How to watch No. 6 UConn men's basketball versus Georgetown

The UConn men’s basketball team saw its offensive efficiency rating plummet after it visited Georgetown in mid-January.

Coming off of a poor 17% 3-point shooting effort at Seton Hall, the shotmaking was even harder to come by in the nation’s capital as the Huskies went just 21-for-58 (36.2%) from the field and 5-for-26 (19.2%) from beyond the arc. UConn was also outrebounded by six as the game went down to the wire, and eventually won, 64-62, despite a series of misses from the foul line in the final minutes.

Starting the season projected as one of the top offenses in the country by the KenPom metric, UConn found itself at No. 36 the day after its clash with the Hoyas.

Shooting 50.3% from the field and 43.4% from 3 over the six games since, UConn’s offense is back to No. 20 nationally ahead of its rematch with Ed Cooley’s squad at Gampel Pavilion Saturday night.

“We’ve got five guys averaging between (11 and 14 points), they’re all bunched, it’s crazy. I don’t think there’s a team in the country that kind of has that,” coach Dan Hurley said after bouncing back from the St. John’s loss with a win at Butler Wednesday night. “That’s how our ’24 team was built – and I’m not comparing these guys to that team, but that was the type of team we had, like pick your poison. Hopefully we can get somewhere near what that team looked like at the end.”

Solo Ball, who had a game-high 24 points against the Bulldogs, is the Huskies’ leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, followed by Tarris Reed Jr. (14.1), Alex Karaban (13.2), Braylon Mullins (11.9) and Silas Demary Jr. (11.2).

“Over the last couple of games they’ve shot the ball really well from the perimeter,” Cooley told reporters in D.C. on Thursday. “Their ability to make 3s and really open up the game has really opened our eyes, and them getting on the offensive glass. Those are the biggest things I’ve seen since we played them.”

Georgetown has also had a bit of a resurgence lately, winning four of its last five to position itself sixth in the Big East standings. But it still hasn’t beaten any of the top four teams in the league this season.

The Hoyas have two of the league’s best scorers in KJ Lewis (15.1 points per game) and Malik Mack (14.5), who is also sixth in assists at 4.3 per game. The duo scored 12 and 11 points against the Huskies, respectively, both coming on late to force drama in the final minutes after scoring four points each in the first half.

7-foot-1 center Vincent Iwuchukwu, who missed some time earlier in the season, grabbed 13 of his 14 rebounds in the second half and scored 12 points to record his first double-double of the season. He’s had double-doubles in back-to-back games against Creighton and Villanova as he enters another physical battle with Reed on Saturday.

More history for Karaban?

The Huskies’ captain could stand alone as the winningest player in UConn men’s basketball history with a victory on Saturday night. The program improved to 115-24 with him active, tying the wins record set by Samson Johnson last season.

Johnson, now with the Noblesville Boom, the Indiana Pacers’ G League affiliate, happened to be sitting behind the team’s bench at Hinkle Fieldhouse as it happened.

Karaban is expected to break Jake Voskhul’s record for the most starts in program history with his 136th on Saturday.

Hasheem at halftime

UConn will induct one of its best defensive players ever, Hasheem Thabeet, into the Huskies of Honor at halftime. Thabeet, the 2008-09 Big East Player of the Year and two-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year, left Storrs with the second-most blocks in program history and became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Thabeet had 1,028 points, 847 rebounds and 417 blocks over three years in Storrs.