UConn men’s basketball got back on track Wednesday night with an 80-70 road victory over Butler.
Dan Hurley’s squad went back and forth for most of the first half before a late push near the end gave them a narrow lead. The Huskies used a 10-0 run early in the second half to extend the lead to double digits and never looked back.
Solo Ball led a hungry offense with a game-high 24 points, his best scoring output since the Huskies’ last game against Butler. He hit six threes and took over in the second half secure the win.
UConn (23-2, 13-1) had some silly miscues early, but settled in and looked like itself on the offensive end. In his first collegiate game in his home state of Indiana, Braylon Mullins scored 15 points. Both Tarris Reed Jr. and Silas Demary Jr. had double-doubles.
The Bulldogs (13-12, 4-10) came into the day in the midst of their worst stretch of the season. Thad Matta’s group had lost four straight games - all of them by double digits - to offset their previous three-game winning streak. Last time out, Butler scored a season-low 55 points in a loss to Marquette.
UConn started right where they left off on Friday in the first few minutes, turning the ball over three times in the first four minutes with some unforced errors that were avoidable. This allowed Butler to build an early 7-6 lead at the first media timeout.
Mullins got on the board shortly after with a quick five-point spurt thanks to a tip-in and a three, but right after, Butler responded with a 9-0 run to make it 20-16 with 10:55 to go in the half. The Bulldogs hit seven of their first 11 shots.
Searching for answers, Malachi Smith came off the bench and provided an instant burst of energy. He saved a possession by forcing a Butler turnover on a defensive rebound before making a three on the bonus trip. Jayden Ross knocked down a difficult triple off the bench as well, just beating the shot clock before the Bulldogs answered to make it 29-28 with around six minutes left in the half.
Ball and Mullins would each add five more points down the stretch to keep pace with the potent Bulldog offense. UConn had nine offensive rebounds in the first half that contributed to 14 second-chance points, giving the Huskies a narrow 41-38 lead at the break.
The key to the first half advantage offensively was the perimeter play - at times settling for threes - but most of the time waiting until they got good looks and letting it fly.
UConn opened up the second half with vengeance, as Ball knocked down a pair of threes in the first few minutes and a pretty spin-and-slam from Reed saw the Huskies build an eight-point lead at 51-43 less than five minutes in.
The next Husky points would also come from a slam from Reed, who asserted his dominance inside in the second half. His 16 points and 10 rebounds marked his first double-double since Jan. 24 against Villanova, while his seven assists were a new career-high.
Ball’s explosion continued with his fifth trey to beat the shot clock horn, then on the next trip, Silas Demary Jr. connected from deep to put UConn up 59-51 at the U-12 media timeout.
Butler wouldn’t go away quietly, though. The center tandem of Drayton Jones and Yohan Traore got pretty much whatever they wanted all night, especially through the pick-and-roll in the second half.
With the lead down to just two with under seven minutes to play, Reed stepped through for a timely bucket to make it 66-62. Ball’s sixth three followed by a beautiful up-and-under from Alex Karaban pushed the lead to nine in the blink of an eye.
Demary kept the run rolling with a triple to make it a 10-0 run in under two minutes and force Matta to call his final timeout.
Butler made a couple of threes late, but never really gave a real scare the rest of the way, and UConn walked away with an 80-70 win to re-enter the win column after Friday’s loss to St. John’s.
The Huskies only turned the ball over once in the second half and had assists on 13 of their 15 field goals after the break. From the free-throw line, the team hit 7-9 and significantly improved on their percentage from Friday.
UConn moves to 13-0 all-time against Butler, dating back to the 2011 national championship game.
Defensively, the Huskies held the Bulldogs’ two leading scorers Finley Bizjack and Michael Ajayi to a combined 12 points.
Next up, UConn returns to Storrs to start a two-game homestand with a primetime clash with Georgetown on Saturday night at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and will be televised on Peacock and NBCSN.
Led by Ed Cooley, the Hoyas have a 5-8 record in Big East play and have been playing their best basketball of the season, winning four straight before falling over the weekend to Villanova. They’re ranked 81st in KenPom overall efficiency (88th Offense, 88th Defense).
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