AUSTIN, Texas - Fresh off its first marquee win of the campaign, the No. 25 UConn men's basketball team (6-3) continues its December gauntlet when it visits Texas (7-1) on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off for UConn's first true road test of the season is set for 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT on ESPN with Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Kris Budden on the call. 

The Huskies and Longhorns are both coming off impressive conference challenge victories, with UConn taking down No. 15 Baylor in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle and Texas winning at NC State in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The two sides have an extensive history, with Sunday's meeting marking the 11th all-time. UConn leads the series, 7-3, including an 81-71 victory in the 2023 Empire Classic. In that contest, current Huskies Alex Karaban (20 points, six rebounds, 4-of-8 from 3-point range), Samson Johnson (15 points, eight rebounds, 6-of-8 from the floor) and Hassan Diarra (eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, two blocks) all played key roles to help Connecticut win its first championship of the historic campaign. 

Karaban leads the Huskies offensively this season with 15.9 points per game and is on track to return Sunday after missing UConn's last two games with a head injury suffered in Maui. In his absence freshman Liam McNeeley led the charge in the Baylor win, going for team-highs of 17 points and eight rebounds. On the year, the Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year is averaging 13.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. McNeeley, a native of Richardson, Texas, will be returning to his home state on Sunday. 

Solo Balli is the lone Husky who has scored in double-figures in all nine games this season and is averaging 12.6 points per game while shooting 46.0 percent from 3-point range. Diarra leads the Huskies with 5.0 assists per game, while big man Tarris Reed Jr. is third in the BIG EAST and first on Connecticut with 8.6 rebounds per game to go along with 10.9 points a contest. Reed Jr. has notched four double-doubles off the bench. Johnson has begun to round into form in recent games, averaging double-figures over his last four contests and shooting 82.4 percent from the floor on the season. 

Texas enters Sunday contest with a 7-1 overall record, receiving votes in both national polls while checking in at No. 53 in NET and No. 35 in Kenpom. Tre Johnson leads the Longhorns with 20.8 points per game, shooting 44.6 from 3-point range. Arthur Kaluma, familiar to the Huskies from his time at Creighton, adds 13.6 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game. As a team Texas is among the national leaders with a 50.0 field goal percentage. 

Following the road tilt in Austin, UConn heads to the World's Most Famous Arena to take on No. 7 Gonzaga in the Hall of Fame Series at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Dec. 14.