INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 11 UConn men's basketball team (9-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) rides a five-game winning streak into its finale contest of 2024, visiting Butler (7-5, 0-1 BIG EAST) for a league match-up on Saturday afternoon at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. Tip-off is set for high noon, airing exclusively on Peacock with Noah Reed and Tim Welsh on the call.

The Huskies have been surging since returning to the mainland in late November, in the midst of a December that has already included two top-15 wins, an SEC road victory and most recently a win in a conference opener at the home for the first time in 21 years. Butler is mired in a four-game slide including an 80-70 setback at Marquette in their league opener on Wednesday. Connecticut is 9-0 all-time against Butler in a series that began in the 2011 National Championship and has continued since 2021 as conference-mates.

UConn was last in action Wednesday, taking its conference opener over Xavier at the XL Center in a 94-89 overtime thriller. All five Huskies starters scored in double-figures and combined for 88 of their 94 points. Solo Ball led the way with a career-high 22 points, netting eight-straight in a crucial second half stretch that flipped the contest and helped eventually lead to overtime. Alex Karaban scored seven of his 20 points in the extra frame, while Liam McNeeley scored all 14 of his after halftime. Making his first start of the season in place of the injured Samson Johnson, Tarris Reed Jr. was massive with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double and four blocks while Hassan Diarra notched his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 assists.

Karaban leads the Huskies with 16.0 points per game, adding 5.0 rebounds and 3.1 assists while ranking among the nation's leaders with 2.0 blocks per game. McNeeley and Ball add 13.7 and 13.3 per game, respectively, while Reed Jr. is the fourth Husky averaging double-figures to go along with a team-leading 8.4 rebounds per contest. Diarra has emerged as one of the top playmakers in the BIG EAST since moving into the starting lineup seven games ago, checking in at third in the conference with 6.2 assists per game.

The Huskies currently rank first in the nation with 7.1 blocked shots per game and are top-five in the country with 19.9 assists per game and a 2.03 assist/turnover ratio. UConn is first in the conference in scoring offense (84.4 ppg), scoring margin (+15.7) and field goal percentage (49.8).

Butler is off to a 7-5 start this season with quality wins over SMU, Northwestern and Mississippi State in the non-league. Jahmyl Telfort (16.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Pierre Brooks (15.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) lead the Butler attack as two of the league's top returners, while Patrick McCaffery adds 12.9 per game and is shooting 47.1 percent from 3-point range.

Following the contest at Butler, UConn does not return to the court until Jan. 1 for a matinee at DePaul.