No. 19 UConn men’s basketball survives Butler in overtime, 80-78

The Huskies needed an extra frame to put away the Bulldogs

The No. 19 UConn men’s basketball team dodged a major landmine on Tuesday, outlasting Butler 80-78 in overtime to improve to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big East.

Alex Karaban led the Huskies with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Solo Ball added a career-high 23 points on 5-10 shooting from three, while Samson Johnson chipped in 14 points and five rebounds. Tarris Reed Jr poured in 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Butler’s Jahmyl Telfort led all scorers with 25 despite shooting 0/7 from three, while Finley Bizjack added 17.

The Huskies were up by as much as 15 in the first half and nine with seven minutes to play, but fouls and a clunkier-than-usual offense kept Butler in it.

The Huskies got off to a quick start with threes from Karaban and Ball, plus some classic Slamson Johnson rim running. But in a theme that’s become all-too familiar, Butler’s shotmaking kept them afloat.

“We were not able to sustain what we started defensively. It’s deteriorating. What happened?!,” Hurley said in the huddle.

Despite Johnson getting into some foul trouble, three first half treys from Ball gave UConn some cushion. As has been the case all season, there were glimpses of a juggernaut marred by inconsistency and moments of youth. Jaylin Stewart got chewed out very publicly by Hurley for a late closeout that resulted in a open three, but the talented sophomore responded with active hands defensively and keyed two transition buckets.

Despite all the flashes, UConn could not put Butler away; an 8-0 stretch saw UConn’s lead balloon to 15, but the Huskies took their foot off the gas and Butler ended the half on a 9-2 run.

The two sides traded buckets out of the break, but it was encouraging to see Karaban attacking the basket with renewed vigor. Bizjack proved bothersome, sneaking a steal and-one to put Reed in foul trouble and then drawing a foul on a made three a few positions later.

“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot by not finishing possessions with defensive rebounds and loose balls. And we’re just running to the three point line, instead of dunks. Run for dunks and it’ll open up the threes,” Hurley told the team in the huddle.

The Huskies struggled with some Telfort and Pierre Brooks bully ball, but were able to always respond with a bucket, including this PT Barnum circus shot from Jayden Ross.

Up five at the under eight, a stop and transition Solo three — one of Hassan Diarra’s nine assists — put UConn back up nine and seemingly home free. But fighting the bonus at 6:48 is never fun, and fast forward two minutes, a banked-in Bizjack three, a backcourt turnover, and the Huskies were suddenly down one in the span of two minutes.

Telfort spearheaded Butler’s elite ability to draw fouls and attack downhill, which combined with the Bulldogs’ improved switching on screens, resulted in a slow burn to wind down the game. Fouls and wild finishing around the rim seemed to plague UConn every possession; the Huskies scored five (!) points in the last 7:15.

A Karaban floated tied it with 90 seconds left, but —sound familiar? — the Huskies struggled to string together anything cohesive to win it in regulation. In what could not have been the plan, it was three possessions, three discombobulated drives by Diarra, the point guard likely forced to figure something out after Butler switched screens and blew up actions.

In OT, Butler jumped out to a quick three-point lead, before a Karaban and-one followed by a Ball three brought the roof down.

Two clutch freebies from Johnson gave UConn a two-possession breather, and Reed cleaned up a bobbled Karaban drive to avoid the disaster.

After a brutal stretch to end regulation, UConn made its last four field goals in overtime, while Butler had two threes to win it in the end but missed, a miracle given the Huskies’ 3-point luck this year.

No one will remember this game in March, thankfully. Except maybe Hurley, likely incensed by the rebounding margin (38-38), the fouls (both bad calls and bad decisions), the late-clock execution, and probably seven other things, all good reason.

Learn from it and move on, because a road clash versus an improving Xavier team looms on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.