A raucous sold-out crowd of 16,154 inside the World’s Most Famous Arena. A top 15 matchup featuring two of the nation’s best programs. In the middle of it all, a five-star freshman, making his official debut for No. 5 UConn men’s basketball.
Not quite the environment that Braylon Mullins envisioned for his first appearance as a Husky when he announced his commitment over a year ago. The No. 17 overall recruit was sidelined with an ankle injury back in October.
He checked in to an uproar from a well-traveled UConn crowd, on the way to a decisive 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois, in the SentinelOne Showdown at Madison Square Garden.
Mullins entered the game for the first time at the 12:05 mark on a minutes restriction and gave Husky fans a preview of things to come. He snatched down two rebounds and drilled a smooth spot-up mid-range jumper during his 10 minutes of action.
“He’s going to continue to get better. He’s going to continue to grow and he’s getting way more comfortable out there,” Alex Karaban said.
Unlike the last time these two faced off in the 2024 Elite Eight, there were no 30-point runs for UConn. But a 10-0 surge in the first half did give the Huskies breathing room to control the game wire-to-wire.
Solo Ball sparked UConn’s offense in the first half, opening the game’s scoring with a three pointer. The third-year guard entered the game shooting just 26.5% from three this season, despite being one of the best shooters in the country last year.
Ball rediscovered his stroke in the first half, burying two triples. He was able to create his own shots from midrange as he tallied 13 in the first half. Ball’s shooting woes of late caught up with him in the second half, as he missed five of his six field goal attempts, including four missed threes.
“He got us going,” Karaban said. “He got us that cushion offensively, he draws so much attention when he’s on fire.”
Silas Demary Jr. contributed nine points to the first half assault, but foul trouble kept him off the court until there were less than 10 minutes to play in the game. The Huskies led by as many as 14 in the first half, going into the intermission up 43-32.
31 points from UConn’s bench were a key driver of the team’s success today. Malachi Smith provided 13 to bolster the offensive. The Dayton transfer was perfect from both the three point and free throw lines. Smith knocked down a circus three in the game’s closing minutes, banking it in off the glass while baiting a foul to create a four-point play.
“I didn’t know the shot clock was going off, so I just looked at the sideline. Everybody told me, ‘Shoot it.’ And he fouled me. So, I tried to concentrate at least a little bit so it could hit the rim, and it went in,” Smith said.
Friday was the first time this season that all 15 Huskies were healthy and available to play. Tarris Reed Jr. made his return to the court after a two-game hiatus, due to an ankle injury he suffered against then-No.7 BYU on Nov. 15.
Reed finished the game with five rebounds but missed all three of his attempts from the field during a limited 15 minutes of burn. Freshman Eric Reibe stepped up to man the middle once again, making impactful defensive plays and finishing around the rim.
“It’s giving us two centers that are going to be able to play at a high level,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said. “And that’s been the key to a lot of our success in ’23 and ’24.”
The Huskies defense had a tough assignment being faced with an Illinois roster that featured five double digit scorers, all starters. Of those five, only starting point guard Kylan Boswell consistently found ways to score. The senior finished the gamescoring 25 points with 9 rebounds to boot.
Boswell attacked the hoop throughout the night and earned himself several trips to the free throw line. He sank all of his seven attempts from the stripe.
“Silas…played 19 minutes, was in foul trouble. A lot of that was how good Boswell is. He’s just so hard to guard,” Hurley said.
The Huskies neutralized Andrej Stojakovic, the Illini’s leading scorer this season. The Cal transfer only got one of his seven attempts from the field to fall, causing Head Coach Brad Underwood to pull him for the final eight minutes of the game.
UConn’s defense forced the Illini to miss all but one of their first 12 shots in the second half, allowing the Huskies to extend the lead to 21 with 10 minutes to play.
Illinois mustered a comeback as the team ignited an 11-0 run through the game’s last 10 minutes of action, but it was too little too late, as UConn’s lead proved too much to overcome.
“I’ve seen most teams in the country this year,” Hurley said. “I think they’re going to be there at the end of the year as a high seed in the tournament and have a chance to contend for championships.”
The win marked the Huskies second over a top 15 opponent this season. UConn will face another high-profile test when the team takes on Kansas, who just went 3-0 in the Players Era Tournament, upsetting No. 17 Tennessee in the third-place game on Wednesday.
The game will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, the Huskies’ first true road game of the year.
Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN2.