PHILADELPHIA – Alex Karaban had no interest in his career ending on Sunday night and led the two-seed UConn men's basketball team (31-5) to a 73-57 win over seven-seed UCLA (24-12) in the Second Round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament East Regional at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Karaban scored a career-high 27 points, including 16 in the second half, to help the Huskies to their third trip to the Sweet 16 in four seasons. 

The trip to the Regional Semifinal will mark UConn's 17^th Sweet 16 appearance. The Huskies will head to Washington, D.C. for a match-up with three-seed Michigan State, a rematch of an exhibition won by the Huskies in Hartford back in October. Top-seed Duke and five-seed St. John's round out the four teams descending on the District next week. 

The Huskies trailed for more than 10 minutes in the first half before a prolonged 14-5 run flipped a six-point deficit into a five-point lead, the margin it took to the break. After the Bruins re-took the lead early in the second stanza, Karaban scored 10 points in a ferocious 14-0 run to give the Huskies a double-digit lead for the first time. The Bruins came back to slim the lead to four with 8:11 to go, but a 9-0 run for the Huskies that included five points from Braylon Mullins put the game away.  

In support of Karaban's career-best scoring night, Mullins added 17 points, Jayden Ross scored 11 in 22 huge minutes off the bench and Tarris Reed Jr. posted a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double with three blocks. The Huskies held the Bruins to 38.8 percent shooting and out-rebounded UCLA, 36-24, to avenge the lone other meeting between two of the sport's blue bloods – a loss in the 1995 Elite Eight. 

Malachi Smith made his second start in as many games and played a season-high 33 minutes, leading the Huskies with six assists. The spot start came for Silas Demary Jr. who returned to action and played 22 minutes off the bench, posting four assists, three rebounds and two steals while recording a team-best +22 plus/minus. For UCLA, Xavier Booker led the way with 13 points and Donovan Dent scored 11 with nine assists. 

How it Happened

The Huskies couldn't generate much offense in the early going, and at 10:20 the Bruins took their largest lead of the proceedings up 18-12. On the next trip Karaban hit a 3-pointer to cut it to a possession and a run of nine-straight UConn points out of Ross, including two triples and three free throws, sparked a prolonged 14-5 run that put the Huskies up 26-23 with 5:23 on the first half timer. 

Late in the first Mullins began to find the range, and his second 3-pointer in the final three minutes of the second stanza came from way outside at 50.6 and gave the Huskies a 38-33 lead. The Huskies took that advantage to the break, going 8-of-10 from the field to close the opening stanza after a 4-of-16 start.

The Bruins scored the first six points of the second half to reclaim the lead before a pair of Karaban free throws stemmed the tide. The captain scored UConn's first eight points of the second half before a Mullins mid-range jumper at 12:54 gave the Huskies a 48-44 lead. After a stop, Karaban hit again from downtown to make it nine-straight for UConn and trigger a UCLA timeout with 12:06 to go and the score 51-44. After the stop Reed Jr. extended the run to 11 before Karaban drilled another from way outside to make it a 14-0 burst and give the Huskies a 56-44 lead, largest of the day, with 10:41 to play. 

The Bruins answered UConn's big run with one of their own, using an 8-0 rip to pull back within four at 8:11 to go. At 5:23, Mullins drew contact on a 3-point attempt and knocked down three at the stripe to push the lead back to seven. That kicked off a 9-0 UConn sprint over barely a minute of game time and prompted a UCLA timeout with 4:18 remaining and the Huskies up 67-54. UConn did not allow UCLA within single-digits the rest of the way.

Inside The Numbers

• The Huskies shot 46.9 percent (23-49) from the field, 33.3 percent (8-24) from 3-point range and 90.5 percent (19-21) from the line
  • After starting the first half 4-of-16 from the floor, UConn hit its next seven to flip a six-point deficit to a five point lead
  • Karaban shot 9-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three, while he and Mullins both went 5-for-5 from the charity stripe
  • Conversely, UConn held UCLA 19-of-49 from the field (38.8 percent) and 5-of-13 from three (38.5 percent)
  • In the second half, the Huskies stymied the Bruins to 33.3 percent (9-27) from the field and 25.0 percent (2-8) from three
• UConn finished +12 on the glass, out-rebounding UCLA 36-12
  • Reed Jr. grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds, Karaban claimed five and Mullins snared four
• The Huskies dished out 16 assists on 23 field goals, led by 10 combined from Smith and Demary Jr. 
• Led by 11 from Ross, the UConn reserves out-scored the UCLA bench 17-5

News and Notes

• UConn improves to 1-1 all-time against UCLA with both meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament
• The Huskies are now 74-33 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and move to 17-5 in the Second Round under the current seeding format (since 1979)
• Dan Hurley is 17-5 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament and 15-3 in the Big Dance at Connecticut 
• Karaban continued to add to his incredible UConn legacy
  • His 27 points marked a new career-high, topping his previous best of 26 set on a pair of occasions 
  • Extended program records with his 123^rd career win, 147^th game played and 146^th start
  • Now sits at 1,832 points in his career, moving past Corny Thompson (1,810) for sixth in UConn history in the first half – next up in fifth is Ray Allen (1,922)
  • Now has 284 career 3-pointers, extending his program record set on Friday
  • His 49 points over UConn's First and Second Round games mark his most in a two-game span over his 147-game collegiate career
• Reed Jr. notched his second-straight double-double, his eighth in his last 12 games, his 12^th of the season and the 22^nd of his career
  • In two games this NCAA Tournament he is averaging 20.5 points and 20.0 rebounds on 65.2 percent shooting
  • Reed Jr. is the first player to compile 40 points and 40 rebounds in a two-game NCAA Tournament span since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan in 1997 – Reed Jr., Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon (1983) are the lone players to turn the feat in the seeding era of the Big Dance (1979-on)
• UConn will play in its 17^th Sweet 16 and its third in four years. UConn has won a national title the last four times it reached the Sweet 16 (2011, 2014, 2023, 2024)

Up Next

The Huskies take on three-seed Michigan State in the East Regional Semifinal on Friday night with a 9:45 p.m. tip in Washington, D.C.