Spencer, Castle lead UConn
NEW YORK — For the first time since he sat out the latter part of the 2021-22 season as a redshirt freshman, Alex Karaban watched a game from the bench dressed in street clothes.
Karaban, the “brain center of the program,” “the ultimate problem-solver,” per coach Dan Hurley, also happens to average 14.5 points, shoot nearly 40 percent from 3 and was a key starter for last season’s national championship squad.
It wasn’t exactly “no Karaban, no problem,” but the UConn men’s basketball team rebounded from a halftime deficit on Saturday and ran away for a 77-64 win over St. John’s before a sellout at Madison Square Garden.
“All things considered,” Hurley noted, “I probably didn’t imagine we could play as well and as tough as we did without Alex.”
But top-ranked UConn (20-2, 10-1 Big East) dominated the Red Storm on the boards, shot the ball well from 3-point land and the foul line, and got “next-manup” efforts from several players. Three in particular.
Cam Spencer knocked down five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points. Tristen Newton flirted with his latest triple-double and wound up with 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. And Stephon Castle continued to play well beyond his years.
Castle, a true freshman, notched a career-best scoring effort for the second straight game with 21 points, hitting both his 3pointers and all five of his free throws. The 6-foot-6 guard was also forced to guard Joel Soriano, the Red Storm’s 6-11 center and leading scorer, late in the game with big men Donovan Clingan and Samson Johnson