Fifth-ranked UConn men take down No. 13 Illinois, 74-61, at Madison Square Garden

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Nov 28, 2025

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NEW YORK — The fifth-ranked UConn men’s basketball team rolled to a 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois in a Black Friday rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight in the SentinelOne Showdown at Madison Square Garden.

There was no 30-0 run, but the Huskies built a double-figure lead about eight minutes in and never let it go, securing the wire-to-wire victory in their first trip to MSG this season. The program improved to 78-68 all time in the World’s Most Famous Arena and 4-1 all time against Illinois, which fell to 6-2 on the season. It was UConn’s second top-15 victory this season.

UConn (6-1) had three players finish in double figures, led by 15 points, four rebounds and two steals from Solo Ball. Alex Karaban had a loaded stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal, and backup point guard Malachi Smith added 14 points with nine assists as Silas Demary Jr. (nine points, three rebounds, three assists) dealt with foul trouble.

Senior point guard Kylan Boswell accounted for most of the Illini offense with 25 points (8 for 16) and three assists.

UConn held Illinois to just 31.7% shooting from the floor (19 for 60) and 20.7% from beyond the arc (6 for 29).

Ball, who had been struggling with his 3-point shot to start the season, began a highly-entertaining first few minutes with a made triple. The teams traded shots back-and-forth before the Huskies’ junior took over scoring in all three areas. Ball made another 3-pointer from the top of the key and was fouled on the shot, giving him a four-point play and UConn a 10-0 run.

Highly-touted freshman Braylon Mullins checked in to make his long-awaited debut with the Huskies leading, 23-12, eight minutes into the first half and the heavily pro-UConn crowd welcomed him with a standing ovation.

Mullins, recovered from an ankle injury in the lead up to the season, played 10 minutes and finished with two points on 1-for-5 shooting.

UConn’s lead grew to as many as 14 points in the first half before Illinois went on a 6-0 run, led by the veteran Boswell. The Huskies’ vet, Karaban, ended it with his second 3-pointer of the half and blocked a layup attempt from Andrej Stojakovic (three points, 1 for 7) on the other end. Both teams went into a shooting drought to end the half, the only made field goal in the last two and a half minutes coming on a dunk from UConn’s third-string center, Dwayne Koroma, with 10 seconds left to send the Huskies into the break with a 43-32 lead.

UConn started the second half just 1 for 8 from the field before Smith fed Karaban for a pair of layups that started an 11-2 run that included a pair of buckets from Eric Reibe (eight points, seven rebounds) and a 3-pointer from Jayden Ross, pushing the lead to 17 points.

Illinois missed 13 consecutive 3-pointers before Boswell hit with just less than 13 minutes left, but Smith answered immediately on the other end. Mullins scored his first collegiate points on a mid-range jumper that pushed the Huskies’ lead to 19 points, 62-43, with 11 and a half minutes left.

Boswell started a 16-2 Illinois run over more than seven and a half minutes to cut the difference to single digits with three minutes to play. But Smith heaved a 3-pointer through a foul and a shot clock dispute to snap a three-minute scoring drought, his four-point play giving the Huskies an 11-point cushion and effectively sealing the victory.

Tarris Reed Jr., also returning from an ankle injury which he suffered in the Nov. 19 win over BYU, didn’t make a shot from the field but grabbed five rebounds, helping the Huskies to a 43-38 advantage on the boards.