Junior scores 33, hits all 14 free throws as Huskies advance
Rashad Bishop led a late uprising. But Kemba Walker refused to lose.
Scoring 33 points, grabbing six rebounds, and dishing five assists, the junior guard led third-seeded Connecticut to a 69-58 victory over No. 6 Cincinnati in an all-Big East NCAA tournament round of 32 game before 18,684 at Verizon Center.
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The left-handed Bishop (22 points) twice gave Cincinnati the lead in the second half, but Walker scored 13 of his points in the final 10 minutes to steady the Huskies. Six of his points came at the free throw line in the final 51 seconds. For the game, he hit all 14 of his shots from the foul line.
“We didn’t want to foul him,” Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. “You gotta make people make shots. I think Coach [Jim] Calhoun could have had 30 if we gave him 14 free throws.”
UConn shot 30 foul shots to 12 for Cincinnati.
“Free throws were the difference in the game,” Cronin said. “You’re not going to beat anybody with a free-throw disparity of that magnitude.”
In addition to Walker, UConn got contributions from freshman guard Jeremy Lamb (14 points, 5 rebounds), sophomore reserve Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (10 points), and sophomore forward Alex Oriakhi (4 points, 11 rebounds), who led the Huskies to a 35-25 edge on the boards.
With the victory, UConn (28-9) advances to the Sweet 16. The Huskies play San Diego State (34-2) Thursday in Anaheim. It’s an accomplishment not many predicted for the Huskies in the preseason.
“This has been an incredible journey with these kids,” Calhoun said. “We can’t wait to get to California. It’s a special team to me.”
Walker’s performance continued his spectacular postseason. Last week, the 6-foot-1 junior averaged 26 points, leading UConn to five wins in five days in the Big East tournament.
