UConn men's basketball rolls past Boston University, 86-57

UConn men’s basketball performed as expected Friday night, dispatching Boston University 86-57 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Adama Sanogo paced the Huskies with 27 points and 15 rebounds in 27 minutes while Tristen Newton and Nyheim Alleyne each added 11, with Alleyne going 3-of-6 from downtown. Freshmen Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban added 10 points each.

UConn held BU to 16% from three and poured in 38 points in the paint. Every Husky rotation player scored.

With Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, and Samson Johnson all sitting out due to injury, this was an early-season test of the depth Dan Hurley raved about in the summer. The Huskies delivered with a dominating performance that flashed a lot of versatility and firepower on the offensive end.

The Huskies did not mess around, jumping out to a 20-2 lead. The Terriers didn’t score until the 14:28 mark of the first half and didn’t score via field goal until 10:23. The freshman and Sanogo accounted for 17 of the first 20 points while forcing five turnovers in the first five minutes. Sanogo hit the first three of his career and his secon career three—after already notching a double-double—gave UConn a 17-point lead at the half.

UConn quickly stretched its lead to 20 after an Alleyne triple. The Terriers flashed some zone and hung around for a portion of the second half, but the Huskies never let the runs get out of control. The offensive end showed a lot of varied wrinkles that should delight fans, including a nice inside-out with Clingan and Joey Calcaterra.

If there were any nits to pick on the night, it was 14 turnovers that will kill UConn in Big East play, and Hassan Diarra not wearing the headband. Besides that, this game was never in doubt.

BU was only slightly more dangerous than Stonehill. The Terriers were picked second in the Patriot League and returned all five starters from last year, including Walter Whyte, a Connecticut native and first-team all-conference preseason pick. Whyte got hurt in the conference tournament last year, or BU might have made the NCAA tournament. He also cooked Northeastern for 27 points in BU’s season opener.

This was not a tremendous slouch of an opponent, despite its #235 KenPom ranking, and UConn took care of business.