UConn men’s basketball took down Butler, 79-60, to begin Big East play 1-0 and improve to 11-1 on the season.
The game got off to a rough start, with Butler jumping out to a 9-2 lead as early turnovers and sloppiness plagued the Huskies. Eric Reibe found a cutting Solo Ball to cut the visitors’ lead to 11-9 before another Ball lay-up tied the game at 11 with 13:27 left in the first half.
Tarris Reed Jr., who scored UConn’s first two buckets but wasn’t as locked in defensively, hit two more to keep
the Huskies in it as their sloppy play continued. After two free throws put Butler up 14-13, the Huskies mounted a 17-3 run to wrest control of the game.
Solo Ball hit a three to put the home team up 25-17, then the junior guard caught fire from midrange, finishing with 17 first-half points.
Braylon Mullins helped build the early lead with two first-half threes and was sharp defensively as well. Alex Karaban was the fourth and only other Husky to score in the first 20 minutes, but they still took a 39-25 lead into the break thanks to their stifling defense. UConn held Butler to 28 percent shooting in the first half and 29.5 percent on the night.
Mullins hit the first basket of the second half and then Ball hit a three as the onslaught continued. Jayden Ross came to life with a couple of threes and some thunderous alley-oops and other dunks, including a putback that tore the roof of the PeoplesBank Arena. Then Reibe and Reed got active as the Huskies closed it out comfortably.
Butler cut the lead that was once up to 23 down to 11 in the middle of the second half, but UConn responded with a Jayden Ross alley-oop, a Reed dunk after a Mullins block, and a Ball lay-up after a Butler pass was intercepted by Silas Demary Jr. The Georgia transfer finished with a +24 plus-minus with 11 assists and six rebounds, though his shot was again not falling.
Dan Hurley was not pleased with the way UConn started the game or the way the Huskies allowed Butler back into the game after building up a big lead. He continued his commentary on his team’s lack of killer instinct and pointed to rebounding and defense as matters of effort that he’s hoping to see them do better at going forward.
Next up, the Huskies are in Chicago to take on DePaul. The game will tip off on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m. from Wintrust Arena, and it will be televised on FS1.
