UConn Basketball Survives Against Butler: 3 Takeaways

UConn basketball wins close one over Butler, 78-74.

UConn basketball opened this game on fire offensively shooting 5 for 6 from three and 11 for 14 from the field as they climbed to a 25-9 lead early in the first half. Butler was able to bring it to the Huskies in the paint and cut the lead down to just 3 points before the Huskies had a run of their own to enter halftime with a 9 point lead. Butler big man Andre Screen had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks all in the first half to highlight the Bulldogs interior presence.

UConn’s Hassan Diarra opened the second half with a three to bring the lead to 12 points which Butler slowly chipped away at for the remainder of the half. Eventually the Bulldogs tied the game up with 4:43 left to play making for some exciting basketball down the stretch. Alex Karaban hit a couple huge threes to make sure this game didn’t slip away from his team as UConn basketball survives at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Big East has proven, yet again, to be a gauntlet for the Huskies who battled off Xavier in OT earlier this week. It was a big day for the UConn forwards as Alex Karaban led the game in scoring with 21 points and Liam McNeeley had an all-around great showing with 17 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds.

For Butler, center Andre Screen finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks while Patrick McCaffery also matched that team high in scoring with 17 points.

AK was NOT letting that one get away https://t.co/FMg11v78hw pic.twitter.com/CJ6xklH4oq

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) December 21, 2024

Takeaway #1: Karaban-McNeeley is Unstoppable

This duo has been on a tear recently with Liam McNeeley averaging 19 points per game and Alex Karaban averaging 16.3 points per game over UConn basketball’s last three contests.

Karaban has really cemented himself as a leader of this team recently not just with his box score numbers, but also with the way he carries himself on the court whether it’s huddling the team up between dead balls or giving some coaching-esque advice to his teammates during timeouts.

Liam McNeeley has been getting seriously comfortable in this Huskies offense which should terrify their upcoming opponents. Last season, we all saw the uptick in Stephon Castle’s performances later in the season and the same can now be expected from McNeeley as he continues to stack strong performances.

Takeaway #2: The Bulldogs Have All the Pieces

The Butler Bulldogs have all the pieces of a NCAA tournament team, but can’t seem to figure out how they fit together. This game had a standout performance from Andre Screen as well as from Patrick McCaffery, but their stars Jahmyl Telfort and Pierre Brooks had less of an impact. Whether those two things have any relation is up for discussion, but if head coach Thad Matta can figure out how to get his stars going alongside his role players then this is a Butler team that could make a run in conference play to earn themselves in a spot in the big dance.

The Bulldogs certainly don’t want to have to sacrifice the combined 30+ points per game they get from Telfort and Brooks in order to get players like Kolby King and Andre Screen going in the offense. Finding a way for them to all mesh together will be key for the Bulldogs as they now find themselves on a five game losing streak.

Takeaway #3: The Sophomore Struggle

UConn basketball Sophomores Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart, and Jayden Ross combined for 8 points on 3 for 12 shooting. Each of these players has had some great moments this season and while their strengths are impactful to the success of this team, their weaknesses are very clear and prevent them from taking that next step.

Solo Ball has been scoring the ball well this season averaging just over 13 points per game, but his defense has been a liability since the infamous Maui Invitational. To be fair, everyone is due for a bad game at some point and today was Solo Ball’s as he turned in his lowest scoring total of the season with 4 points.

Jayden Ross has been the opposite with his defense and athleticism being a great help to the team, but he has not found his role on the offensive end. Jaylin Stewart does a bit of everything and seems to have a great understanding of Dan Hurley’s system, but he hasn’t earned his way into a big role yet and it may be weighing on his confidence. There is a very good opportunity on this team if one of these two sophomores can find some more consistency in their play.

The Huskies appear to have found their point guard in Hassan Diarra and are perfectly content with the pair they have at the center position. The remaining question mark for this team moving forward is who can be that sparkplug off the bench who makes this team a threat for all 40 minutes of a game?

Next for UConn: at Depaul (Wed., Jan. 1st @ 12:00 p.m.)

Next for Butler: vs. Villanova (Wed., Jan. 1st @ 6:30 p.m.)