STORRS, Conn. – Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead a balanced attack and No. 3 UConn clinched its first outright Big East regular-season title in 25 years Sunday with a 91-61 rout of Seton Hall.
Freshman Stephon Castle tied a career high with 21 points and Tristen Newton had 17 points and 10 assists for the Huskies (26-3, 16-2 Big East), who finished this season undefeated at home (16-0). Alex Karaban added 13 points.
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Dre Davis had 20 points and Kadary Richmond scored 15 to lead Seton Hall (18-11, 11-7), which remains in fourth place in the Big East with the loss, a game ahead of Villanova.
UConn shot 56% from the floor and outscored the Pirates 52-30 in the paint.
Davis had 12 points in the first 10 minutes and 16 points in the first half for Seton Hall. His 3-point play on a layup sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Pirates an 18-14 lead.
But UConn responded with a 15-2 run, highlighted by a steal and one of several highlight-reel dunks from Castle.
A floater in the lane from Karaban put the Huskies up by 15 points at intermission and the Huskies outscored Seton Hall 47-32 in the second half.
BIG PICTURE
Seton Hall: The Pirates, who beat UConn by 15 points in December, were picked to finish ninth in the conference's preseason poll and remain on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth.
UConn: The Huskies previously won all of their regular-season home games back in 2005-06, when they finished 16-0 in the league. That was the same season the program won a share of its most recent Big East regular-season title. They hadn't won the title outright since 1999.
UP NEXT
Seton Hall: The Pirates have two home games remaining, beginning with Villanova on Wednesday before closing the season against DePaul next Saturday.
UConn: The Huskies visit Marquette on Wednesday and close the season next Saturday in Providence.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball