University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
23-2,13-1Big East
Butler
13-12,4-10Big East
No. 6 Huskies Knock Off Butler, 80-70, At Hinkle
2/11/2026 10:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS – The No. 6 UConn men's basketball team (23-2, 13-1 BIG EAST) bounced back from its first setback in two months with an 80-70 win at Butler (13-12, 4-10 BIG EAST) on Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Solo Ball led all scorers with 24 points, hitting a season-high six 3-pointers and finishing two shy of his career scoring high.
The win was No. 115 in the career of redshirt senior Alex Karaban. He is now tied with former teammate Samson Johnson for most wins of any player in UConn men's basketball history.
The two sides went back and forth in a high-scoring first half, with the Huskies taking a three-point lead to the break. UConn took control with a 7-0 run early in the second half, going up eight early in the frame and holding a multi-possession lead for much of the half. Butler stayed tough and pulled within two with under seven minutes to play, but UConn responded in style with a 10-0 run to go up double-digits for the first time and put the game away.
Ball was one of four Huskies to finish in double-figures, including Greenfield, Indiana-native Braylon Mullins putting on a show in the state where he earned 'Mr Basketball' honors as a high school senior. Mullins finished with 15 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in 33 minutes while finishing a game-best +18 in plus/minus.
Silas Demary Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. both recorded double-doubles for UConn in the win, the first time two Huskies have doubled up in the same game since Feb. 7, 2025. Reed Jr. scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting along with 10 rebounds, a career-high seven assists and three blocked shots, hitting on 4-of-5 from the foul line. Demary Jr. finished with 11 points, 10 assists and three steals while holding Butler's top scorer Finley Bizjack, who entered the day scoring nearly 18 per game, to five points on 1-of-6 shooting.
How it Happened
The Huskies took their largest lead of the early going about six minutes in, when Mullins got on the board with a tip-in before cashing a deep 3-pointer on the next trip to put UConn up 16-11 at 13:13. The Bulldogs answered over the next two minutes with a 9-0 run to go up 20-16 around a timeout at 10:55 of the opening stanza.
Down five inside of eight minutes to play in the opening 20, Connecticut got back-to-back 3-pointers from Mullins and Jayden Ross to retake the lead and go up 28-27 at 6:47 of the first. The sides continued to trade buckets as the half winded down. Mullins connected on his third triple of the half at 2:20 to help the Huskies re-take the lead, and Ball drilled a triple of his own a minute later as UConn took a 41-38 lead to the half.
Ball got UConn's scoring started in the second with a 3-pointer, then made another during a 7-0 run that was capped with a Reed Jr. spin and slam at 15:50 and gave the Huskies their largest lead of the day at 51-43. At 11:39 Demary Jr. followed another Ball triple with a splash of his own, triggering a quick UConn timeout holding a 59-51 lead.
The Bulldogs pulled within two at 6:49 and got Hinkle to a fervor with the score 64-62. The Huskies quickly quieted the crowd with a vicious 10-0 'kill shot' run in less than two minutes of game time, going up 74-62 with a Demary Jr. 3-pointer before a Butler timeout at 4:32. That all but put the game on ice as the Huskies led by eight or more the rest of the way.
Inside The Numbers
- The Huskies shot 30-of-59 (50.8 percent) from the field, 13-of-31 (41.9 percent) from three and 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the line
- Conversely, Butler finished the day 25-of-54 (46.3) from the field, 8-of-21 (38.1) from three and 12-of-16 (75.0) from the stripe
- After Butler shot over 50 percent in the opening half, the Huskies held the Bulldogs to 39.3 percent (11-28) shooting in the second
- Over its last five games, UConn is 59-for-132 (44.7 percent) Â from three
- The Huskies have hit double-digit 3-pointers in a game eight times this season, including four of their last five contests
- UConn dished out 22 assists on 31 field goals against eight turnovers
- Demary Jr. recorded double-digit assists for the fourth time in his career, all coming this season as a Husky
- Reed Jr.'s career-high seven assists topped his previous high mark of five set on Dec. 12 against Texas
- The Huskies finished with a 33-26 advantage on the glass and used 12 offensive rebounds to out-score the Bulldogs 16-8 in second chance points
- UConn finished with a 7-4 edge in blocked shots
News and Notes
- UConn improves to 13-0 all-time against Butler and 6-0 at Hinkle Fieldhouse
- The Huskies are 8-1 in true road games this year and 24-8 in away games since the start of 2022-23, with the 24 road wins in that span second-most of any high major
- Karaban made his 135th career start, tying him with Jake Voskuhl for most in Connecticut program history
- It was the 136th overall appearance for Karaban, seven shy of Shabazz Napier's program record of 143 games played
- The six made 3-pointers for Ball mark a season-high, one shy of his career-best of seven set on two occasions a season ago
- Ball's 20-plus effort was his third of the season and the eighth of his career
- The double-double for Reed Jr. was his fifth of the season and the 15th in his career, while Demary Jr. notched his third career double-double, all coming this year
- Demary Jr. is the only BIG EAST player with three point-assist double-doubles this season
Up Next
The Huskies are back in Connecticut for four of their next five, first taking on Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Gampel Pavilion.
