Box Score

HARTFORD – The UConn men's basketball team (19-9, 11-6) knocked off Georgetown by a score 93-79 on Wednesday night at a sold-out XL Center. It marked the XL Center regular season finale for the Huskies as they finish the year 8-0 in Hartford. The victory was Connecticut's 10^th-straight over Georgetown, the third-longest streak for either side in the 67-year history of the series.

Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 10^th career double-double while Solo Ball also notched 20 with five rebounds, three assists and four 3-pointers. The duo led five Huskies in double-figures, as Connecticut overcame a very early double-digit deficit and never looked back going up as many as 19 late.

Also atop the scoresheet for the Huskies were Liam McNeeley with 17 points and Hassan Diarra with 14 to go along with a game-high seven assists. Alex Karaban also finished in double-figures with 13 points and became the ninth player in UConn history with 200 career 3-pointers with a second half splash. It was the first time since the Providence game on Jan. 5 that UConn had five in double-figures. For Georgetown, Micah Peavy led the way with 25 points and Jayden Epps added 13.

How it Happened

The Hoyas grabbed an early lead, hitting their first five from the field including four 3-pointers to go up 14-4 before a Husky timeout with 16:18 to play in the first. The Huskies exploded back with an 8-0 run over 1:00 after the stop. A pair of Ball triples out of the break got the run started before a Diarra steal-and-score quickly trimmed the lead back to two at 14-12 with 15:00 on the timer.

After the Hoyas built their lead back to six the Huskies got hot, hitting four-of-five from the floor capped by a steal and thunderous slam from Reed Jr. in transition. That cut the lead to one, where it stayed at 26-25 ahead of a timeout with 7:42 to go. The Huskies took their first lead minutes later when Reed Jr. scored on a put-back and converted the three-point play. The big man hit again on UConn's next trip to make it an 8-0 run and prompt a Georgetown timeout with 5:16 to play in the first and the Huskies up 33-29.

Late in the first Karaban scored on a nifty feed from Ahmad Nowell and Ball drained a corner 3-pointer to give UConn its largest lead of the day heading into the half at 42-35. The Huskies shot 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the opening stanza, their best shooting first half of the season.

The Hoyas opened the second half hot and pulled within three as the two sides traded baskets. A Jaylin Stewart 3-pointer at 12:17 of the second gave Connecticut its largest lead at 64-56, and a pair from Ball at the stripe after his own offensive rebound pushed it to a double-digit lead for the first time on the next trip. Back-to-back lay-ins from Diarra midway through the half made it 72-61 in favor of the Huskies and spurred a GU timeout with 9:50 to play.

The Hoyas briefly got back within nine to coax a UConn timeout with 7:21 to play and a 76-67 lead. From there, a three-point play from Reed Jr. and Ball second chance 3-pointer after the stoppage pushed the lead to its largest of the night at 15 with UConn up 84-69 and under five to play.

Inside of the final five, Karaban took over and drilled his 200^th career 3-pointer at 4:15 before hitting a floater on the next trip that made it 89-71 for the largest margin of the night. From there it was merely window dressing as Connecticut closed out the 14-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 33-of-59 (55.9 percent) from the floor and 9-of-24 (37.5) from 3-point range, while Georgetown finished 29-of-56 (51.8) and 11-of-27 (40.7)
  • The 58.6 percent mark in the first half was a season-best for the opening 20 – the best overall shooting half was a 72.7 percent performance vs. Providence on Jan. 5
  • Overall, the 55.9 percent mark for the game was the third-best in BIG EAST play behind Marquette on Feb. 1 (59.5) and Providence on Jan 5 (56.3)
  • After the Hoyas started 5-of-5 from the floor and 4-of-4 from distance, the Huskies clamped up and held them 7-of-21 and 1-of-8 over the final 16 minutes of the first half
• The Huskies dominated on the glass, out-rebounding the Hoyas 35-18 and out-scoring them 30-3 in second chance points – a new season-high
• Connecticut held a 48-32 edge in the paint points and 25-10 advantage in bench scoring
• Reed Jr. scored his 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 4-of-6 day from the line
• UConn dished out 19 assists on 33 field goals, led by seven from Diarra and four for McNeeley
• The Huskies were a sterling 18-of-20 (90.0) from the free throw line and are now shooting 79.6 percent from the line in BIG EAST play

News and Notes

• The Huskies are 40-36 all-time against the Hoyas after their 10^th-straight victory
• UConn sold out the entirety of its XL Center slate for the first time since 2004-05
• Karaban became the ninth Husky with 200 career 3-pointers at UConn and first to hit the mark since Christian Vital in 2019-20
• Connecticut has won its last 18 contests at the XL Center and Dan Hurley is 40-9 (.816) as the UConn head coach in Hartford
• Reed Jr. notched his seventh double-double of the season and the 10^th of his career – it was also his third '20 and 10' double-double of the year
• Ball posted his fifth 20+ scoring out of the season and has been in double-figures 26 times this season, most on the squad
  • He finished 4-of-10 from deep and hit at least three 3-pointers in a game for the 18^th time
  • It was the eighth time this season Ball has grabbed at least five rebounds
• In six games since returning from injury on Feb. 7, McNeeley is averaging 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 40-of-45 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line

Up Next

Connecticut is on the road for the final time this regular season when it travels to Providence on Saturday for a noon tip on CBS.