James Bouknight, No. 7 UConn Upset by No. 10 Maryland in 2021 NCAA Tournament

Robert Franklin/Associated Press

No. 10 Maryland is back in the round of 32 after taking down a surging No. 7 UConn team 63-54 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Mackey Arena on Saturday.

Huskies guard James Bouknight had been one of the most electric players in college basketball all season but was unable to carry his team further than one appearance as UConn returned to the tournament for the first time since 2016. 

Head coach Dan Hurley finally got a chance to lead the Huskies into the field of 68 after his 19-win team didn’t get a chance to perform last year because of the pandemic, but they couldn’t muster up a win as Maryland’s Eric Ayala went for 23 points in the win. 

Terps head coach Mark Turgeon moves to 5-4 in the NCAA tournament since taking over the program in 2011. He’ll look to further improve that record on Monday against a No. 2 Alabama team that struggled against Iona before a late run gave them a 68-55 victory. 

Notable Performers

Eric Ayala, G, Maryland Terrapins: 23 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Aaron Wiggins, G, Maryland Terrapins: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 three-pointers

James Bouknight, G, UConn Huskies: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist

R.J. Cole, G, UConn Huskies: 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists 

What’s Next

Maryland moves on to face No. 2 Alabama on Monday. No tipoff time has been announced as of Saturday evening. 

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available. 

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