GAMEDAY Mens Basketball
Connecticut 71, Villanova 59
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
PHILADELPHIA - Jordan Hawkins scored 24 points and Alex Karaban had 16 to lead streaking No. 14 Connecticut to a 71-59 win over Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Huskies (24-7, 13-7 Big East) head into the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden winners of five straight and eight of nine. The Huskies stretched the lead to 15 points in the second half and remained alive for a top-three seed in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The Wildcats (16-15, 10-10) are going to need to win the whole thing if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament under first-year coach Kyle Neptune. Justin Moore led the Wildcats with 17 points.
The transition from Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright to Neptune has been uneven this season for the Wildcats. The Wildcats were hit with injuries to two key starters - Moore, who tore his right Achilles tendon in the NCAA Tournament, and Cam Whitmore, who broke his right thumb in the preseason, that had the Wildcats stumble to a 2-5 starts.
Whitmore came back in December and Moore returned in late January and they turned Villanova into instant winners. The Wildcats had won four straight and six of seven until this stumble in the finale at their off-campus home in Philly.
Don't count Villanova out at MSG.
But it won't be easy - especially if the Wildcats run into UConn again. Andre Jackson Jr. buried a 3-pointer early in the second half for an 11-point lead that started to give the Huskies some space.
Villanova's Eric Dixon fired a pass to Whitmore that sailed out of bounds and UConn came right back and scored when Karaban took a perfect bounce and drove down the lane for an easy bucket. When Hawkins hit a 3 for a 42-28 lead, UConn fans that made the trip went wild and the Wildcats were forced to take a timeout.
Whitmore sored a driving layup off a turnover that got the crowd off their feet and pulled the Wildcats within nine. The freshman sensation missed the free throw with 7:34 left and Nova couldn't do much else the rest of the way.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: The Huskies snapped a three-game losing streak to Villanova in Philadelphia and improved to just 13-22 in the city. Maybe the big market success this season can be a sign of what's ahead for the Huskies when they hit New York.
Villanova: Must win the Big East Tournament to have a shot at a second straight Final Four trip.
March 4, 2023
| UConn | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| A. Karaban | F | 34 | 6-8 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 1-6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| A. Sanogo | F | 26 | 4-12 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 2-9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| A. Jackson Jr. | G | 36 | 4-5 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 3-7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| T. Newton | G | 35 | 3-9 | 2-2 | 1-4 | 1-3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| J. Hawkins | G | 32 | 7-17 | 7-8 | 3-11 | 1-4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24 |
| D. Clingan | 13 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| N. Alleyne | 12 | 1-5 | 1-1 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| J. Calcaterra | 11 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| S. Johnson | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A. Roumoglou | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| R. Springs | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | 199 | 25-56 (.446) |
13-14 (.929) |
8-27 (.296) |
10-38 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17 | 71 | |
| Villanova | ||||||||||||
| Player | Pos | Min | FG-FGA | FT-FTA | 3P-3PA | OR-TR | Ast | Blk | Stl | TO | PF | Pts |
| C. Whitmore | F | 32 | 6-11 | 1-3 | 1-5 | 2-5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| E. Dixon | F | 31 | 1-5 | 4-4 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| B. Slater | F | 26 | 0-4 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| J. Moore | G | 36 | 7-15 | 0-0 | 3-10 | 0-4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| C. Daniels | G | 34 | 3-11 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 2-7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| M. Armstrong | 22 | 3-8 | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | |
| J. Longino | 12 | 0-1 | 3-5 | 0-1 | 0-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| C. Arcidiacono | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| B. Hausen | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Totals | 201 | 20-55 (.364) |
12-18 (.667) |
7-28 (.250) |
10-31 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 59 | |
