Fab Freshman Help No. 5 UConn Hold Off No. 21 Kansas 61-56

The UConn mens basketball team made history tonight and they did it with authority. The Huskies got their first ever program win against Kansas —on the road — knocking off the No. 21 Jayhawks 61-56. UConn improves to 7-1 on the season and now has three AP Top 25 wins on the year. Solo Ball led the Huskies with 17, while Braylon Mullins came off the bench to add 17 of his own. Fellow freshman Eric Reibe added 12 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, the last one a game-saver with 15 seconds left.

Alex Karaban added 11 points and made innumerable plays that won’t show up in the box score.

Decked out in their insanely drippy 2004 throwback blues, this was a a massive road win without star center Tarris Reed Jr. Yes, the Jayhawks were without future top five pick Darryl Peterson, but a win in the Phog is a serious achievement, something the vaunted 2024 National Champions couldn’t even accomplish.

Kansas’ top-locking (what Arizona did to UConn without Reed, and a Doug McDermott special at Creighton) UConn actions made everything difficult grinding down an elite offense. Without Reed inside, they ceded the rebounding margin 38-32. But Dan Hurley and the staff adjusted, with Karaban ghosting screens and making decisions from there.

And it didn’t hurt that Mullins and Reibe played beyond their years.

First Half

Ball supplied the Huskies with their nine of UConn’s first 14 points. UConn struggled inside against the Flory Bidunga Bryson Tiller duo to start, but Reibe and Karaban gathered themselves quickly with a pair of blocks. The frenetic, up-and-down pace resulted in a four-man line change at 12 minutes.

A banked Mullins triple kept UConn around, but there was a Reed-sized hole missing inside that made ball movement tough without a release valve.

It didn’t help that the Jayhawks couldn’t miss, hitting four of their first five threes. Down eight and looking a little rudderless, five-straight buckets from Mullins brought the Huskies back from the brink. Reibe had a chance to cut the lead to one, but picked up his second foul off a hooking violation, and a Bidunga slam on the other end put the crowd back into it.

The Jayhawks going cold from three prevented any further damage, but the Huskies weren’t necessarily lighting it up either. The half ended with Kansas missing three of their final 12 shots, the only problem was UConn was only hit one of their last six. The Jayhawks held the rebounding margin as expected, but a 22-13 margin is too stark to keep the staff happy. You could look at the half one of two ways; either UConn was lucky to be down four given they were being held together by individual efforts, or that UConn was only down four and was right there despite many missed looks.

Second Half

Four straight points from Reibe were about all UConn could get from the first five minutes, with turnovers rearing their ugly head. Offense came by accident, and fouls started to pile up on the other end.

Some impressive buckets from Mullins once again kept UConn’s deficit from ballooning. The Huskies held Kansas to a five-minute field goal draught, and with seven-straight from Karaban gave UConn their first lead since 9-7. Kansas suddenly couldn’t hit water from a boat going one for their last 15.

Kansas became sloppy with the rock, starting fouling too much, and suddenly, a game that UConn never really seemed a threat to steal was suddenly within reach at the under eight.

But despite the shift in momentum toward UConn, it was still only a one possession game. After both teams traded baskets, a Ball midrange, followed by a top-of-the-key triple, gave the Huskies their first real cushion.

Kansas countered with a slam and triple of their own. Just as it seemed the Jayhawks would storm back and let the crowd takeover, a strong Karaban drive, followed by a beautiful slip by Reibe (from who else but the Captain) put the Huskies up five with 1:21 left. Elmarko Jackson missed the chance for an old fashioned three point play, and all UConn had to do was crisply run its offense. UConn killed the right amount of clock, but Silas Demary Jr floater didn’t fall, and Kansas had the rock to tie it up with 23 ticks left.

Reibe blocked Kansas’ attempt at a quick two, and Mullins iced the two free throws (first of HIS CAREER) to ice it.

Wow. A gritty win once again showcasing depth. Usually, its hot shooting or a herculean-like individual effort that topples Kansas at Kansas. The Huskies drive through the Phog despite shooting 7/26 from three.

They did it by making timely plays from heady veterans, precocious freshman, and overall relentless depth. Enjoy this one, folks.