Out of reach
UConn loses 18th straight road game to a ranked team
OMAHA, Neb. — It was there for the taking.
That elusive road win over a Top 25 team, its first in nine years, was in the UConn men’s basketball team’s grasp on Saturday at CHI Health Center.
And when Jordan Hawkins hit what appeared to be a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left, it appeared the Huskies’ road luck may have finally taken a turn.
But a replay review revealed that Hawkins’ foot was on the 3-point line, and UConn still trailed by a point. Ryan Kalkbrenner hit a pair of free throws, the Huskies were unable to get off a lastsecond shot, and No. 23 Creighton emerged with a 56-53 victory before 18,286 — the 20th-largest crowd in program history.
The 21st-ranked Huskies had their chances. A Trey Alexander 3-pointer with 12:22 left gave Creighton a 45-40 bulge. The Bluejays went scoreless for the next 4:16, and managed just one point over the next six minutes. Yet UConn couldn’t get over the hump, tying the game on an Adama Sanogo inside hoop with 7:38 left but then giving it up on a pair of Ryan Kalkbrenner free throws.
A Hawkins putback with 1:32 left got the Huskies back to within three (54-51). Alexander missed the front end of a oneand-one, and on UConn’s ensuing possession, Sanogo missed a 3-pointer but Hawkins collected the long rebound and launched a somewhat desperation shot that, initially, appeared to tie the game.
But it didn’t. UConn missed 12 of its first 15 shots and trailed by nine at one point in the first half. The Huskies shot just 35.5 percent over the first 20 minutes, but trailed by just two (31-29) at the break, thanks mainly to Sanogo.
Sanogo had 13 points at halftime including a career-best three 3-pointers, the biggest being a buzzer-beater just before the break. He was the only UConn player with more than one field goal.
Hawkins went scoreless in the first half and sat out the final 6 ½ minutes after picking up his
second foul. But when Hawkins completed a four-point play, his first field goal of the game, less than 90 seconds into the latter half, UConn had its first lead (35-33).
The Huskies never led again, though they tied it up two more times. Sanogo finished with a teamhigh 17 points and Hawkins had 11.
UConn has now lost 18 straight road games to ranked teams, dating back to a January, 2014 win at Memphis.
Creighton (17-8, 11-3 Big East) has now won eight straight.