The UConn Huskies end 2025 with a statement win on the road, beating Xavier 90-67.
UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley is very public with how superstitious, he is and going into the New Year with such a clean win must be doing wonders for how he views his team at this point in the season. UConn now holds a 13-1 record overall, is 3-0 in Big East play, and seemingly continues to improve as the season goes on.
The injury bug still plagues the UConn Huskies as junior wing Jayden Ross missed this contest due to a “hamstring irritation,” but is not expected to miss much more time. Overall, the Huskies are inching closer to full health as the starting lineup remained intact.
The UConn Huskies opened the game hot as they jumped out to a 30-6 lead after the first 10 minutes thanks to some hot shooting from deep. By halftime, the Musketeers had fought back and turned their 25-point deficit into just 15, but they were never able to get much closer than that. Whenever Richard Pitino’s team strung together a few good possessions in a row, the Huskies would hit a timely three-pointer that nullified the work that Xavier had done.
In the end, UConn was able to cruise to a wire-to-wire victory on the road thanks to strong performances from Alex Karaban (19 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast), Braylon Mullins (17 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast), and Solo Ball (17 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast).
Ringing in 2026 in style 🎉
Happy New Year! pic.twitter.com/IxRM3od6LB
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) January 1, 2026
The rise of Braylon Mullins
Freshman sensation Braylon Mullins has arrived and is every bit of what was promised. After making his collegiate debut against Illinois at Madison Square Garden and then playing a huge role in the road win at Kansas, Mullins has been working his way into playing at a full capacity.
This most recent 17-point performance at Xavier is starting to feel like the level of contribution fans can expect from Mullins more often than not. He has now started four games for the UConn Huskies and has scored in double figures in three of those games while making at least two three-pointers in each game.
Dan Hurley had the following to say about Mullins in his postgame presser. “He is also way ahead of things from a defensive standpoint… We’re very fortunate to have him at UConn, we’ve got a lottery pick-level player that is just really getting going right now.”
With such high praise for a player just 8 games into his career, it seems safe to say that we have not seen Braylon’s best yet. If that is true, then the college basketball world better get ready once March comes around.
Alex Karaban’s legacy
The MVP of the game for the UConn Huskies was none other than Captain America himself, Alex Karaban. Fans may criticize his consistency on the offensive end at times, but it’s hard to argue with the game that Alex had at the Cintas Center.
On a day where everything was going smoothly, it was Alex Karaban at the center of all it. From efficient shooting (7 for 13 FG and 3 for 5 3FG) to hustle plays (1 block and 2 steals), Alex was doing it all in his 34 minutes of game time. One of those steals even turned into a transition dunk for Karaban as he got to show off his athleticism too.
Husky fans know that this season is the last ride for Alex at UConn, and Alex knows it too as he chases more wins, more history, and more records to put on his already impressive resume. The senior is now 12 games started, 11 wins, and 34 three-pointers from setting program records!
Next for the UConn Huskies: vs. Marquette (Sun., Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. EST)
Next for Xavier: at DePaul (Sat., Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. EST)