TU Gets Thrashed By UConn, Dropping Down A Spot In The AAC

Tulsa men's basketball hit the floor in Connecticut to battle UConn Thursday night. The showdown resulted in a 70-45 loss for the Golden Hurricane. The team is now 17-7 overall and 10-2 in the American Athletic. The loss caused TU to drop to No. 2 in the AAC behind SMU.

UConn took a quick 10-0 lead after Daniel Hamilton knocked down two back-to-back threes. Then, the Huskies knocked down a couple of two-pointers.

Tulsa didn't get on the board until Marquel Curtis attracted a foul, and knocked down a free throw (10-1).

Rashad Smith and Curtis hit a combined few in the paint, in efforts to chip away Connecticut's lead (15-8).

Free throws could've helped the Golden Hurricane cut its trail to four, but the team was only 2-6 from the line (just under the seven minute mark).

TU, unable to penetrate, also had trouble sinking jumpers. By the two minute mark, the Huskies had gained a 24-13 lead.

At this point, Smith needed help offensively. He accounted for nine of Tulsa's 13 points.

The Golden Hurricane suffered defensively too, unable to stop UConn from penetrating the paint.

With 46.8 seconds in the half, TU was only 6-24 from the field.

Although Tulsa's defense didn't look too hot, the team did manage to hold UConn to 40 percent shooting.

Going into the half, the Huskies carried a 26-17 lead.

UConn quickly took a 33-19 lead in the opening minutes of the second.

The Huskies momentum had TU playing like they had already lost, recklessly driving and throwing up shots.

At this point, TU's James Woodard, the third leading scorer in the conference, was still scoreless. This hurt the Golden Hurricane's offensive efforts.

Connecticut continued to escalate its advantage, taking a 21 point lead with just under 15 minutes to go (41-20).

With Eight minutes left of the half, TU's offense looked like it had gone missing as the team shot 28 percent from the field.

At the buzzer, TU took an ugly 70-45 loss to UConn.

TU finished shooting just 31 percent from the field, and only gained six points from one of its leading scorers, (Shaquille Harrison). It's other leading scorer, Woodard, remained scoreless the entire game. Curtis led TU with 15 points, while Ryan Boatright led all-scorers with 23.

Tulsa returns to action Wednesday at home to play East Carolina at 6:00 p.m.