No. 5 UConn is at full strength and will bring plenty of momentum into play when it faces Texas on Friday night in Hartford, Conn.
The Huskies (9-1) head home after a 77-73 win over No. 18 Florida on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic in New York City. Solo Ball scored 19 points to lead UConn to its fifth straight win. He hit three foul shots in the final 21 seconds to secure the victory.
Alex Karaban had 13 points and Tarris Reed Jr. 12 for UConn in his return to the starting lineup after sitting out the previous two games with an ankle injury.
The Huskies shot 50% from the floor to help offset a 40-28 rebounding deficit as UConn defeated the team that ended its bid for a three-peat in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
“Having a team like (ours) gives you so much confidence,” Ball said. “Just to go in the game and hit those big shots — those shots that you work on, shots that you kind of dream of taking.”
Three of the Huskies’ wins this year are against Quad 1 teams BYU, Illinois and Kansas, and its lone loss was at home to No. 4 Arizona.
UConn coach Dan Hurley said his team’s performance leads him to believe it could be the “most balanced” he’s coached.
“No. 1, the defense is where we need it to be to compete for the things at UConn that you want to,” Hurley said. “I thought we were pretty good offensively, with 18 assists on 50% shooting. When it’s all said and done, we’re going to have a top-five, top-10 defense and a top-five, top-10 offense.
“The strength of the team is the nine guys. When you have nine quality players, you can survive an off night from multiple people and still get the production you need.”
The Longhorns (7-3) enter Friday’s game after a dominant 95-69 home victory over Southern on Monday.
Matas Vokietaitis scored a career-high 28 points while tying a program record by making all 14 of his free-throw attempts for Texas, which bounced back from a 19-point home loss to Virginia on Dec. 3.
Jordan Pope had 18 points and Simeon Wilcher 14 on Monday for the Longhorns, who shot 56.9% from the floor.
Despite the victory, Texas coach Sean Miller knows his team has to improve on defense without fouling. The Longhorns committed 23 fouls vs. Southern.
“Look, we have problems on defense,” Miller said. “Unless we get better, unless me, us as a staff, solve some of these problems, we’re not going to be good enough. We foul, we’re struggling pressuring and guarding the ball, struggling sometimes coming out after timeouts trying to take away a play of concepts, and that’s not good enough.
“Our fouling is not a thing of aggression — it’s a sign of weakness.”
Two of the Longhorns’ three defeats have come to Quad 1 teams — Duke and Virginia — with the third loss to Quad 2 Arizona State.
UConn and Texas will meet for the third straight season. The Huskies won 81-71 in Madison Square Garden during the 2023-24 season and 76-65 in Austin last year.
