RALEIGH, N.C. – The eight-seed UConn men's basketball team (24-11) saw its season end with a 77-75 setback to top-seed Florida (32-4) on Sunday afternoon in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Lenovo Center.

Coming in as heavy underdogs, the Huskies went to the break tied and pulled ahead briefly in the second half of the all-out battle with the Gators. The Huskies rebounded from a slow shooting start and were able to contain UF's top-ranked offense for much of the contest, but came up on the wrong end of some late loose balls and bounces.

Liam McNeeley led the Huskies with 22 points in the setback and went 8-of-8 from the free throw line, but struggled from downtown. Alex Karaban had 14 points, five rebounds and three assists for Connecticut while Samson Johnson recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double in his final game in the Husky blue. Solo Ball added eight points, four rebounds and three assists but also struggled with his outside shot.  Hassan Diarra finished the final game of his distinguished career with six points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals and Tarris Reed Jr. posted five points and eight rebounds off the bench.

Florida got a game-high 23 points from Walter Clayton Jr., who hit 5-of-8 from 3-point range despite heavy contests on nearly every attempt. UConn held UF's offense, which came into the day ranked No. 1 in Kenpom efficiency, under 40 percent from the floor in the first half and finished with a +6 turnover margin.

How it Happened

The Huskies opened ice cold from the floor, missing their first seven shots as the Gators scored the game's first six points before McNeeley broke the seal with a corner 3-pointer. The slow shooting start for UConn continued leading into the U-12 timeout, but the Husky defense forced a slew of early turnovers to keep it close and the Gators held an 11-8 lead at the 11:40 stoppage.

A McNeeley floater at 9:45 pulled the Huskies within one, and Connecticut took its first lead at 7:33 when a Karaban triple made it 18-16. A 5-0 mini-run for the Gators gave UF a 24-20 lead and prompted a UConn timeout with 4:54 to go in the first. Two free throws from McNeeley and a Karaban put-back after the stop leveled the score at 24-all.

With the first half timer expiring and the shot clock dwindling down, Diarra hit a deep contested 3-pointer inside of the final five seconds of the first half to make it a 31-31 game at the break. The halftime tie for the Huskies came despite a 11-34 start from the floor and a 4-18 mark from downtown in the opening 20.

A Diarra to Johnson alley-oop put the Huskies back ahead on their first trip of the second half, part of a 7-1 run to open the frame that pushed the UConn lead to 38-32 - its largest of the day. The two sides continued to trade blows, and Aidan Mahaney got the lead back to six with a driving lay-up at 11:55 to put the Huskies up 48-42.

Midway through the half, McNeeley found Reed Jr. for a dunk off a scramble to keep the lead at six, before five-straight from the Gators slimmed the margin to one at 52-51 ahead of a timeout on the floor with 7:30 to play. A Karaban 3-pointer off the stoppage got the lead back to two possessions and the Husky captain sank a pair from the line with 5:23 to play that gave Connecticut a 57-54 edge.

The Huskies went cold from the floor after the Karaban 3-pointer, going four minutes without a field goal which allowed the Gators to take a 62-61 lead with a Clayton 3-pointer at 2:54. At 2:12, Ball snapped the drought with a huge 3-pointer that leveled the score at 64-all.

Three from the line for the Gators pushed their lead to 67-64 as the clock dwindled inside of two minutes. At 1:07, Clayton drilled a falling, contested 3-pointer that got the lead to six. From there the Huskies could not close the gap. McNeeley hit a logo 3-pointer as time expired to slim the final deficit to two.  

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 37.5 percent (24-64) from the floor and 27.6 percent (8-29) from three
• Conversely, Florida used its late second half surge to finish the day with a 46.0 percent (23-50) mark and 47.4 percent (9-19) from 3-point range
  • UConn held UF to 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) shooting in the first half and forced nine turnovers in the opening stanza
• The Huskies were out-rebounded, 40-35, marking the first time in 14 games they have lost the battle on the glass
• UConn took 12 less free throws than Florida but finished 19-22 (86.4) from the line
• Connecticut recorded a 32-24 edge in paint points

News and Notes

• UConn is now 5-2 all-time against Florida and 1-2 vs. the Gators in the NCAA Tournament – the loss snapped a five-game winning streak for UConn in the series
• Across 38 tournament bids, Connecticut has compiled a 72-33 record overall and a 16-5 mark in the Second Round (since seeding began in 1979)
• Dan Hurley is 15-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 2-2 in the Second Round
• The double-double for Johnson was the second of his career, both coming in March
  • Johnson's nine first half rebounds marked his most in a half in his career
  • Johnson finishes his career with the most wins (115) of any four-year Huskt
• McNeeley finished 8-of-8 from the foul line – on the year he finished 110-of-129 – his 85.2 percent mark from the line is third-best in UConn history
• With a 2-2 day from the stripe Karaban boosted his career free throw percentage to 84.1 – fifth in program history
• Ball hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish his sophomore season with 99 - tied with Cam Spencer (23-24) and Rip Hamilton (97-98) for fourh-most in a season in program history
• UConn saw a 13-game NCAA Tournament winning streak snapped - tied with Duke (1991-93) for the longest in the modern era 

The Huskies conclude the 2024-25 season with a 24-11 record and advanced to their firfht-straight NCAA Tournament.