STORRS – Behind a balanced scoring effort, the No. 4 UConn men's basketball team (12-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) took down DePaul (3-10, 0-2 BIG EAST) by a score of 85-56 on Tuesday night in front of 10,299 fans at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) led four Huskies in double-figures with 20 points in the rout.
UConn turned its best offensive and defensive performance of BIG EAST play, improving to 2-1 in conference play and winning its 17th-straight game against DePaul. In support of Spencer's 20 points, Alex Karaban (Southborough, Mass.) scored 17 and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. Stephon Castle (Covington, Ga.) added 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds while Hassan Diarra (Queens, N.Y.) also stuffed the stat sheet, coming off the bench to provide 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Huskies were able to turn in a big offensive day despite top scorer Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) being held scoreless for the first time this year, though Newton did tie for the game-high with seven assists. Connecticut recorded a season-high 22 fast break points in part due to employing its 'small-ball' lineup that featured Karaban and four guards.
How it Happened
Down 11-10 after a slow start, UConn responded empathically with a 16-2 run that included a DePaul timeout with the Huskies up 24-13 and 5:50 to play in the first half. Karaban had the highlight of the run, thundering down the lane for a two-hand flush.
UConn closed the opening frame on another 7-0 run and made 10 of their final 13 shots of the opening half to take a 38-19 lead to the break. The second half saw more of the same, with the Huskies quickly pushing their lead past 20 with a hot shooting start. The lead swelled to as many as 32 in the late stages of the second half before the Huskies emptied their bench for the final minutes of the 29-point win.
Inside The Numbers
- The Huskies shot 32-of-55 (58.2 percent) from the field and were 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from 3-point range
- Conversely, UConn held the Blue Demons to 20-of-56 (35.7 percent) shooting from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from distance
- The Huskies finished +9 on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 35-26
- UConn held an 8-1 edge in blocked shots, getting a career-high four swats from Samson Johnson (Lome, Togo)
- Connecticut recorded 23 assists on 32 made field goals, the sixth time this season it has topped 20 assists
- UConn's bench out-scored the DePaul reserves 26-11
News and Notes
- UConn improves to 18-1 against DePaul and has won 17-straight in the series
- Diarra's 14 points were his most as a Husky and three off his career-high
- Castle's seven assists mark a new career-high
- Spencer's 20-point effort was his third of the season
- UConn improved to 9-0 this season when holding opponents under 40 percent shooting
Up Next
The Huskies hit the road for the first of two-straight BIG EAST games away from home. First up is a trip to Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on Butler on Friday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.