Rapid Recap: UConn takes down No. 9 Marquette, 77-69
UConn men’s basketball grabbed a big road win after a hot shooting start in Milwaukee as they took down the No. 9 Marquette Golden Eagles, 77-69 in a game where they led wire-to-wire. Jaylin Stewart got them going early while Solo Ball closed the deal down the stretch.
The Huskies have struggled to put a full game together this season, and even though they set a season high in turnovers, they held on for the win in a game where they led by as much as 20 in the first half.
Hassan Diarra and Jaylin Stewart came out the gate hitting consecutive three-pointers to put the Huskies up early. Stewart’s playmaking led to him scoring nine of their first 14 points. Then Marquette turned up the full-court pressure.
UConn struggled to deal with the Golden Eagles’ defensive adjustment. After the first 10 minutes of the half, Marquette had already forced nine turnovers. The saving grace for UConn was that Marquette was unable to take advantage on the opposite end.
The Golden Eagles opened the game shooting just 3-16 from the field and 4-11 from the free throw line within the first 10 minutes. Marquette found a rhythm towards the end of the half including a 9-0 run to cut the lead down before the break.
Coming off a tough shooting performance against DePaul, Alex Karaban took some time to get involved, getting his first points with less than six minutes left in the first half. He finished the first half just 1-3 from the field but finished strong, hitting all six of his free throws and getting 15 points on the night.
Marquette came out of the second half with a lot more energy and desire. The Golden Eagles got off to a quick 6-2 burst and activated their home crowd. Marquette ended up outscoring the Huskies 40-35 in the second half and forced UConn to turn the ball over 25 times on the night.
Solo Ball made sure the lead didn’t fall apart. He hit multiple late threes and two free throws to keep the buffer as he finished with a career-high 25 points, going 7-9 from behind the arc. Marquette cut the lead to six points with 2:50 left, but Ball’s three-pointers and a big defensive rebound iced the game. Samson Johnson also had a huge three-point play to help maintain their lead late.
Next up, the Huskies are hosting St. John’s for the first meeting between these two teams this season. The game tips off at 8 p.m. on FOX from the XL Center in Hartford. The Red Storm are 19-3 with just one loss in conference play, by one point at Creighton. They’re ranked 18th in KenPom, which projects a one-point Husky win.
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