University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
DePaul
#5 UConn Heads To Chicago To Face DePaul
12/19/2025 11:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CHICAGO – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (11-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) rides a seven-game winning streak into its first conference road test of the year when it takes on DePaul (8-4, 0-1 BIG EAST) on Sunday afternoon. Tip off from Wintrust Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. local and will air on FS1 with Chris Vosters and Nick Bahe on the call.
UConn is 21-1 all-time against DePaul in a series dating back to the 2004 NCAA Second Round. The sides have met regularly as BIG EAST foes from 2007-13 and 2020-present. The Blue Demons won the first conference clash in 2007 and the Huskies have won 20-straight since. UConn is 11-0 against DPU since returning to the BIG EAST in 2020, sweeping five regular season home-and-homes along with a 2021 BIG EAST Quarterfinal triumph.
The Huskies opened league play on Tuesday night when they knocked off Butler at PeoplesBank Arena, 79-60, to win their third league opener in the last four seasons. UConn has the best record in BIG EAST play since returning, going 70-27 (.722) in regular season conference action since 2020-21. The trip to Chicago marks UConn's second true road test of the season, previously winning at Kansas on Dec. 2.
Against Butler on Tuesday, UConn was led by a career-high 26 points from Solo Ball who shot 8-of-14 from the field, 3-of-6 from three and 7-of-8 from the line. Ball led four Huskies in double-figures, joined by Tarris Reed Jr. (16p-5r-3b), Braylon Mullins (12 points) and Jayden Ross, with Ross turning in his best game of the season with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and a game-high eight rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. Silas Demary Jr. dished out a career-high 11 assists and Eric Reibe recorded a career-best four blocks in the win. UConn held a top-50 Butler offense to 29.5 percent shooting on the day and blocked a season-high 13 shots.
Ball leads the Huskies with 15.4 points per game this season and is among the league leaders with 2.0 made 3-pointers per game. Alex Karaban is second among qualified scorers with 13.0 points and adds 5.3 rebounds per game while posting a 51.8/43.1/84.2 shooting line. Reed Jr., who has been limited by injury to five contests, when in action is posting 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds on 65.1 percent shooting in 23.6 minutes per game.
UConn's defense has emerged as one of the nation's best through its first dozen contests, ranking No. 4 in Kenpom defensive efficiency and top-10 nationally in a slew of categories. The Huskies are seventh in the country in scoring defense (61.7 ppg), fourth in effective field goal percentage against (41.9), sixth in 3-point field goal percentage against (26.4) and sixth in America in block rate (16.9 percent). Demary Jr. is the 'head of the snake' on the defensive end and leads UConn with 1.7 steals per game, while Reed Jr. and Reibe combine to block 3.6 shots a night.
DePaul enters its BIG EAST home opener with an 8-4 record on the year, last in action on Tuesday in a setback to St. John's in Queens. Prior to that outing the Blue Demons had won six of seven. CJ Gunn leads DPU with 14.3 points per game, while N.J. Benson adds 11.3 points on 72.2 percent shooting with a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game. Layden Blocker also scores in double-figures at 10.9 points per game and leads the squad with 3.8 assists per game.
Following UConn's BIG EAST road debut, the Huskies will have a 10-day holiday hiatus before returning to action in Cincinnati on Dec. 31 to take on Xaver.
