No. 14 Huskies Host Creighton For Gampel White-Out

STORRS – UConn’s men’s basketball team’s No. 14 (13-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) is back in action for the first time in a week when it hosts Creighton (11-6, 4-2 BIG EAST) on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. Tip-off is set for noon on FOX with Jason Benetti and Donny Marshall on the call.

Saturday is WHITE OUT at Gampel Pavilion and all fans are encouraged to show they are For the White and Blue in their best UConn white. It’s also a $2 Miller Lite game while supplies last. Please drink responsibly.

The Huskies are back at Gampel after taking four of five on the road and riding a 28-game winning streak into Saturday’s contest. Connecticut was last in action last Saturday at Georgetown, using a second-half surge to go up 20-plus in an eventual 68-60 victory. Creighton was last in action Tuesday, winning big at home against Providence.

The meeting will be on the 10th^th all-time in a streak that began with the Huskies’ re-entry into the BIG EAST ahead of the 2020-21 season, and a streak Creighton has built into a 7-2 lead. The Bluejays won the first five meetings, including a BIG EAST semifinal, but the two sides have split their regular season series in the last two campaigns. UConn has won both meetings against Creighton played at Gampel with fans, including a 62-48 win on Jan. 17 last season.

Alex Karaban led UConn at Georgetown with 19 points and is Connecticut’s leading scorer this season at 16.1 points per game. game on 49.1 percent shooting from the floor and a 43.0 percent mark from 3-point range. The captain adds 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. game and leads the BIG EAST with 35.2 minutes per match.

Behind Karaban at the top is the score sheet Solo ball with 13.6 points per game and is top-20 in the nation with a 43.9 percent 3-point field goal percentage. Ball and Caravan are the only teammates in the country to both rank in the top-40 nationally in 3-point shooting. Hassan Diarra adds 8.9 points and a team-high 6.5 assists per game, averaging a league-best 8.0 helpers in BIG EAST games. Tarris Reed Jr. adding 10.1 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per fight from the bench and back up Samson Johnson, who is scoring 7.6 points per game on 77.5 percent shooting.

The Huskies have been without a star Liam McNeely (13.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg) since an injury suffered on Jan. 1 and is not expected to return Saturday.

This season, Creighton is 11-6 after playing a grueling non-conference schedule to stay firmly in NCAA Tournament discussions. The Bluejays, who were picked second in the league’s preseason poll, are off to a 4-2 start in BIG EAST play after an 84-64 win over Providence on Tuesday. Fifth-year stalwart Ryan Kalkbrenner anchors the post for CU and leads the squad with 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, leading the BIG EAST with 2.9 blocked shots per contest. Fellow veteran Steven Ashworth adds 17.3 points and 6.6 assists per game, while Jamiya Neal posts 10.9 points a night. Creighton will be without star Pop Isaacs (16.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) following a season-ending injury after eight games.

Following Saturday’s contest, the Huskies return to action in Hartford on Tuesday, January 21 to welcome Butler to the XL Center.