Zach Freemantle scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Colby Jones also had 16, helping No. 22 Xavier hand No. 2 UConn its first loss of the season, 83-73, on Saturday.
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 22 Xavier Highlights
The No. 2 UConn Huskies saw their undefeated season come to an end at the hands of the No. 22 Xavier Musketeers.
Jack Nunge started the game for Xavier despite an illness that limited him during warmups. He didn’t rejoin the team after halftime until a couple of minutes into the half, but finished with 15 points in 24 minutes. Jerome Hunter also had 15.
Adama Sanogo led UConn with 18 points. Andre Jackson scored 14 points and Jordan Hawkins had 11 for the Huskies.
Xavier (12-3, 4-0 Big East), which joined the AP Top 25 this week, has three losses by a combined 13 points to Indiana, Duke and Gonzaga.
UConn (14-1, 3-1 Big East) got off to its best start since starting the 1998 season 19-0 and won its first NCAA championship. Saturday’s loss kept the Huskies from their best start since 1994-95 and left only No. 1 Purdue and No. 22 New Mexico as the only undefeated teams in Division I this season.
The matchup was the sixth all-time meeting between the schools, with the teams sparring the last two.
Xavier led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but seven turnovers, including four by Jones, helped UConn get back into the game. The Huskies led 41-42 at halftime, led by Sanogo’s 10 points.
Freemantle had 11 points and six rebounds in the first half to help the Musketeers get off to a fast start.
UConn finished the first half on a 16-5 run. The Huskies stayed hot after the break, connecting on their first two three-point attempts.
Freemantle’s corner 3-pointer put the Musketeers ahead 66-62 with 7:17 left.
Two Xavier turnovers in 15 seconds led to a quick UConn run. Jackson’s layup in transition after his steal tied the score at 71 with 3:54 left.
With Xavier leading 74-71 with 2:25 left after a Freemantle free throw, UConn coach Dan Hurley was called for a technical foul. Boum made two free throws and Freemantle made the second, putting Xavier ahead 77-71.
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Report from The Associated Press.
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