UConn Rolls Past Xavier as Demary Jr. Leads the Charge, Snub or Not
HARTFORD - Whether or not Silas Demary Jr. took his omission from the Bob Cousy Award midseason watch list personally, he sure played like a man with something to prove.
The junior point guard didn’t exactly admit to using the snub as fuel, but his performance said plenty. Demary dropped 17 points, dished out eight assists, and threw down a thunderous driving dunk early in the second half as No. 3 UConn dismantled Xavier 92-60 in front of a raucous crowd of 15,495 at PeoplesBank Arena.
It was the Huskies’ 18th straight win, and they made it look easy.
Demary wasn’t alone in the spotlight. UConn’s depth and balance were on full display - a recurring theme this season.
Tarris Reed went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, finishing with 14 points and eight rebounds in a display of frontcourt efficiency. Freshman Braylon Mullins came out firing, scoring 10 of UConn’s first 12 points, including a pair of emphatic dunks, and ended the night with 13.
Off the bench, Jayden Ross continued his hot shooting streak, knocking down 3-of-4 from deep en route to 11 points. And 7-footer Eric Reibe nearly matched Reed’s production with 14 points and seven boards of his own. When your backup center is putting up those numbers, you know things are clicking.
At one point, the Huskies hit 23 of 31 shots over a 20-minute stretch. They shot 57% for the game, moved the ball with purpose, and dominated the glass and the paint. This was a team that looked every bit like a national title contender - and maybe one that’s tired of being overlooked.
Just a day before, UConn dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 in the AP rankings, despite riding the nation’s longest active winning streak. Head coach Dan Hurley didn’t hide his confusion.
“We were 2 but we dropped to 3,” Hurley said, shaking his head. “And [Demary’s] not on the list. Alright.”
Hurley claimed he wasn’t aware of Demary’s absence from the 10-man Cousy Award list - which recognizes the top point guards in the country - but once he was “informed,” he didn’t hold back.
“I don’t know who’s on there,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot of deserving players.
But we’re one of the best teams in the country this year, and our resume says what it says. [Demary’s] played at an incredibly high level.”
And he has. Demary may not have the flashiest numbers - 10.9 points per game - but he leads the Big East in assists by a wide margin and is shooting 48.2% from the field, 47.1% from three, and 81% from the line. Those are elite efficiency numbers for a point guard running the show on one of the nation’s top teams.
Hurley pointed to UConn’s balanced scoring - five players averaging between 10.9 and 14.3 points - as a reason individual awards might be hard to come by.
“I guess there’s 10 point guards better than him?” Hurley said, half-joking. “Two-way players?”
Then, more seriously: “He’s the quarterback of a team that’s got a chance to win some things this year. And he’s playing his way into becoming an NBA player. I know he’s getting a lot of attention from NBA teams right now.”
Demary, who was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000-point milestone in his career, kept things in perspective.
“That’s an individual award and not something I’m really worried about,” he said. “The end goal is winning a national championship.
If I can come here and do what I need to do with my teammates and we play hard every night, everything else will take care of itself. I’m more of a team guy, so it wasn’t really a problem.
Just another day at the office.”
And what a day it was. UConn missed its first four shots of the game, but then caught fire - hitting 11 of its next 14 and 19 of 27 to close out the first half. Meanwhile, Xavier didn’t score a field goal until more than six minutes in and shot just 8-for-28 in the first half.
By halftime, it was 50-22 - UConn’s largest halftime lead since a 51-19 advantage over DePaul back in March 2023.
The second half was more of the same. UConn came out firing, hitting five of its first six shots. In total, the Huskies handed out 26 assists on 34 made baskets, outrebounded Xavier 41-24, and outscored them 46-20 in the paint.
It was a clinic. And now, it’s on to the next test - and it’s a big one.
“Pitino Week” continues Friday night at Madison Square Garden, where UConn will face Rick Pitino’s St. John’s squad in a high-stakes Big East showdown.
That matchup figures to be far more competitive, but the Huskies aren’t changing their approach.
“We’re going to treat it as another Big East game,” said Alex Karaban. “Every win in this league counts as one, and we’re going to prepare the same way we normally do and for a really good team on Friday.”
Hurley added, “It feels like the team is starting to figure out how to play more bullet-proof basketball.”
Rim Rattlings:
Midway through the second half, with UConn cruising and up by 27, Xavier challenged an out-of-bounds call. After a lengthy review, not only was the call reversed in Xavier’s favor, but Malachi Smith was assessed a flagrant-1 foul during the scramble for the ball.
Hurley was baffled.
“I didn’t know that was possible,” he said. “It was clearly not off of Malachi, it was universal.
But to lose the challenge and it becomes a flagrant? I thought it was just about possession.
When you’re looking at the iPad, you’re looking at possession, you’re not looking at, ‘They could call a flagrant.’”
Even with that odd moment, the Huskies never lost control. With the way they’re playing, it’s going to take more than a controversial replay review to slow them down.