NEW YORK — In an exciting matchup at Madison Square Garden, Alex Karaban emerged as a key player, scoring 15 of his 18 points in the second half to propel Connecticut to a 73-56 victory over Villanova in the Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal on Thursday night.
The third-seeded Huskies, holding a 23-9 record, are set to face off against the No. 2 seed Creighton in a semifinal clash on Friday. Creighton secured their spot in the semifinal after enduring a challenging double-overtime duel to defeat 10th-seeded DePaul with an 85-81 victory. DePaul was vying for their first-ever appearance in the tournament semifinals. Meanwhile, top-seeded St. John’s, ranked sixth nationwide, will take on No. 5 seed Marquette in the other semifinal face-off.
During the game, UConn seized the lead in the second half when Karaban successfully sank two free throws, putting the Huskies ahead 49-48 with 9:09 remaining on the clock. Villanova’s Eric Dixon then completed a three-point play to level the score at 51, with eight minutes remaining. However, Karaban’s striking 3-pointer concluded a significant 7-0 run, and the Huskies outpaced the Wildcats 22-5 in the closing minutes.
Wooga Poplar, impressively shooting 7-for-9, led sixth-seeded Villanova to a halftime advantage of 36-31. However, the Wildcats faltered significantly in the second half, missing 19 of their 24 shot attempts.
Villanova’s Eric Dixon, who was aiming for 17 points to surpass Kerry Kittles’ school record of 2,243 career points, finished the game with just eight points on a tough 2-for-15 shooting night. Dixon’s hopes of breaking the record now hinge on Villanova’s potential qualification for a postseason tournament.
Karaban just missed a double-double performance for UConn, falling one rebound short. Teammate Liam McNeeley contributed with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Samson Johnson scored 11 points without a miss, matching Solo Ball from the bench.
Poplar stood out as the top scorer of the game with 25 points. Jordan Longino provided support for Villanova, adding 10 points to their efforts.
