No. 25 UConn men beat Butler 76-59

Neill Ostrout, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Jan. 19—HARTFORD — Round one of a rare Big East dogfight went to the Huskies.

No. 25 UConn beat Butler 76-59 Tuesday night at the XL Center in the first of game an odd home-and-home series between the teams. They'll meet again Thursday night in Indianapolis.

UConn (12-4, 3-2 Big East), idle for nearly a week since its overtime win over St. John's, trailed just once in the game — when the score was 2-0.

R.J. Cole led five Huskies in double figures with 17 points. Adama Sanogo added 13 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks. Andre Jackson had 12 points, 10 rebounds.

Sanogo, the reigning Big East player of the week, has 57 points, 49 rebounds, and 13 blocks over his last three games.

Butler (9-8, 2-4), fresh off an 82-42 shellacking at the hands of league-leading Villanova, was led by Jayden Taylor's 19 points. Simas Lukosius added 17.

The teams combined to miss 14 of their first 16 shots in the game, with UConn starting a woeful 1-for-10.

But some full-court pressure by the Huskies eventually began paying off, and they began turning Butler turnovers into points. Cole did much of the damage from the free throw line, going 8-for-9 in a span of just over three-and-a-half minutes.

Butler scored the game's first points but a 10-0 run by the Huskies immediately followed and put the hosts in control.

UConn kept the Bulldogs at bay with long jumpers, four of them in quick succession. Jordan Hawkins started the barrage with a 3-pointer, while Jackson hit two straight, and Tyler Polley the final one, a corner trey that made it 34-17 Huskies.

UConn took a 39-24 lead at the half, with Cole and Polley contributing 10 points each.

The only major thing that went wrong for UConn in the opening half was Sanogo going 1-for-8 from the floor. He made up for that by scoring the first two baskets of the second half and extending the hosts' lead out to 19.

UConn has played four games now against Butler, including the 2011 national championship game, and has yet to lose to the Bulldogs.

Neill covers UConn men's basketball and UConn football teams, and he keeps a finger on the pulse of Connecticut sports. For live game updates, and more insight into UConn athletics, player transfers, and team changes, follow Neill on Twitter: @NeillOstrout, Facebook: JINeillO, and Instagram: @NeillOstrout.