Feb 11, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; UConn Huskies guard Solo Ball (1) celebrates after a play against the Butler Bulldogs during the second half at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn ImagesDan MadiganThu, February 12, 2026 at 3:52 AM UTC·4 min readUConn men’s basketball bounced back from its loss to St. John’s with a gritty win on the road over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Despite a sluggish first half, the Huskies bounced back to pick up an 80-70 win over the Bulldogs on the back of a big time performance from Solo Ball.
The Huskies (23-2, 13-1 Big East) picked up right where they left off Friday night in the loss to St. John’s in the opening 20 minutes. While UConn imposed its will on the boards, turnovers prevented the Huskies from having any chance of getting in a rhythm offensively. UConn turned the ball over seven times in the first 20 minutes, leading to 13 Butler points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThose turnovers, combined with the Bulldogs shooting over 53 percent from the field in the first half, let Butler punch above its weight despite getting outrebounded 17-11 in the opening frame. After UConn took a 16-13 lead on a 3-pointer from Braylon Mullins, the Bulldogs reclaimed the lead for the majority of the half with a 9-0 run in response to go up 20-16 with 10:55 to play.
Butler would stretch the lead to as much as six after Jackson Keith’s only points of the night made it 24-18, but the Huskies slowly snapped out of their funk to punch back. UConn slowly chipped away at the Bulldogs advantage, and after a Malachi Smith three and a bucket from Tarris Reed Jr., cut the Butler lead to two with 8:36 left.
The Huskies would trade the lead back and forth with the Bulldogs until a three from Mullins gave UConn the lead for good with 2:22 left to play. A three from Ball on the next possession stretched the Huskies’ lead to five, and after an old-fashioned three-point play from Butler, Silas Demary Jr. found himself with the ball off a Bulldogs’ inbounds pass under the basket with just seconds left. The Georgia transfer drew the foul and made one of two free throws to give UConn a 41-38 lead heading into the locker room, allowing the Huskies to escape a sluggish first half with the lead.
Before UConn headed into halftime with the lead, the likes of Ball and Mullins kept the Huskies above water. Mullins had 13 of his 15 points in the opening half in what will likely be his first and only game in his home state of Indiana, hitting three threes. Ball had 10 of his game-high 24 to keep the offense going despite the turnovers and no Alex Karaban, who played only eight first-half minutes after picking up two fouls.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUConn never looked back in the second half, maintaining a roughly eight-point lead for most of the half’s first 10 minutes thanks to Ball and Reed, who came out in the second half with more energy on both ends of the floor. Reed scored 11 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes, and finished with 10 rebounds and seven assists for his first double-double since Jan. 24.
Butler did cut the lead to as little as two points with 6:49 to play, but the Huskies responded with a knockout punch to put the game away for good. Reed scored down low, Ball drained another three and Karaban hit a floater in the lane on three-straight possessions. Then, Demary Jr. made it an official kill shot with a 3-pointer near the top of the key, making it a 10-0 UConn run and giving the Huskies a 74-62 lead just before the under-four media timeout.
From there, UConn cruised to an eventual 10-point victory. Demary Jr. bounced back from his nine-turnover game against St. John’s with just two turnovers to 10 assists. He also added 11 points and three rebounds. Ball’s 24 points were the most for the junior since the win over Villanova on Jan. 24, and his six threes were a season high. After posting seven turnovers in the first half, the Huskies had just one in the final 20 minutes and finished the night outrebounding Butler 33-26.
Up next, UConn returns to Gampel Pavilion to take on Georgetown on Saturday, Feb. 14. Tip off is set for 8:00 p.m., and the Huskies will add legendary big man Hasheem Thabeet to the Huskies of Honor at halftime. Peacock and NBC Sports Network will broadcast the game.
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