STORRS, Conn. — Donovan Clingan had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help top-ranked UConn rout No. 4 Marquette 81-53 Saturday and take control of the race for the Big East regular-season title.
It was a historic blowout; UConn’s 28-point margin of victory was the largest in an AP Top-5 conference matchup in poll history, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Tristen Newton added 15 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists for the Huskies (24-2, 14-1), who have won 14 straight games. Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra each added 14 points.
Kam Jones scored 15 points and Oso Ighodaro had 14 for Marquette (19-6, 10-4), which came into the game with an eight-game winning streak.
The Huskies now lead the second-place Golden Eagles in the Big East by three games in the loss column with five to play.
The Huskies led by 16 after a strong defensive first half and 18 after a put-back by Newton to open the second half.
They took their first 20-point lead at 51-30 after an offensive rebound by Newton, who fed Clingan for an emphatic dunk through the lane. UConn built its lead to as many as 29 points in the second half.
The game was tied at 18 before UConn took control. The Huskies held Marquette without a field goal for almost four minutes, went on a 13-0 run late in the half and went into the break leading 42-26.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.