University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
4-1,0-0Big East
Arizona
5-0,0-0Big 12
No. 3 UConn Falls, 71-67, To No. 4 Arizona
11/19/2025 10:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STORRS – The No. 3 UConn men's basketball team (4-1) suffered its first setback of the season, dropping a 71-67 decision to No. 4 Arizona on Wednesday night at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. It was the first top-five showdown in Storrs since 2006. The loss snapped UConn's 36-game home non-conference winning streak.
Playing shorthanded, the Huskies were out-rebounded by 20 and went down as many as 13 in the second half. UConn managed to rally all the way back and take of pair of leads in the final three minutes but couldn't close out what would have been a stunning comeback. Eric Reibe got his first start since the opener and had a career-high 15 points for the Huskies, also pulling in four rebounds and blocking two shots.
Joining Reibe atop the scoresheet for UConn in double-figures were Solo Ball with 14, Silas Demary Jr. with 13 and Jaylin Stewart who finished with 10. For Arizona, Jaden Bradley led all scorers with 21 points including a clutch late bucket, Koa Peat had 16 points and 12 rebound and Motiejus Krivas grabbed 14 rebounds. Malachi Smith dished out a game-high eight assists against one turnover for the Huskies while Alex Karaban finished with eight points, three rebounds and two blocks.
How it Happened
Arizona scored the game's first two baskets and would take a 14-8 lead at 13:33 of the first half, the largest early advantage for either side. Ball answered with a personal 7-0 run and gave UConn a 15-14 lead at 11:20 with a pull-up jumper. The Wildcats scored the next five to retake the lead before Stewart drilled his first 3-pointer of the half to draw back within one.
Neither side took more than a three-point lead over the next nine minutes of game action. A Reibe dunk at 4:44 and another Stewart trifecta at 4:03 evened the score again at 29-all, one of five ties to go along with eight lead changes in the first half. A driving lay-in from Demary Jr. in the final seconds of the first got Connecticut back within two at the break, trailing 35-33 after the opening stanza. The Huskies managed to keep it tight despite a cold shooting start, foul trouble and a 25-13 edge on the glass for the Wildcats in the first 20.
The Wildcats started the second half strong and forced a pair of early UConn timeouts, the second coming at 15:23 with UofA holding a 47-38 lead, the largest of the day. Arizona would push its lead to 13 when it went up 53-40 with 13:34 to play.
Undeterred, UConn went on a prolonged 12-4 run over five-plus minutes of game action and pulled within four at 56-52 with a Ball jumper at 8:15. At 4:38 of the second, Karaban drilled a wing 3-pointer that cut the lead to one at 58-57 and forced a UofA timeout. On UConn's next trip, Reibe buried his second 3-pointer of the day to tie the game at 60.
After another stop, Stewart hit inside and UConn took its first lead since 22-21 and went up 62-60 with 3:02 to go. After a Wildcat bucket, Smith hit a pull-up with the shot clock expiring and Arizona blew for time with 2:03 to play and the Huskies up 64-62.
After forcing an initial stop, an offensive rebound and put-back gave Arizona a 65-64 lead with 1:12 left. After a stop of their own, the Wildcats got a jumper from Bradley to go and took a three-point lead before a UConn timeout with 13.3 ticks remaining. The Huskies got to the stripe on the ensuing trip but could not convert, and the Wildcats were able to ice it at the line and survive a Demary Jr. 3-pointer in the waning moments.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn finished 25-of-56 (44.6 percent) from the field and 8-of-25 (32.0 percent) from 3-point range, finishing an uncharacteristic 9-of-18 (50.0) from the foul line
- Conversely, Arizona posted a 46.3 percent (25-54) mark from the floor, was 2-of-10 (20.0) from three and shot 76.0 percent (19-25) from the line
- The Huskies recorded 15 assists on 25 baskets against only five turnovers
- Arizona dominated in the paint, 42-24, and in second chance scoring (16-5)
- UConn turned a +5 turnover margin into an 8-7 edge in points off miscues
- The Wildcats final rebounding advantage was 43-23
- The contest featured 10 lead changes and seven ties
- Reibe's career-high 15 points came on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and a 2-of-5 effort from 3-point range – hitting his first two career threes
News and Notes
- The Huskies are now 5-3 all-time against Arizona
- The setback snapped UConn's 36-straight home non-conference games dating back to Nov. 2019
- The Huskies fall to 45-3 in home non-conference games under Dan Hurley
- UConn is 46-6 (.885) in all non-conference games since the start of '22-23
- With eight points Karaban broke a tie with Emeka Okafor (1,426) for 23rd place on the UConn all-time scoring list and passed Rashad Anderson (1,432) to move into 22nd all-time with 1,434 career points
- Ball scored in double-figures for the 39th time in his career, Stewart for the 11th time, Demary Jr. for the 46th time and fourth as a Husky and Reibe for the second time
Up Next
The Huskies are back in Hartford on Sunday evening to face Bryant at PeoplesBank Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on truTV.
