Coles leads No. 20 UConn past Seton Hall to Big East semis

NEW YORK (AP) — R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin each scored 17 points to lead No. 20 Connecticut into the Big East Tournament semifinals with a 62-52 win over Seton Hall on Thursday night.

The Huskies (23-8) won in front of their former coach, Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun, who received a roaring ovation from the legion of local, vocal fans who traveled to Madison Square Garden.

Calhoun won three national championships all under the Big East banner, his last one in 2011 — also the same year the Huskies won their last Big East Tournament championship. It was also 12 years to the day that former Huskies guard Kemba Walker hit his stepback jumper at the buzzer to stun Pitt and send the UConn into the Big East semis.

This win wasn’t as dramatic, and it didn’t have to be to earn UConn a date with No. 8 Villanova on Friday night.

Cole, a first-team all-conference selection, kept the Huskies hopes for both a conference tournament championship and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid alive with a series of big plays in the second half.

Cole hit a 3 to make it 32-20 and surely tried to give UConn a highlight to remember — other than being good-naturedly roasted on social media for a TV graphic that said his favorite band is the Jonas Brothers. He cut off a Seton Hall run with a mid-range jumper that kept the lead at 11 and kept the Huskies’ run rolling on no-look pass to Andre Jackson under the basket for a dunk and a 38-27 lead.

Myles Cale led Seton Hall (21-10) with 17 points. The sixth-seeded Pirates snapped a six-game winning streak.

The game was more of an offensive struggle than a defensive masterpiece. Missed tip-ins and open jumpers. Botched layups. Seton Hall’s 18 points in the first half was its lowest total in the first half of any game this season.

Both teams shot 36% from the floor.

Cale tried to slice the deficit to single digits late in the second half when he stole the ball. The Pirates promptly turned it over on an offensive foul.

What next?

Cole buried a 3 and hopped his way back on defense to the delight of the Huskies crowd and a 15-point lead the Huskies would not waste.

BIG PICTURE

Seton Hall: The Pirates, who beat Georgetown in the Big East tourney opener, now wait to find out where they go as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall’s six-game winning streak had matched its longest of the season.

UConn: Tries to keep alive for its eighth Big East Tournament championship. UConn has never won the tournament championship as a No. 3 seed.

UP NEXT

Villanova: Barely squeezed into the Big East Tournament semifinals, overcoming a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat St. John’s 66-65. The teams split the season series.

Providence and Creighton play in the other semifinal.

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