STORRS, Conn. — UConn is the No.1 team in the nation and the defending national champion, yet the Huskies went into Saturday’s matchup with No. 4 Marquette coveting something the Golden Eagles won a year ago: a Big East championship.
Donovan Clingan had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the Huskies to an 81-53 rout of Marquette and control of the conference race.
“We were just trying to prove who we are, and we’re just trying to win,” Clingan said.
It was a historic blowout; UConn’s 28-point margin of victory was the largest in an AP Top-5 conference matchup in poll history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Tristen Newton added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for the Huskies (24-2, 14-1), who have won 14 straight games. Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra each added 14 points.
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Kam Jones scored 15 points and Oso Ighodaro had 14 for Marquette (19-6, 10-4), which came into the game with an eight-game winning streak.
The Huskies now lead the second-place Golden Eagles in the Big East by three games in the loss column with five to play.