Excellent first-half shooting and a monster game from Christian Vital carried the Huskies to victory as UConn beat South Florida 80-73 in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Vital scored 25 points after converting all of his first-half attempts, leading all players in scoring, and carrying the team after Jalen Adams fouled out with five minutes left. Vital accounted for six of the Huskies’ season-high 13 threes, as they shot .542 from deep as a team.
With Alterique Gilbert missing the tournament due to injury, the Huskies were still shorthanded, but two other veteran point guards filled his place.