UConn's win over Indiana in MSG return is first statement of Huskies’ potential

Donovan Clingan (32) and Tristen Newton (2) exult during UConn’s win over Indiana Sunday. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

NEW YORK — When Dan Hurley last visited Madison Square Garden last month for Big East Conference media day, he reminded those in attendance that his UConn team’s last appearance in the Mecca of basketball still stuck in his craw.

The Huskies’ loss to Marquette in the Big East tournament semifinals, still the most recent setback the reigning national champions have experienced, ate at Hurley and his perfectionist nature. And while point guard Tristen Newton dismissed the potential motivator of that defeat following UConn’s 20-point win over Indiana Sunday, his coach appeared to forgive, but did not forget.

“I still think about it,” Hurley quipped. “Players are different than coaches, I guess. Obviously (it was) an awesome first big game in here. I thought the crowd was awesome. UConn always shows up here, but I thought Indiana (had a) hell of a showing. Looking in the crowd before the game, there was a lot of Indiana in New York. Just an awesome atmosphere (and) on a night where we didn't shoot it particularly well from three, we did the hard things really well.”

Playing without highly touted freshman Stephon Castle, picked as the Big East’s preseason rookie of the year, UConn had a different look to start Sunday’s 77-57 takedown of the Hoosiers. Solo Ball was the third guard alongside Newton and Cam Spencer, but added nine points on a day where he did not need to don Superman’s cape. Hurley also got to experiment with Samson Johnson up front alongside Donovan Clingan for stretches in lieu of Alex Karaban, and was pleased with what he saw even if the makeup of the Husky quintet at the time will not be permanent moving forward.

“It’s a work in progress,” he admitted. “I think it’s something that we have, especially being down Steph, being down a quality player. You’re just really trying to get your five best players on the court as long as it doesn’t cripple your spacing or skill. So in short stretches, I think it could be something for us, but I don't think it’s going to be something we’re able to do for extended periods.”

The main takeaway on this day, however, was Newton. The graduate transfer from East Carolina, underrated upon his return to Storrs this season, picked up where he left off during UConn’s dominant March, staking his claim among the best point guards in the Big East with 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Newton also drew 10 fouls in showcasing yet another facet of his game that may have fallen through the cracks, so to speak.

“I thought he was great,” said Hurley. “There’s not much not to like. He was the best player in the national championship game in front of 75,000 people with all the money on the table, so coming into MSG in atmosphere like this for him is exciting, but he’s an accomplished player. He’s on the Wooden watch list, obviously he didn't get all-Big East preseason, but there’s a lot of great players in the Big East and we don’t win a lot of popularity contests at UConn. But he’s a great player.”

Spencer, who arrived late in the spring after transferring from Rutgers, played Robin to Newton’s Batman Sunday with 18 points to underscore his big-game experience. The Maryland native played at the Garden last year when Rutgers defeated Michigan State, and made sure the New York faithful received his best in his return.

“For sure,” he said when asked if the arena brought out more of his game. “This is the best arena in the world, so being able to play here and have the fans come out like they did is great, but these are the games you live for. I just wanted to leave it all out there on the floor.”

“You’re going to win a lot of games when you’ve got a backcourt like this,” Hurley declared, citing the impact of Newton and Spencer.

Even in the wake of a national title, the skeptics have still hovered around UConn, taking its first three wins against Northern Arizona, Stonehill and Mississippi Valley State lightly. Hurley himself knew not to be too confident Sunday against an Indiana team that was a marked step up in class, but found vindication in the end result.

“We played our first three games and people wanted to see what we looked like when we played a real opponent,” he conceded. Coming into the first big game of the year, we lost a lot from last year’s team. You never really know, even coming in here today, when you get in front of a crowd like that and it’s the first time that this team is taking the court with some electricity in the building. Teams are their own entity every single year, especially when you’ve lost what we lost, so I was really impressed with how we separated today. I was impressed by what the boys did today.”