HARTFORD – The UConn men's basketball team (18-8, 10-5 BIG EAST) rallied back from 14 down for the fourth time this season to tip Villanova (15-12, 8-8 BIG EAST) by a score of 66-59 on Tuesday night at the XL Center. The Huskies closed the contest on a 27-6 run and a used a game-deciding 10-0 spurt in the final minutes to rally for their 17^th-straight win at the XL Center.

The Huskies secured their fourth comeback this year when trailing by 8+ at the half – most in the country. Liam McNeeley led the way for Connecticut with 20 points and seven rebounds, scoring 16 after intermission and coming up with a slew of clutch plays late. Tarris Reed Jr. added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds off the bench, while Solo Ball was the third Husky to finish in double-figures with 13 points to go with a career-high six assists. Hassan Diarra stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a career-high three blocks while playing to a game-best +17.

UConn started frigid from the field but turned it on in the second half while ratcheting up its own defensive effort and holding VU to 32.0 percent shooting in the final 20. Villanova got a game-high 19 pointsfrom Wooga Poplar and Eric Dixon added 17 in the setback.

How it Happened

The Huskies opened cold, missing their first seven shots and seeing Villanova use a 9-0 run to take a 16-6 lead before a timeout at 11:36 of the first. Connecticut saw its offense come to life after the stoppage, reeling off an 8-0 run to pull within two at 20-18 before the U-8 media timeout at 7:33 of the frame.

Six straight from the Wildcats late in the first gave VU a nine-point lead inside of the final minute of the half and they would go on to take a 34-26 lead to the half. UConn rebounded from a 1-of-10 start to shoot 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) the rest of the first but were 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the opening stanza while the Wildcats shot 5-of-10.

The Huskies scored the first five of the second half with a Ball 3-pointer pulling them back within a possession in the opening minutes. The Wildcats quickly answered with an 8-0 in under a minute, going back up double-figures at 42-31 with 16:51 to play. UConn got right back within five, but it was short-lived and Villanova took its largest lead of the day at 53-39 with 11:58 to go in regulation.

The Huskies answered over the next five minutes, using a prolonged 10-0 run to pull back within 53-49 at 7:02 of the second. A McNeeley 3-pointer after VU snapped a six-plus minute scoring drought cut the lead to a single possession, and the Wildcats called for time up 55-52 with 5:09 to play and the XL Center rocking.

With 3:37 to play a pair from the stripe from McNeeley slimmed the lead to two, and on UConn's next trip a Reed Jr. lay-in with the shot clock expiring leveled the score at 58-all. After two more stops, McNeeley snared a clutch defensive rebound and was fouled before sinking two from the line with 1:42 to play to give UConn its first lead since 2-0. A Reed Jr. flush on the next trip pushed the late run to 10-0 and Villanova called for time with 1:02 to play and the Huskies now ahead 62-58.

Villanova ended the run inside of the final minute with a free throw, and UConn called for time with the ball and 34.6 to play up three. After the stoppage, McNeeley found Reed Jr. inside for a lay-up to put Connecticut up five. From there the Huskies were able to salt away the win from the line.

Inside The Numbers

• The Huskies finished 23-of-51 (45.1 percent) from the floor and held Villanova to a 19-of-54 (35.2 percent) mark
  • The Wildcats started 8-of-15 from the floor but were held to 11-of-39 (28.2 percent) shooting the rest of the way
  • The 35.2 percent mark is the lowest for a high-major foe against UConn this season and marks UConn sixth-straight game holding an opponent under 42.0 percent
  • Villanova had an advantage from beyond the arc, going 8-of-22 (36.4) compared to a 4-of-19 (21.1) day for Connecticut
  • Both sides shot it well from the free throw line – UConn was 16-of-18 (88.9 percent) and Villanova finished 13-of-15 (81.3)
• UConn finished with a 38-16 edge in points in the paint
• McNeeley posted his fourth 20-point effort of the season
  • In four games since returning from injury, McNeeley is averaging 21.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game
  • He was 9-of-9 from the free throw line on Tuesday, raising his season average to a team-best 86.5 percent
• The Huskies held a 7-2 edge in blocked shots
  • The three blocks for Diarra marked a new career-high, while Alex Karaban added a pair for his 11^th game this season with multiple rejections
  • UConn entered the day second national with 6.6 swats per game
• Connecticut assisted on 17 of its 23 field goals and had only nine turnovers
• UConn finished +6 on the glass and turned 10 offensive rebounds into a 16-9 edge in second chance points

News and Notes

• UConn is now 37-40 all-time against Villanova and has won six of eight in the series
• The Huskies are 6-5 this season when trailing at halftime – their six halftime rallies are tied for second-most in the BIG EAST
  • UConn has rallied from exactly 14 back in a game on four occasions
  • Connecticut's four wins this year when trailing by eight or more at half are the most in the country – seven teams have done it three times
• Dan Hurley became the second coach in BIG EAST history to win at least 10 league games in each of his first five seasons in the conference – joining Jamie Dixon who did it eight-straight from 2003-04 to 2010-11 at Pitt
• UConn has now won 17-straight at the XL Center
• Ball has hit three or more 3-pointers in a game 17 times this season

Up Next

The Huskies head to Manhattan on Sunday to take on No. 10 St. John's at Madison Square Garden.