🎥UConn MBB Postgame Media Availability - Big East Tournament (Xavier)
NEW YORK- No. 2 seed UConn men’s basketball began its 2026 postseason on a high note, knocking off No. 10 seed Xavier, 93-68, in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night to advance to the semis for the sixth straight year.
Tarris Reed Jr. was an early focus for the Huskies, notching his 10th double-double of the year with 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Solo Ball added a team-high 19 points and four threes, while Alex Karaban rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15.
With Jaylin Stewart still out nursing a knee injury, the Huskies' shorthanded second unit took a big step and energized the team to the win. Malachi Smith, Eric Reibe, and Jayden Ross all had high-impact plays that fueled the team all night long.
UConn (28-4, 17-3) put together a strong defensive performance, limiting Musketeer star Tre Carroll to just two made field goals. The Huskies finished +12 on the glass, 40-28, and took advantage of their offensive rebounding with 22 second-chance points.
Xavier (15-18, 6-14) came into the day fresh off a first-round win over No. 7 seed Marquette on Wednesday evening, using its size to hold on to the victory thanks to a timely basket from star Tre Carroll. In year one under Richard Pitino, the Musketeers were one of the three lower-seeded teams that won on Wednesday, joining Providence and Georgetown.
Ball ignited an early Husky offensive burst, scoring a quick five points before the first media timeout, at which UConn led 14-6. The team did a good job of controlling the glass and scoring at all three levels.
The offensive rebounding, in particular, was the main reason the Huskies pulled ahead early. In the first eight minutes alone, they had five, leading to 10 second-chance points. On one play, Malachi Smith grabbed a long rebound and found Jayden Ross across the floor, who then bulleted it to Karaban for an open three that he buried.
The Huskies’ bench players combined for 11 points in less than 12 minutes to start the game, with Reibe throwing down a two-hand slam, Smith burying a deep three late in the shot clock, and Ross finishing a fastbreak slam that triggered a Pitino timeout and made it 31-18 Huskies.
Reed continued to make a living inside, becoming the game’s first player in double figures with 11. On the next possession, Karaban scored underneath to push the lead up to 20 for the first time, 39-19. Xavier would answer quickly with a three, but Smith knocked down his second triple of the half to push it right back to 42-22 by the under-four timeout.
After hitting just three threes all game in the loss to Marquette on Saturday, UConn hit 6-17 in the first half, with three coming from Karaban alone. Reed also finished the first half with a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds to go with his 11 points. At the break, the Huskies led 50-30.
Xavier came out of the locker room with a different look, rocking with four frontcourt players and scoring the first seven points of the half before Mullins knocked down a three to make it 53-37. UConn turned the ball three times and was negative on the glass during the first five minutes of the half.
A pair of slams would get the momentum back with the Huskies, as Reed rolled to the rim and threw down a two-hand slam, and Ross followed it up with a putback flush off a missed jumpshot.
Ball kept the three-point parade from the first half going with his third three of the night to make it 66-47, then a couple of trips later Ross hit from the corner to get the lead back to 20 after the Musketeers hit two at the line.
Free throws from Karaban pushed the lead back to its largest point of 22 with 7:56 remaining, and the lead never dipped below 19 again with UConn coasting to a quarterfinal victory.
Ross put the final cherry on top, finishing yet another fastbreak slam to secure the win. Four other Huskies finished with nine points: Mullins, Reibe, Silas Demary Jr., and Ross.
Next up, the Huskies are set to face the winner of Thursday’s nightcap between Villanova and Georgetown in the semifinals on Friday night, with a potential championship matchup against either St. John’s or Seton Hall to follow on Saturday.
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