Karaban anchors UConn basketball's 74-61 Black Friday win over Illinois
Quick, think of the requisites every championship-level team in college basketball has. Here are a few answers:
The veteran. The stabilizer. The even-keeled three point shooter. The reliable, three level scorer. The consistent on-ball defender. The floor commander and tone setter.
No. 5 UConn men’s basketball (6-1) has all the above on its — finally healthy — 15 man roster. In fact, it has all of those factors in one player: it’s leader, Alex Karaban.
Karaban, who head coach Dan Hurley referred to as one of the program’s all-time greats last week, was the straw the stirred the Huskies’ drink in a 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois (6-2) on Black Friday.
It was Karaban who got the ball over half court when the Illini pressed Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith at the end of the game. Karaban caught the ball that caromed off the rim with under three minutes remaining to give the Huskies a fresh 20. Karaban quelled a 6-0 Illinois run late in the first half to behead the Illini’s momentum just to do the same at the start of the second.
“I’m never tired,” Karaban said. “I’m never asking for a sub. I never want to come out, I want to play 40 minutes – I want to average 40 minutes out there if I can.”
Karaban finished with 12 points, a team-leading nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal on a team-high 35 minutes.
The redshirt senior’s presence was evident from the early going. Karaban scored the Huskies’ second basket of the afternoon on a triple from the left wing to give UConn its first two possession lead of the night – which it never surrendered.
Connecticut led wire-to-wire and leaned on its defense to hold Illinois – who, coming into the game, averaged 95 points per night – to 34 below its average. The Huskies forced 10 turnovers, blocked seven shots and held the Illini to a 6/29 mark from behind the arc.
“That was probably number one on the scouting report,” Karaban said of defending Illinois’ three point shooting. “Being able to contain them off the bounce. We could’ve done a better job on the pick-and-roll defense, but [making] sure they don’t get open threes [was the top priority].”
After Keaton Wagler drilled an open three from the left wing to bring the game back within one possession, Jaylin Stewart and Demary rattled off five quick points to bring the lead back to four before the first media timeout.
Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois’ leading scorer coming into the day, got on the board from the left corner to slice the Husky lead down to one point on the ensuing possession. It was his first – and only – basket of the day.
“Stojakovic was a guy that we talked about relentlessly,” Hurley said. “A guy that we had to show a lot of bodies to limit his rim attacks.”
The Huskies were in the midst of a 10-0 run when the buzzer sounded for the under 12 timeout. And they got a chunk of those points on bonus shots.
Smith converted an and-one opportunity on his first shot of the day before Solo Ball connected on a three pointer from the right wing as he was fouled by Wagler.
The and-one to start his day spurred on a 14-point, 9-assist day for Smith, who was one of four Huskies to play double-digit minutes off the bench.
“The depth’s crazy on this team,” Karaban said. “The two years we won the national championship, our depth really was the key to everything.”
Ball, who entered the game as a 25% three point shooter, connected on two of his first five attempts from deep against the Illini and led the Huskies with 15 points on six made field goals.
He was spelled (for the first time all season) by Braylon Mullins, who made his long awaited debut to a standing ovation at MSG. The true freshman scored the first points of his Husky career on a pull-up jumper from the right elbow and grabbed two rebounds in a hardy effort on the wing.
“Having those two guys back changes everything for us offensively and defensively,” Karaban said. “It just makes us even more dangerous.”
Oh, and the other vital piece of the Husky rotation also returned from injury.
You know, Tarris Reed Jr. along with his 6-foot-11, 265-pound frame. Reed missed the last two games with an ankle injury sustained in the second half of the team’s game against BYU two weeks ago.
The Kodiak Bear scored his only points of the afternoon from the charity stripe and grabbed five rebounds in his return to action. Reed’s impact was felt most on the defensive end, evidenced from Stojakovic’s high-arching air ball from the paint on Illinois’ first possession.
“He was in no position for us to use him offensively today,” Hurley said. “I wouldn’t say it was Willis Reed out there. It’s just his presence, his physical presence, his size, just occupying some minutes so that Eric [Reibe] didn’t have to play 30-plus.”
Reed was under a strict 15 minute restriction, however, and surrendered the meatiest action to freshman Eric Reibe. In over 22 minutes of game time, Reibe grabbed seven rebounds to pair with eight points, none of which more important than his put back to put the Huskies up 20 mid-way through the second half.
“Tarris’ situation, health wise, has been great for Eric,” Hurley said. “It’s giving us two centers that are going to be able to play at a high level and that’s been the key to a lot of our success in 2023 and 2024.”
Illinois came into MSG having rebounded at one of the nation’s highest clips, thanks in part to its positional versatility from David Mirkovic and Ben Humrichous. But the Illini struggled on the glass, especially down the stretch when the Huskies extended its possession three times before Smith hit on a miraculous heave as the shot clock expired.
UConn won the battle on the glass 43-38, converted 14 offensive rebounds into 11 second chance points and held Illinois to 24 points in the paint.
“We need to get tougher,” rued Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. “We need to get tougher. We need practice desperately, that showed today.”
In an attempt to stave off another 30-0 Connecticut run, the Illini battled back throughout the middle of the second half. Kylan Boswell – the “head of the snake” – got to the rack frequently on the Reed-less Huskies, carving the Connecticut defense apart for 25 points and nine rebounds in 39 minutes.
Illinois worked the lead down to 10 before the ever-steady Karaban hit on a high-rising lay-in over Zvonimir Ivisic.
It snapped the Illini momentum, which had gotten Underwood’s squad within striking distance.
Then Karaban hit again from the opposite side to make it a 12 point game right after the under eight timeout. Reibegot it up to 14 a few minutes later before Illinois’ final push – catalyzed by Tomislav Ivisic’s late double-double – fell short by a slew of extended Connecticut possessions that ate up the clock.
Illinois drops its second ranked game of the season at a neutral site, having lost against Alabama in Chicago last week. The Huskies improve to 6-1 and will head west to take on what should be another ranked opponent in Kansas (who took third at the PlayersEra Festival without freshman guard Darryn Peterson).
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