UConn men experienced a range of emotions in near collapse against Providence; Big East Tournament notes

NEW YORK – Through one Big East Tournament game, the UConn men’s basketball team felt the highs of blowing out its opponent at Madison Square Garden, then the lows of watching a massive lead slip away and forced to perform in a late-game battle to stave off the surging Providence Friars.

Three intense learning experiences wrapped into 40 minutes of basketball in front of a sold out crowd of nearly 20,000.

March.

“We were elite defensively in the first half – [they shot] 29%. We held them to 1-for-9 from 3. I thought we got away from our principles of maybe taking away the paint. But, again, I think it was the fouling that just disrupted the rhythm of the game,” head coach Dan Hurley said after eventually securing a 73-66 win and a bid into the semifinals Friday against top seed Marquette.

“We were playing such great basketball at both ends of the court. And once it turned into a whistle-fest and we were putting them at the free throw line they were able to chip away. Mix in some live-ball turnovers and you can’t get back and get set defensively. I think that’s why they shot 51% from the field in the second half.”

UConn got careless. Turnovers were an issue all game, the 10 in the first half camouflaged by the Huskies shooting nearly 60% from the field and dominating on the glass (21 to 9). In the second UConn’s shots weren’t falling at as great of a rate (48.1%), Providence gained a 16-14 advantage on the glass, and the Huskies’ eight turnovers were accentuated.

“We had a good first half, and like Coach [Hurley] said, our first 28 minutes was really good, but that last eight minutes of the game we just got shaken up,” said co-captain Andre Jackson, who the program named its player of the game after he scored nine points with 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

“I feel like I should’ve had more composure in that moment and took better care of the ball. I think that late in the game, if I took better care of the ball and didn’t throw away some careless turnovers and be careless with the ball, then we would be in a different position at the end of the game.”

Jackson made three turnovers in the second half, as did the Huskies’ other captain, Adama Sanogo. Those two, the only returners to play more than a minute in UConn’s last two tournament runs, made an emphasis off limiting mistakes in March after the way they’ve seen the last two seasons end.

“These are guys that want it,” Sanogo said after scoring 10 points (5 of 5 shooting) with five rebounds. “They want to be good, they care. So I was talking to them, you can see in their face that they’re ready to go to war. Whenever we need them, they’re already there for us, so it’s been easy for us [as leaders].”

‘This is why I came here’

Sanogo and Jackson are the only two Huskies with game experience in the Big East Tournament. UConn was gifted with a late-season game against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden which got the Huskies used to the arena, but the pageantry of the tournament is still something new for most of the roster.

For Jordan Hawkins, who had to sit out last season with a concussion, playing rather than watching was everything he expected.

“Last year I got a good feel for it, watching it, but playing it is very different. It’s very exciting. Just feel the energy of the crowd. It’s really loud in there. It’s amazing,” the sophomore said after scoring a game-high 19 points.

Joey Calcaterra, a West Coast kid who transferred from San Diego, said: “Before the game, in the first huddle, I was just telling myself, ‘This is why I came here. This is why I worked so hard all my life, to play on stages like this one.’ It’s just amazing to be here and I’m just glad I made the decision to come to UConn.”

Exhilaration at the Garden

The Big East Tournament had its fair share of down-to-the-wire games both Wednesday and Thursday. The madness started with DePaul beating Seton Hall Wednesday on a Nick Ongenda blocked shot that was originally called a goaltend at the buzzer and overturned after review.

Then St. John’s, which defeated Butler handily to open the tournament, brought Marquette to overtime where the Golden Eagles held on despite trailing by as many as 14 in the first half. Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek scored all his 19 points in the second half and overtime, making the two free throws that decided the game with 15.8 seconds left. He also had nine rebounds, six assists and two steals, though he turned the ball over three times in the first half.

DePaul carried every ounce of momentum from its first-round thriller into its next matchup with No. 2 seed Xavier. The Blue Demons shot over 60% from the field, 8-for-16 (50%) from 3-point range and 85.7% from the foul line, but Xavier, which only had a lead for two minutes and 39 seconds in the game, rallied behind 18 second-half points from Colby Jones to win.

In the nightcap, Villanova fought to keep its season alive but came up just short against No. 3 seed Creighton as the BlueJays shot 50% from the field and went 12-for-25 from 3-point range. Four different Creighton starters scored in double-digits in the second half alone as the shots continued to fall.

DePaul’s win over Seton Hall on Wednesday was the only “upset” in the first two rounds, leaving the No. 1 through 4 seeds to compete in the semifinal Friday.

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