Huskies smother Demons
UConn rolls over DePaul; Bouknight leaves in pain
NEW YORK — R.J. Cole tossed a lob up towards the hoop, James Bouknight soared through the air and jammed it home.
DePaul coach Dave Leitao called a timeout. Someone led a Big Red-inspired “U-C-O-N-N” chant that reverberated throughout the near-empty World’s Most Famous Arena.
Sure, there were still more than five minutes left in the first half, but UConn’s Big East tournament quarterfinal bout with DePaul on Thursday night was effectively over.
Everything was going right for the Huskies in an eventual 94-60 romp over the Blue Demons. Tyrese Martin kicked off the second half with a 360 dunk. Just a smooth ride to the finish line ...
Then, just under two minutes into the latter half, the ride got a little bumpy. Bouknight left the game with apparent leg cramps and was worked on for several minutes on the sideline by trainer James Doran. He eventually bounced out of his chair, joined the team huddle during a timeout and checked back in with 14:54 left in the half.
About 90 seconds later, however, UConn’s leading scorer was on the sideline being tended to by Doran once again. This time, he was laying prone on the ground. Doran and strength coach Mike Rehfeldt helped Bouknight to his feet and eventually had to carry him through the ramp back to the UConn locker room.
“He’s cramping, and I guess we’ll just see,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said afterwards. “I’m just not sure where it came from. Our medical team, James and Mike, our strength coach, they’ve got to have him ready for (Friday). They’ve got to figure it out.”
Otherwise, UConn’s first Big East tournament game in nine years was little more than a cakewalk. Cole, Martin and Adama Sanogo each scored 14 points, Bouknight added 10 and a dozen different players scored — including walk-on Andrew Hurley, the coach’s son, who hit a 3-pointer in the waning minutes.
UConn (15-6) outrebounded DePaul 50-30, led by 10 boards by Martin.
Bouknight’s dunk with 5:14 left in the first half capped a 13-2 Husky run that also included his own pretty reverse layup and a dart pass to Isaiah Whaley for a layup, a 3-pointer by Cole and a
lane jumper by Adama Sanogo.
Balance, skilled shooting, dynamic athleticism. That 31⁄2-minute stretch of basketball represented everything that UConn men’s basketball is about right now. A well-oiled machine, really.
It set up Friday’s 9 p.m. semifinal bout against Creighton that could prove to be the de facto title game.
Creighton (18-7) is the only team in the Big East playing anywhere nearly was well as UConn right now. The Bluejays have won their last two games by a combined total of 51 points, including an 87-56 triumph prior to the UConn-DePaul nightcap.
Of course, both victories came against Butler. UConn is no Butler.
“We know how good those guys are,” Hurley said. “They’ve got a hell of a team, a team that’s got as good a chance as any to win this championship and make a deep run into the NCAA tournament next week.”
Creighton did win the two prior matchups with the Huskies this season — in overtime on Dec. 20 in Storrs, 74-66 a few weeks later in Omaha, Nebraska. Bouknight poured in 40 points in that first one, and UConn had it wrapped up if Cole hit a pair of free throws late in the game.
He missed both, Damien Jefferson hit a buzzer-beater to force overtime, and Creighton pulled out the win.
“We can’t wait to get out there and play them (Friday),” Cole said with a wry smile. “That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”
Bouknight didn’t play in the rematch on Jan. 23, still in the midst of a six-week absence due to an elbow injury.
Creighton, of course, has been dogged by controversy recently after its head coach, Greg McDermott, was placed on indefinite suspension for using racially-insensitive language in a postgame meeting. McDermott missed Saturday’s 20-point win over Butler, but was reinstated for the Big East tournament after getting public backing from his players, including leading scorer Marcus Zegarowski.
But Zegarowski, who poured in a career-high 32 against Butler on Saturday, had his coach’s back after Thursday’s game.
“He’s not only a great coach, he’s a great role model for all of our guys,” the junior guard said. “He cares about basketball, but he really cares about stuff off the court — how we’re doing in school, how things are going with our families. He’s a great mentor to have. He’s a great coach, there’s nothing else to it. He’s someone who’ll be in my corner the rest of my life.”
“I’ve got tremendous respect for their players, the way that they’re focused right now, with everything they’ve been dealing with, the way they’ve been locked in, playing really, really good basketball,” Hurley said. “We’re just excited to be in the Big East Conference semifinals against one of the best teams in the country. We get a chance to play a marquee game (Friday) night, which is exciting. To be able to give college basketball fans a fun game (Friday) night, during this brutal COVID time, it’s exciting.”