By Connor Wilson
February 14, 2018 was the last time Providence defeated a Top 5 opponent as the Friars upset No. 2 Villanova on that Valentine’s Day night at the then Dunkin Donuts Center.
Now at the renamed Amica Mutual Pavilion, the Friars recorded yet another signature win as Ed Cooley’s crew defeated the No. 4 UConn Huskies 73-61 on Wednesday night in Providence.
Providence's Ed Croswell muscles his way inside vs. UConn
“The energy and passion, just a great college basketball game. A high level college basketball game. I think we played one of the best teams, if not the best team, in college basketball,” Cooley said.
He’s not wrong, as the Huskies came into the game with a 14-1 record and the aforementioned Top 5 ranking.
The game was intense from the opening tip, with the two sides trading buckets early on. It was clear from the get-go who the best player on the court was: Providence forward Bryce Hopkins. Hopkins finished with 27 points on 6-for-12 shooting and went 13-for-15 from the free throw line.
“He’s an NBA player,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said about Hopkins. “He was the best player on the court today and I don’t think it was very close.”
Providence's Bryce Hopkins draws a foul vs. UConn
For UConn, the Huskies found themselves in foul trouble pretty quickly, as Andre Jackson Jr., arguably their best defender, picked up his second foul early in the first half and sat over 15 minutes. His presence was notably lost, as Hopkins was getting pretty much whatever he wanted down low with freshman Alex Karaban defending him.
“I gotta give it to my teammates,” Hopkins said. “They gave me the ball in my spots and I took advantage of that. I felt like I had a mismatch on the offensive end.”
Guard Jordan Hawkins led the Huskies with 15 points and freshman center Donovan Clingan had one of his best games of the year off the bench with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. Karaban added 11 points of his own with three triples.
UConn's Donovan Clingan attempting a free throw
It was a slow night for Sanogo, as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year scored just 11 points. Due to some foul trouble, Sanogo and Clingan were forced to play together for a portion of the game, something that hasn’t happened too often this season
“We didn’t have much time to practice with it,” Hurley said about his two centers. “It was not pleasing to the eyes in terms of the alignments out there, but I want to get Donovan on the court.”
Every rivalry needs a villain, and for UConn and Providence that man is Corey Floyd Jr. Floyd was a member of the Huskies last season, but redshirted his first year. Then, in the summer, he headed east in the transfer portal and found himself with the Friars. Floyd hit a pivotal three late in the first half to give Providence a three point advantage at the break at 33-30.
After halftime, the Friars started the second half on a run and never looked back. They got to the line very often in the second and connected on 21-of-25 free throws. Guard Alyn Breed was forced to play 30 minutes in this one after Jared Bynum went down with an injury early in the first half.
“Just embarrassed by how we handled ourselves in the second half,” Hurley said.
In the end, behind a raucous crowd at the AMP, the Friars pulled off the upset to advance to 5-0 in Big East play. The loss pushes the Huskies to 3-2 in conference.
“We were really fortunate to play at home today in front of, what I think, is the best crowd in college basketball,” Cooley said.
Up next for both teams: UConn returns home to Storrs to take on a red-hot Creighton team on Saturday afternoon and Providence will welcome a struggling St. John’s team to the AMP Saturday afternoon as well.