UConn basketball wins conference opener over Butler.
UConn basketball opened up conference play with a statement win. They faced a tough Butler team that came into the matchup averaging over 90 points per game and was coming off an exciting 2OT win against Providence in their conference opener in Big East play.
UConn basketball played stifling defense and held Butler way below their team scoring average in what turned out to be a season low 60 points for Butler.
UConn basketball continues to be Butler’s kryptonite as they now move to 12-0 all time against Butler. UConn won comfortably 79 to 60 in a game they probably should have won by even more than they did.
“The biggest thing to me is the killer instinct… we should have won by 25…no killer instinct,” was the biggest complaint Hurley had about his team postgame.
A win is a win especially in the Big East and UConn basketball fans will be happy that the team did not have a conference opener loss like they have in seasons past.
Surprisingly UConn is 20-26 in 46 conference openers since creation of the Big East. Dan Hurley specifically at UConn was 2-5 coming into the game in conference openers.
A game like this solidifies UConn’s place at the top of the Big East.
1-0 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o8gEMCuEWo
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) December 17, 2025
Game insights for UConn basketball.
Solo Ball turned his scoring up a notch, ending with a season high 26 points to lead the Huskies on efficient shooting. In what has been a tough shooting season for Solo Ball at times, he is starting to right the ship as all great shooters do, going three of six from deep and seven of eight from the free throw line.
Tarris Reed and Braylon Mullins continue to round into form as UConn basketball continues to get more comfortable with their entire roster now available.
Dan Hurley continues to be optimistic on Braylon Mullin’s upside.
“He doesn’t know what’s going on out there yet… he’s just playing off incredible talent and gifts,” said Hurley postgame.
Mullins does continue to look more comfortable as his minutes have continued to climb as he gets more into game shape. He’s a guy UConn basketball can turn to anytime to get them a basket and he should see himself sliding up NBA Draft boards as the season progresses.
Tarris Reed Jr. only played 21 minutes but that shouldn’t be an issue as Eric Reibe has stepped up and is able to provide quality minutes for UConn. It will be wise to not overwork Reed Jr. as he continues to heal from his ankle injury.
Even in his limited minutes, Reed Jr. was able to make instant impact, scoring 16 points on 8-12 shooting.
Silas Demary Jr. also had a massive impact on the game in a way that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. He was vital in holding Butler star Finley Bizjack, who came into the matchup scoring over 18 points per game, to a season low 7 points.
“Guy is such a ballhawk, he changes our identity,” Hurley raved postgame about Demary Jr.
Jayden Ross was another standout as he put on a show with three massive dunks which helped kill Butler’s momentum as they were attempting to make a comeback. Ross finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench to continue his breakout season for UConn basketball.
All of this just points to the depth that this team has Alex Karaban had a relatively quiet game, only scoring four points but it didn’t matter. If one or two players for UConn basketball have an off game, there are numerous other players who are able to step in and make an impact which makes this team almost impossible to beat.
Next for UConn basketball: @ DePaul (Sun., Dec 21 at 4:30 p.m. EST)
Next for Butler: vs. Northwestern (Sat., Dec 20 at 4:00 p.m. EST)
[…] starts off its conference schedule with a win against Butler at home. As we did last week, for each conference game, we will only cover it from […]
[…] had a great holiday week, earning a pair of wins against Butler and DePaul while leading the conference in almost every statistical category. Silas Demery Jr., […]