Jimmy Drew (Photo Credit: Getty Images, By: Nick Laham)
Kemba Walker proved to be too much for the DePaul Blue Demons. His 26 points led the way for the Connecticut Huskies in a 97-71 win over over DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
Jeremy Lamb, playing on a sore knee, had 17 of his 19 points in the first half for the 21st-ranked Huskies (22-9), who got back on track after losing four of their final five regular-season games. No. 9 seed UConn advanced to play Wednesday against No. 22 Georgetown, the No. 8 seed at Madison Square Garden.
The Huskies had lost six straight Big East tournament games since beating Georgetown in the 2005 quarterfinals, a surprising streak of futility for a school that has won two national championships and six Big East tourney titles under Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun.
The loss caps a disappointing season for Oliver Purnell in his first year as the Blue Demon head coach. DePaul ended the season 7-24 and 1-17 in the Big East.
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