Five UConn players scored in double figures as the 25th-ranked Huskies, back in the AP Top 25 following a month's absence, earned a 76-59 win over Butler on Tuesday in Hartford, Conn.
Butler (9-8, 2-4 Big East) will get an immediate rematch against UConn (12-4, 3-2) on Thursday in Indianapolis.
UConn won its second consecutive game while Butler has lost two in a row and four of its past five. All four of the Bulldogs' defeats in that span were by double digits.
RJ Cole led the Huskies with 17 points. Jordan Hawkins scored 14, Adama Sanogo had 13, Andre Jackson put up 12 and Tyler Polley added 10.
Sanogo pulled down 15 rebounds to finish with his third consecutive double-double. Jackson, a sophomore, added 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career.
Jayden Taylor scored 19 and Simas Lukosius contributed 17 for Butler. Lukosius came off the bench to keep the Bulldogs in the game before halftime by shooting 4 of 5 from the field for 10 points. The rest of the team was 4 of 25 in the opening half.
Butler's Bryce Nze and Aaron Thompson scored eight points apiece.
Butler shot 30.5 percent, including 26.7 percent in the first half. The Huskies made 40 percent of their first-half field-goal attempts while establishing a 39-24 lead, and they finished at 42.2 percent.
Sanogo had a tip-in and a dunk for the first two baskets of the second half, extending the lead to 19, and the Bulldogs never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Cole and Polley scored 10 points apiece for the Huskies before intermission.
UConn used an aggressive defense to control the tempo and make Butler uncomfortable. The Huskies also blocked 10 shots, four by Sanogo and three by Akok Akok, and dominated in transition, outscoring Butler 17-4 in fastbreak points.
The Huskies controlled the boards, outrebounding Butler 49-39, and outscored the Bulldogs in the paint 40-22.
--Field Level Media
Butler | Connecticut | |
Jayden Taylor 19 | Scoring | R.J. Cole 17 |
Bryce Golden 2 | Assists | R.J. Cole 3 |
Bryce Nze 7 | Rebounds | Adama Sanogo 15 |
Jayden Taylor 6 | Free Throws Made | R.J. Cole 8 |
Bo Hodges 2 | Steals | R.J. Cole 2 |
Bryce Nze 1 | Blocks | Adama Sanogo 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Butler | 59 | 30.5 | 5-16 | 18-29 | 5 | 33 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
Connecticut | 76 | 42.2 | 7-22 | 15-23 | 12 | 46 | 10 | 5 | 9 |