New York — UConn sophomore Jordan Hawkins gets goosebumps every time he plays at Madison Square Garden.

Hawkins loves performing on the big stage.

He experienced both highs and lows in his first Big East tournament this week.

After scoring a team-high 19 points to power UConn past Providence in Thursday’s quarterfinal, Hawkins struggled in a 70-68 semifinal loss to top-seeded Marquette on Friday.

Hawkins scored just five points, going an icy 2 for 11 from the field. He misfired on a contested 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

“I wasn’t hitting my shots that I normally hit,” Hawkins said. “I let my teammates down.”

Marquette smothered Hawkins throughout the game, rarely giving him any room to shoot. He tried diving to the basket but was often met by multiple defenders. Olivier-Maxence Prosper, a 6-foot-8 forward, stayed close to Hawkins.

“That was the defensive key to the game,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “We can beat UConn with their bigs scoring some twos around the basket. I don’t know if we can beat them if Hawkins goes and makes five or six threes. … I thought throughout the game, our guys stayed attached to him.

“They ran a lot of different screen actions for him. Omax Prosper deserves amazing credit for being locked in on that assignment.”

Hawkins, who went 1 for 8 from three, will learn from his two games of Big East tournament experience.

It sure beats last year when Hawkins watched from the bench after being sidelined for the post-season with a concussion.

“Last year, I got a good feel for it, watching it, but playing in it is very different,” Hawkins said. “It’s very exciting. Just feel the energy of the crowd. It’s really loud in there. It’s amazing.”

Hawkins’ game took a tremendous leap this season, he’s gone from scoring 5.8 points a game to 16.5 points. He earned Big East first team honors.

Prior to just his fifth single digit scoring games this season, Hawkins had been on a tear. He had hit double figures in 13 of the last 14 games, averaging 18.9 points during that stretch.

UConn’s odds of enjoying a deep March Madness run will greatly improve if Hawkins heats up again.

Selection Sunday ahead

All four Big East semifinalists – UConn, Marquette, Creighton and Xavier – are basically locks to qualify for the NCAA tournament, no matter the outcome of Friday’s games.

But all four programs can improve their resume and improve seeding position for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Prior to Friday, UConn had the best NCAA NET Ranking of the foursome, checking in at No. 7. Marquette stood at No. 12, Creighton at No. 13 and Xavier at No. 25.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi forecasted that the Huskies will be a No. 3 seed in his latest bracketology.

At No. 55, Providence (21-11) also believes it has done enough to receive an at-large bid.

“I definitely know we’re a tournament team for sure,” PC coach Ed Cooley said after his team’s quarterfinal loss. “This league has several tournament teams. … We’ll sit back on Selection Sunday and see where the Friars are going. Don’t be surprised if you see us in the Final Four.”

Of course, the Big East tournament champion will receive an automatic bid. The NCAA tournament field will be announced during Selection Sunday.

Sanogo a finalist

UConn junior Adama Sanogo is a top five finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award for the second straight year.

North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, Purdue’s Zach Edey and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe.

Sanogo ranks first on the team in scoring (16.7) and rebounding (7.2).

News and notes

Marquette is ranked 6th in the country, UConn 11th. … UConn has little Big East tourney history with the three other semifinalists, having previously played only Creighton prior to Friday. The Huskies fell, 59-56, in the 2021 semifinals. … The Huskies carried a 49-33 all-time record in Big East tourney play into the Marquette game. … UConn is 24-3 when leading at half, 14-1 when the bench contributes 20 points or more.

g.keefe@theday.com