NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half to help Connecticut rally for a 73-56 victory over Villanova in a Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
The third-seeded Huskies (23-9) move on to play No. 2 seed Creighton in a Friday semifinal. The Bluejays had to go to a second overtime before beating 10th-seeded DePaul 85-81. The Blue Demons were aiming for the school’s first semifinal appearance in the tournament. Top-seeded and sixth-ranked St. John’s plays No. 5 seed Marquette in the other semifinal.
UConn didn’t take the lead in the second half until Karaban made two free throws for a 49-48 advantage with 9:09 remaining. Eric Dixon had a three-point play to tie the game at 51 with eight minutes left. Karaban hit a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run and the Huskies outscored the Wildcats 22-5 down the stretch. Wooga Poplar scored 15 on 7-for-9 shooting to lead sixth-seeded Villanova to a 36-31 advantage at halftime. The Wildcats missed 19 of 24 shots after the break.
Villanova’s Eric Dixon needed 17 points to break Kerry Kittles’ school record of 2,243 career points. He finished with eight on 2-for-15 shooting and will have to hope the Wildcats earn a spot in a postseason tournament to break it. Karaban finished a rebound shy of a double-double for UConn. Liam McNeeley totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. Samson Johnson didn’t miss a shot and matched Solo Ball with 11 points.
Poplar led all scorers with 25 points. Jordan Longino added 10 points for Villanova.
