Dec 31, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; UConn Huskies center Eric Reibe (12) blocks the shot by Xavier Musketeers forward Pape N'Diaye (22) in the second half at the Cintas Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

UConn men’s basketball (21-1, 11-0) returns back home to kick off the month of February, as the Huskies are set to host Xavier (12-10, 4-7) at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford on Tuesday night.

The Musketeers rank No. 93 in KenPom, with the No. 104 offense in the country, No. 105 defense and rank 97th in the NET. The team has had an up-and-down Big East season with a mix of highlights and heartbreakers in year one under Richard Pitino. Xavier has had games where they’ve pulled off big comebacks, blown big leads, and lost in extreme circumstances. In their last game, they trailed by 18 points in the second half at home against DePaul before storming back to win at the buzzer.

As for UConn, it sits at No. 3 in the AP Poll, No. 10 in KenPom, and No. 7 in the NET. They have the fifth-most efficient defense in the country and peaked as high as second in that category. The Huskies had a statement win on the road at Creighton in Omaha on Saturday, burying 16 threes and leading by as many as 30 in the second half after being tied late in the first. Braylon Mullins returned from his concussion to score a team high 16 points in the victory.

The Huskies are looking to start 12-0 in league play for the first time since they started 14-0 in Big East play during the 1995-96 season with Ray Allen and Doron Sheffer leading the way.

Last time UConn played Xavier, the Huskies handled business out in Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve in their third game of league play. Can UConn sweep the season series?

Date/Time: Tuesday, February 3, 7:00 p.m.

TV/Stream: NBC Sports Network, Peacock

Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 84, Sirius/XM online streaming

Odds: UConn -17.5, over/under 148.5

Location: PeoplesBank Arena – Hartford, Connecticut

KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 82, Xavier 63 – 96 percent win probability

Series History

The Huskies and Musketeers have played 13 times, with the past 11 coming in Big East play. UConn has a narrow 8-5 advantage over Xavier with a 7-4 split in conference action. They last faced off on Dec. 31, 2025, when UConn beat Xavier 90-67 at the Cintas Center. Alex Karaban led four Huskies in double figures with 19 points.

Availability report

As of now, everyone should be available as Braylon Mullins returned in the win versus Creighton on Saturday night. The Big East availability report, released three hours prior to tip off, will confirm.

What to Watch For

3-point breakout

The Huskies shot a lights out 16-31 from three over the weekend against Creighton, with seven different players connecting from deep. Their first five field goals were from the perimeter, with two each from Braylon Mullins and Solo Ball and one from Jaylin Stewart. It wasn’t until Stewart hit a layup over halfway into the half when they scored a non-triple from the field.

Last time they played Xavier, UConn hit 13 threes, which was the most they hit in a game against a high major opponent at the time. In that game, Mullins hit five threes to lead the way while Alex Kraban hit three. The Huskies shot 13-28 from distance in Cincinnati, starting a stretch where they started prioritizing the three-ball more than earlier in the season. From opening night up until the matchup with the Musketeers on Dec. 31, UConn hit double digit threes just twice in 13 games. Since? Four times in nine games.

Despite the explosion from deep that they gave up to the Huskies, Xavier has actually guarded the three pretty well this season. That was just one of four instances in which the Musketeers surrendered double digit threes and they only did it once since. It will be interesting to see which gives on Tuesday, but if history shows anything this year, it’s that the Husky offense has been one of the few to crack the Musketeer defense from three.

Red Hot Hartford

Remember the infamous loss in the middle of January 2023 at the XL Center to a below average St. John’s team? It hard for some UConn fans to forget, but the ensuing months after probably made things a little easier.

Why would this game 37 months ago be brought up in a Xavier preview? Well, that loss to the Red Storm was the last game that the Huskies lost in Hartford. Through an arena name change and multiple roster shifts, UConn has won 25 consecutive games in the capital city. Even in a down year last season, the team still found a way to go unbeaten.

The history between Xavier and UConn during that streak involves perhaps one of the more memorable wins. Back in 2024, the Huskies dismantled the Musketeers 99-56 in a game where 10 different players hit threes. After the game, then-head coach Sean Miller was quoted saying “they beat us so bad that you wondered if you’d be able to play basketball or win a basketball game again.”

Super Silas

When sifting through Big East Player of the Year candidates, there’s one player on the Huskies that may not be getting the props or love that he probably deserves seeing how great the team has played, and that player is Silas Demary Jr.

Looking through the numbers, the 11.9 points, 4.2 rebound and 7.1 assists per game in league play might not scream “Player of the Year.” But if you take into account the efforts he’s giving on the defensive end and the value he’s brought to the point guard spot that few others bring not just in the Big East, but around the country, it’s hard to argue him not being a legit candidate.

The past two games, both of which 15 point performances with five and six assists respectively, have almost felt expected seeing the standards he’s set himself over the past few weeks. You could probably say this about seven or eight players, but I truly believe it when saying it about Demary Jr. that he is the ultimate x-factor for this year’s UConn team and how far they go into March. Demary Jr. also has a chip on his shoulder, as a the Georgia transfer was snubbed from the Bob Cousy Award midseason watchlist when the committee announced it on Monday. Demary Jr. still could work his way into the conversation with continued strong play, but it serves as some extra motivation heading into the back half of Big East play.

Can they do it again?

When the Huskies visited Xavier in December, the biggest takeaway on the defensive end was the job that the wings and frontcourt did in containing Tre Carroll. The Florida Atlantic transfer had been lighting Cincy on fire, dropping 30 points in the Crosstown Shootout win for the Musketeers and scoring at least 20 points three other occasions including their previous game at Georgetown. Naturally, Carroll scored just nine points against UConn, one of two games all season in which he was held to single digits.

Carroll has finished in double figures in eight-straight games and scored 20+ in five in a row including, a 31 point night sandwiched in the middle against St. John’s. In the past eight, he’s averaged 22.4 points a night on 56% from the field and 2.4 blocks as well, showcasing he’s more than just an offensive threat. In a close loss to Creighton, Carroll began the game by hitting his first nine shots before finishing 12-14 with 29 points.

The key for UConn to limit him again is to try and replicate how they guarded him in the first game. Karaban, Stewart, or whoever was on him limited his space to pull the trigger, and the presence of Tarris Reed Jr. or Eric Reibe down low limited his confidence on potential drives. Carroll wasn’t able to get into the type of rhythm that he’s gotten into the past few weeks and the result was one of his worst games of the year. Not letting him see a couple shots go through the net early is important.

Vets at the four

Perhaps...

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