Connecticut 80, Marquette 72: Golden Eagles can't complete comeback against tough Huskies
HARTFORD, Conn. – The Marquette men's basketball team has already overachieved this season, especially during a tough, seven-game stretch in Big East play that ended Tuesday night against Connecticut.
The aggressive, physical Huskies have proven to be the toughest conference matchup for the Golden Eagles and they finished off a season sweep with an 80-72 victory at the XL Center.
Connecticut (16-6, 7-4 Big East) had lost both its games in February and came out with desperation. The Huskies, ranked 23rd in the Ferris Mowers coaches poll and 24th by the Associated Press, took a 38-24 lead with 4:52 left in the first half and got the 12,188 fans rocking.
BOX SCORE: UConn 80, Marquette 72
MU (16-8, 8-5 Big East), however, has shown it won't go down easy in the first season under head coach Shaka Smart. The Golden Eagles, ranked 18th by the AP and 19th by the coaches, got within one possession twice in the second half but couldn't get over the hump.
"Their length and athleticism is as good as anyone in the league," Smart said. "But they played hard. We always talk about playing with violence. They were the more violent team today.
"These games, I would imagine, are very tough to officiate. Because pretty much every possession you could call something. And I thought they just played with a better physicality. Our guys had a stretch there where we kind of took that edge. But we didn't do it for long enough.
"And when we did cut the lead down, you could see they had real resolve. Their crowd was great. And they said, nah, you're not coming in here and doing this."
Rebounding has been a bugaboo all season for MU and Connecticut's rotation is primed to take advantage of that with 6-foot-9, 240-pound behemoth Adama Sanogo and scrappy, 6-6 Tyrese Martin. Both finished with five offensive rebounds and 15 boards overall. They also combined for 42 points.
"Tonight was a grown-man's game," Smart said. "And (Martin) is a grown man. He's a guy that goes after the ball. His offensive rebound is huge. He made some big plays. But I don't know if it's so much us, that he's a tough matchup for us, he's a tough matchup for a lot of people. And he played well.
"Sanogo was terrific. This is going to sound crazy, but I thought his baskets were more damaging mentally and emotionally than they were on the scoreboard. We can find a way to win with him getting 20-something if we do certain other things better. But you could tell it was demoralizing when he made a lot of those plays."
Olivier-Maxence Prosper led MU with 18 points. He had 10 of the Golden Eagles’ first 18 points and finished 7 for 8. Smart praised Prosper and Justin Lewis (17 points and nine rebounds) as the two MU players who responded well to Connecticut's physicality.
"For me, it was just trying to stay aggressive," Prosper said. "My teammates did a good job finding me. And then just driving, getting in the paint, staying under control and finish. Nothing different than what I've been doing, I'm just trying to stay aggressive and make the shots."
Prosper and Lewis were part of a small-ball lineup that gave MU its final push, getting within 63-60 on a three-pointer from Darryl Morsell with 6:16 remaining.
"We were just trying to find something that would work," Smart said. "When you put (Lewis) at the five, it gives you a different dynamic because you have a five-man that can shoot out there.
"But you still have to find a way to stop them. When we were undersized, they did a good job digging out some plays on the other end. But the reality is Sanogo is a tough matchup no matter who we have at the five and rebounding-wise we have to be way better. It's tough to win when you get out-rebounded by that much (46-27)."
The Golden Eagles went down 11 points before closing the gap to 73-67 on a tip-in from Greg Elliott (17 points) with 2:20 on the clock.
But the Huskies exerted their will to seal the victory. First, Martin scored off an offensive rebound. Then, Connecticut's Andre Jackson immediately stole the ball. The Huskies missed three shots but kept possession with offensive boards and drained the clock before Jackson sank a free throw for a 76-67 lead with 47 seconds remaining. That gave Connecticut 20 second-chance points.
"They missed a shot, they were getting second and third opportunities," Prosper said. "And we can't let that happen. I think that was the difference-maker in why we lost tonight."
The Huskies also won the first matchup, 78-70, on Dec. 21 at Fiserv Forum. Morsell did not play in that game due to health and safety protocols.
MU finished 5-2 in a stretch of tough foes, with the Golden Eagles solidifying their NCAA Tournament résumé. They don't want to lose that fight in their remaining six regular-season games.
"The reason that we played well during that stretch is because we lost three games in a row to start the Big East," Smart said. "And there's a humility and a respect level for that goes into winning that came out of that.
"And so tonight, UConn was the better team. So hopefully we can re-learn that lesson and understand that wherever you go in this league and whoever you play, there's going to be challenges and you have to bring your best."
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette Golden Eagles lose to UConn Huskies, 80-72 at XL Center.
