Ball spurs UConn’s early run as Huskies dispatch Illinois at MSG

Solo Ball (1) finishes layup during UConn’s win over Illinois. Huskies’ junior guard scored 13 of his 15 points in first half. (Photo by Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)

By Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman)

NEW YORK – As Illinois emerged from its locker room before the game, the Notorious B.I.G. classic “Hypnotize” blared from the team’s speakers. It’s a tune that many programs, including UConn, have used during the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, but we heard it a few months early today.

The Fighting Illini may have entered the game feeling the New York energy, but by the middle of the first half, that vibe had completely shifted. UConn’s crowd took every chance it got to make noise, and in the early going, it had a lot of chances.

The Huskies rode a hot start from Solo Ball to a double-digit first-half lead, winning their fifth consecutive non-conference game over the last three seasons at the Garden, 74-61. UConn led by as many as 21 early in the second half, but had every answer for Illinois’ surge to cut the lead to seven late.

For Ball, who entered the game shooting just 23 percent from deep, starting off the game with a three-pointer on UConn’s first possession set the tone. He continued to shine in the first half, with a four-point play as part of his 13 points.

“He got us going,” Alex Karaban said of Ball. “He really got us that cushion offensively. He draws so much attention when he’s on fire that it just opens everything on for us. He’s too good of a shooter to be struggling, and we’re all by his side, we all want him to shoot. If he don’t shoot, we’re going to be on him.”

“Guys got me open, set good screens,” Ball said. “Definitely, you need a lift at times, but that’s just what it is for this group that we have.”

And Ball kept shooting, attempting nine three-pointers. Even though he only made two of them, the two that he made were enough to give UConn the breathing room it needed on an afternoon where Illinois really struggled to hit shots. He led the way with 15 points, but only scored two in the second half.

After making a run to close the gap to nine, UConn pushed it all the way out to 21, 64-43, as Illinois missed its first 11 field goal attempts of the second half. Many of them were threes that UConn was pleased with the Illini big men – like Zvonimir Ivisic – taking.

“They were just going to one-on-ones,” Eric Reibe said. “Even the guards were going for post-ups, so then we just stunted a little bit and just tried to get deflections, because in the beginning, they hadn’t really proven to us that they were gonna make shots in this game.”

Reibe has continued to grow throughout his rookie campaign with the Huskies, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench with Tarris Reed, Jr. back in the fold. The Huskies gave Reed 15 minutes, as he was on a pitch count, and Braylon Mullins his first ten minutes in a UConn uniform.

While Mullins took some time to adjust, and was a minus-12, this was still the first chance we got to see the Huskies at full strength. With more tough matchups coming up against Kansas and Florida, the next version of this Husky team will continue to evolve.

Illinois made a final push, cutting the lead to seven with a few minutes left, but New York native Malachi Smith had the final word. He made a play that is sure to be one of the most iconic of the Huskies’ season, drawing a foul well beyond the arc and throwing the ball up near the hoop, banking it in for a four-point play.

That was the knockout blow in front of his friends and family.

“That gave us a big lift,” Ball said. “I’ve never seen (a play like that).”

“My favorite moment was Mali’s and-one,” Reibe said. “That was really like, ‘oh yeah, this place can really rock.’”

Immediately following Reibe and the newcomers’ first experience at a venue affectionately dubbed Storrs South, they’ll have their first experience at Allen Fieldhouse when UConn visits Kansas on Tuesday. While the Jayhawks may still be without star freshman Darryn Peterson, it’s hard to imagine that the crowd won’t be just as wild as it was when the Huskies came to Lawrence two years ago.

“We gotta start learning sign language now,” Reibe said.