The way Connecticut is playing, it might be the favorite to win the Big East Tournament, especially with top-seeded Villanova making an unexpected exit earlier in the day.
Tyrese Martin had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and the third-seeded Huksies made an impressive return in their first Big East showcase in eight years with a 94-60 quarterfinal victory over DePaul on Thursday night, ending the Blue Demons’ season.
R.J. Cole and Adama Sanogo added 14 points apiece to lead UConn to its fifth straight win and seventh in eight games.
“We are just clicking on all cylinders,” Cole said. “We are really together. We have a lot of weapons. That’s our strong point. We have a lot of depth people and we have a lot of scoring on our team and we are all stepping up and playing together. It’s been really working for us.”
James Bouknight added 10 points before sitting out most of the second half with apparent leg cramps.
Javon Freeman-Liberty led 11th-seeded DePaul (5-14) with 19 points, Ray Salnave scored 10 and Charlie Moore eight. The Blue Demons surprised sixth-seeded Providence 70-62 on Wednesday night in the first round.
UConn (15-6) will face No. 17 and second-seeded Creighton in the second semifinal Friday night at Madison Square Garden. The Bluejays (19-7) ran away from No. 10 seed Butler 87-56 in the third quarterfinal.
“We know how good those guys are,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said of Creighton. “I’ve got a ton of respect for the and they’ve got a hell of a team, a team that has as good a chance as any to win this championship, and they have a team that can make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament next week.”
Fifth-seeded Seton Hall (14-12) and eighth-seeded Georgetown (11-12) will play in the first semifinal. The Pirates beat St. John’s in overtime, and the Hoyas edged No. 14 and top-seeded Villanova, the three-time defending champions.
One of the founding members of the Big East and a winner of seven tournament titles being leaving, UConn spent the last seven years in the American Athletic Conference. It came into this year’s tournament as one of the favorites and certainly lived up to the role in beating DePaul for the third time this season. The 34-point win was its largest of the season and the fourth-largest win in conference tournament history.
The Huskies took the lead for good at 10-7 on a 3-pointer by Cole and ballooned the margin to 45-22 with a 16-2 run to close the first half. Cole had two 3-pointers in the spurt, and Bouknight had six points.
“Quite obviously when you end the season and you end it on a loss, whether it was a night like tonight or a one-point loss, it’s disappointing,” DePaul coach Dave Leitao said. “I don’t think we came close to playing our best game.”