No. 25 UConn beats Butler 76-59 in first of home-and-home

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Adama Sanogo scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead No. 25 UConn over Butler 76-59 on Tuesday night in first of two games this week between the programs.

It was the third straight double-double for Sanago, who also blocked four shots. He was joined by Andre Jackson, who had 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Connecticut (12-4, 3-2 Big East), which returned to the top 25 this week for the first time since mid-December.

Other Huskies in double figures included R.J. Cole with 17 points, Jordan Hawkins with 14 and Tyler Polley with 10.

Butler’s Jayden Taylor had 14 of his 19 points in the second half, and Simas Lukosius added 17 points for the Bulldogs (9-7, 2-3).

UConn led by 15 points at halftime and Sanogo scored four points after the break to push the lead to 43-24. Butler cut it to 47-36 on a 3-pointer from Lukosius, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

The Huskies took their first 20-point lead on layup and free throw from Jackson that made it 65-45 with just under 5 minutes to play

Butler shot 31% from the floor (18 of 59), while UConn outrebounded the Bulldogs 49-39.

This game was originally scheduled for Jan. 1, but was postponed because UConn was dealing with COVID-19 issues.

BIG PICTURE

Butler: This was the second of four straight games for the the Bulldogs against ranked teams. They lost 82-42 to No. 11 Villanova on Sunday and must face the Huskies again on Thursday in Indianapolis, and then travel to No. 21 Providence next Sunday.

UConn: The Huskies have not played the same opponent in two consecutive games since 1996, when they beat Seton Hall in the regular-season finale and again in the Big East tournament. The last time they played the same team back-to-back in the regular season was in February 1992, losing twice to Georgetown.

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