Home-Cookin’ Huskies Blitz DePaul

The Story: Exactly one week from the Big East tournament, last night’s game couldn’t have been any easier for the UConn men, whose home finale looked more like a preseason exhibition than a conference matchup as the Huskies blew out DePaul, 88-59, at the XL Center.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: If you stopped watching midway through the first half, you didn’t miss much. Within minutes, the No. 14 Huskies (23-7, 12-7 Big East) went on a 27-0 tear that quickly turned the game into a one-sided affair. They merely maintained that advantage the rest of the game and cruised to their fourth straight victory and their seventh win in their past eight games.

SANOGO GOES OFF: DePaul (9-21, 3-16 Big East), which lost its 11th straight game, had zero answers for Adama Sanogo, who was a one-man wrecking ball inside.

• Possibly wearing a UConn jersey for the final time at home, Sanogo scored 15 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, carrying the Huskies to a ridiculous 51-19 advantage at the break.

• Sanogo, the Big East’s leading scorer, connected on an absurdly efficient 11 of 14 shots, going 10-of-12 in the paint and 1-of-2 from 3-point range.

ALMOST, ANDRE: Andre Jackson Jr. came close to recording UConn’s third triple-double of the season, but he fell just short with an 11-point, nine-assist, eight-rebound effort. The nine assists — seven alone in the first half — were a career high for Jackson.

BALANCED ATTACK: Along with Sanogo and Jackson, the Huskies had five players who scored in double figures, including Tristen Newton (12), Alex Karaban (11), and Donovan Clingan (10) off the bench.

• Overall, the numbers are indicative of how lopsided the game was. UConn shot 54.7 percent, compared to 35 percent for DePaul; outscored the Blue Demons in the paint, 46-26; and had a 24-5 advantage in assists.

IS HAWKINS HURT? Surprisingly, the one UConn player having a below-average night was high-scoring guard Jordan Hawkins, who was held to only three points on 1-of-9 shooting, including 1-of-6 on 3-pointers.

• To cap his already forgettable game, Hawkins hobbled off the court with 4:46 left after apparently twisting his ankle while stepping on an opposing player’s foot.

• When asked if the sophomore guard would sit out Saturday’s Big East finale at Villanova as a precautionary measure, Hurley answered succinctly: “No.” He then said Hawkins was “fine,” other than having an off night shooting, and would be at practice today.

• It was only the fourth time all season that Hawkins has been held to single-digit scoring and ended a three-game run of 20-point games.

WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “That first half was pretty clean. The defense, the 17 assists with only the two turnovers, the domination of the backcourt. Inside out, it was pretty good.”

UP NEXT: Now that the season has entered March, UConn is peaking at the right time riding heading into its regular-season finale at Villanova on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Fox).

— David Kull

Morning Reads

• The football team will begin spring practice on March 28 and cap its 15 sessions with the spring game, which will again be held at Morrone Stadium, on April 22. (UConnHuskies.com)

• Matt Barnes took a veiled shot at Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom after his new team, the Marlins, played his old team, the Red Sox, in a spring training game on Tuesday night. (Boston Globe)

Top photo: Adama Sanogo takes a shot during the game against Georgetown. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)