MBB: Huskies End Winning Streak With Loss To Creighton
HARTFORD - The Connecticut Huskies ran into two of their biggest weaknesses on Tuesday night at XL Center: a six-game winning streak and the Creighton Bluejays.
Futility toward both continued in Hartford, as a double-double outing from Ryan Hawkins (23 points, 11 rebounds) afforded the Bluejays a 59-55 victory in a crucial Big East showdown. No. 17 UConn (15-5, 6-3 Big East) fell to 0-4 all-time against their new conference foes and failed to earn their first winning streak past five since their run to the 2014 national title. The snapped five-game tally was tied for Connecticut’s best of the season, originally setting the mark when they opened with five victories in November.
Cold Connecticut shooting defined the night, as the Huskies shot a season-low 29 percent from the field. Isaiah Whaley made the most out of being the lone UConn representative immune from the scoring woes, as the fifth-year senior tallied a career-best 20 by sinking 8-of-13 attempts, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. His teammates, however, cashed in only 12-of-54 from the field, with Andre Jackson hitting the only other UConn triple when the outcome was more or less decided (1-of-13 beyond Whaley’s output).
Despite an ugly first half that saw them trailing 32-22 at the half (partly aided by Hawkins’ buzzer-beating three-pointer that took a generous bounce through the hoop), the Huskies stayed afloat by forcing 10 Creighton turnovers that netted them eight points. UConn took only a single free throw in the half, the final part of Tyrese Martin’s and-one opportunity in the final minute. Whaley accounted for 11 of the 13 UConn points gained over the first 13 minutes, the lonely exception being a layup from R.J. Cole (13 pts., 5-of-16 FG).
Hartford sanity seemed to be restored at the onset of the second half. Alex O’Connell’s layup gave Creighton (13-7, 5-4 Big East) its largest lead of the night at 12 but the Huskies embarked on a 15-3 run over a five-plus minute span that tied the game. Creighton fought back but Adama Sanogo tied the game just before the midway mark with a jumper that made it 41-39. It lasted less than a minute, however, merely setting the stage for an exciting finish that wound up in Creighton’s favor.
The score was netted at 46 with just over seven minutes to go in regulation after the leading scorers Hawkins and Whaley traded triples. From that point forward, however, the Bluejays allowed no field goals until their lead was relatively insurmountable. Reserve Trey Alexander put in all but four of his 11 points during that span and UConn missed each of their next shots from the field, four alone coming on a single possession in the penultimate minute. By the time Cole ended the cold snap with a layup, the Bluejays’ lead was cut to three but only 18 seconds remained and the Huskies were forced to foul.
Creighton’s win came without the second half services of starting center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who left in the early stages of the latter frame with an apparent ankle injury. UConn’s four losses to the Bluejays are their most against a single opponent without tallying a win. They’ll have a chance to end the dubious streak when the series transfers to Omaha on March 2.
In the meantime, the Huskies now embark on a daunting stretch that features three consecutive games against Associated Press Top 25 brethren. That stint begins on Saturday afternoon when Connecticut reopens its rivalry with No. 12 Villanova on the road (12 p.m. ET, Fox). The Wildcats (16-5, 9-2 Big East) are in contention for their eighth share of the conference’s regular season title over the last nine seasons and will take on No. 22 Marquette on Wednesday night. UConn is searching for its first win over Villanova since the aforementioned 2014 tournament, as the Wildcats swept their renewed yearly pair last season.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMag
