The UConn men’s basketball season opener went as well as anyone could have hoped, as the Huskies rode their stifling defense to an 86-46 victory over Gardner-Webb on Monday night in Hartford.
The win was Dan Hurley’s 200th as UConn head coach.
Braylon Mullins led the Huskies with 20 points, going 7-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-9 from three. Both Mullins and Nik Khamenia scored nine points in the first half, with Khamenia finishing with 14 points on the night with six rebounds and three assists.
UConn jumped out to a double-digit lead just over six minutes into the game after a three from Mullins. They never looked back.
Mullins, Khamenia, Silas Demary Jr., Jayden Ross and Na’jai Hines started for the Huskies. Hines notched a double-double in his Husky debut, with 12 points and 12 boards.
Freshmen Junior County and Colben Landrew were the first players off the bench at the 13:54 mark. Landrew finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 22 minutes.
Oskar Giltay entered the game over a minute later, as Hurley used an eight-man rotation most of the night.
UConn’s defense, as it was for most of its three-game exhibition slate, was superb. Gardner-Webb scored just eight points in the first 12 minutes, with the Huskies limiting them to 29.2% from the floor in the first half and 25.2% for the game.
The Huskies used a combination of transition offense and interior scoring to push their lead. An 8-0 run, sparked by Giltay and capped by a Landrew three, made it 26-8.
UConn's length challenged the Runnin' Bulldogs, who struggled to find clean looks, while the Huskies consistently created high-percentage opportunities near the rim.
A Khamenia three and two Mullins free throws helped move the lead to 36-15. The Huskies carried a 43-24 advantage into halftime after shooting 48 percent from the field. Jacob Hudson led Gardner-Webb with seven first-half points.
A 10-0 run in the early stages of the second half, punctuated by a three from Mullins, gave UConn a 26-point advantage, 53-27. With 13:17 remaining, Landrew converted inside off a Demary Jr. assist to make it 57-29.
UConn's defensive effort was consistent throughout the night, limiting Gardner-Webb's opportunities and turning stops into transition chances. The Huskies' ability to score inside also allowed them to maintain control even when their perimeter shooting was not efficient, going 9-for-29 (31%) from three.
Demary Jr. was steady and efficient, though he got his second foul with eight minutes left in the first half. The senior point guard distributed the ball effectively, finishing with eight assists and no turnovers, plus eight rebounds as well.
The victory opened the regular season for a UConn team that entered the year ranked fourth nationally.
Next up: The Huskies’ first big test comes on Friday in a national championship rematch against Michigan at TD Garden in Boston at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Box Score
Team Stats
