UConn Hands Kansas Rare Home Loss Behind Late Surge from Karaban, Mullins
For the first time in program history, UConn walked into Allen Fieldhouse and left with a win - and they earned it. The fifth-ranked Huskies knocked off No. 9 Kansas, 61-56, handing the Jayhawks a rare nonconference home loss and making a statement in the process.
The turning point came midway through the second half, when UConn forward Alex Karaban took over. With the game hanging in the balance, Karaban strung together a personal 7-0 run, exploiting a few uncharacteristic breakdowns in the Kansas defense. In a game where every possession felt like a tug-of-war, that stretch was enough to tilt the momentum for good.
Kansas had its chances - plenty of them, in fact. But the offense sputtered when it mattered most. The Jayhawks made just two field goals in the first 14:48 of the second half, and despite getting the defensive stops they needed, they couldn’t string together enough clean looks or knock down key shots down the stretch.
“We didn’t play like we did against Tennessee,” head coach Bill Self said postgame, referencing a recent win over the Volunteers. “The ball didn’t move. We had individuals out there today.”
That lack of cohesion showed. Even when Kansas held the lead, Self didn’t feel like they were playing the right way - a sentiment that echoed through a second half filled with missed opportunities and stagnant possessions.
Melvin Council Jr. led the Jayhawks with 12 points, including a big three that cut UConn’s lead to 55-54 with 4:37 remaining. But Kansas couldn’t capitalize on multiple chances to retake the lead. Elmarko Jackson added 11 points, building on his strong showing from the Players Era tournament, and Flory Bidunga posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Still, the Jayhawks couldn’t overcome their offensive struggles or UConn’s relentless effort on the glass. The Huskies dominated the rebounding battle in the second half, 25-10, and that disparity loomed large.
“We actually guarded them pretty good,” Self said. “We just didn’t rebound the second half.”
Freshman Braylon Mullins was a revelation for UConn, scoring 17 points in just his second collegiate game. He matched Solo Ball, who also finished with 17 and served as the Huskies’ offensive engine throughout the night. Center Eric Reibe, filling in for the injured Tarris Reed Jr., chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds - a steady presence inside that helped UConn weather foul trouble and keep Kansas at bay.
The game opened with five combined turnovers in the first two minutes, setting the tone for a choppy first half. Ball scored UConn’s first seven points, including a tough triple, while Reibe gave the Huskies their first lead at 9-7.
Kansas responded with a pair of threes from Jamari McDowell, the second coming after a chaotic sequence that saw Bidunga miss multiple looks inside before the ball found its way to the perimeter. That sparked the Allen Fieldhouse crowd, and the Jayhawks used that energy to push ahead.
Elmarko Jackson carried the offense during an 8-1 run that gave Kansas a 27-19 lead. The Jayhawks had a chance to extend it further after forcing a shot-clock violation, but UConn clawed back.
Mullins led a 7-0 run to close the gap, and a deep jumper from Ball - initially ruled a two, then changed to a three - was the Huskies’ only field goal in the final 5:42 of the half. Kansas, meanwhile, went cold as well, missing its last six shots before halftime but still took a 33-29 lead into the break.
“We should have been up a lot more than four at halftime,” Self said. “Bad offense, unforced turnovers, the ball sticking, trying to play one-on-one… led to six, eight, ten bad possessions in the first half where we had no chance to score.”
The second half didn’t offer much improvement for either side early on. Turnovers continued to disrupt any rhythm, and Kansas did most of its scoring at the free-throw line while struggling to convert in the halfcourt.
Then came Karaban’s takeover. He buried a three, then scored twice at the rim - one on a putback, another off a well-timed cut - to give UConn a 45-44 lead, their first since early in the first half. It was a textbook example of a veteran player stepping up in a big moment, and it came just as Kansas was starting to lose its grip on the game.
“They missed 19 threes,” Self noted. “But long shots mean long rebounds, and we didn’t clean those up.”
Bidunga missed a pair of free throws with six minutes to go, and Ball punished the Jayhawks with a clutch three on the other end to stretch UConn’s lead to 55-49 - their largest of the night.
Kansas answered with a dunk from Bidunga and a three from Council, trimming the deficit to one and forcing a UConn timeout. But the Jayhawks couldn’t finish the job.
McDowell and Bryson Tiller both missed open threes with a chance to take the lead. Reibe then slipped through for a layup to push the Huskies ahead 57-54.
Jackson kept hope alive, scoring through contact to make it 59-56 with just over a minute left, but he missed the and-one free throw. After a defensive stop, Kansas had one final possession with 23 seconds left. The play was designed for a three, but when the look wasn’t there, McDowell drove to the rim and came up short.
“We had a play,” McDowell said. “We needed a three, but we still had enough time to get a two and foul.”
Self added: “We didn’t run it great… but I told Mari, ‘Shoot the ball, but if it’s not there, take it to the hole.’ He did what I asked. Their defender just made a great play.”
With the loss, Kansas drops to 6-3 on the season. Next up: a rivalry showdown with Missouri at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
“I think we just got to be a little tougher,” McDowell said. “Stick to our principles when it’s crunch time, and we’ll be all right. It’s a long season still.”
And that it is. But this one will sting for a while.