UConn men’s basketball hosts Villanova on Saturday for this season’s first meeting between these two teams. The Wildcats are led by former Seton Hall and Maryland head coach Kevin Willard, who has them off to a strong start, with wins over Wisconsin, Seton Hall, and Providence in his first season at the helm.
After four straight Husky wins in this series, the two teams split their regular-season games last year before UConn prevailed in a third matchup in the 2025 Big East Tournament quarterfinals. The Wildcats lead the overall series, 40-38, though it’s 7-6 in favor of UConn in the Dan Hurley era.
Villanova (15-4, 6-2 Big East) started the season 12-2 with losses to BYU and Michigan before a couple of setbacks in Big East play against Creighton and St. John’s. Willard’s squad is ranked 24th in KenPom with balanced offensive and defensive ratings. They’re a solid shooting and rebounding team with good discipline based on their free-throw and turnover rates.
“Kevin’s a top coach,” Hurley said. “You can see [he] very quickly has Villanova competing to win the league.”
Freshman point guard Acaden Lewis (12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG) stirs the drink, while three other teammates (Bryce Lindsay, a James Madison transfer, Tyler Perkins, who transferred from Penn last season, and Duke Brennan, a Grand Canyon transfer) are also averaging over 12 points per game and another two are averaging over nine PPG in Devin Askew and Matt Hodge.
Hurley shared that the Huskies recruited Lewis pretty heavily. “He’s a fun player to watch...he’s got a genius with the ball out there.”
The 6-foot-10 Brennan is averaging a double-double with 10.6 RPG. He started his career at Arizona State under Hurley’s brother Bobby before transferring to Grand Canyon.
“He’s an asskicker, he’s not looking for a jersey swap after the game… he doesn’t wanna follow you on Instagram,” Hurley said.
Villanova likes to slow it down (352nd pace) and shoot a lot of threes. Lindsay and Askew are hitting over 40 percent from behind the arc, while Hodge and Perkins are hitting 35 percent. The team boasts solid defensive ratings despite this shooting prowess. You can check out Brian Kervick’s scouting report for a deeper look at their on-court strategy.
Hurley pointed to the Wildcats’ matchup zone and depth of shooters as challenges they’ll have to contend with.
UConn (18-1, 8-0 Big East) just had a week off after playing three games in eight days, and six in two weeks.
“I thought we were a little tired… a little drained,” Hurley said.
The Huskies are succeeding in the standings and polls, but the course of certain games has raised concerns, and some guys are not at their peak right now. Injuries have played a role, but Hurley has also said repeatedly that he’s looking for more of a killer instinct from his guys. For longtime Huskies who were part of championship rosters, that note must hit home.
“We’ve taken care of business to this point, but there’s so many places where we can get better,” Hurley said.
This team clearly has upside beyond what it’s shown this season. Braylon Mullins has brought a new element and been incredible in big moments; Silas Demary Jr. leads the way on both ends of the court and is still gelling with his new teammates; Solo Ball has been playing through a left-wrist injury; Tarris Reed Jr. has been dominant at times but could be more consistent; Jayden Ross and Malachi Smith have proven what they can do and also need to find more consistency.
“You wish you had people that had an alter ego when the game started and became more killers,” Hurley said. “The amount that we get outrebounded in games, it didn’t happen to our championship teams.”
Even Alex Karaban, who’s quietly putting together one of the most efficient seasons in the country and climbing up UConn statistical career leaderboards, has room to find another level in this home stretch of the season. The Huskies will need it against the best teams in the country and the Big East.
“We’re running out of time. If it keeps going like this, then it just becomes who you are,” Hurley said.
Villanova represents as tough a challenge in league play as UConn has had to date. KenPom projects a nine-point Husky victory, but we know from recent history that anything is possible.
After surviving some close ones in the last few weeks in Providence, Newark, and DC, Hurley’s squad is surely hoping for a less eventful Saturday afternoon in Hartford. Hurley has also indicated that he’s hoping for a rabid showing from the fanbase after what they’ve experienced on the road.
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