STORRS, Conn. – Adama Sanogo scored 20 points and No. 24 UConn opened the season with a 99-48 rout of Central Connecticut on Tuesday night.
R.J. Cole scored 15 points and Tyrese Martin added 14 for the Huskies, who led by 29-points at halftime.
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UConn coach Dan Hurley said his offense, which lost last season’s leading scorer James Bouknight to the NBA draft, will run through Sanogo this season. The 6-foot-9 sophomore from Mali ran through, past and around the Blue Devils, hitting 9 of his 11 shots.
He opened the scoring with a layup and had six points as UConn jumped out to a 22-5 lead.
The Huskies, who are ranked to start the season for the first time since 2016, made their first eight shots and held the Blue Devils to just two baskets in the first eight minutes.
The Huskies took their first 20-point lead at 34-14 when Akok Akok grabbed a deflection out of the air and turned it into an unintentional ally-oop layup.
Martin’s rebound and end-to-end driving layup capped a 15-0 run that gave UConn a 41-14 lead. The Huskies led 52-23 at the half.
Joe Ostrowsky had 12 points and Nigel Scantlebury 11 for Central Connecticut, which finished 5-16 last season and is picked to finish last in the Northeast Conference.
Sanogo scored the first four points as the Huskies opened the second half on a 10-2 run.
The Huskies are now 16-0 all-time against the Blue Devils from New Britain.
BIG PICTURE
CCSU: It was the head-coaching debut for Patrick Sellers, who played for the Blue Devils and was UConn's director of basketball operations from 2004-2007 before serving as an assistant under Hall-of-Famer Jim Calhoun from 2007-2010.
UConn: The Huskies played the game without sharp-shooting freshman Jordan Hawkins, who sprained his right ankle in practice Saturday. It was not immediately known when Hawkins will be back.
UP NEXT
Central Connecticut plays at Brown on Sunday.
UConn hosts Coppin State at the XL Center in Hartford on Saturday.
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