Alex Karaban scores 19 points as No. 9 UConn sends past Georgetown 68-60 in the second half

Alex Karaban scores 19 points as No. 9 UConn sends past Georgetown 68-60 in the second half

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 19 points, Solo Ball added 15 and No. 9 Connecticut bounced back from its first conference loss of the season to beat Georgetown 68-60 on Saturday.

The Huskies (13-4, 5-1 Big East), who lost 68-66 at Villanova on Wednesday, have not lost consecutive league games since January 2023.

Curtis Williams Jr. had 15 points for the Hoyas (12-4, 3-2), who have lost 20 straight games to ranked teams since winning the 2021 Big East tournament.

Connecticut led 36-31 after 20 minutes but opened the second half with a 17-2 run, forcing Georgetown coach Ed Cooley to call two timeouts before the Hoyas scored their first field goal after halftime. The Huskies eventually built a 64-41 lead.

Huskies new forward Liam McNeeley, who is averaging 13.6 points, missed his third straight game with an ankle injury.

UConn has won all nine meetings with Georgetown since returning to the Big East prior to the 2020-21 season.

Takeaways

Connecticut: The Huskies overwhelmed Georgetown’s young squad and created separation in the second half. It was a mature performance from a team that has won nine of its last 10 games since losing three games at the Maui Invitational in November.

Georgetown: Guard Jayden Epps (three points in 14 minutes) returned from a lower-body injury after playing a total of four minutes in the last three games.

Key moment

With Connecticut leading 39-31 early in the second half, Hassan Diarra forced a clean steal from Epps and rolled for a layup. The Hoyas never got closer than nine until the final 20 seconds.

Key statistics

Karaban lit up the Hoyas again. In three games against Georgetown over the past two seasons, the redshirt junior averaged 23.3 points while shooting 70.3 percent (26 of 37) overall and 66.7 percent (14 of 21) from three.

Next

Connecticut hosts Creighton on January 18th.

Georgetown visits St. John’s on Tuesday.

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