No. 2 UConn holds on for 74-67 win over No. 8 Marquette
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer shot a combined 10 of 16 from three-point range and No. 2 UConn defeated No. 8 Marquette 74-67 on Wednesday night, giving the Huskies their first road win over an Associated Press Top 25 team in a decade.
UConn (27-3, 17-2 Big East) hadn’t defeated a ranked team in a true road game since 2014. The Huskies beat ranked Memphis teams at the FedEx Forum twice that year, in January and again two months later in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Memphis was technically the visiting team on its home floor during the AAC Tournament game as the lower seed.
This marked UConn’s first road win over a top-10 team since a 93-82 triumph at No. 8 Marquette on Feb. 25, 2009.
Karaban scored 23 points while shooting 5 of 9 from beyond the arc to help UConn win for the 17th time in 18 games. Spencer went 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts and had 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. Tristen Newton added 10 points, while Donovan Clingan had nine points and 12 rebounds.
Kam Jones scored 18 and Oso Ighodaro had 16 for Marquette (22-8, 13-6), which played a second straight game without 2023 Big East player of the year Tyler Kolek.
Kolek injured his oblique last week in a victory over Providence. Marquette has indicated Kolek also won’t play in the Golden Eagles’ regular-season finale Saturday at Xavier, though coach Shaka Smart has expressed confidence the 6-foot-3 guard will return at some point in the postseason.
UConn’s 3-point marksmanship enabled the Huskies to pull ahead for good about 12 minutes into the game. The Huskies took their biggest lead when Spencer hit a 3-pointer to make it 70-56 with 7:54 remaining.
Spencer was 5 of 5 from beyond the arc at that point, and he celebrated by saying something that drew a technical foul. The momentum then shifted as Marquette attempted a late rally.
Marquette cut UConn’s lead to 72-67 on David Joplin’s driving layup with 56 seconds left. The Golden Eagles got a steal on UConn’s ensuing possession and called a timeout with 24.4 seconds remaining, but Joplin lost the ball on an awkward dribble.
Stephon Castle hit two free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: After Marquette went on an early 10-0 run to move ahead, UConn delivered a championship-caliber response and capitalized on Ighodaro’s first-half foul trouble to pull in front for good. UConn improved to 4-1 against top-10 teams this season.
Marquette: The Golden Eagles have a negative rebound margin this season, and that’s often the issue when they lose. Marquette was outrebounded 44-31 and outscored 19-4 in second-chance points Wednesday.
UP NEXT
UConn: At Providence on Saturday.
Marquette: At Xavier on Saturday.
