Notes & Quotes: UConn absolutely dominated Marquette

HARTFORD - The 4th-ranked team in the country came to town, but the No. 1 UConn Huskies are unflappable. They were ahead for 30 out of 40 minutes in an 81-53 victory over Marquette on Saturday which represented the largest deficit ever in an AP Poll top-five matchup.

In a balanced team effort, four UConn players scored 14 or more points as Dan Hurley’s squad notched 24 assists on 29 baskets, led by eight from Tristen Newton and six from Hassan Diarra, while every other starter had at least two.

Donovan Clingan notched his second double-double of the season (17 points, 10 rebounds) as the 7-foot-2 sophomore keyed an elite defensive performance as well.

Steph Castle, Newton, and Diarra hounded Marquette’s Tyler Kolek. The Naismith Award candidate finished with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field. The Golden Eagles hit just 5-of-23 threes on the day and got crushed on the boards, 45-27.

“We’re playing at a high level [defensively],” Hurley said after the game. “Since Donovan’s come back, and does what he does in terms of rim protection, and now he’s contesting three-point shooters on the perimeter too…it doesn’t give them a lot of places to go.”

The game was tied at 18 ten minutes in after six lead changes, but the Huskies clamped down on defense as Marquette was held scoreless for five minutes in a 9-0 run.

With the score at 32-24, UConn mounted a 10-0 run at the end of the half and took a 42-26 lead into halftime. The Huskies shot 7-of-12 (58%) from three and 55 percent from the field in the second half to close out their 14th consecutive win as the reserves entered with around three minutes left.

Here’s a closer look at the victory:

What Went Well

Flipping the Switch: Hurley compared the game’s opening minutes to the first round of a heavyweight bout. A few minutes later, the Huskies started landing haymakers as an 18-18 tie turned into a 42-26 UConn lead at the half. The Huskies relied on defensive effort and rebounding to turn things around, turning 18 offensive rebounds into 21 second-chance points and holding Marquette to 37 percent shooting overall. The Huskies tied their highest single-game offensive rebounding percentage of the season.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart: “I liked how our guys started…but once the offensive rebounding edge flipped … that was a big difference in the game.”  

Dan Hurley: “(Early on) I think we were minus-five or six on the offensive glass, but to end the game plus-18 there… Obviously, we knew we had to dominate the offensive glass because it’s something they struggle with.”

Locking Down: UConn’s defensive prowess showed in the way it frustrated Kolek and forced contested shots across the afternoon. Kolek came in averaging 17 points per game but never got anything going.

Smart: “They had a couple guys who had really had huge performances for them on the defensive end. I thought Diarra was terrific and Clingan really bothered us even more so than he had in the past. Hats off to the way they defended.”

Hurley: “I think just having those different looks caused some issues for Tyler today. You got a 6-6 Steph on him at times, who is physical, strong, and tall. Then Tristen, 6-5 with length, was also guarding him, then you bring in a pesky smaller guard (Diarra) who is getting into him and pressure him. … I think it was hard for him to get a rhythm.”

Foot on the Gas: UConn has won all types of games in all kinds of situations, with guys playing hurt our out due to injuries. They’re starting to get close to fully healthy, it appears Karaban is still not at 100 percent, but Clingan’s return has unlocked a new, defensively-dominant team that is already one of the best offensive teams in the country and will only get better with a few more rebounds and stops occurring on the other end.   

Hurley: “What’s dangerous about us now when we take the court we don’t fear losing. Knowing what we dealt with last year, the tough stretch in January and then going on and doing what we did…having dealt with a lot of adversity… as a leader of the program, I am just way more relaxed and confident and I think that runs through the team.”

Clingan: “We are all very confident and I feel like you can see that when we are out on the floor. It’s the way we carry ourselves in practice, the way we carry ourselves in shootaround, how we warm up before the game really. I feel like no one really practices as hard as we do, especially the day before a game.”

Hurley (again): “I just think we get like minded people to come and play here…we hold out in recruiting and try to just recruit winners and people that it's never enough for…I could promise you in the lead up to our next game, that the way that we're going to work in the work like like 25-2 is never enough. We got people like that… always want more.”

What Needs Work

Back on Track: Karban came in shooting 67 percent from the floor in the last two games but went 2-of-9 from the field while Castle went 1-of-7. Karaban seemed a bit hampered, perhaps by his lingering injury, while Castle dealt with foul trouble.

Hurley: “When you have five starters who can get 20 on any given night and Samson Johnson, Hassan Diarra off the bench, that’s seven strong players. … Having depth keeps you vulnerable when a couple guys have a bad game.”

Smart: “I thought Castle and Karaban were still really good. Karaban was 2-for-9, but he’s just a winner. He is a winning guy, so even on a day like this when it’s not his best shooting day, he impacts the game in a lot of ways.” 

Misc. Notes

The XL Center hosted many notable visitors including Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun and former assistant Howie Dickenman, along with former players Emeka Okafor, Andre Jackson, A.J. Price, James Bouknight, Chris Smith, Charles Okwandu and Doug Wiggins. … UConn became the first team in Big East history to win three straight games by 25 or more points. … The Huskies are 50-9 all-time as the No. 1 team in the country. Their 14-game conference winning streak ties the longest in Big East history (UConn 1996, St. John’s 1985) … Gampel Pavilion will play host to ESPN’s College GameDay on Feb. 24 when the Huskies host Villanova.. It will be the first time GameDay has been in Storrs since Jan. 18, 2014 when UConn hosted Louisville. … Samson Johnson has 53 of UConn’s 100 dunks on the season. … The Husies played their final game of the season in the XL Center, finishing 8-0 in their Hartford home.

Up Next

On Tuesday, the Huskies are on the road to play No. 17 Creighton. Tip-off will be at 8:30 p.m. on FS1.

The Bluejays beat Butler handily on Saturday to improve to 19-7, 10-5 in the Big East, and 13th in KenPom, scraping just ahead of Marquette in the efficiency rankings.