UConn’s Cam Spencer protects the ball from Xavier’s Dayvion McKnight their Big East Conference quarterfinal Thursday in New York. UConn won, 87-60. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
NEW YORK — The start wasn’t exactly what UConn envisioned.
But boy, what a finish.
Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan each had 13 points and seven rebounds, and the second-ranked Huskies blitzed Xavier in the second half Thursday to open their postseason with an 87-60 blowout in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
“Thrilled the way we responded to some early adversity,” UConn Coach Dan Hurley said.
Alex Karaban, Cam Spencer and Samson Johnson all scored 12 points, and Big East Freshman of the Year Stephon Castle added 10 points and eight rebounds in a balanced performance by the top-seeded Huskies (29-3), who have won five straight games and 19 of 20.
The defending national champions will play No. 5 seed St. John’s, a 91-72 winner over fourth-seeded Seton Hall, in the first semifinal Friday evening at Madison Square Garden.
UConn is 0-3 in Big East semifinals since rejoining the league in 2020-21.
Connecticut fell behind 10-0 at the start, then reeled off the next 13 points. After leading 34-33 at halftime, the Huskies opened the second half with runs of 9-2 and 21-10.
They ran away from there, making their final 15 field-goal attempts. Many were dunks or layups, as the Huskies shot a blistering 79% in the second half (22 for 28) and set program records for shooting percentage (58.3%) and assists (29) in a Big East Tournament game.
The 7-foot-2 Clingan, who had only two points in the first half, scored 11 straight for the Huskies in a span of 3:20 as they broke it wide open.
(1) HOUSTON 60, TCU 45: The Cougars (29-3) turned up their suffocating defense on TCU (21-12) and cruised to a victory over the Horned Frogs in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
Emanuel Sharp scored 14 points, Jamal Shead had 12, and J’Wan Roberts added eight points and 10 rebounds for Houston, which held TCU without a point for nearly 10 minutes to start the game and was never threatened the rest of the way.
The Cougars will play Texas Tech in the semifinals on Friday night.
(4) NORTH CAROLINA 92, FLORIDA STATE 67: Armando Bacot scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Tar Heels (26-6) rolled into the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals with a victory over the Seminoles (17-16) in Washington.
The Tar Heels flexed their muscles on the boards, at one point grabbing four offensive rebounds on the same possession late in the first half. They finished with a 48-22 rebounding edge.
(6) ARIZONA 70, USC 49: KJ Lewis led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points, and the top-seeded Wildcats (25-7) rolled past the Trojans (15-18) in the Pac-12 quarterfinals in Las Vegas.
(15) SOUTH CAROLINA 80, ARKANSAS 66: Collin Murray-Boyles scored 24 points and the Gamecocks (26-6) beat the Razorbacks (16-17) in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee.
South Carolina, the No. 5 seed, took control with a 16-0 run spanning halftime. The Gamecocks advance to the quarterfinals against Auburn.
(18) UTAH STATE 87, FRESNO STATE 75: Great Osobor had 29 points and 17 rebounds as the Aggies (27-5) defeated the Bulldogs (12-21) in overtime in a Mountain West Conference quarterfinal in Las Vegas.
Darius Brown finished with 17 points and 11 assists, and Javon Jackson scored 16 points for Utah State, the tournament’s top seed.
(25) TEXAS TECH 81, (20) BYU 67: Pop Isaacs scored 22 points, Chance McMillian added 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Red Raiders (23-9) withstood a furious second-half rally by the Cougars (23-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
Texas Tech led by as many as 23 in the first half before the Cougars embarked on a 15-0 second-half run to make it interesting. BYU got as close as 62-55 with 5:04 to go.
VANDERBILT: Jerry Stackhouse was fired as head coach after a big drop-off in his fifth season with the Commodores, with fans showing their apathy by staying away from historic Memorial Gym.
Athletic Director Candice Lee said in a statement that Vanderbilt and Stackhouse, who signed a contract extension in October 2022, agreed to part ways. He leaves with a 70-92 record at Vanderbilt, including 9-23 this season.
OKLAHOMA STATE: Head coach Mike Boynton was fired after a 12-20 season in which the Cowboys lost their opening game of the Big 12 Tournament.
Boynton had a 119-109 record in seven seasons. The Cowboys reached only one NCAA tournament under Boynton as he dealt with the fallout from an NCAA investigation about violations that occurred before he became head coach.
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