NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The University of Connecticut recovered from a stunning loss in its regular-season finale (vs. Marquete) with a dominant performance against Xavier in the Big East tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. The BIG EAST’s second-seeded Huskies (28-4) will seek another strong showing Friday night when they face 11th-seeded Georgetown (16-17) in the semifinals.
The winner will advance to Saturday’s championship game and will meet either top-seeded St. John’s or Seton Hall, the fourth seed.
The No. 6-ranked Huskies shot 35.6% from the field and were 3 of 24 from 3-point range in a dismal 68-62 loss at Marquette last Saturday to close the regular season. After a film session led by downcast head coach Dan Hurley, UConn advanced to the Big East semifinals with a 93-68 rout of 10th-seeded Xavier on Thursday night. It is the Huskies’ sixth straight appearance in the tournament semifinals since they rejoined the conference in the 2020-21 season.
“For us, it was just great to get back on the court after the choke job over the weekend,” Hurley said. “I was just really impressed with the way that these guys came out, the energy level. There was no residual from that performance.”
The Huskies posted their sixth win by at least 25 points this season and saw big performances from Solo Ball, Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban.
Ball scored 19 after shooting 34.1% (15 of 44) in his final five regular-season games. He was 5-of-12 shooting and sank four of UConn’s dozen 3-pointers on Thursday.
“It is a new season, and you’ve got to erase what you did before, whether it was good or bad, and just capitalize and just trust your work,” Ball said.
Reed heads into the semifinal with four straight double-doubles after totaling 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds to lead the Huskies to a 40-28 rebounding edge Thursday.
Karaban was limited to two points at Marquette on Saturday and opened his final Big East tournament with a 15-point showing.
Georgetown is in the semifinals for the first time since winning a surprising tournament title in 2021 as the eighth seed and has won three straight games following a seven-game skid.
After opening the tournament with a 63-56 win over sixth-seeded DePaul on Wednesday, the Hoyas were even better in their 78-64 win against third-seeded Villanova on Thursday. Georgetown joined Villanova (2004) as the second double-digit seed to reach the semifinals, thanks to Julius Halaifonua getting his first career double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore center finished one shy of his career high in points and helped the Hoyas control the glass, 46-25.
“We’re going to play one of the best teams in America,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said of UConn. “They have earned that right. … Danny has done an incredible job building that program back to where it’s supposed to be.
“We’re just excited that we are here. I want our men to feel how special it is to play on a Friday night in Madison Square Garden. We’re going to give them that experience, and if we continue to do what we’ve been doing the last couple of days, we’re going to give ourselves an opportunity to advance.”
The Huskies won the two regular-season games against the Hoyas by a combined six points and did not see much of Halaifonua.
In a 64-62 road win on Jan. 17, Reed had 15 points and 11 rebounds while Halaifonua played eight minutes.
On Feb. 14, Ball scored 20 points in a 79-75 home win, and Halaifonua played 15 minutes. He contributed four points and one rebound.
– By Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media