When most people set their New Year’s resolutions, they typically look to make a change in their lives. Not Braylon Mullins. He says he wants things to stay the same.
“Keep winning.”
No. 4 UConn will travel to play Xavier on New Year’s Eve, looking to maintain its eight-game winning streak for the sake of Mullins’ resolution.
Wednesday will not be the first time the Huskies (12-1, 2-0) have played at the Cintas Center on New Year’s Eve. The last time UConn rang in the New Year with the Musketeers (9-4, 1-1) was during the 2022-23 season, when the team entered on a 14-game unbeaten streak. The Huskies fell 83-73 to take their first loss of the season.
The loss ignited an abysmal stretch through January where UConn only won twice over seven games. The Huskies managed to turn their slump around, going on two win back-to-back national titles.
UConn has won just one of its last four road games with Xavier. Last season, the Huskies suffered a 76-72 loss at the Cintas Center to snap a four-game streak over the Musketeers.
Xavier has played without a “traditional center” this season as put by UConn head coach Dan Hurley. The Musketeers are able to space the floor with six players shooting over 30% from the three-point line with at least 10 attempts.
All Wright leads Xavier’s three-point attack shooting nearly 46% from three this season, while 6-foot-10 forward Jovan Milicevic hits 42% on his three-point attempts.
“They’re hard to guard because they’ve got five guys playing on the perimeter,” Hurley said. “That puts your centers in uncomfortable positions defensively.”
UConn middle man Tarris Reed Jr. welcomes the challenge and views it as an opportunity to give his teammates and the coaching staff “confidence” in his ability to defend outside the paint.
“I feel like it’s a different type of matchup.” Reed said. “Me and [Eric Reibe] can guard on the perimeter.”
Reed notched his second double-double of the season in the Huskies’ last outing against DePaul on Dec. 21. He has missed five games this season due to injury. Reed’s 11 rebounds over the Blue Demons marked his highest total since returning from injury.
Reed feels his best basketball is still ahead of him despite the standout performance. When asked to rate how close he feels to the top of his game out of ten since returning from injury, he responded with a six.
Hurley confirmed Monday that Solo Ball will make his return to action Wednesday night after a wrist injury he suffered against Butler. He missed his first start of the season against DePaul, which was followed by a 10-day hiatus for the holidays. College Basketball Today’s Jon Rothstein named Ball to his Midseason All-American Third Team on Dec. 23. The Preseason All-Big East First Team nominee leads UConn in scoring this season at 15.3 points per game.
Ball scored a career-high 26 points in the 79-60 win over Butler. He knocked down three triples while shooting 57% from the field, his most efficient scoring night since Nov. 7 against UMass Lowell.
“He does a lot for us on offense,” Mullins said. “He’s another guy you can rely on out there, and he’s going to make shots. That’s what we need him to do.”
Alex Karaban was the deciding factor when UConn took down DePaul. He made six consecutive baskets to start the contest on his way to leading all scorers with 22 points.
Efficiency has defined the two-time national champion this season. Karaban has rebounded from a down year, posting the best numbers of his career. He is shooting 52.4% from the field, 43.9% from three, and 87.0% from the free-throw line, leaving him three percentage points shy at the line of the coveted 50/40/90 threshold.
Karaban has always donned a team-first persona, prioritizing winning over his individual success, but even he couldn’t deny the magnitude of achieving this benchmark.
“In my personal goals, that’d be cool,” Karaban said. “To have a 50/40/90 year would be a testament to all the hard work I put in over the summer and to the coaches for putting me in the right spots.”
New Year’s resolutions are often short lived, and Mullins’ will be tested right away on Wednesday as the Huskies look to not let history repeat itself in the Queen City.
The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m. and can be watched on NBC Sports or Peacock.
#4 both polls for 2 weeks. Don’t you read the papers?