(PHOTO COURTESY OF USA TODAY SPORTS – WENDELL CRUZ)
On the back of Tyrese Martin’s second-half heroics, UConn found a way to pull out a 63-60 win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Martin had a team-leading 17 points, all of which came in the second half of Sunday’s game.
A back-and-forth game with a pesky St. John’s team that refused to go away turned into another close Big East battle, this time with UConn on top. They finished the week 2-1 with wins over Marquette and St. John’s, dropping their road game at Xavier.
Slow games from Sanogo usually spell disaster from the Huskies, and this one wasn’t looking promising coming into the last ten minutes of the first half. Sanogo found himself with two fouls and on the bench for the rest of the half while the rest of the offense had to play somewhat small, with Hawkins once again playing essential minutes for UConn. RJ Cole’s veteran presence kept UConn in the game, hitting a timely three, slashing his way to the free-throw line, and dishing out assists to help UConn maintain their three-point lead without their star big man.
With Posh Alexander out again for St. John’s, their eyes turned to Julian Champagnie, Aaron Wheeler, and Dylan Addae-Wusu to pick up his slack. Wusu had one of his better games, but Champagnie was the star to watch. Drawing Isaiah Whaley, Champagnie mustered only 13 points, more than five below his season average. Whaley was interviewed after the game and discussed how he was begging for this matchup, and he held up his end of the bargain. He had one of his best all-around games, scoring 11 points and tallying seven boards. Whaley also piled the stat sheet, filling in for Sanogo and swatting a game-high five blocks.
AND 1!!! 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Isaiah with the tough basket and foul to put UConn ahead by 1💪#ThisIsUConn | #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/OHa5L4SxMv
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 13, 2022
Despite the standout performances of Whaley and Martin, Andre Jackson’s game was something UConn fans were truly longing for. Jackson jumped out of the building, grabbing 16 rebounds, 14 on the defensive glass. He also added in 5 points and four assists to lead to an excellent game for the Sophomore. Jackson’s inability to take care of the basketball does continue to be a point of concern, as the small forward picked up five turnovers on the day. Decision-making will be part of his focus for the remainder of the season, but that is a small price to pay for the freakish athleticism he brings to this UConn team.
Now for the star of the second half, Tyrese Martin. Martin was put in a box in the first half without a point on the board. He then made four of his second-half six threes, swinging momentum constantly in UConn’s favor. His toughness cannot be understated as he consistently takes hard contact at the rim, getting to the line fairly often. He led the charge on defense with Whaley, totaling two blocks and a steal of his own, proving that UConn can consistently win with their defense if the offense runs cold. Martin’s shooting numbers are up tremendously from last year, shooting over 10% better from three-point land this year than last, making him a much-needed second perimeter threat behind RJ Cole down the stretch. Martin’s highlight of the night came from deep when he hit a three-pointer to keep momentum with the Huskies and hit an air guitar celebration right in front of his bench.
Riding his hot hand, the Huskies move to 17-7 overall and 8-5 in the Big East, picking up a massive win when they needed it most. UConn will look forward to Wednesday when they host Seton Hall back in Storrs in Gampel Pavillion. The game will be played at 8:30 pm on CBS Sports Network.
This marks the beginning of a three-game homestand where UConn plays Seton Hall, Xavier, and Villanova, all for the second time. Each of the meetings for UConn against these three teams ended with road losses. Stringing together wins will be vital as they move into the home stretch leading into the Big East tournament.
Go Huskies!
