UConn’s ultimate winner is playing with nothing to lose. That makes Huskies ‘very dangerous’
PHILADELPHIA — Greatness.
That’s the word Dan Hurley used afterward. Multiple times. A head coach with two national championships and no shortage of self-confidence was downright deferential to the player sitting next to him.
“This man’s greatness,” said Hurley. “No one’s been better in college sports the last four years in terms of being a winner. So thank you, Alex.”
“Thank you, Coach,” said Alex Karaban, sheepishly.
There was no one better on Sunday night, when the redshirt senior scored a career-high 27 points, 16 of them in the second half, to lead No. 2 UConn to a 73-57 victory over No. 7 UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He made 9 of 16 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds in 36 minutes.
“Every time you win in this tournament, the feeling gets better and better,” Karaban said. “Do anything possible to make sure I get the win. Whether it’s my night or someone else’s night, help, contribute, and lead.”
After a second-round exit last year, the Huskies advance to the Sweet 16 to face No. 3 seed Michigan State in Washington D.C. on Friday. It’s the program’s third trip to the second weekend in four years. The other two ended with UConn as the last team standing. Karaban, the winningest player in the history of Huskies men’s basketball, with his jersey already in the rafters, is hell-bent on going for a third in his final season.
“That’s the reality of it. I definitely don’t want my career to end,” Karaban said. “Every time I’ve had a decision to come back, I came back just wanting to win and help this team out. But also just enjoying every second I have in a UConn jersey.”
Hurley could sense that desperation on Sunday, something he admits might have been missing from the late-season loss to Marquette, or the Big East title game loss to St. John’s.
“What you saw is a guy that’s attacking the game,” Hurley said. “He’s aggressively looking for all of his shots. He’s working his way to the ball. He’s driving the ball. I think that’s the difference. He’s not going down without firing all of his bullets.”
ALEX KARABAN IS ON ONE 🔥#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/RgNzoxvixD
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026
Karaban’s big game was the second career night of the weekend for the Huskies. They were tested in the opening-round win over No. 15 Furman, but a dominating 31 points and 27 rebounds by big man Tarris Reed Jr. squashed any chance of a Cinderella story. The 6-foot-11 senior played like a god among insects, grabbing the most boards in an NCAA Tournament game since 1973.
His 10-point, 13-rebound double-double against UCLA didn’t break the box score in the same way, but his gravity on the court was just as impactful. The Bruins ran an aggressive double team at Reed all night, usually coming from the baseline side. Reed was limited by foul trouble in the first half, but his second-half presence helped open things on the perimeter for Karaban and freshman Braylon Mullins (17 points).
On one play in the second half, guard Silas Demary Jr. caught the ball just inside the 3-point line and eyed Reed posting up on the block. A UCLA defender, anticipating an entry pass, cheated over, leaving Karaban open on the wing. Demary read it and fed Karaban, who splashed it from beyond the arc, part of a 14-0 run to give UConn a double-digit lead. The Huskies led the rest of the way.
Karaban AGAIN 🔥#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/9vUUUVxox9
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026
They have a tough draw ahead in a brutal East Regional, starting with a physical Spartans squad that has its own track record in March. Even a win on Friday means either a fourth showdown against Big East foe St. John’s, which has already beaten UConn twice, or a meeting with top overall seed Duke. But the team’s two star seniors catching fire, plus a coach who has proven he can win rings, is a similarly scary proposition for everyone else.
“The thing about UConn is I think the first-round games are scary,” Hurley said. “The uniform is heavy in the first round. When we get out of the first round, we become very dangerous. You start believing that a run is coming.”
It helped on Sunday that UCLA was without senior forward Tyler Bilodeau. The Bruins’ leading scorer missed both games of the NCAA Tournament with a knee injury suffered in the Big Ten tournament and certainly could have helped an offense that scored 57 points. But head coach Mick Cronin didn’t make any excuses. He lamented his team’s inability to convert at the rim and credited UConn’s defense. He also acknowledged his team had no answer for Karaban’s versatility at 6-foot-8.
“I knew it was a tough matchup for us because he runs around like a two-guard,” Cronin said. “Our guy wasn’t used to guarding somebody that does that. I have respect for him and his loyalty to his program, what he’s accomplished at UConn. He’s everything that’s good about college basketball.”
It was a popular sentiment as Sunday night turned to Monday morning in Xfinity Mobile Arena, one echoed by Mullins, UConn’s baby-faced freshman.
“He holds the standard in this program,” Mullins said. “He can take us wherever we need to go.”
Next up is Washington D.C. But the goal is Indianapolis, and another Final Four, and a chance at a third national championship. Karaban’s last dance.
“I don’t go into a game thinking, What if we lose?” Karaban said. “That’s the worst mentality to have. Think about winning nonstop.”
If he keeps playing like this, the Huskies have a shot to make it reality.
