The UConn Huskies hosted a Marquette team that is one of the big disappoinments across the Big East, winning 73-57 in a wire-to-wire effort, led by 17 points from Solo Ball and double-digit games from Silas Demary Jr. (14 points, 3 assists) and Tarris Reed Jr. (13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks).
Alex Karaban and Braylon Mullins had off nights, combining to go 1-of-12 from three, while Erice Reibe added nine points off the bench and Jaylin Stewart finished with six.
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The Huskies maintained control by shooting well to start, letting go towards the end of the first half before regaining control in the second half, with the lead growing as big as 23 late in the game. Rebounding was even at halftime but UConn ended with a sizeable edge, 49-37.
A nice pass from Karaban set up Reed for the game’s first basket, and though Marquette had it tied at 4-4 early, a Ball jumper made it 10-5 as he and Reibe pushed the lead before a Demary three to make it 19-10. Karaban later set up a Stewart dunk to make it 22-13 in the middle of the first half before driving baseline for a slam of his own to make it 24-15.
Another Demary three pushed the lead to 12 before Marquette mounted a small run to cut the lead to five, thanks to some fouls and turnovers by the Huskies. A Reed dunk right before the buzzer sent them into the break up 37-29.
UConn hit the first two baskets of the second half before a Ball three made the score 44-31 and then an 8-0 Husky run made it 52-33 with 13:18 left. A Mullins three made it 63-40 with 6:43 left and they cruised from there as Ball, Reibe, and Demary all scored down the stretch to finish strong.
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Jayden Ross sat his second straight game with an injury, everyone else was available. Up next, the Huskies are on the road to take on a Providence team that is showing some feistiness with a win over St. John’s on Saturday. The Friars are ranked 64th in KenPom with an 8-6 record (1-2 Big East), and all of their losses came against good to decent teams. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. from the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence.
