BLOOMINGTON – (Staff Report from Official Press Release) – A St. John’s rally fell short and Butler could not get going offensively in their respective Gavitt Tipoff Games contests, while UConn comfortably improved to 3-0.
After a slow start, UConn handled Long Island U. 93-40 at Gampel Pavilion in a non Gavitt Games contest. The Huskies have placed five players in double figures in all three games this season. On Wednesday, graduate student Tyler Polley was the scoring leader with 17 points. The margin of victory was UConn’s largest since a 103-47 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
After trailing by as many as 14 points, St. John’s rallied to tie twice, but the Johnnies lost 76-74 at Indiana. St. John’s star Julian Champagnie poured in 32 points – the highest scoring total by a BIG EAST player this season – and made a career-high six 3-pointers. Stef Smith scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half.
Butler lost 73-52 to Michigan State at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs made only 29 percent from the field and had to deal with an injury to Bryce Nze, who hurt his shoulder seven minutes into the game and did not return. Graduate student Ty Groce led Butler with 15 points and nine rebounds.
BIG EAST teams own a collective 27-4 record going into the Nov. 18th schedule.