Alex Karaban scored 25 points as No. 1 UConn throttled Georgetown 89-64 on Saturday in Washington, D.C.
Karaban finished 10-of-14 shooting from the field and hit 4-of-7 3-point attempts for the Huskies (22-2, 12-1 Big East), who matched their season-high with 52 points in the first half and never trailed en route to their 12th straight win.
Cam Spencer bundled 10 points with six rebounds and seven assists, while Tristen Newton tacked on six points, six boards and nine helpers for UConn. Stephon Castle supplied 17 points and Samson Johnson made all five of his shots and logged with 10 points in the win.
The Huskies dished out 26 assists to power their 33-of-54 outing from the field (61.1 percent). UConn’s crisp passing and timely cutting routinely led to wide-open looks at the rim, which materialized into a season-high 48 paint points compared to the Hoyas’ 24.
Dontrez Styles led a mostly one-dimensional Georgetown (8-15, 1-11) offense with 23 points. Supreme Cook added 12 points for the Hoyas, while Jayden Epps, who entered Saturday fourth in the Big East with 18.3 points per game, managed four on 2-of-8 shooting.
Georgetown made 23 of 58 shots from the floor (39.7 percent) and lost its eighth straight game.
UConn hit its first three shots of the contest and rode its early momentum to a commanding 52-28 halftime lead.
Karaban repeatedly slipped behind the Hoyas’ defense early on and found a handful of open layups, including two during a 9-0 run that grew the Huskies’ lead to 19-6.
Styles scored the game’s next six points to draw Georgetown within seven, but the Hoyas went scoreless over the next nearly four minutes as UConn rattled off 11 straight points.
Castle threw down two dunks during the Huskies’ surge and Karaban hit his second 3-pointer as the lead grew to 30-12.
Wayne Bristol’s baseline jumper merely interrupted UConn’s momentum as the Huskies dissected Georgetown’s defense inside and out.
Castle sandwiched a triple between a pair of Johnson jams, the latter of which gave the Huskies their first 20-point lead at 37-17 with 5:12 left in the first half.
UConn’s advantage peaked at 26 on Hassan Diarra’s and-one, which made it 51-25 at the 1:31 mark of the half.
The Huskies finished the first half shooting 63.3 percent from the field and owned a 30-8 advantage in paint points.
UConn led by at least 20 throughout the entire second half.
–Field Level Media