UConn basketball got revenge over Marquette in 73-57 win.
UConn and Marquette appeared to be feeling the jitters of playing in the Championship Round Saturday night. The two heavyweights shot brick after brick to bring a 4-4 score into the under 12:00 media break. No one would have expected such a rocky start for two of the premier offenses in the country, but that’s the beauty of college basketball.
UConn basketball found a way to turn it around by making it a point of emphasis to feed Donovan Clingan as Marquette has historically struggled to match up against the big man. Clingan ended up scoring 8 of the first 12 points for UConn and grabbed 7 rebounds in the first 12 minutes of action. He finished the half with a double double in what was one of his most impressive halves of the season. UConn wound up taking a 26-24 lead into the half despite shooting just 30% from the floor.
The second half was back and forth until UConn went on one of their patented runs to blow the game open. Freshman Jaylin Stewart had the Garden rocking, hitting three huge three pointers in the middle of the second half, the last to bring the lead to 55-44 with 6:52 remaining. Marquette finally felt the absence of Tyler Kolek and was unable to challenge UConn down the stretch of the game.
The confetti rained down upon on the newest Big East Tournament Champions after the final whistle, with UConn basketball winning 73-57. After the celebrations were done Dan Hurley was ecstatic after pulling out both the regular season and tournament championship in what was a grueling conference. The Big East was one of the most enjoyable conferences this season with so many storylines. Ed Cooley leaving Providence for the Georgetown job, Rick Pitino taking over for St. John’s, and Dan Hurley versus opposing fans were just a handful of several talking points over the season. The Big East is thriving right now and UConn has reclaimed their rightful position as top dogs in the conference.
What made this win feel even sweeter for UConn is that they had been waiting a full year for payback after a heartbreaking loss in the semifinal round of the conference tourney at the hands to Marquette. “Well, it was a short stay in their (UConn’s) second home. We wish them a safe trip back to their first home.” proclaimed Kam Jones last year after their win over UConn in the Garden, a place many have been calling Storrs South. Comments like these are great for the Big East and have helped build the growing rivalry between UConn and Marquette.
One day removed from a 95-90 win over St. John’s where neither team could miss, UConn proved once again that they can win games in so many different ways. It doesn’t matter if it’s a shootout or a rock fight, the Huskies have the formula to find ways to keep winning. This is the most important quality a team can have in order to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen in March and teams need to be able to find ways to adjust on the fly.
With both Houston and Purdue losing in their respective conference tournaments, UConn will more than likely be the no. 1 overall seed for the first time in program history. “We’ve been the best team in the college basketball this season” said Hurley postgame. UConn is now destined to play in the East Regional and will essentially play four home games in Brooklyn and Boston to make the Final Four. I don’t envy whoever winds up in their region and it will take almost a perfect game to slow down the Husky Express.