UConn ends non-conference gauntlet with win over Texas

Tarris Reed, Jr. flexes as UConn finishes non-conference season with win over Texas. Huskies are 10-1 entering Tuesday’s Big East opener against Butler. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)

HARTFORD, Conn. — When Dan Hurley scheduled a home-and-home with Texas two offseasons ago, he certainly didn’t expect the man standing to his left to be who it was on Friday night in Hartford: Former Xavier coach Sean Miller.

In their three years sharing a conference, the two went toe-to-toe in battles nearly every time their teams took the floor.

“They’re unique with their style,” Miller said of UConn. “You can talk about it, but not until you go up against them can you see the physicality and the screening and cutting and the understanding that they really know what they’re doing.”

With Miller returning to the now-PeoplesBank Arena after losing there the past two seasons with the Musketeers, he couldn’t snap his losing streak and knock off the Huskies in Hartford. UConn was able to knock off Texas, 71-63, to finish its non-conference schedule at 10-1.

“So proud of the team with what we’ve been able to do, with the quality of the competition and the adversity of having key players out,” Hurley said.

With all 15 Huskies healthy and off of minute restrictions on Tuesday against Florida, there really weren’t any questions about availability on Friday. There was one change, though. Braylon Mullins entered the starting lineup for the first time in his young career.

“It was great to see him get a start and play 25 minutes and get his cardio up,” Hurley said.

“We knew he could do this stuff from what he did in the summer,” Alex Karaban added.

The rookie wasted no time introducing himself to the crowd in Hartford, as he knocked down his first three shots and was showing the microwave scoring ability that he showcased at Kansas.

“He got us going, he can just do things when things break down and can make hard shots,” Hurley said. “I think he’s gonna become so much more dangerous. He’s really doing everything off script with how much time he’s missed.”

After the hot start, Miller made an adjustment and put Simeon Wilcher on the freshman and it really limited his looks. Mullins finished with 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. 

Another critical part of the game plan for the Longhorns was how they guarded Tarris Reed, Jr. in the post. Whenever the UConn center caught the ball, Texas would send a second defender to double him and attempt to force a turnover. How did Reed react to the double-teams?

By notching a career-high five assists.

“Having a center that can play out there (on the perimeter at the top of the key) when people are switching things, that’s going to make us so much better,” Hurley said.

Reed had great chemistry with Karaban, finding him on three separate occasions cutting to the rim after catching the ball at the top of the key. Even when he didn’t pass out of the double-team, he was still able to get his fair share on the offensive end, recording 12 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting.

UConn took a 43-34 lead into the locker room thanks to an end-of-half layup by Karaban, who finished with a game-high 18 points. The second half was more of a battle. Both sides traded stretches of no field goals and the offenses hit a wall. The Huskies were still able to maintain a lead in the seven to nine-point range throughout, but Texas cut it down to just five with 4:30 to play.

After going scoreless for over four minutes and the shot clock ticking down, Solo Ball connected on a 40-footer from beyond the PBA logo to snap the scoreless skid. On the next possession, Reed rejected a shot that turned into a transition three for Karaban that he knocked down, pushing the lead back to 11.

“Solo owed us that bomb that he hit, and with how clutch AK has been closing games, you knew that one was going down,” Hurley said.

“Solo made a big-time shot and I really screwed him over by giving him the ball not realizing the shot clock,” Karaban added.

Texas never stopped fighting, but those back-to-back treys were too much to overcome and the Huskies ended up in the win column.

“We knew we needed to play our best tonight to put that game pressure on them and play it all the way to the end,” Miller said.

With the non-conference season over, all eyes go towards Big East play, which starts on Tuesday for UConn as Butler comes to Hartford. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. at PeoplesBank Arena.