UConn survives in overtime against Butler behind career night from Ball

Solo Ball set career high with 23 points Tuesday, including five 3-pointers, as UConn escaped upset bid from Butler. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

HARTFORD, Conn. — The 2023-24 UConn men’s basketball team was one of those once-in-a-generation type of rosters. One through five, anybody could go for a career night and impact winning in numerous ways. In a way, despite a few hiccups, the team felt invincible towards its competition.

This year’s Huskies team isn’t invincible, not even close, in fact, but has proven time and time again that it can respond from adversity. After getting swept in Maui, UConn responded by sweeping the tough stretch of Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga. The Huskies followed up a heartbreaking loss to Villanova two weeks ago with a convincing road win at Georgetown. How would they answer their first home loss in nearly two years?

With a win, of course.

After falling to Creighton in Storrs on Saturday, UConn bounced back and defeated Butler, 80-78, in a gutsy overtime win to move to 6-2 in Big East play in front of a packed XL Center in Hartford.

“Relieved,” head coach Dan Hurley said as his full, one-word opening statement.

The story on the offensive side of the ball was, well, Ball. Solo, that is. The sophomore guard continued his breakout campaign by scoring a career-high 23 points with five three-pointers, including a go-ahead triple with 90 seconds left in the overtime period.

“I was just trying to move without the ball and find an open shot,” Ball said on his lead-clinching bucket. “(Hassan Diarra) found me and I had to make sure I hit the shot. I work on that shot all the time, so just credit to the work.”

Ball pulled his best Jordan Hawkins impression, running around screens all night to get open looks from the perimeter. His growth on the offensive end from last season to this season is one of the main reasons the Huskies are in the position they’re in this season, and not potentially in a worse spot.

“Our ability to move off the ball is critical to how we play,” Hurley said. 

On the defensive end, the story was the rim protection. Early on, the Huskies put on a defensive clinic. On one sequence, Tarris Reed, Jr. stripped the Bulldogs after they got a defensive rebound and laid it in to get the crowd going, and right after that, Alex Karaban blocked a three-pointer that led to a fastbreak finish for Ball. All in all, the Huskies blocked nine shots and made the Bulldogs uncomfortable down low.

Even though they were uncomfortable early, UConn let Butler hang in the whole game and never put the visitors away. A Ball triple pushed the lead to nine at the 7:15 mark, but the Huskies only made two more field goals the rest of the way and allowed the Bulldogs to force overtime. A banked-in three from Finley Bizjack and some “man against boys” finishes inside from Jahmyl Telfort fueled the comeback.

“I’m not sure if we’re good enough right now to take a 15-point lead and keep it there, or take a 15-point lead and push it to 24,” Hurley said. “This current team just makes too many mistakes.”

Butler led by two, at 68-66, down the stretch, but a Karaban bucket knotted things up at the 1:27 mark and that was the final point for either side in regulation. Karaban had a strong night overall, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and even three blocks.

“We have to show that killer instinct, but in the Big East you have to win in a variety of ways,” Karaban said. “Whether it’s a gutsy, overtime win, a win is a win.”

Karaban was a game-time decision due to an ankle injury he sustained in the loss to Creighton. Even though that’s what Hurley labeled it as, the Husky captain knew he was going to play.

“It was kind of decided yesterday night,” Karaban said. “It was always my intention to play today just because I like being out there with the guys.”

In overtime, Butler jumped out to a three-point lead before the Huskies rattled off eight straight points thanks to an and-1 finish for Karaban, Ball’s aforementioned triple, and a pair of free throws for Samson Johnson after drawing an offensive foul on Andre Screen. Johnson and his center mate Reed were terrific, each scoring 14 points and combining for six blocked shots.

“I thought Samson was a total warrior today. Tarris obviously gave us production,” Hurley said. “Any win we get right now is a good win without Liam (McNeeley).”

The Huskies had numerous miscues late, such as errant passes or failed box-outs that gave the Bulldogs extra opportunities. They also struggled in the half-court offense over the last 12 minutes of the game, including overtime. Multiple possessions ended with poor shot attempts or forced misses and the guy who found himself in that position was Hassan Diarra.

“We just don’t have a lot of shot creators,” Hurley said. “Most people, end of the shot clock, have the ball in the hands of a guy who can put something of high quality on the rim. For us right now, we could go to Alex, we could go to Solo, or we could go to Hassan.”

Having the ball with 40 seconds left in overtime, it was a perfect example of one of those broken plays that ended with a Karaban drive to the basket. He lost the ball underneath, but Reed scooped it up and laid it in with 20 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and the Huskies held on for a two-point win after Telfort missed a heave for the win at the buzzer.

“That was a tiring game to coach,” Hurley said. “From what we all just went through, there’s obviously some frustration as fans and coaches.”

The Huskies go back on the road this weekend to take on Xavier at the Cintas Center in a rematch of the thrilling Big East opening overtime win that the Huskies had on December 18.

“They’ve gotten better ever since we last played them,” Karaban said. “Cintas Center is one of the hardest places to play.”