Butler Bulldogs at UConn Huskies
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Solo Ball scores career-high 26 to power No. 5 UConn past Butler 79-60 in Huskies' Big East opener
Jayden Ross had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench and Braylon Mullins scored 12. The tenacious Huskies (11-1, 1-0) held Butler 30 points below its season average after the Bulldogs entered shooting 49% from the field.
Drayton Jones had nine of his 13 points in the first half for Butler (8-3, 1-1). Azavier Robinson and Evan Haywood finished with 10 apiece.
UConn improved to 12-0 against Butler. Their first meeting came in the 2011 NCAA championship game.
The Bulldogs made five of their first eight shots but missed 20 of the next 23 before Michael Ajayi's putback beat the halftime buzzer.
Butler missed its first 11 attempts in the second half before Haywood hit a corner 3-pointer with 14:24 left. Before that, Butler was shooting just 21%.
But then the Bulldogs hit five of seven shots with a trio of 3s to cut into the UConn lead. The Bulldogs were within 11 when Mullins grabbed a tough rebound and got the ball ahead to Silas Demary Jr., who set up Ross' dunk for one of his 11 assists. On the next Huskies possession, Ross assisted on Reed's dunk.
The most memorable offensive rebound in the game came when Ross soared above the rim to slam home a missed shot by Ball.
Butler used a 9-0 spurt to take an early seven-point lead, but Mullins, Ball and Reed combined for 15 points during a 17-3 run by the Huskies.
UConn visits DePaul on Sunday.
How can I watch Butler vs. UConn?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 60 - 79 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 60 - 79 |
| 2nd 0:05 | team shot clock turnover | 60 - 79 |
| 2nd 0:36 | Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor makes driving layup | 60 - 79 |
| 2nd 0:50 | Yohan Traore subbing in for Butler | 58 - 79 |
Statistics
 BUT |
 CONN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 18-61 | FG | 32-63 |
| 30 | Field Goal % | 51 |
| 5-24 | 3PT | 7-20 |
| 21 | Three Point % | 35 |
| 19-24 | FT | 8-13 |
| 79 | Free Throw % | 62 |
| 29 | Rebounds | 47 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 15 |
| 17 | Defensive Rebounds | 32 |
| 10 | Assists | 19 |
| 8 | Steals | 5 |
| 3 | Blocks | 13 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 15 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 2 |
| 10 | Total Turnovers | 15 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 17 | Points Off Turnovers | 15 |
| 7 | Fast Break Points | 17 |
| 26 | Points in Paint | 46 |
| 15 | Fouls | 21 |
| 7 | Largest Lead | 23 |
| 2 | Lead Changes | 2 |
| 20 | Percent Led | 75 |
Game Information
Location: Hartford, CT
Attendance: 15,495 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big East Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| UConn | 1-0 | - | 11-1 |
| Georgetown | 1-0 | - | 8-3 |
| St. John's | 1-0 | - | 7-3 |
| Creighton | 1-0 | - | 6-5 |
| Butler | 1-1 | 0.5 | 8-3 |
| Seton Hall | 0-0 | 0.5 | 10-1 |
| Villanova | 0-0 | 0.5 | 8-2 |
| DePaul | 0-1 | 1 | 8-4 |
| Xavier | 0-1 | 1 | 8-4 |
| Providence | 0-1 | 1 | 7-5 |
| Marquette | 0-1 | 1 | 5-7 |