University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
24-3,14-2Big East
Creighton
14-13,8-8Big East
Mullins Scores Career-High 25 in Setback To Creighton
2/18/2026 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STORRS – The No. 5 UConn men's basketball team (24-3, 14-2 BIG EAST) suffered its first home defeat in nearly three months via a 91-84 setback to Creighton (14-13, 8-8 BIG EAST) on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion. Braylon Mullins scored a career-high 25 points in the setback to lead three Huskies in double-figures.
Both teams were hot in the first half as the contest went to the break tied up at 45-all. The Huskies opened the second half with a 10-3 spurt to build a seven point lead, but the Bluejays flipped the script minutes later with an 8-0 run. UConn wet back up by four with 12:05 to play before a prolonged 14-2 run by the Jays over more than six minutes of game time put CU up for good.
Mullins notched his career-high 25 on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range and added six rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes. Silas Demary Jr. chipped in 17 points and a game-high nine assists, while Tarris Reed Jr. had a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. UConn got a strong performance off the bench from Jayden Ross who stuff the stat sheet with six points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. For Creighton, Josh Dix finished with 21 points and eight rebounds while Nik Graves scored 18 and dished out five assists.
How it Happened
Both sides shot over 50 percent in a high-scoring first half. With Creighton up 20-15 after a 3-pointer at 12:33, five-straight from the Huskies capped by a Ross 3-pointer leveled the score at 20 a minute later. At 8:55 Malachi Smith found Reed Jr. inside for a two-hand flush that put the Huskies up 27-25 and trigger a Creighton timeout.
A 10-3 run for the Bluejays after the timeout flipped the lead back, and a three-point play from Graves at 3:10 gave CU its largest lead of the half up 40-34. Inside of the final minute Mullins scored six points via a three-point play and a 3-pointer, helping the Huskies level the score at 45-45 after 20 minutes of action. Reed Jr. led all players with 13 points in the opening stanza, while Demary Jr. dished out six of UConn's 13 first-half assists.
Mullins hit a three to open the second half, part of the Huskies strong start to the frame that saw them take a 55-48 lead at 16:03 with a pair of Demary Jr. free throws. After a Reed Jr. bucket a minute later the Bluejays rattled off an 8-0 run and took a 59-57 lead at 13:31 after back-to-back triples from Dix and Graves.
With the Bluejays up one, back-to-back Mullins 3-pointers pushed UConn ahead once again at 63-59 with 12:05 to play. That was when Creighton took over, using a prolonged 14-2 run over six-plus minutes to go up 73-65 before a Mullins triple at 5:23 ended the run and led to a UConn snap timeout. The Bluejays scored on their next two trips and did not let the Huskies closer than seven the rest of the way.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 31-of-71 (43.7 percent) from the field, 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) from three and a paltry 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) from the line.
- Conversely, Creighton finished 27-of-55 (49.1 percent) from the floor, 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) from three and was a sterling 27-of-32 (84.4 percent) from the line
- Both sides were hot in the first half, with UConn shooting 54.5 percent (18-33) and Creighton hitting at a 51.6 percent (16-31) clip
- In the second half the script flipped for UConn, connecting at just a 34.2 percent (13-38) clip
- Creighton was near-perfect from the free throw stripe in the second half, going 17-of-18 (94.4 percent)
- CU held a 41-35 edge on the glass and a 22-17 edge in bench scoring
- UConn managed to finish with a slight 32-30 edge in paint scoring
- The Huskies coughed up only five turnovers and forced 10, out-scoring the Bluejays 13-4 off miscues
News and Notes
- UConn falls to 4-10 all-time against Creighton
- Alex Karaban extended his program record with his 137th career start
- Reed Jr. notched his sixth double-double of the season and the 16th of his career
- Mullins hit the 20-point mark for the second time this season
- The Huskies have hit double-digit 3-pointers in a game 10 times this season including in six of their last seven contests
- UConn dished out 21 assists, marking the 11th time this season it has hit 20
Up Next
The Huskies hit the road for their penultimate away contest on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Villanova.
