Elite programs in early battle as No. 5 UConn visits Kansas

No. 5 UConn will continue to navigate its way through a formidable stretch of the season when it visits Kansas on Tuesday in Lawrence.

The game features two programs responsible for winning three of the last four national championships. The Jayhawks won the title in 2022 before the Huskies overcame a 69-65 setback to Kansas in the Big East-Big 12 Battle on Dec. 1, 2023, en route to capturing their second of back-to-back championships.

UConn (6-1) has faced three ranked foes already this season heading into Tuesday's encounter with Kansas (6-2). Next week, the Huskies will square off against No. 10 Florida, the reigning national champion.

Tuesday's encounter also marks the first official road game for UConn, which has won a pair of neutral-site contests. Silas Demary Jr. scored 21 points in the Huskies' 86-84 victory over then No. 7 BYU in the Hall of Fame Series in Boston on Nov. 15, and Solo Ball had 15 in a 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois on Friday in New York.

Dayton transfer Malachi Smith collected 14 points and nine assists off the bench for the Huskies. Alex Karaban recorded 12 points and nine rebounds, and Eric Reibe added eight and seven, respectively.

"The depth's crazy on this team," Karaban said, per the Hartford Courant. "The two years we won the national championship when I've been here, depth really was the key to everything. When someone's not playing as well as they should be, or injuries, whatnot, next man steps up.

"Eric's been getting way more comfortable out there," Karaban said of Reibe, a 7-foot-1 freshman center. "He's played through big-time games, and he's really showed out for us when we needed him."

UConn also welcomed back senior center Tarris Reed Jr. and five-star freshman guard Braylon Mullins from their respective ankle injuries.

Reed, who averaged 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in his previous three games, had five rebounds in 15 minutes in his return from a two-game absence.

Mullins had two points in 10 minutes in his season debut.

"We want these guys to get to a point where, heading into Tuesday, you're not talking about minutes restrictions," Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said. "Because those two guys are going to change our team a lot."

Kansas extended its winning streak to three games with an 81-76 victory over No. 17 Tennessee on Wednesday in the third-place game at the Players Era men's tournament.

Elmarko Jackson scored a career-high 17 points and Melvin Council Jr. added 17 of his own for the Jayhawks.

"I feel like having these games without some key players that we have is good for our team development," Jackson said of the team's winning streak, per the Kansas City Star. "I feel like as a team this is really no surprise.

"I feel like as basketball players, especially as a team, you're supposed to be delusional about how (good) you are, and it feels good to know that we're good about the delusion that we have about this team. I feel like we fight hard, and I feel like we can go toe-to-toe with any team in the NCAA."

Tre White added 14 to reach double figures for the seventh consecutive game. The senior guard averages 14.4, trailing leading scorer Darryn Peterson (21.5 for two games before a hamstring injury) and Flory Bidunga (15.8), who also pulls down a team-high 8.4 rebounds per contest.

--Field Level Media