University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Creighton
UConn MBB Meets Creighton In BIG EAST Opener
12/19/2020 10:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UConn Athletic Communications / Dec. 19, 2020
STORRS, Conn. – After three postponements, the UConn men's basketball team (3-0) finally makes its long-awaited return to the BIG EAST Conference on Sunday, when it plays host to #9 Creighton at Gampel Pavilion, with a tipoff scheduled at noon (FS1).
Some 18 months after the announcement that UConn would rejoin the BIG EAST, the Huskies will at last make it a reality. UConn was supposed meet St. John's in its BIG EAST opener on Dec. 11, but that game, as well as subsequent games at Georgetown and at Providence were postponed by COVID-19 related issues.
Creighton, the co-regular-season BIG EAST champion last season, makes its first-ever trip to Storrs with a 5-2 overall record and a 1-1 league mark after a home loss to Marquette and a road victory at St. John's. The Bluejays, from Omaha, Neb., boast the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year in junior guard Marcus Zegarowski, who joins all five Creighton starters as double-figure scorers.
UConn will be playing its first game since a 61-58 victory over Southern California on Dec. 3 at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Huskies returned to practice on Sunday, Dec. 13, after a COVID-related pause.
Sophomore James Bouknight (Brooklyn, N.Y.) is UConn's leading scorer (18.7), while junior R.J. Cole (Union, N.J.) and senior Isaiah Whaley (Gastonia, N.C.) are also in double-figures at 11.0 and 10.7 respectively. Junior Tyrese Martin is the top rebounder (8.5) and Cole leads in assists (3.7). Whaley also ranks first in the BIG EAST in blocked shots (3.7) and the Huskies rank second in the country as a team in that category (7.0).
Creighton will be the first nationally-ranked opponent for UConn since the Huskies defeated #21 Houston, 77-71, on March 5, 2020.
