Storylines to watch during UConn Basketball’s game against BYU
Dan Hurley referred to Monday’s game versus Columbia as UConn basketball’s “Super Bowl” after the Lions defeated New Haven by a larger margin than his Huskies did.
So Saturday’s game versus No. 7 BYU (3-0) in Boston can’t be any more important, right?
It is only the second meeting between two top ten ranked teams this season… in Boston… in primetime… oh, and it’s Cougar freshman AJ Dybansta’s homecoming, if you didn’t already know.
There’s a lot to cover – so much that cramming it all into one article would make it feel more like a novel than a preview.
Here’s what to watch for (and where to watch it):
Early Season Review
Both teams are off to 3-0 starts. The Cougars notched a five-point opening night win over Villanova in Las Vegas before steamrolling Holy Cross 98-53. Kevin Young’s Cougars had a harder time putting Delaware out on Wednesday, overcoming a three-point halftime deficit to outscore the Blue Hens by 20 in the second half.
Connecticut boat raced its first three opponents, defeating New Haven by 22 points, UMass Lowell by 63 and Columbia by 27. BYU will serve as the first of five ranked opponents over the Huskies’ next seven games.
Big Three vs. Big Three
Solo Ball, Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr.
Robert Wright III, Richie Saunders and Dybansta.
Two of the nation’s best offensive trios.
It’s possible that those six names combine for over 80% of the game’s points. The Cougar trio all average over 18 points per game and have combined for 67% of BYU’s scoring through three games.
Saunders’ 20.3 points and seven rebounds per game lead the team while Dybansta, who is widely considered the top prospect in the 2026 NBA Draft (although that gap is shrinking), ranks ninth nationally among freshmen in scoring.
Wright, a Baylor transfer, has been a firm commander of Young’s offense thus far, leading the team with an average of 4.3 assists per night. That number was boosted by the nine he dished against Delaware on Wednesday.
The Huskies have the requisite tools to combat the Cougar offensive onslaught, however.
Reed erupted for 20 points and 12 rebounds in 17 minutes against UMass Lowell and followed that up with 19 and eight against Columbia.
Ball has yet to find his stroke from behind the arc but is still averaging over 18 points per game on just 16 made field goals.
The ever-steady Karaban is averaging a career-high 17.3 points and six rebounds per game and is shooting over 58% from the field.
The game will hinge on the performance of these six players. Manufacturing touches for each of them will be the priority for both coaches.
A War on the Boards
Yes, Reed will be tabbed with a heavy offensive workload, but his work on the defensive glass will be just as – if not more– important.
With the status of BYU wing Kennard Davis, a Southern Illinois transfer who averaged over 16 points and four rebounds per night, in question, the low-post battle between Reed and Keba Keita becomes even more important to win.
Keita is averaging 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game as the Cougars’ starting center gives a palpable energy boost to Young’s squad when on the court. He isn’t much of a scorer, averaging just 6.4 points across 104 career games, but the former Utah Ute boasts an 80th percentile 12.6% offensive rebounding percentage.
Suffocating the three Cougar scorers starts on the glass. Winning the rebounding battle will inevitably limit BYU’s field goal attempts and force longer possessions defensively.
The Depth of the Benches
BYU is averaging just 13.7 points a game from its bench – which ranks in the 12th percentile nationally. Almost seven of those points come from wing Dawson Baker, who’s expected to start in wake of Davis’ arrest earlier in the week.
Khadim Mboup, Tyler Mrus and Mihalio Boskovic are the only other Cougars to average double-figure minutes. They combine to average 3.4 points and one turnover per game.
UConn’s bench, meanwhile, averages 25.7 points per game (53rd percentile) and goes five deep. The Huskies will lean on Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross in defensive-oriented lineups to stymie at least one of the Cougar weapons.
The play of Eric Reibe, whose averaged just 3.3 rebounds per game through three outings, down low could be a determining factor in the aforementioned battle on the boards.
Series History
It’s a brief one. The Cougars are Huskies have met just once before; a 2003 first round NCAA Tournament game that swung the way of Connecticut, 58-53.
Much like UConn, BYU has moved around since the last meeting. The Cougars jumped from the Mountain West to the West Coast Conference in 2011, where they stayed for 12 years before elevating to the Big 12 Conference in 2023-24.
Both of Young’s first two Cougar teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Both received six seeds. Last year’s 26-win squad reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Alabama.
The No. 8 ranking was BYU’s highest preseason rank in program history, eclipsing the 1972-73 record of No. 12.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on FOX.
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