NEW YORK — After UConn dropped its regular season finale at Marquette, questions ensued as to whether the Huskies were still the favorite to win this week’s Big East tournament after St. John’s won the conference’s regular season championship.
The questions were answered emphatically Thursday.
UConn led from the start in its quarterfinal matchup with Xavier, dominating the Musketeers for a third time this season en route to a 93-68 victory that left no doubt of how strong the Huskies can be when the full contingent fires on all cylinders.
“I was just really impressed with the way that these guys came out, (with) the energy level,” head coach Dan Hurley said after Solo Ball (19 points) and Tarris Reed, Jr. (17 points, 14 rebounds) led the way. “There was no residual (effect) from that performance (at Marquette).”
Reed accumulated his double-double before halftime, amassing 11 points and 10 rebounds in the opening stanza. While he racked up those numbers, UConn as a whole shot 56 percent from the floor and recorded a plus-11 margin on the boards, outrebounding Xavier by a decisive 21-10 margin.
“We all understood what happened,” Reed said, explaining the aftermath of the Marquette loss. “We understood the job, we understood the mission. Coming into this tournament, we knew we couldn’t do that again. Each and every one of us understood the job that we needed to do, and that was (to) come out here and dominate.”
“Tarris is the difference between us winning this tournament, between us getting to the Final Four,” Hurley added. “The best version of Tarris is one of the best centers in the country, bar none.”
Xavier gave up 90 or more points in each of its three matchups with the Huskies this season, prompting head coach Richard Pitino to admit that although UConn was a bad matchup for the Musketeers, he still has no regrets for the way his first season in Cincinnati ended.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do as a program to build, to get to that level,” he said. “I’m obviously disappointed with the record, but I’m very, very grateful for the players in the locker room. To give us the character that they had and never quit was really, really special. I’m so disappointed that we had to end tonight, but very, very proud of these guys.”
Tre Carroll, who battled to score 12 points in his final college game, expounded on the bond he and his teammates developed in such a short time.
“I don’t regret anything about coming here,” he declared. “This is the closest group I’ve ever been a part of in my college experience. Everybody got along. Wearing the Xavier uniform meant everything to me, even though I was only here for one year. I took pride in this jersey, I took pride in this school, and I’m very sad that I don’t ever get to wear it again.”
But it is UConn who moves on, and the Huskies will face either Villanova or Georgetown in the next step toward a potential second Big East tournament championship in three seasons. In the process, their coach made sure to send a reminder that the team that fell short at Marquette last week is not the UConn that has been ranked inside the top 5 for a majority of the season.
“Don’t forget who we are,” he cautioned. “We’re now a 28-4 team that beat some really high seeds. We beat a potential 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament (Florida), we’ve beaten a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament (Illinois), we’ve got some great, great wins. That’s who we are, not that game that we choked away.”