Alex Karaban scored 21 points to lead UConn to a 72-66 victory over No. 20 Marquette on Wednesday night in Storrs, Conn.
The Huskies (21-9, 13-6 Big East) moved into third place in the Big East thanks to their tiebreaker over the Golden Eagles. Four other players scored in double figures for UConn, with Samson Johnson providing 10 points and 11 rebounds.
David Joplin led Marquette (22-8, 13-6) with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Kam Jones added 21 on 9-for-20 shooting from the floor.
Marquette closed out the half on a high note as they went into the break on a 9-0 run to take a 37-33 advantage. The Huskies finished the half missing 7-of-8 attempts.
Joplin led Marquette with 14 at the break with Jones adding 10 as Marquette shot 51.7 percent despite going just 2-for-12 from deep. UConn shot 42.4 percent, led by nine from McNeeley.
It was tight for much of the second half, but the Huskies found a spark and surged ahead.
A 10-0 run put UConn ahead 61-54 going into the under-8-minute media timeout, capped off by a fast-break dunk from Johnson.
Marquette slowly clawed their way back. Kam Jones finished two tough layups in the final 1:30 and brought Marquette within one with 46 seconds to go.
Jones’ efforts went for naught as Karaban stepped up for UConn and hit a deep 3-pointer to put the Huskies up 70-66 with 25 seconds to play.
Jones then missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. The Golden Eagles shot 3-for-22 from beyond the arc on the night, with Joplin (3-for-6) being the only one to make any.
The Huskies swept the two-game regular-season series for the second consecutive season and won their fifth in a row over Marquette.
–Field Level Media
