Following a heartbreaking 68-63 defeat at the hands of Creighton that snapped a 28-game home winning streak, the UConn men’s basketball team returned to action this Tuesday, hosting the Butler Bulldogs at the XL Center. Connecticut got a crucial sixth conference win, holding on 80-78.
Despite the much needed win, the Huskies’ path to victory was not ideal. However, it has been par for the course, as nearly every game has been a fight for their lives.
UConn’s questionable defense, coming in ranked No. 128 in the country, according to KenPom, played the part early on, with some questionable on-the-ball defense that included some open threes that the Bulldogs did cash in on. However, they finished the first half 3-8 on such shots. UConn did, however, show some positive signs offensively. After every defensive possession, the program took off running down the ball to start a fastbreak opportunity. While these didn’t always yield points, Connecticut was able to set up the rest of its offense, which was led by Solo Ball and his electric scoring throughout the first half.
Despite getting beat on defense on numerous possessions, the sophomore guard torched Bulter’s defense with his elite scoring ability. Ball accumulated 15 points in the first 20 minutes on 5-9 shooting, including 3-7 shooting from deep.
Tarris Reed Jr. also had himself a solid nine-point, four-rebound half. However, what was even more crucial for the Huskies was the way he was getting these buckets. At times, the Michigan transfer was a one-man wrecking crew for the Huskies. Reed Jr. embraced his inner kodiak bear at times, throwing his body with all his strength toward the hoop to get the board and go back up with it, which he was largely successful with. There was even a point in the contest where the UConn big man ripped the ball from the hands of a Butler defender after losing the rebound, making a putback, and finally energizing the Hartford crowd. Immediately following this, Ball kept the frenzy going with a massive three-pointer to put the Huskies up 10. Despite all the good things the program was doing on offense, their defense ultimately allowed Butler to come back into the game, as the Bulldogs went on a nine-point run near the end of the half.
A significant reason why the Bulldogs kept a pulse for as long as they did was due to the excellent offense of Andre Screen, coupled with numerous undisciplined fouls from the Huskies.
Screen has nine first-half points of his own on a 4-5 shooting performance, with most of his looks coming off a rebound or a broken-down play from the UConn guards, meaning either Samson Johnson or Reed Jr. had to play help defense, giving Screen an advantageous position.
However, what didn’t seem to be an issue but transpired into one as the half progressed was UConn committing poor offensive fouls. This led to some unnecessary Butler free throws, including a three-point shot that did not go in but instead was called based upon not giving the shooter sufficient space to land.
Despite these confounding variables, UConn skidded to the halftime break up eight points, though with much to improve on. However, they played even worse in the second half.
The Huskies’ defense in the paint went from bad to worse. After conceding a laughable turnover on an arid pass, Reed Jr. fouled Finley Bizjack on a layup, giving the sophomore guard an and-1 opportunity, though he missed the try. Despite missing the free throw, Bizjack was the UConn killer in the second half. The guard put up 12 second-half points on 4-8 shooting, including 2-3 from downtown.
Jahmyl Telfort also built off a six-point first half, scoring an additional 10 points on 5-9 shooting. As fluid as the Butler duo were offensively, the Huskies’ defense was doing Butler all the favors in the world. Not only did the guards allow Bulldogs to walk into advantageous positions, which set up either free throws or open looks, but the fouling from Connecticut was as bad as it had been all season. Numerous and-1 opportunities for Butler, fouling on missed Butler threes and hacking the offensive player after getting beat. It was a significant reason neither program could jump out to a significant advantage, and this game came down to the wire. UConn committed 11 second-half fouls compared to Butler’s six. To make matters worse, both Johnson and Reed Jr. fouled out of this contest before it was all said and done.
Despite UConn coming into Tuesday as 13.5 point favorites, a 68-68 game ensued with less than a minute to go, and the Huskies were fighting for their lives. With a chance to take a lead late, the Huskies needed a bucket, but to do so, they needed to inbound the ball, which proved to be much more difficult than it should have been.
After a Hassan Diarra pass was batted away and some chirping from Butler, Diarra tried again. However, to no avail, Diarra couldn’t get the ball in, meaning UConn had to burn a timeout. Eventually, the Huskies got the ball in, but this was after Karaban chucked it over halfcourt to where only Diarra could get it. Still, the Huskies couldn’t do anything, as Diarra put up a questionable three-pointer with nearly no time remaining. However, Butler got possession with 2.5 seconds left and a chance to win. The Bulldogs chucked a full-court inbound pass, though Diarra intercepted it near the other three-point line. With nearly no time left, the guard put up a halfcourt heave to win it. However, Diarra narrowly missed, so this contest headed to overtime.
Overtime started on a sour note for Connecticut, as Butler quickly took a three-point advantage, but thanks to the efforts of Karaban and Ball, the Huskies quickly took control of the five-minute period. Karaban converted on an and-1 try to tie the contest, and Ball nailed a three to take the lead. However, Butler quickly came roaring back into Tuesday night’s contest thanks to their ability to draw fouls and make some tough shots down low. Reed Jr. eventually hit a dagger layup with nearly no time left to put the program up four points. After some drama later with missed free throws and a chance for Butler to win it later, the Huskies held on for the win, 80-78.
Tuesday’s contest was a classic Big East war, with UConn narrowly holding on for the win. Tuesday also marked the fifth game without Liam McNeeley, and the program has missed him badly as UConn lacks shot-creators and a disruptive defensive presence. Despite the win being less than ideal, Connecticut has a chance to put together an even more complete performance this Saturday at Xavier.