By Clay Bailey

Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Corey Davis Jr. scored 22 points and No. 11 Houston defeated UConn 84-45 in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday.

Galen Robinson Jr. finished with 16 points, missing only one of his eight shots. Nate Hinton added 15 points for Houston (30-2), the tournament’s top seed.

Houston will face the winner of the game between Memphis and Central Florida.

Jalen Adams led UConn (16-17) with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Josh Carlton added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

UConn missed its first five shots, helping the Cougars to an 11-0 start. But the buffer was short-lived as UConn went on a 7-0 run. The Cougars eventually extended the advantage to 16 in the closing minutes of the first half. They led 39-25 at the break behind 15 points by Davis.

Houston continued its surge, using an 11-0 run to extend the lead to 52-29.

Eight minutes into the second half, the Cougars had made 11 of their 17 shots and stretched the lead to 32.

 

BIG PICTURE

UConn: The Huskies already were underdogs against the nationally ranked Cougars. In the second half, the Huskies started 2 of 13, and missed all six three-pointers. UConn reached the quarterfinals after an 80-73 victory over the eighth-seed South Florida.

Houston: The Cougars showed why they are ranked near the Top 10 in the country. The tournament’s top seed used balanced scoring and a stifling defense against a struggling UConn. They held the Huskies to 26-percent shooting for the game, including 3 of 26 from three-point range.

 

UP NEXT

UConn: Season ends at 16-17.

Houston: Plays winner of the Memphis-Central Florida game in Saturday’s semifinals.