Three UConn players scored in double figures as the second-seeded Huskies defeated 10th-seeded Xavier 93-68 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament on Thursday in New York.

In the semifinal round on Friday, UConn will face Georgetown, the 11th seed, who upset third-seeded Villanova in the late quarterfinal on Thursday night.

The win was the third over Xavier (15-18) this season, as the Huskies defeated the Musketeers by an average of 27.5 points in their two previous Big East games.

And it had to have done wonders for the confidence of the No. 6-ranked Huskies, who began the season 22-1 and undefeated in a dozen conference games before losing to St. John’s on Feb. 6. They finished the season with a 5-3 record in their final eight games, including a 68-62 demoralizing loss at Marquette last Saturday.

“Great to get back out on the court after the choke job last weekend," UConn head coach Dan Hurley said in his introductory statement at the post-game news conference.

From the outset, this game was all UConn (28-4), though.

The Huskies jumped to a 9-6 lead in the first four minutes of the game, the went on a 13-4 run to go up 22-10. Another 8-0 run led to a 50-30 halftime lead.

Alex Karaban scored 11 points in the opening half on 4-of-6 shooting – 3 of 5 from 3-point range –after being held to just two points on free throws after and 0-for-6 performance against Marquette.

Tarris Reed Jr. also scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds in the half.

Xavier came out of the locker room after the half with new energy, rattling off seven straight points to cut the deficit to 13. But Braylon Mullins’ 3-pointer followed by a jumper quickly restored the UConn lead to 18, and the Huskies went on to take a wire-to-wire win.

Mullins also blocked three shots.

Solo Ball, a finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award, led UConn with 19 points. Reed finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Karaban scored 15

The bench also made key contributions for UConn, with Eric Reibe and Jayden Ross each scoring nine points and Malachi Smith adding six.

"If we get that level of bench production, we’re gonna win a lot of games the rest of this college basketball season,” Hurley said.

Filip Borovicanin led Xavier with 22 points. Roddie Anderson III scored 15.

In other action at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, top-seeded St. John’s defeated ninth-seeded Providence 85-72. The Red Storm will meet Seton Hall, the fourth seed, in the other semifinal on Friday.

The Pirates defeated fifth-seeded Creighton 72-61. And they have played No. 13-ranked St. John’s tough this season, losing their two conference games by a total of 12 points.

Seton Hall and St. John’s will tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, with UConn’s game with Georgetown to follow.

It will be the sixth consecutive Big East tournament semifinal for UConn. Georgetown (16-7) has not reached the semis since 2021.

In the regular season, UConn beat the Hoyas twice, but neither game was easy. 

The Huskies escaped with a 64-62 win in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, then followed with a home win on Feb. 14, 79-75.

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