OMAHA- UConn men’s basketball picked up an impressive road win, knocking off Creighton at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, 85-58. They were up 11 at the half, and the lead was up to 20 eight minutes into the second half in a game that the Huskies put away comfortably.
Dan Hurley’s squad was on fire from the perimeter, hitting eight threes in the first half and 16 on the game. Braylon Mullins, who missed the last game against Providence in concussion protocol, scored a team-high 16 points with four threes.
Silas Demary Jr. and Alex Karaban each finished with 15, while Solo Ball had 11 as the trio combined for eight threes.
With the score 27-27 and 4:41 left in the first half, UConn (21-1, 11-0) went on a 9-1 run to pull ahead, and a Demary Jr. three-pointer pushed the lead to 41-30 at the break.
The Bluejays (12-10, 6-5) came into the day scuffling a bit, going 3-4 in January. With nine losses before February, many viewed Saturday as a near must-win game at home for Creighton.
But the triples started raining in right away for the Huskies. By the first media timeout, both Ball and Mullins connected twice from deep to give them a 12-8 advantage. In the time-out, Dan Hurley said he wanted to see them attack the paint more.
Jaylin Stewart checked in and provided an immediate spark, rattling home a three at the top of the key to counter a trey on the other end by the Bluejays to give UConn a 17-13 lead. He also hit the Huskies’ first two-pointer, finishing inside right around the 10-minute mark.
Creighton hit some timely shots to stay in it early for the sold-out crowd, like the Jasen Green three that tied it at 22. Karaban drilled the Huskies’ sixth three-pointer of the half to put UConn back in front with seven minutes remaining.
Nik Graves kept the Bluejays in it, starting a perfect 5-5 from the field with three threes and a big shot to tie the game at 27. But Demary answered immediately with a bucket inside to put UConn up 29-27 at the U-4 to kick off a run that would ultimately put the game away.
The Huskies held the Bluejays without a field goal for the last 4:41 of the period as they closed it 14-3. Demary connected on their eighth three of the half with five seconds to play after a Ball offensive rebound extended the possession and allowed UConn to take an 11-point lead at halftime, its largest of the night to that point.
Karaban and Mullins each scored a pair of early buckets to continue the onslaught in the second half. A Stewart contested jump shot sandwiched between threes from Karaban and Malachi Smith, the 10th and 11th of the night, ballooned the lead to 20 at 60-40 and triggered a Creighton timeout.
After around three scoreless minutes, Tarris Reed Jr. scored off an inbounds underneath, before Demary and Jayden Ross each knocked down threes from the top of the key right before the U-8 media timeout, making the score 72-45. The Huskies put this opponent away, leaving no doubt late.
Mullins pushed the lead to 30 with his fourth three. The 15th and 16th triples came from the hands of Demary and Ross to cap off one of the best offensive performances of the season for the Huskies, who were just two threes shy of tying their program record for triples they set earlier this month at Providence.
UConn finished a blistering 16-31 (52%) while Creighton shot just 5-21 (24%). The Huskies dominated on the glass 37-24 and in the assist column 16-10. After the score was tied at 27, UConn closed on a 58-31 run over the final 24 minutes or so.
Next up, UConn hosts Xavier in Hartford on Tuesday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. from PeoplesBank Arena and will be televised on Peacock and NBCSN. The Huskies won the first game of the season series in Cincinnati, 90-67.
Led by Richard Pitino, the Musketeers are 4-7 in conference play and 12-10 overall, fresh off a comeback win over DePaul in which they trailed by as many as 18 in the second half. They’re ranked 96th in KenPom overall efficiency (93rd Offense, 113th Defense).
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