INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 11 UConn men's basketball team (10-3, 2-0 BIG EAST) used a fast start and clutch late shot-making to hang on to a 78-74 victory at Butler (7-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Alex Karaban scored 21 points to lead all players, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:30 to hold Butler at bay. The win was UConn's sixth-straight and second in a row to open conference play.

UConn burst out of the gates and built a double-digit first half lead, but the homestanding Bulldogs refused to go away and rode a sell-out crowd back within a possession several times in the second half. Despite Butler's best attempts, UConn never trailed in the contest and led for 39:20 of game action.

Liam McNeeley had a huge game in support of Karaban with 17 points, five rebounds and a career-high seven assists. Hassan Diarra also scored in double-figures with 12 points and stuffed the stat sheet with seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. For the Bulldogs, Andre Screen had 17 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks while Patrick McCaffery also chipped in 17.

How it Happened

The Huskies threw the first blow, scoring six-straight to open the contest including a pair of Samson Johnson buckets to force a Butler timeout only 1:18 into the contest. UConn did not relent after the stop and back-to-back triples from McNeeley and Karaban stretched the early advantage to 14-2 ahead of the first official media timeout.

Connecticut would go on to make eight-straight from the field, ballooning the lead to 25-9 with an Aidan Mahaney triple at the 12:57 mark of the first. Midway through the period the Bulldogs threw a counter, using a 7-0 run to pull within 27-19 and forcing a UConn timeout at 9:28. Butler continued to claw and got within three late in the first, before a 3-pointer from Diarra and a Karaban hoop and the harm made it 42-33 at the break.

A Diarra trifecta got the scoring started in the second, and a McNeeley 3-pointer before a Solo Ball lay-in both coming off UConn steals made it 51-37 and forced a BU timeout at 15:56 of the second. Once again the Bulldogs answered, and a 3-pointer made it a 9-0 run before a UConn timeout up 51-46 with 13:26 to play.

A Mahaney layup in traffic and two Karaban free throws briefly pushed the lead back to double-figures midway through the second, but Butler would not relent. Six-straight for the Bulldogs later in the frame slimmed the margin down to 63-61 and forced a UConn timeout with 7:12 to go.

The Bulldogs briefly pulled even around the five-minute mark, before McNeeley ended a nearly five-minute scoring drought for the Huskies with a three-point play. Butler got back within one before a Karaban triple at 2:25 made it 69-65, UConn. After a clutch Diarra bank shot at the end of the shot clock, Karaban connected from downtown again to make it 74-69 and force a Butler timeout with 55.3 ticks remaining.

The Bulldogs forced their way back within two in the final ticks, before Diarra calmly sunk a pair from the strip  to push the lead back to four with 15 second left. After a quick basket it was McNeeley's turn to ice the game from the line, which he did with a pair of freebies to seal the four-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 45.0 percent (27-60) from the floor and 45.8 percent (11-24) from 3-point range, holding Butler to 42.6 (23-54) and 33.3 percent (5-15) marks
  • UConn started the game 11-of-14 from the floor and 5-of-6 from 3-point range
  • The Huskies held the Bulldogs without a field goal for the first 5:00 of action
  • After Butler pulled within two with a jumper at 7:27 of the second, UConn held BU without a field goal for the next 5:20 of game time
  • McNeeley (3-3) and Karaban (4-9) led the 3-point barrage
• The Huskies were narrowly out-rebounded, 32-31, but finished with a 12-6 edge in second chance points
• UConn finished with 18 assists on 27 field goals, led by seven apiece from Diarra and McNeeley
• The Huskies hit double-digit 3-pointers in a game for the sixth time this season

News and Notes

• Connecticut is now 10-0 all-time against Butler, including nine-straight as league-mates since 2021 and a perfect 5-0 record at Hinkly Fieldhouse
• UConn improved to 13-2 since the start of the 2022-23 season in noon tips
• McNeeley's career-high seven assists topped his previous best of five vs. Dayton
• Karaban eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and 13^th time in his career
• In two BIG EAST games, Karaban is averaging 20.5 points per game
• Diarra is averaging 8.6 assists per game over UConn's last five contests

Up Next

The Huskies are home for the holidays before returning to action in the new year with a Jan. 1 match-up at DePaul.