UConn men’s basketball dispatches Georgetown, 86-77

UConn men’s basketball took care of business Sunday afternoon, beating the Georgetown Hoyas, 86-77, to improve to 21-7 and 12-5 in the Big East. RJ Cole paced the Huskies with 18 points on 7-12 shooting while Tyrese Martin added nine points and 14 rebounds.

Georgetown has lost now 18 straight, but UConn (21-7, 12-5 Big East) did what it had to do to get the win. With Adama Sanogo logging only six points and five turnovers, others had a chance to contribute. The Huskies shared the ball — dishing 18 assists — and shot 11-20 from downtown. They also held Aminu Mohammed to only two field goals.

If there was a recipe for a trap game, it was there at the start. Sanogo picked up two quick fouls, and Isaiah Whaley exited with a wrist injury. But a tomaHAWK slam and Georgetown being bad gave UConn all the breathing room it needed.

Whaley returned to the game, and despite three Sanogo fouls, UConn was rolling. The Huskies held Georgetown to 1-10 from downtown, while on the other end five different players hit a three. Martin hauled in 12 of his 14 rebounds in just one half of hoop, and the Huskies were in cruise control despite not much production from Sanogo.

Cole’s hot shooting extended UConn’s lead out of the break. There wasn’t much to complain about, but if we’re picking nits, the Huskies allowed too much penetration in the paint. UConn had a stretch where it hit on five straight threes, but Hawkins’ head injury put a damper on things.

The Huskies — who average 76 points a game — hit the 70 mark at 7:48. Another nit to pick; Hurley kept the starters in, while Akok Akok and Jalen Gaffney logged nine minutes total for the game until the 3:54 mark. But as soon as Hurley put the bench in, UConn saw its lead dwindle to nine with some sloppy turnovers. It wasn’t a great look to have to reinsert Cole and company with a minute left to close out the game.

The Huskies’ blowing the lead was never really in jeopardy, but the ending of the game was a reality-check for the team’s supposed depth.

Next up for the Huskies is an Omaha showdown versus Creighton on Wednesday, March 2, at 8:30 p.m.