketball turned things around on both ends of the floor. The Huskies ended the first half with 11 assists on 16 made baskets, they shot 7-12 from the three-point line and held an 11-point lead.
The second half went more like everyone expected this game to go as UConn’s offense cooled down a bit while Marquette’s offense picked it up out of the break. Marquette couldn’t cut into the double-digit UConn lead until they made one final push and cut it to just 5 points with a minute to go. Ultimately, UConn basketball held on to complete the season sweep of Marquette as a late Cam Spencer steal sealed the deal.
Takeaway #1: Alex is KaraBACK
Entering the contest, Alex Karaban had made just 4 of his last 22 three-point attempts and was clearly in a funk. With his incredible work ethic and basketball IQ, it was just a matter of time before things turned around for UConn’s sophomore standout as he went 5-9 from deep and scored 23 points against Marquette.
Part of his sophomore bump has included becoming more effective with his dribble penetrations which was on display tonight as he fought hard through the lane to finish at the rim. With just one more regular season remaining on the schedule, Alex Karaban has left his slump behind at the perfect time.
Have a night, AK! 👏 pic.twitter.com/q7s7OXMFMy
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) March 7, 2024
Takeaway #2: Marquette is playing the long game
Make no mistake, Marquette has certainly earned their top 10 ranking, but Wednesday night’s game was a 40-minute uphill battle for the Golden Eagles. Tyler Kolek’s absence was felt by Marquette as they were missing their leading passer on too many offensive possessions where it seemed like no one could find an open man.
Head Coach Shaka Smart and his staff obviously wanted to give their star guard a proper send-off on his Senior Night (although he still has the chance to return for one more season), but there is no reason to rush him back with so much at stake. This Marquette team will gladly play shorthanded now in order to be at full strength for the Big East and NCAA tournaments and there’s no doubt that the Golden Eagles have the potential to make deep runs in both events.
Takeaway #3: Getting the monkey of their back
Coming into Wednesday night, UConn basketball had lost their last 21 road games against AP Top 25 opponents with their last win coming in 2014 at Memphis. There’s no doubt that Dan Hurley feels some relief to finally be able to put that statistic to bed after this win in Milwaukee. The Big East has some great home court advantages and Marquette’s is certainly one of them.
On the surface, Cam Spencer’s technical from talking back to the crowd may seem like the Wisconsin crowd got in his head, but fans who have been watching Spencer all season know that’s just how he operates. These UConn players continue to stay locked in on the bigger goal and have just one more game left in their regular season before they begin the postseason in New York City.
Next up for UConn: at Providence (Sat., March 9 – 8 p.m.)
Next up for Marquette: at Xavier (Sat., March 9 – 5 p.m.)