UConn men’s basketball (23-2, 13-1) returns back to Storrs for the first time in February this weekend, as the Huskies are set to host Georgetown (13-11, 5-8) on Valentine’s Day night on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion.
The Hoyas rank No. 80 in KenPom, with the No. 87 offense in the country, No. 89 defense and rank 93rd in the NET. The team has rebounded from their seven-game Big East losing streak earlier this year by winning four of their past five. Ed Cooley’s group has been connected on both ends and are right in the middle of the pack in the crowded league standings outside of the top three. Last time out, Georgetown saw its four-game win streak snapped with an 80-73 loss at home to Villanova.
As for UConn, it sits at No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in both KenPom and NET. They have the eighth-most efficient defense in the country, dropping a few spots this week. The Huskies bounced back from their first Big East loss of the year last Friday with a road win over Butler, 80-70, on Wednesday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Solo Ball hit a season high six threes in the win and both Silas Demary Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. had double-doubles.
The Huskies are looking to keep pace with the Red Storm as both squads have just one Big East loss and are seeking a regular season title with less than a month to go in the regular season.
Last time UConn played Georgetown, the Huskies escaped our nation’s capital with a narrow 64-62 win. Can UConn have a more convincing performance in Storrs?
Date/Time: Saturday, February 14, 8:00 p.m.
TV/Stream: Peacock, NBCSN
Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 202, Sirius/XM online streaming
Odds: UConn
Location: Gampel Pavilion – Storrs, CT
KenPom Predicted Score:
Series History
The Huskies and Hoyas have played 77 times in their history, with UConn holding a slim 41-36 advantage. The Huskies have won 11-straight games against Georgetown dating back to 2021. The last time they lost to the Hoyas was in a non-conference game in January 2017 while UConn was in the American Conference. They last faced off on Jan. 17, 2026 when UConn beat Georgetown 64-62 in Washington DC. Tarris Reed Jr. led four Huskies in double figures with 15 points.
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
Improved shooting
The game about a month ago against Georgetown was perhaps UConn’s worst game of the year from behind the arc. The Huskies shot 5-26 from deep in that one, the only time this year they attempted at least that many without knocking down double digits. Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins and Alex Karaban went a combined 3-19 from distance as UConn was barely able to escape with a win.
Since that day, the Huskies have made at least eight threes and shot at least 36% on them in all six games they’ve played, including four double digit triple outbursts. Ball had six alone last time out at Butler, which was more than the entire team had against the Hoyas in January.
Opponents are shooting just 34% from three against Georgetown this year with St. John’s the only team to hit over 40% of their threes against the since December. The matchup of the Huskies’ three point explosion compared with the Hoyas’ dominance defending them should make for an interesting result.
Defensive woes?
After being considered one of the Top 5 defenses nearly all year per KenPom, UConn dropped down three spots to eighth after the win over Butler earlier this week. The Bulldogs didn’t miss many shots in the first half and had way too many open looks for Dan Hurley and the staff’s liking.
“First half was a joke,” Hurley said after the Butler win. “It was really an extension of the second half of the St. John’s game, where we gave up 60 percent. The last two halves of basketball at that point, we were giving up around 57 percent from the field.”
The defense turned up a notch in the second half as the Huskies were able to walk away with a double digit win, but it certainly brought up some questions. For the most part this year, the defense was looked at as the constant and the offense was the thing that seemed to be a mixed bag, so it was odd to see the inverse in Indy on Wednesday.
To the rafters!
The Huskies of Honor is set to add in its 24th individual player on Saturday night, as Hasheem Thabeet is going to make his long-awaited appearance on the wall at Gampel Pavilion. The center was a was a two-time National Defensive Player of the Year, a Second Team All-American and the 2009 Big East Player of the Year, being perhaps the best shot blocked in program history.
Thabeet joins Harrison Fitch, Ben Gordon and Tristen Newton as players who have been inducted in the 2020’s. After helping the Huskies to their third Final Four in 2009, Thabeet became the highest NBA Draft pick in UConn history (tied with Emeka Okafor) when he was selected No. 2 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Thabeet will be honored during a ceremony at halftime on Saturday.
Record breaker?
Speaking of people who will be on the wall in Gampel someday (sooner rather than later), Saturday is setting up to be a historic day for Alex Karaban. With a UConn win, he will break Samson Johnson’s record of 115 career wins with the Huskies. The redshirt senior is 115-21 in 136 games played over the past four seasons. Assuming he makes the start, he will also surpass Jake Voskuhl for most games started in a UConn uniform with 136 (the lone time he came off the bench was his debut against Stonehill in 2022).
Karaban is going to surpass Shabazz Napier’s program record for games played (143) in a potential Big East semifinal game or an NCAA Tournament first round game, whichever comes first. I’d make a safe bet it will come on Friday night at The Garden, though.
Mack Attack
When looking at the scouting report for Georgetown, the first name that jumps off the page is likely Malik Mack. The junior point guard has scored 13+ points in five straight games with back-to-back 20+ point performances against Creighton and Villanova. A big key for Mack is getting to the foul line. He’s made 10 free throws in a game twice in his last four. It’s imperative for Silas Demary Jr. and Tarris Reed Jr. to make smart decisions on the defensive end of the floor, Demary on potential reach-ins and blow-bys and Reed on potential block opportunities on layups.
In the Huskies and Hoyas previous matchup, Mack scored 11 points and only got one trip to the foul line. One thing you can do, however, is give him a little space from beyond the arc. In 2026, which is 10 games, Mack is shooting 22% from three on 5.4 attempts per game including a 1-9 night against Villanova and a 1-6 versus Seton Hall.