University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
10-1,0-0Big East
Texas
7-4,0-0SEC
#5 UConn Tops Texas, 71-63, In Non-Con Finale
12/13/2025 12:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (10-1) closed its non-conference slate with a 71-63 win over Texas (7-4) on Friday night at a sold-out PeoplesBank Arena. It was the sixth-straight win for the Huskies as they finish one of the stiffest non-league slates in league history with a 5-1 record against high major foes.
Alex Karaban led four Huskies in double-figures with 18 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 2-of-4 from three. UConn shot 54.7 percent for the day and held Texas to 37.7 percent in its third win over the Longhorns in as many seasons. Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks while Braylon Mullins and Jaylin Stewart scored 10 apiece. Malachi Smith was again a huge spark with nine assists in 22 minutes off the bench.
The Huskies built a nine-point halftime lead and went up as many as 12 in the second half, but the Longhorns kept the game within single-digit striking distance for the majority. Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope led Texas with 15 points apiece.
How It Happened
The sides traded baskets in the opening minutes with three early lead changes, the third coming on a Mullins offensive rebound and 3-pointer with 16:50 to play. That kicked off a 7-0 run capped by a Solo Ball slam to put the Huskies up 13-7 before a timeout at 15:05. Another Mullins triple at 11:08 put the Huskies up 23-16 and prompted a Texas stoppage.
The Huskies stretched the lead to double-digits for the first time when Reed Jr. found Karaban for a slip lay-in that made it 30-20 with 7:42 to go. The Longhorns cut it to two briefly around the three-minute mark before an 8-1 UConn run to close the frame, capped by a buzzer-beating Karaban bucket, gave the Huskies a 43-34 halftime lead. Connecticut shot 68.0 percent from the floor in the opening stanza and dished out 13 assists on 17 field goals.
Both offenses started the second half cold, with scoring limited until midway through the frame. At 11:02 a steal and Jayden Ross slam gave the Huskies their largest lead of the day, up 57-45. After the Longhorns pulled right back within six, Smith hit a floater then assisted on a Mullins jumper that put the Huskies up 61-52 ahead of a media timeout at 7:29.
The Longhorns pulled within five after the stop thanks to a nearly four-minute scoring drought for the Huskies. Ball broke the dry spell at 3:39 after drilling a 40-foot 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Following a Reed Jr. swat on the other end next time down, Karaban drilled a triple in transition to put the Huskies up 67-56 and trigger a Texas timeout with 3:23 to play.
Smith hit a step-back jumper with 1:30 to play to push the lead back to 69-61 after Texas pulled back within two possessions. From there the Huskies were able to salt away the win with a stop and a run-out Stewart slam.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 54.7 percent (29-53) from the field and 37.5 percent (6-16) from three, holding Texas to 37.7 percent (20-53) from the floor and 30.8 percent (4-13) from deep
- The Huskies were 17-of-25 (68.0 percent) in the first half
- UConn clamped Texas to the tune of 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) shooting in the second stanza
- Connecticut has shot 50 percent or better in six games this season, including its last three
- The Huskies have held seven foes under 40 percent shooting and five of their last six
- The Huskies doled out 23 assists on 29 field goals
- Smith led the charge with nine helpers and has dished out 18 against four turnovers in his last two outings
- Reed Jr. finished with a career-high five helpers and Silas Demary Jr. also dished out five
- UConn hit the 20-assist mark for the fourth time this season and first time since Nov. 15 vs. BYU
- UConn finished with a 38-24 edge in points in the paint
- Despite recording 15 turnovers, one off a season-high, and being -3 in turnover margin, the Huskies out-scored the Longhorns 16-12 in points off turnovers
- The UConn bench out-scored the Texas reserves, 20-15
News and Notes
- UConn improves to 9-3 all-time against Texas
- UConn is 48-3 in home non-conference games under Dan Hurley
- The Huskies have won 22-straight games in Hartford
- Hurley is 11-1 against teams in the SEC in his UConn career
- Following the regular season non-conference slate Hurley is 80-18 in non-league games at UConn, including a 52-6 mark since the start of 2022-23
- UConn is 19-4 against fellow high majors in non-con play since the start of 2022-23
- Karaban eclipsed the 1,500 career point mark, sitting at 1,505 points and in 21st place on the UConn all-time scoring list – he is 57 behind Scott Burrell to move into the top 20
- Smith now has 508 assists in his career - he became one of seven active players in D1 with 500 career assists
- Mullins made his first career start in his fifth game, finishing with 10 points on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three with four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 25 minutes
- Karaban hit a pair of 3-pointers and now has 237 makes in his career, recently passing Ray Allen (233) and moving into a tie with Rip Hamilton for sixth in program history in triples
Up Next
The Huskies open their 39th season of BIG EAST play on Tuesday, Dec. 16 when Butler visits Hartford for the league lid-lifter.
