UConn men’s basketball took down DePaul on Sunday evening, 72-54, at Wintrust Arena. The Huskies, without leading scorer Solo Ball due to a wrist injury, had a slow start offensively but used a 9-0 run in the first half to claw back in before taking control in the second half to improve to 12-1 on the season.
The Blue Demons showed toughness in their conference opener, a 13-point loss at St. John’s. DePaul returned three of its top scorers from a year ago, including leading scorer CJ Gunn, and Chris Holtmann has had the program competitive in the Big East since taking over last season.
The Husky offense got off to a sloppy start, with six turnovers and just three made field goals in the first six minutes as DePaul scored 12 points off of those turnovers.
Trailing 15-7, UConn rattled off a 9-0 run to regain the lead that included a dunk from Jaylin Stewart and a three from Silas Demary Jr. at the top of the key. Demary Jr. finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists despite a setback in the middle of the game.
Alex Karaban knocked down a pair of threes in the first half, the first of which broke a tie he was in with Richard Hamilton for sixth all-time in made threes in program history.
The second of Karaban’s first-half triples gave the Huskies the lead for good after a half that featured five ties and five lead changes. Demary knocked down a pair of free throws to extend UConn’s lead to five with five seconds to play, but the Blue Demons rushed down the court to beat the buzzer with a floater and make it 33-30 at the intermission.
There was a scare early in the second half on the first defensive possession for the Huskies when Demary sprinted off the floor to vomit. After a quick trip to the locker room, he returned to the game at the U-16 timeout with UConn leading 44-34.
Karaban scored another floater in the lane out of the timeout and knocked down a pair of free throws on the next possession to help grow the lead. The redshirt senior finished with a game-high 21 points and tied his season high he set on Nov. 15 against BYU in Boston.
Out of the U-12 timeout, Demary found Jayden Ross for a wide-open slam to push the lead to 50-36, and Braylon Mullins broke into the scoring column with a nice finish underneath.
DePaul brought more pressure in the half-court after cutting the lead back to 13 with under eight to play, but Demary finished a tough layup through contact to become the third Husky to enter double figures. Sunday was the first time that the UConn point guard scored at least 10 points since his triple-double against Bryant on Nov. 23.
The Blue Demons trimmed the deficit down to just 10 going into the U-4 timeout after the Huskies led by 17 at the previous media timeout. Mullins got a crucial offensive rebound to extend the possession, and Reed delivered a fadeaway off the glass to chew a minute off the clock and increase the lead. On the next two possessions, Mullins knocked down threes to make it a quick 8-0 run and put it out of reach for good at 70-52.
After the Blue Demons made some free throws, Alec Millender got into the scoring column for the first time since that Bryant game with a drive to the rim with 17 seconds to play. The Illinois native was mobbed by his teammates after the game, playing in front of a bunch of friends and family.
Despite the slow start, UConn pulled away to win, 72-54, increasing its winning streak to eight straight heading into Christmas. Reed picked up his second double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while the team swatted eight shots as a whole, led by his three.
Next up, after the Christmas break, the Huskies head back on the road to take on Xavier on Dec. 31 at the Cintas Center. Tip-off will be at 5:00 p.m. EST on Peacock and NBCSN.
Led by Richard Pitino, the Musketeers are 9-4 with key wins in non-conference play over West Virginia and Cincinnati and notable losses including Georgia and Iowa. In league play, Xavier is 1-1 with a loss at home against Creighton and a win at Georgetown. They’re ranked 101st in KenPom overall efficiency (121st Offense, 83rd Defense).
Box Score:
Team Stats:
Win Probability:
Advanced Stats
Rank in season’s games in parentheses
| UConn | Allowed | |
| eFG | 52.6% (9th-best performance in 13 games) | 39.1% (5th) |
| TO% | 22.0 (12th) | 19.0 (5th) |
| OR% | 46.9 (4th) | 25.4 (6th) |
| FTR | 28.1 (7th) | 38.2 (5th) |
| Assists/FGM | 55.5% (10th) | 35% (T-3rd) |
