Solid, clean effort kicks off Big East tourney
NEW YORK — The UConn came into the Big East Tournament with momentum, and the objective in the first game was to keep it going, and save enough for the grueling game, or games, to follow.
The goal was accomplished with a breezy 94-60 win over DePaul late Thursday night, setting up the semifinal showdown with Creighton on Friday. In the other bracket, No. 8 Georgetown completed an upset-filled run to the final, eliminating Seton Hall 66-58 in the early semifinal.
The winner of UConn-Creighton plays the Hoyas for the championship Saturday at 6:30.
“It was really important for us in the first half to separate ourselves,” coach Dan Hurley said, “try to take their hope away by the level we were able to play at both ends of the court. It was just a really, really clean performance at both ends.”
DePaul, which finished 11th in the 11-team Big East, came out of nowhere to startle No. 6 Providence in the first round. But the Huskies quickly stomped out any hopes for a miracle run, building an 11-point lead in the first 12 minutes, then stretching it out to 45-22 at the half.
“We’re just clicking on all cylinders right now,” said R.J. Cole, who had 14 points and eight assists. “We’re all together and we have a lot of weapons.”
Especially impressive was the Huskies passing, crisp and sophisticated throughout the game. They had 10 assists on 15 field goals in the first half, 20 assists against only eight turnovers in the game.
The on-court flow didn’t change and the lead grew and Hurley began subbing. Adozen different players scored. They shot 44% and got 23 offensive rebounds.
In the second half, James Bouknight began experiencing cramps that sent him to the sidelines and, after a brief attempt to resume, back to the locker room with athletic trainer James Doran and director of sports performance Mike Rehfeldt carrying him downthe hall.
The Huskies staff tended to Bouknight with IVs and massage to get him ready for Creighton, an opponent that would not likely afford much margin for playing without Bouknight.
But DePaul, which lost twice to UConn in the regular season, was no match either way. After the game, coach Dave Leitao, the former Huskies’ assistant, told Hurley, “If you’re going to come to New York and you’re not going to bring the fans from Fairfield County or West Hartford to drink a lot and have a good time, you better win this thing.”
Creightonalsohadaneasyvictory Thursday, beating Butler 87-56. The Bluejays, ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll, won both matchups with UConn during the season, though they were competitive. Creighton appears to have shaken off the controversy surrounding coach Greg McDermott, who was suspended for onegameformaking a racially insensitive analogy in a lockerroomtalk, butreinstatedafter his apology.
“We know how good those guys are,” Hurley said. “They’ve got a hell of a team, a team that has as good a chance to win this tournament and a team that could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Tremendous respect for their players the way they’re focused right nowwith everything they’ve been dealing with, the way they are locked in and playing really, really good basketball. We’re just excited to be in the Big East semifinals against one of the best teams in the country.”
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com