UConn men’s basketball (22-2, 12-1) looks for some redemption after losing its 18-game winning streak on Friday against St. John’s, as the Huskies travel to Indianapolis for a game against Butler (13-11, 4-9) at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs rank No. 78 in KenPom, with the No. 73 offense in the country, No. 107 defense and rank 97th in the NET. The team had high expectations coming into the conference season after a strong non-con, but have had two separate four-game losing streaks in Big East play, including an active one. Thad Matta’s group has been hurt by a combination of injuries and players not playing to the potential that everyone expected entering the year. In its last game, Butler lost to Marquette on the road in Milwaukee 70-55.
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As for UConn, it sits at No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in both KenPom and NET. They have the fifth-most efficient defense in the country and peaked as high as second in that category. The Huskies had their biggest loss of the year by margin last time out, falling to St. John’s 82-71 at Madison Square Garden. They had 15 turnovers and shot 42% from the free throw line in the loss, surrendering a big second half run to the Red Storm that they weren’t able to overcome.
The Huskies are looking to keep pace with the Red Storm as both squads are 12-1 and seeking a regular season title with less than a month to go in the regular season.
Last time UConn played Butler, the Huskies handled business in their conference opener in Hartford back in December. Can UConn sweep the season series?
Date/Time: Wednesday, February 11, 7:30 p.m.
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TV/Stream: truTV, TNT, HBO Max
Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 202, Sirius/XM online streaming
Odds: UConn -10.5, over/under 144.5
Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, Indiana
KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 77, Butler 67
Series History
The Huskies and Bulldogs have played 12 times in their history with eleven of those times coming in Big East play. UConn has won all 12 matchups including the 2011 National Championship game. They last faced off on Dec. 16, 2025 when the Huskies beat Butler, 79-60 at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford in UConn’s Big East opener this year. Solo Ball led four double figure scorers with a career-high 26 points, while Jayden Ross had a season-high 13.
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Availability report
As of now, everyone should be available for the Huskies. The Big East availability report comes out three hours before tip-off.
What to Watch For
Now what?
For the past few months, even with winning some pretty close games it felt like the Huskies were invincible to everything and anything in their path. Was it realistic that they’d finish the season unbeaten in league play? Probably not, but each and every game made it feel more and more possible.
The 18-game winning streak, 12 of which came in the Big East, is gone, so now what? There isn’t time to pout or be upset if you’re UConn — it’s time to right the wrongs. The Huskies had 15 turnovers against St. John’s, nine of which were from Silas Demary Jr., and really struggled against the pressure the Red Storm brought for nearly the entire 40 minutes. They missed some big free throws down the stretch. These were big mistakes against St. John’s, but are fixable in the long run.
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Dominant Duo
Solo Ball and Jayden Ross had arguably their best games in Husky uniforms against Butler earlier this year in the conference opener. Ball dropped a career-best 26 points on efficient shooting splits across the board, while Ross had 13 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench, his second highest point total in his career behind 14 against New Hampshire last season. While both scored the ball at a great clip, the defense they played was just as sharp.
“I kind of just went into the game just not trying to focus on scoring. I mean, the first thing I really did was get a block… I was really just trying to focus on my defense today,” Ball said after the win over Butler. “And when I took my mind off scoring, I just focused on that. I mean, I didn’t have to worry about how many points I’m putting on the board. I was just out there playing and having fun.”
Even though they’ve had solid nights here and there since, that game against the Bulldogs was really the peak of the season for both Ball and Ross, so it will be interesting to see how they play in their second game against them this year.
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Breakout Star in Indy
When scouting Butler, Finley Bizjack stands out as a key player on the Bulldogs. The junior guard has been a budding star in the conference over the past few weeks and is taking advantage of a depleted Butler backcourt. In his first game against UConn this year, Bizjack scored just seven points in 32 minutes. That game remains the only one in league play this year he failed to reach double figures.
Since the calendar turned to 2026, Bizjack is averaging 20.8 points per game headlined by a career-high 30 last Wednesday in a double overtime loss to Providence. His splits are fascinating as well. In wins he’s averaging 19.5 PPG and in losses, 16 PPG on the dot. He also leads the Big East amongst qualifiers in 3-point percentage this year. In Butler’s four league wins, he’s scored at least 24 points in each game.
The Huskies are one of three teams to hold Bizjack to single digits this year (Northwestern and Southern Indiana did so as well), so it will be intriguing to see if the gameplan remains the same from December or if it changes seeing how he’s exploded as of late.
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Back to the bench…
It felt like the talks and concerns about the bench for the Huskies was over after three straight phenomenal performances against Providence, Creighton and Xavier, but boy were we tricked. With everything that went wrong against the Red Storm, you could probably point to Malachi Smith’s minus-12 in four minutes and Eric Reibe’s minus-9 in five minutes as key parts of the loss. The minutes that the bench was in was when St. John’s built separation and extended its lead.
“I thought the bench was skittish a little bit. We looked sharp, and there was an immediate 7-0 run,” Dan Hurley said after the loss. “In games like this, your best players are gonna have to go 35-36 minutes.”
Things probably have to go pretty south for guys like Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. to all play that many minutes against Butler. Wednesday is a big opportunity for the bench to bounce back and give a better performance, and it may be necessary for UConn fans to see.
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Starters are consistent, though.
Even with those bench struggles, the five regular Husky starters have all been very consistent in Big East play. All five – Demary, Ball, Mullins, Karaban & Reed – average between 12.8 and 13.8 points a night in conference action, one of the most balanced starting units in the nation. In the past four UConn wins, four different players were leading scorers.
Get used to the flight?
If UConn reaches its ultimate goals set at the beginning of the season, this week won’t be the only time that they’re flying to Indianapolis. If you haven’t caught my drift, the 2026 Final Four is going to be at Lucas Oil Stadium. The path to get there? That feels up in the air. As of right now, most bracketology projections have the Huskies as either the No. 1 seed in the South Region with the regional being played in Houston (most of which with the Houston Cougars as the No. 2 seed) or as the No. 2 seed in the East Region with Duke as the No. 1.
