UConn is peaking at the right time, which could spell trouble for rest of Big East

The clock had just struck midnight in Manhattan. Big East Tournament Quarterfinal Thursday turned to Friday, and the No. 3-seeded UConn Huskies found themselves locked in a tight battle with sixth-seeded Villanova with a spot in the semifinal round on the line.

That's when UConn's leader, Alex Karaban, took over.

The big stage is nothing new for Karaban, a guy whose winning percentage would rival almost anybody in Storrs. The junior forward drained a straightaway triple with 6:18 remaining in the game to give Connecticut separation in what had been a nip-and-tuck battle.

Minutes later, just when it appeared the Wildcats could perhaps put one more surge together, Karaban buried a dagger 3 with less than four minutes to go to say goodnight to Villanova, and good morning to the three teams remaining in the tournament: St. John's, Marquette and Creighton. 

Are the Huskies what they were last year? No. But they still possess championship DNA and elite-level shooting, and this time of year, that's going to give you a shot against virtually anybody.

The Huskies shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the second half and closed the game on a 22-5 run en route to a 73-56 victory over the Wildcats. The win sends the Huskies to a semifinal showdown and rubber match with Creighton at 9 p.m. ET Friday on FOX.

The Huskies didn't just do it with elite-level shooting on Thursday night. They locked down the nation's leading scorer, Eric Dixon, holding him to just eight points in what was likely the final game of his college career. UConn ended Dixon's streak of 47 consecutive games in double figures, a streak that now belongs to Marquette star Kam Jones. In doing so, the Huskies also denied Dixon of Kerry Kittles' program scoring record of