In a packed Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday night, the No. 25 UConn men’s basketball team (6-3) got their first marquee win of the season, defeating the No. 15 Baylor Bears, 76-72.
In their second consecutive game without Alex Karaban, who is still in concussion protocol, the Huskies showed that they were more than just their potential All-American.
“Winning without him today is going to be good for the confidence of the group,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said.
Baylor won the tip and did not waste time getting their top 10 offense going. Forward Norchad Omier, who faced the Huskies in the 2023 Final Four with the Miami Hurricanes, scored first.
The Bears started out hot, scoring the game’s first seven points before Liam McNeeley made a basket and drew a foul on Langston Love, who started over freshman star VJ Edgecombe, who did not play due to a hamstring injury.
Connecticut looked like they were settling in heading into the first media timeout, with a 3-pointer from Solo Ball and two blocks from Liam McNeeley.
However, Baylor showed resilience out of the timeout, going on a ferocious 10-0 run led by Love and Robert Wright III, the latter of whom played with McNeeley at Montverde Academy.
“It was pretty exciting to play against somebody I really knew,” McNeeley said regarding his former teammate. “We’ve been talking about it since the schedule came out, but we didn’t talk today before the game at all. I didn’t text him; he didn’t text me. We hugged after the game. That’s my guy, I’m proud of him.”
All signs point to Wright for being the reason Baylor stayed in the game. The freshman from Wilmington, Del. finished the night with 22 points and four assists.
UConn showed their own resilience out of the second media timeout, beginning with a fast break dunk by Jayden Ross.
Aidan Mahaney started to find his rhythm, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to force Baylor coach Scott Drew to call a timeout.
“I thought [Mahaney] saved us today,” Hurley said. “When we were reeling in a bad way, he gave us a lot of life and got the crowd going and then we were able to get our bearings.”
Hurley referred to Mahaney as a player who “rose like a phoenix out of the ashes.”
Hurley had a different approach to the team’s first AP top 25 opponent of the season. Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. subbed each other out, as usual, but also shared the court for the first time this season.
“Offensively, it brought me back to Buffalo when we didn’t have enough shooting and passing, but for this game it was necessary,” Hurley said.
Despite trailing by 11 in the first half, Johnson hit four consecutive free throws to help the Huskies claim their first lead of the game.
Baylor went up at the midway point 37-36, with Wright leading all scorers with 10 points.
UConn came out swinging in the second half, going on an 8-0 run sparked by an old-fashioned 3-point play by Johnson.
However, Omier kept the Bears in the game with a putback dunk that resulted in an old-fashioned 3-point play of his own.
McNeeley continued to show the 45 credentialed NBA scouts in attendance why he’s being considered an NBA Draft prospect, finishing the night with 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Duke transfer Jeremy Roach exited the game early in the second half and did not return due to a concussion. That was a major blow for Baylor, as he scored nine points in the first half.
The fouls continued to haunt the Huskies. Johnson fouled out with 1:47 left after playing 22 minutes. He had a good outing, scoring in double figures for the second time this season with 13 points and two blocks.
“Samson was just an incredible warrior,” Hurley said. “He was +18 in that game. He just played so hard, and I was just so proud of that guy.”
Luckily, Reed stayed out of foul trouble and contributed nine points, five rebounds and two blocks.
While UConn was outrebounded again, they were able to absorb every one of Baylor’s punches.
The Huskies will face yet another Texas-based team as they travel to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns on Sunday evening.