No. 4 UConn didn’t just beat Purdue in its final preseason tuneup - it flattened the Boilermakers 76-53 and walked out looking every bit like a team ready for the games that matter.
Freshman Colben Landrew led the way with 15 points, while Jayden Ross added 13 and didn’t miss a field goal. Oskar Giltay gave UConn 12 points and two blocks off the bench, Silas Demary Jr. finished with 10 points, five assists and four steals, and Nik Khamenia hauled in 11 rebounds. Braylon Mullins also made his first appearance of the year as he works back from a knee injury, scoring seven points and handing out four assists despite going 1-6 from three.
The numbers tell the story, but the physical edge told it louder. UConn won the battle on the glass, controlled the paint 38-22 and held Purdue to 2-25 shooting from deep. The Boilermakers’ frontcourt combined to go 6-21 from the field, and the Huskies rarely let them breathe.
For long stretches, it looked like one team was playing with a different level of force. UConn got to loose balls first, kept pressure on the rim and never eased up even after the outcome was no longer in doubt.
The opening minutes were a little messy. Na’jai Hines picked up an early foul, and UConn missed four of its first five shots.
Then Giltay took over the tone-setting duties. He helped spark a 7-0 run with impact at both ends, and Ross knocked down a pair of threes as the Huskies separated.
There was also a fast break alley-oop in the mix.
Giltay was all over the floor, blocking shots, cleaning the glass and finishing around the basket with a soft touch. Even when UConn wasn’t sharp offensively, it kept pounding the offensive boards and stayed disruptive defensively.
Purdue went more than three minutes without a field goal at one point and had almost nothing to offer in the paint. A Demary Jr. steal and layup pushed UConn’s lead to 16.
Landrew then started carving up the defense with crafty drives, and the Huskies kept winning inside on both ends. They limited Purdue to 20 first-half points and carried a 15-point lead into halftime despite hitting only 2-9 from three.
The second half opened with a Demary Jr. lob to Ross, and Purdue briefly tried to claw back with better ball pressure and more contact. When the Boilermakers trimmed the margin to 10, Hines answered with two sharp assists and a vicious put-back dunk after Tom Moore had “politely told” him to get his act together on the broadcast.
Landrew followed with an 8-0 burst of his own, including two threes that came in rhythm. From there, UConn blew it open. With 10 minutes left, the Huskies were up 21 after an 18-1 run, and the lead eventually ballooned to 30.
Purdue entered the game with votes in the AP Top 25 poll, but UConn’s size, force and depth made the mismatch obvious. The freshmen are playing like veterans, the transfers are giving senior-level production, and Ross and Demary Jr. are setting the tone for everyone else.
There will still be mistakes - fouls, turnovers, missed free throws - but this team already has something about it.
In Other News...
UConns Depth Just Sent A Strong Message Before The Real Games
The final tune-up before the real thing looked a lot like what has made UConn such a difficult team to pin down in recent years: size, depth and enough scoring options to keep rolling even when the rotation opens up. The No. 4 Huskies closed their exhibition slate with a 76-53 win over Purdue at PeoplesBank Arena, moving through the preseason unbeaten and getting a strong all-around showing from a bench that kept the pressure on throughout.
Colben Landrew was the loudest of those second-unit sparks, finishing with 15 points in just 18 minutes, while Jayden Ross, Oskar Giltay and Silas Demary Jr. also reached double figures. Just as encouraging for Dan Hurleys group was the defensive edge, as UConn held Purdue to 32.8 percent shooting overall and barely gave the Boilermakers anything from outside, a reminder that the Huskies may already be close to their regular-season form. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Is Walking Into A Big East Grind Fans Can't Ignore
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Preseason rankings only add to the sense that the conference is loaded from top to bottom, with UConn and St. Johns standing out nationally while other Big East programs sit firmly in the mix. For UConn, that means every trip through the league will demand focus, depth and the kind of consistency that separates title contenders from teams that merely survive the grind. The challenge is not just beating the usual suspects, but navigating a conference where almost every opponent arrives with enough quality to make a slip cost plenty. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Showed Promise Against Purdue But Bigger Answers Come Next
UConn closed the preseason with a 3-0 record and a convincing 76-53 win over Purdue, a result that offered a real glimpse of the teams depth and versatility heading into the regular season. The Huskies got production from across the roster, including transfers Najai Hines and Oskar Giltay working inside, while freshman Colben Landrew led the scoring in the finale and helped reinforce the feeling that this group has more than one way to beat teams.
Braylon Mullins also returned from injury and logged his first extended run of the preseason, another encouraging sign as UConn turns to games that will say much more about where it stands. Gardner-Webb is next, but the real measuring stick comes soon after, when the Huskies start seeing a string of Power Four opponents early in the schedule and the questions about their frontcourt rotation and overall ceiling get a lot harder to avoid. [Read more 🡒]