MBB: UConn Goes On Road To Meet Butler Again
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The UConn men's basketball team is looking for an instant replay.
The No. 25/25 Huskies, fresh off a 76-59 triumph over Butler on Tuesday night at the XL Center in Hartford, would like the same sort of outcome again on Thursday when the two team meet again, this time at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (9 p.m., FS1).
The unusual back-to-back, home-and-home series was created by a postponed game from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18.
"This is uncharted territory," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "I don't how these things feel. Hinkle is a tough place to play, but it's a fun place to play if you love the game and the history. I'm just going to focus on what we watch on film and making the corrections."
UConn (12-4 overall, 3-2 BIG EAST) put on a dominating performance on Tuesday that featured two players with a double-double, one of them a third consecutive double-double by sophomore Adama Sanogo. The big forward from Mali had 13 points and 15 rebounds against Butler, giving him impressive totals of 57 points (19.0 average) and 49 rebounds (16.3 average) over UConn's last three games.
Sophomore Andre Jackson recorded the first double-double of his career, with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while grad student R.J. Cole continued his stellar play with a team-leading 17 points. Freshman Jordan Hawkins (14 points) and grad Tyler Polley (10 points) completed the five-man double-figure scorers against the Bulldogs.
UConn grabbed the advantage in the early minutes of the game and never gave it up, stretching the lead to 39-24 at halftime and never allowing Butler to get closer than 11 in the second half.
Butler (9-8, 2-4) is hoping for a different story when they play before their home crowd for the first time since Jan. 7. The Bulldogs had some bright lights on Tuesday with freshman Jayden Taylor pouring in 19 points and freshman Simas Lukosius adding 17.
What both teams learned about each other will clearly be fresh in their minds.
"It's cool that we get to run it back kind of," Cole said. "It's not going to be an easy game. It'll be a much different game going to their house. We need to clean up some of the things defensively."
That's if the Huskies want the sequel to be as good as the original.
Source: UConn Athletics
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