University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
27-3,17-2Big East
Marquette
22-8,13-6Big East
No. 2 UConn Ties Record In Road Win at No. 8 Marquette
3/6/2024 11:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MILWAUKEE – The No. 2 UConn men's basketball team (27-3, 17-2 BIG EAST) tied a BIG EAST record with its 17th conference win, taking down No. 8 Marquette, 74-67, on Wednesday night at the Fiserv Forum. Alex Karaban (Southborough, Mass.) led all scorers with 23 points in the triumph.
The Huskies knocked down a total of 13 shots from 3-point range and out-rebounded Marquette by a 44-31 margin in the hard-fought road victory. It was UConn's first road win over a top-10 foe since also taking down No. 8 Marquette back on Feb. 25, 2009.
Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) also had a huge game for the Huskies with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals without a turnover. Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) was the third Huskies in double-figures with 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Donovan Clingan narrowly missed a double-double with 9 points and 12 rebounds along with four blocks.
How it Happened
Newton scored the first five points of the contest, but MU responded with an 12-0 run to take a 12-5 advantage at the 13:20 mark of the opening stanza. The Huskies answered swiftly, rattling off an 11-3 run that included a pair of Karaban 3-pointers to re-take the lead midway through the first.
Later in the frame, back-to-back triples from Newton and Spencer were part of a 12-4 run that gave Connecticut its largest lead at 35-24 and forced an MU timeout at the 4:11 mark. The Huskies kept that double-digit lead into the break, going to the half up 42-31.
The Golden Eagles came out strong offensively in the second half, pulling within seven at 56-49 before another Spencer 3-pointer pushed the lead back to 10. A three-point play got the Golden Eagles back within seven at the 11:54 mark, before a basket from Spencer and a deep Karaban 3-pointer stretched the Connecticut lead back to 64-52 midway through the second period.
At the 7:51, a transition triple from Spencer gave the Huskies their largest lead of the night at 70-56. The Golden Eagles got back within nine late in the frame, before a huge Karaban put-back pushed the lead back to double-figures ahead of the final media timeout.
A late 11-2 run for Marquette cut the lead down to five inside of the final minute, with MU calling for time in a 72-67 game with 56.0 on the clock. The Golden Eagles got the ball back with under 30 seconds still within five, but a Spencer steal and a pair of Stephon Castle free throws iced the contest for the Huskies.
Inside The Numbers
- The Huskies 43.5 percent from the field (27-62) but dialed it up with a 50.0 percent (13-26) mark from 3-point range
- Conversely, Marquette shot 43.3 percent (26-60) from the floor and 37.5 percent (6-16) from deep
- The Huskies finished with a 44-31 edge on the glass
- UConn turned 16 offensive rebounds into a 19-4 edge in second chance points
- The Huskies had 18 assists on 27 field goals
- Karaban's game-high 23 points came on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor and a 5-of-9 mark from 3-point range
- Connecticut finished with a 7-4 edge in blocked shots
News and Notes
- The Huskies improve to 10-8 all-time against Marquette after sweeping the regular season series
- UConn's 17 BIG EAST wins tie for the conference record with three other teams – UConn in 1995-96, Syracuse in 2011-12 and Marquette in 2022-23
- Karaban recorded his team-high eighth 20-point effort of the season
- The Huskies hit double-digit 3-pointers in a game for the 14th time this year
- Karaban and Spencer each hit five 3-pointers in the same game for the third time this season
- Clingan has blocked a shot in all 25 games he has appeared in this season and has 17 games with multiple swats
- In his last two games, Clingan has blocked nine shots.
Up Next
The Huskies are back on the road for their regular season finale, making the short jaunt across state lines to visit Providence on Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m.
