STORRS – UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley made the final cut on the net hanging in Gampel Pavilion, raised it over his head to show it to the fans that remained from the sellout crowd and then jubilantly twirled it in celebration before placing it around his neck.
The celebration after the 91-61 victory over Seton Hall on senior day was one final moment of excitement in what he called an emotional week that caused him to cry several times thinking about what this team has accomplished the last two seasons and the players who could be leaving.
His Huskies won the first outright Big East regular season championship in 25 years for UConn so he wanted his team to cut down the nets.
“This was for Connecticut today,” Hurley said. “This was for the students and our in-state fans as well as the number of fans who traveled in for the game. It brought you back to the parade and a chance to celebrate with the great people of Connecticut. So it is great to have a celebration with our fans, because we mean a lot to the fans in the state.”
The championship meant a lot to the team, as well, because last season en route the national championship the Big East regular season and conference tournaments eluded them.
“The Big East regular season championship was something that last year not getting either one – as great as it was winning the national championship – this was a thorn in our side, especially not winning the regular season title,” Hurley said. “Next to getting to a Final Four or winning a national championship, winning the regular season of a conference like this is the hardest thing to do.”
As hard as it may be, the Huskies won it in impressive style with two games still remaining in the regular season by routing a very solid Seton Hall team.
Stephon Castle tied his career-high in points at 21 on 9-for-12 shooting and played an outstanding defensive game, as well. Seton Hall’s Kadary Richmond, who had 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and eight steals when the Pirates UConn by 15 in December, was held to just two points on 1-for-8 shooting by Castle in the first half Sunday.
“I think I did a good job of limiting (Richmond) and offensively my teammates found me in great spots today,” Castle said. “I feel like all-around I had a great game, probably one of the best of the season.”
Donovan Clingan and Tristen Newton each posted double-doubles. Newton finished with 17 points and 10 assists while Clingan had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Karaban added 13 points.
It was Clingan’s third double-double this season, all of them in the last seven games. Newton has nine double-doubles this season, one of which was the fourth triple-double of his career.
Despite their inability to make jump shots in the first half, the Huskies used an 18-4 run that started at the 10-minute mark to turn a four-point deficit, 18-14, into a double-digit lead at 32-22.
After allowing a 3-pointer by Al-Air Dawes, the Huskies scored 12 of the final 16 points of the half to go into intermission leading by 15 points, 44-29.
The Huskies emphatically put the game away when they went on a 12-2 run midway through the second half. They turned a 17-point lead into a 27-point lead at 72-45 with the last basket coming on a highlight reel dunk by Castle.
The win earned the Huskies their first conference championship since sharing one 18 years ago and their first outright championship since 1999.
The victory also allowed the Huskies to finish with their first unblemished record at home since the 2005-06 season. UConn improved to 26-3 overall, 16-2 in the Big East and 16-0 at home.
“This is one of the hardest things to do, to be consistent and win day in and day out the whole season, especially in the league we play in,” Clingan said. “It is impressive, and I am proud of the guys. We have worked really hard for this 11 months per year. To see all the hard work we put in all season and to be consistent like that, it is impressive.”
“This is the first of many, but we aren’t going to celebrate this too long, because we’ve got bigger goals and bigger things to accomplish.”
The Huskies want to emulate the 1998-99 team – the last to win the league outright – and become only the second team in UConn history to win the Big East regular season and tournament titles as well as the national championship.
Sunday’s game was a huge step toward that.
“We feel it is harder to win the Big East than the national championship,” Newton said. “(In the NCAAs) you can just get hot at a certain time and win six games in a row. It is difficult but we feel it is harder to be consistent over a 20-game stretch against opponents that study us day in a day out. So we feel this is maybe not a bigger accomplishment, but it is right up there with winning the national championship.”
