No. 2 UConn men's basketball team rolls over Creighton, 85-58

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Jan 31, 2026

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OMAHA, Neb. — Dan Hurley has been talking about killer instinct and breaking an opponent’s will since the Big East season started for the UConn men’s basketball team.

The call was finally answered on Saturday night with one of the most complete, well-balanced and dominant performances of the season as the Huskies cruised to an 85-58 blowout of Creighton at the normally imposing CHI Health Center.

Enjoying the backdrop of Creighton’s annual “Pink Out” game for cancer awareness, an overflowing crowd all dressed in pink, the Huskies made 16 3-pointers on 31 attempts from beyond the arc (51.6%) and shot a similar 54.1% from the field. They dominated the glass, 37-24, the second-chance points (23-8) and only turned the ball over eight times. This was all while holding the Bluejays to 40.9% shooting from the floor and a rough 5 for 21 mark from beyond the arc, where they were 0 for 11 in the second half.

It was UConn’s second-consecutive win in Omaha, where it had been 0-4 before last season.

The second-ranked Huskies saw their winning streak improve to 17 straight games as they got to 21-1 on the year and 11-0 in Big East play. Creighton fell to 12-10 and 6-5 in the league.

UConn saw four players finish in double figures with Braylon Mullins leading the way with 16 points. Alex Karaban had 15 points and six rebounds and Silas Demary Jr. also went for 15 with six rebounds and five assists. Solo Ball added 11 with four rebounds and three assists, and Tarris Reed Jr. had eight on 4-for-4 shooting from the field.

After Liam McNeeley’s freshman-record 38-point double-double ended the program’s winless history in Omaha last season, it was Mullins’ turn to shine as the Huskies’ star rookie. He returned to the starting lineup after clearing concussion protocol and got going immediately, kicking off a series of six-consecutive 3-pointers between both teams just a minute in. Ball, as comfortable as he’s looked, made two and Mullins made his second to put the Huskies up, 12-8, after five minutes.

The game hit a bit of an offensive lull as foul trouble sent UConn’s starters to the bench. But after Nik Graves traded 3s with Jaylin Stewart and Isaac Traudt gave the Bluejays their first lead since the score was 2-0, the Huskies’ starting group was at the scorer’s table, ready to check back in.

UConn, shooting 8 for 15 from beyond the arc in the first half to Creighton’s 5 for 10, went on a 10-2 scoring run over the final two minutes of the half and took a 41-30 lead into the break.

Mullins started the second half with his third triple of the game and Karaban pushed the lead to 14 points with a layup. Whenever Creighton built some momentum, the Huskies were able to nip it in the bud. And they didn’t let up. The 14-point lead became 20 with 13 minutes left to play after a corner 3 from Karaban, a fadeaway midrange jumper from Stewart and an open, straight-on triple from Malachi Smith.

The Creighton faithful didn’t have much to cheer for in the second half, other than Eric Reibe’s 0 for 2 trip to the free throw line, which earned them free chicken sandwiches.

Most of the crowd started heading for the exits with seven minutes left after a 3-pointer from Jayden Ross pushed the Huskies’ lead to 27 points.

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