Adama Sanogo was No. 26 in the game scoring a record 26 points. DePaul was beaten 75-68 Saturday by 18 UConn in the regular season finale.
Sanogo had 11 rebounds to complete his eighth double-double season.
UConn’s Tyrese Martin scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead a 49-31 advantage over DePaul in the boards. UConn has won six of the last seven games (22-8, 13-6 Big East).
Javon Freeman–Liberty was the DePaul leader with 22 points. Brandon Johnson had 14. DePaul (15-15 and 6-14), had won three consecutive games. Freeman-Liberty averaged 30 points per game during that stretch.
UConn won the No. UConn will be the No. 3 seed in this year’s Big East Tournament. DePaul will be the No. 10.
UConn won the series 14 times in a row, including two this season. However, the last minutes of this game were more intense than usual.
UConn led 17 to 4:14 before Freeman-Liberty scored thirteen points in a 15-3 Blue Demon run. This cut the Huskies’ lead to just five points with 1:09 remaining.
Halftime saw UConn lead by 40 to 29. Sanogo scored half the Huskies’ points. On Friday, the sophomore was named a finalist in the Kareem AbdulJabbar Award for the nation’s best center. He went 9 of 11, and had seven rebounds during the first half.
Sanogo scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. He made six of his eight shots in the first eight minutes, as UConn led 16-10.
Freeman-Liberty missed six out of seven of his initial shots, and the Blue Demons were unable to keep up with the larger Huskies on their backboards.
Six more points in paint, including Sanogo’s eighth field goal, were part a 6-0 run that occurred later in the half, giving UConn a 35-2 advantage.
BIG PICTURE
UConn: UConn had already secured a bye to the Big East Tournament. It was a day UConn could celebrate. The Huskies celebrated Senior Day by honoring five of their most likely home-based players: R.J. Cole (Isaiah Whaley), Tyler Polley (Tyrese Martin), and Matt Garry (walk-on).
DePaul: DePaul tried to win four consecutive conference games, its first since 2004-05 Conference USA.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
No. Although 18 UConn may lose a few spots to Creighton during the week, its position will not change.
UP NEXT
UConn: The No. The No. 3 seed in Big East Tournament, which opens play on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
DePaul: DePaul will be the No. 10 seed in Big East Tournament. DePaul will be playing Wednesday against St. John’s.
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