MBB: Huskies’ Prayer Against Friars Comes Up Short In Big East Opener

HARTFORD-Alas for the Connecticut men’s basketball program, no happy return awaited Tyrese Martin from a wrist injury in Saturday’s Big East opener.

The senior put in 15 points, including a team-best 11 in the second half, upon playing for the first time since Nov. 26th but it wasn’t enough to start conference play on the right note, as UConn (9-3, 0-1 Big East) fell by a 57-53 final to the Providence Friars at a sold-out XL Center. Providence (11-1, 1-0 Big East) enjoyed an uninterrupted lead over the final 23 minutes of action. A.J. Reeves paced Providence with 16 points while Ed Croswell (5-6 FG) added 11 off the bench. The Friar defense limited UConn to 31 percent shooting throughout the game.

Saturday’s New England civil war played out mostly as advertised: a grinder dependent on strong defense and athleticism. UConn shot a dreary 8-of-29 from the field in the first half and was frustrated by Providence’s 11-1 run to cap off the frame that would build the aforementioned permanent lead.

Croswell was responsible for five points in that span, a majority of it coming on a three-point play on a dunk. Connecticut’s lack of a true facilitator was particularly glaring in that crucial final stretch, as they failed to muster a successful field goal during the run.

Providence would inflate its lead to as high as 16 in the second half but UConn began to casually slink back into the game shortly after a timeout to regain its footing. With Providence up 48-32 near the midway mark of the second half, the Huskies embarked on a quick 9-0 run bookended by Andre Jackson triples. Reeves and Jared Bynum (who likewise returned to the court after a November injury) got the lead back up to double figures but further outside antics from Martin and R.J. Cole kept the game at a manageable deficit the rest of the way.

UConn shaved the lead to as little as two via a Tyler Polley triple in the penultimate minute, capping off a sequence where the Huskies partially capitalized on Aljami Durham’s flagrant foul that yielded Martin free throws and a traveling turnover. Despite the raised volume of Hartford (which enjoyed its first capacity crowd since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020), UConn was unable to score the rest of the way. Durham earned a modicum of redemption with a driving lay-up that created the final margin.

Cole paced the Husky scoring affairs with 16, while Jackson reached double-figures in rebounding for the second game in a row (third time overall this season) with 14. Neither team capitalized on foul line opportunities, combining to go 13-of-27 (7-of-13 for UConn). While Martin made his return, Adama Sanogo (abdominal tear) missed his fourth consecutive game. UConn dropped to 2-2 without the services of its second-leading scorer.

The Huskies will continue to work through their Big East ledger on Tuesday night when they hit the road to battle Marquette (9 p.m. ET, FS1). UConn swept last year’s season series, which included an 11-point win in Milwaukee in January.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags