Alex Karaban leads UConn men's basketball to critical 72-66 win over No. 20 Marquette

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Mar 5, 2025

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STORRS, Conn. — Alex Karaban loves March, and March loves him back.

The UConn men’s basketball captain squared his shoulders from the wing in front of the Huskies’ bench and nailed a deep 3-pointer with 25 seconds to go in a crucial game Wednesday night against No. 20 Marquette. Hassan Diarra nailed a pair of free throws and the Huskies held on to win, 72-66.

Karaban finished the game with a team-best 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting, seven of his points coming in the final five minutes as Kam Jones (21 points) refused to let the Golden Eagles go away easily.

With all five starters scoring in double figures, UConn improved to 21-9 on the season and jumped Marquette for third-place in the Big East standings at 13-6 with a game to go.

Liam McNeeley started the game strong and finished with 11 points, while Solo Ball and Diarra added 10 a piece. Samson Johnson, after three quiet games in a row, broke out for the first double-double of his career as he provided 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds.

McNeeley wasn’t able to play in the first matchup with the Golden Eagles because of his high ankle sprain but he didn’t wait long to introduce himself. The freshman made three 3-pointers in the first half, his third putting the Huskies up by six – their largest lead of the half.

But UConn’s defense couldn’t hold up as Marquette drove to the rim at will.

The Golden Eagles shot 13 for 17 (76.5%) from inside the arc through the first 20 minutes and just 2 for 12 from 3. Both 3-pointers came from David Joplin, who had a game-high 14 points at the break and cut Marquette’s deficit to two with a 3 that started a 9-0 run to close the half. Joplin finished with 23 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

Seeing its initial advantage on the boards evaporate, UConn went into the break trailing, 37-33.

The Huskies started the second half on an 8-4 run as Ball, who shot 7 for 9 from 3 to get to 25 points in the first matchup in Milwaukee, drove past Chase Ross and finished a left-handed layup to tie the game at 41. Kam Jones helped Marquette build its lead back to five points after Johnson tied the game again with a steal-and-score, but three free throws from Ball kept the score close and Karaban’s second 3-pointer of the night to brought UConn back within one.

Jaylin Stewart climbed a ladder and punched in a highlight-reel putback, Tarris Reed Jr. (four points, six rebounds) followed suit and Diarra and Karaban made a pair of free throws each. Johnson hammered a one-handed slam in transition and the 10-0 scoring run put the Huskies up by seven with less than eight minutes to go.

Focused on taking care of the ball after giving it up 25 times in Milwaukee, UConn’s practice paid off as the Huskies turned the ball over eight times, only three in the second half.

Still, Jones wouldn’t let the game slip away from the Golden Eagles. The senior guard scored 11 of his 21 points in the second half and made it a one point game with 46 seconds to go.

Reed passed out to Karaban on the wing for the dagger 3-pointer just in front of the Huskies bench.

UConn will wrap its regular season with Seton Hall on Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX). Diarra and Johnson will be honored as part of the Senior Day festivities along with Karaban, a redshirt junior who is set to graduate this semester.