Kemba Walker led the way with 28 points and seven rebounds as ninth-seeded Connecticut cruised past eighth-seeded Georgetown, 79-62, on Wednesday in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Jamal Coombs-McDaniel added 12 points off the bench and Jeremy Lamb scored 11 for the No. 19 Huskies (23-9, 9-9 Big East), who will face top-seed Pittsburgh on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

The Hoyas (21-10, 10-8) have dropped four straight since point guard Chris Wright suffered a broken hand, averaging just 51.5 points in the setbacks. Georgetown committed 16 turnovers on Wednesday and recorded only six assists on 22 field goals without Wright, who could be back for the NCAA Tournament.

UConn made its move in the first half, using a 22-7 burst to turn a tie into a 37-22 lead. Coombs-McDaniel scored five points during the spurt, and the Huskies would coast into the locker room with a 42-30 edge.

Georgetown never got closer than 10 points in the second half and fell behind by as much as 19, 59-40, when Shabazz Napier completed a three-point play with 11:34 left.

Jason Clark scored 23 points for the Hoyas.