Connecticut is back to performing as it did in November and December, looking every bit like a Final Four contender.
Dan Hurley’s Huskies flexed their muscles Thursday afternoon, nearly running Providence off the court before having to hold off the fifth-seeded Friars down the stretch in a 73-66 victory in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at the Garden.
The fourth-seeded Huskies (25-7), have now won six straight and nine of 10, and will meet No. 1 Marquette in the semifinals Friday night.
They will be looking to advance to the conference title game for the first time since rejoining the Big East three years ago.
“Credit Connecticut,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “They’re playing as well as anybody in the country.”
Jordan Hawkins scored 19 points to lead Connecticut and Tristen Newton added 16 off the bench.
Bryce Hopkins scored 16 for Providence (21-11), which has now lost three straight and four of five.
The Huskies started the season 14-0, defeating the likes of fourth-ranked Alabama, Iowa State and Oregon, before a January slide in which they lost six of eight games.
But that slump seems like a distant memory now.
They led by 17 points at halftime and were up by as many as 24 in the second half.
“We were playing such great basketball at both ends of the court,” Hurley said. “I mean, we played unbelievable for 28 minutes.”
Providence did put together a furious run, slicing that 24-point deficit to five on a few occasions.
But Connecticut had an answer each time.
It has the look of a team ready for a big March after falling short the previous two years.
It was able to respond on Thursday after an extended poor stretch late.
“You’ve just got to stay composed in situations like that,” Hawkins said. “You’re playing for a championship, you’ve got to stay composed. They did a great job coming back. They played hard. They feasted off of our mistakes. You just got to stay composed in that situation, stay with your team, stay in the right huddle and just believe.”
There’s plenty of reasons to believe in Connecticut right now.