No. 25 UConn men come back from double-figure deficit, defeat DePaul, 72-61

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Jan 29, 2025

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HARTFORD, Conn. — The No. 25 UConn men’s basketball team trailed lowly DePaul by as many as 14 points in the first half, at one point hearing boos from the sizeable Wednesday night crowd at the XL Center. But the Huskies dug in and flipped their fortune at halftime, quickly building a double-figure lead of their own midway through the second half before going on to win, 72-61.

Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart and Tarris Reed Jr. combined for 34 points on 11-for-15 shooting after the break to balloon the lead as the Huskies improved to 15-6 on the year and 7-3 in Big East play.

Ball and Reed finished with 16 points a piece to lead the team, with Stewart just behind at 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Aidan Mahaney added 10 points off the bench and captain Alex Karaban, who shot just 1 for 14 from the field and 0 for 6 from deep, contributed six rebounds and eight assists.

It was an ugly start for the Huskies at the defensive end and on the glass as they fell behind, 13-4, through the game’s first six minutes. Sophomore guard Layden Blocker led the charge for DePaul, taking advantage of UConn’s known weaknesses and blowing past perimeter defenders for easy layups inside. At the other end, UConn couldn’t lift the lid off the rim.

The Huskies seemed to pick up a sliver of momentum six minutes in after a pair of strong drives to the rim by Ball and Mahaney, but it evaporated with five quick points for the Blue Demons.

Groans turned to boos from the XL Center crowd after DePaul (10-12, 1-10 Big East) extended its lead to 26-12 around the seven-minute mark. At that point, UConn had made just five of its 20 shots (25%) from the field and was 0 for 9 from beyond the arc. On the prior possession, CJ Gunn stole the ball from Stewart in the backcourt and casually stepped behind the line for a 3-pointer. It was an easy fastbreak layup from Troy D’Amico that triggered the boo-birds.

UConn missed its first 10 shots from beyond the arc until Stewart knocked one down wide open in the corner. Mahaney nailed another on the next offensive possession and, however late, the Huskies were back in the game. Following a three-point play from Mahaney, Reed stole the ball at midcourt and took it to the rim for a dunk, getting the XL Center crowd back into it. UConn made six of its last seven shots in the half to cut its deficit to eight at halftime, 37-29.

Stewart hit a free throw line jumper to start the scoring in the second half and traded 3-pointers with Ball as the Huskies got to within two points of the lead just two minutes in. The sophomore made his third 3-pointer of the game at the 14-minute mark and Reed tied the game at the free throw line shortly after.

UConn’s first lead of the game didn’t come until the 9:38 mark, when Ball powered through contact from DePaul’s center NJ Benson and finished a three-point play inside. After a DePaul miss, Ball lined up for 3 and was fouled as his shot fell through the net, the four-point play extending UConn’s lead to five at the nine-minute mark before Reed finished again inside to push it to seven. The Huskies led by as many as 12 with six minutes to go after a 16-1 scoring run, and never let DePaul back into the game.

UConn will return to action in Milwaukee as it begins a tough February stretch at Marquette on Saturday.

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