UConn men's basketball cruises past Delaware State, 95-60

Nov 21, 2022 - 12:36 AM

UConn men’s basketball team finished the cupcake portion of its schedule by dispatching Delaware State, 95-60. The Huskies are now 5-0 with a huge test at the PK85 looming.

Adama Sanogo led UConn with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Donovan Clingan chipped in 16 points and five boards. Jordan Hawkins and Joey Calcaterra each scored 11 while Alex Karaban had 10 points, as the Huskies shot 57% from the field and 43% from three. Hawkins played 28 minutes in his second game back from a head injury.

UConn stretched its lead to double digits in the first five minutes with a 13-0 run. It was a balanced scoring effort across the starting lineup and Calcaterra scored eight points off the bench in the first half.

The Huskies took the sting out of the Hornets’ 2-3 zone from the jump, connecting on eight threes with some crisp ball movement. This one was over before most fans got to their seats, so the rest of the game was about staying healthy, getting Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins back up to game speed, and giving the bench players time to develop.

While it was an impressive display overall for the Huskies, the performance was not perfect, particularly for freshman and depth guys. Examples include Donovan Clingan biting on pump fakes and getting lost in the pick-and-roll, or the backcourt not rotating a man back on defense after an Andre Jackson three.

Up 35 with 10 minutes to play, it was a little puzzling to see Sanogo still out there. It felt even more absurd that with 6:37 left, the UConn star was STILL out there, trying to take charges.

Sanogo finally clocked out with five left. The Huskies were in control the entire half, but it wasn’t pretty; they only outscored the Hornets 38-36 and committed 13 turnovers. It’s natural to take your foot off the gas in a game like that, but the sloppiness and lapses of concentration are something Dan Hurley — who looked less than thrilled at times on the sideline — will want to stamp out. You can probably imagine how practices will be this week leading up to Oregon, considering Delaware St’s KenPom rating of 361 out of 363.

Next up, the Huskies play on Thanksgiving Day in the Phil Knight Invitational, where they’ll face Oregon in Portland, Oregon at 8 p.m. ET in a game that will be televised on ESPN2. They’ll also play on Friday and Sunday with opponents to be determined depending on the Thursday result.