University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
3-0,0-0Big East
Columbia
1-1,0-0Ivy League
No. 3 Huskies Roll Past Columbia, 89-62
11/10/2025 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STORRS – The No. 3 UConn men's basketball team (3-0) built a 27-point first half lead and cruised to an 89-62 victory over Columbia (1-1) on Monday night at a sold-out Gampel Pavilion. Solo Ball led all scorers with 23 points, Alex Karaban had 20 and Tarris Reed Jr. scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds in ther win.
For the game the Huskies shot a blistering 56.6 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from 3-point range. UConn took a 23-point halftime lead to the locker room and were up as many as 29 in the second half. Jayden Ross joined UConn's top three scorers in double-figures and finished with 10 points, going 3-of-3 from 3-point range and swatting two blocks. Silas Demary Jr. dished out a game-high nine assists, most for a Husky this season, as Connecticut recorded a helper on 22 of its 30 made baskets. Miles Franklin and Blair Thompson tied for the CU lead with 10 points apiece.
How it Happened
The Lions hit a pair of early 3-pointers to put UConn in its first deficit of the season, but a 7-0 mini-run capped by a Karaban triple put the Huskies up 9-6 ahead of the first media stoppage at 14:27.
The Lions pulled back within one midway through the first half before back-to-back 3-pointers from Malachi Smith and Ross put the Huskies up seven and prompted a CU timeout at 10:31. Those triples sparked a ferocious 14-0 UConn run, going up 28-13 for their largest lead.
Later in the first, the Huskies rattled off another kill shot with an 11-0 run and took a 40-17 lead with a steal-and-slam from Karaban to trigger another timeout at 3:30 of the opening stanza. Connecticut took a 50-27 lead to the half behind a 60.6 percent shooting start, 14 opening half points from Karaban and 13 from Ball.
The Lions outscored the Huskies for the first segment of the second half but only pulled as close as 19 ahead of the U-8 timeout. UConn was able to do more than enough to keep the game comfortably out of reach and took the largest lead of the night at 2:25 when it went up 86-57.
Inside The Numbers
- The Huskies shot 56.6 percent (30-53) from the field and 43.5 percent (10-23) from 3-point range, holding the Lions to 37.5 percent (21-56) and 23.8 percent (5-21)
- UConn coughed it up only six times, using a +7 turnover margin to out-score CU 10-2 off miscues
- The Huskies assisted on 22 of 30 baskets, getting nine from Demary Jr., most for any Husky this season, and four from Karaban
- Connecticut finished +2 on the glass with Reed pulling in eight caroms while Demary Jr. and Karaban each hauled in six
- UConn dominated the paint to the tune of a 40-24 scoring advantage inside
- The Huskies finished with a 7-2 edge in blocks and 9-4 lead in steals
News and Notes
- The Huskies improve to 10-2 all-time against the Lions and haven't lost in the series since 1976
- UConn has won 36-straight home non-conference games dating back to Nov. 2019 and is 45-2 in home non-conference games under Dan Hurley
- Connecticut has won 35 of its last 38 games at Gampel Pavilion
- UConn is 45-5 (.900) in non-conference games since the start of the '22-23 season
- Ross' double-figure scoring game was the third of his career
- With 20 points on the day, Karaban now has 1,415 for his career to move past Art Quimby (1,398) into 24th place in program history – he sits 11 behind Emeka Okafor in 23rd place with 1,426
- Ball and Karaban were the first UConn teammates to both record 20 in a game since Feb. 26, 2025 when Ball and Reed Jr. did so vs. Georgetown
- Karaban recorded the 16th game of his career with 20 or more points, while Ball notched his sixth
- UConn hit doubled-digit 3-pointers for the first time this season
Up Next
The Huskies head to the TD Garden on Saturday, Nov. 15 for a top-10 showdown with No. 7 BYU. Tip off at the Hall of Fame Series Boston is set for 7 p.m. on FOX.
