The Huskies head to Hinkle Fieldhouse in its final game of the calendar year.
UConn managed to secure a win in its Big East home opener on Wednesday, needing an extra five minutes to dispatch Xavier despite a red-hot shooting night from the Musketeers. The Huskies now head to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, where they will take on a Bulldogs squad coming off of four-straight losses. Butler dropped its Big East opener to No. 9 Marquette and hasn’t won in nearly three weeks after dropping games to No. 15 Houston, North Dakota State and Wisconsin before Wednesday’s loss to the Golden Eagles.
TV: Peacock
Radio: UConn Sports Network
Odds: UConn -6.5. over/under 144.5
Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse — Indianapolis, Indiana
KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 77, Butler 73 (KenPom 66% win probability.)
Series History
The Huskies are 9-0 all time against Butler, including a 53-41 win over the Bulldogs in the first meeting between the two teams — the 2011 NCAA national championship.
What to Watch For
Containing the Bulldogs’ aggressiveness
Butler absolutely loves creating contact and getting to the free throw line. Thad Matta’s Bulldogs are sixth nationally in free throw rate, and shots from the charity stripe have accounted for over a quarter of the team’s points so far this season (25.6 percent). Butler has size top to bottom with Finley Bizjack as the team’s smallest starter at 6-foot-4 and 7-footer Andre Screen holding things down in the paint. Those two along with Jahmyl Telfort and Pierre Brooks (6-foot-6) excel at getting to the line. As a team, the Bulldogs shoot over 76 from the line, so UConn needs to be wary of fouls to not only keep its best players on the floor for as long as possible but also slow down the Butler offense.
Against Xavier, foul trouble wasn’t a major issue except for Liam McNeeley, who picked up four fouls relatively quickly and forced Dan Hurley to play offense/defense with McNeeley and Jayden Ross for a good chunk of the second half and overtime. With the way McNeeley has played since Maui (16 points per game), the freshman needs to stay out of foul trouble and continue to serve as a key cog in the UConn offense.
Stop Jahmyl Telfort
Telfort is heart and soul of the Bulldogs’ offense and a matchup nightmare for most teams in college basketball, UConn included. Telfort’s blend of strength, speed and size makes him a constant mismatch, and the 6-foot-7 Canadian is comfortable scoring down low against smaller defenders or taking bigs off the dribble.
The fifth-year senior and Second Team Preseason All-Big East nominee is averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this season and has scored 20 or more in five different games this year. He’s also improved his ability to shoot from deep, shooting 42.3 percent from beyond the arc after shooting roughly 30 percent last season.
Alex Karaban will likely see the most time on Telfort, but Jaylin Stewart, Tarris Reed Jr and Samson Johnson could all see time on Telfort as well. Jayden Ross has emerged as a defensive stopper for the Huskies for his work against Gonzaga’s Khalif Battle and his versatility against Xavier — it’s possible he will get some burn on Telfort too to provide a unique look with his quickness and athleticism.
Samson Johnson clears protocol
Per Hurley, senior big man Samson Johnson has cleared concussion protocol after suffering a nasty fall in the Gonzaga game. Johnson is a game time decision against Butler, which will be the Huskies’ last game in over 10 days before taking on DePaul on the road on New Year’s Day. If Johnson is available, he should be able to help against Screen, a solid center who is competent in the low post and loves to crash the glass. Prior to his injury, Johnson looked dominant early on against Gonzaga with four points and two boards in the first six minutes after an impressive 12-point game against Texas.
If he’s not available, Reed and Youssouf Singare will need to continue to play quality minutes to help the Huskies win the battle of the boards against a sizable Bulldogs team. Reed made the most of his first start as a Husky in Johnson’s absence, scoring 20 points and adding 13 rebounds and four blocks with just three fouls in 35 minutes. It was Reed’s fifth double-double of the season.