Alex Karaban scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 4 UConn to a 90-67 Big East win over Xavier on Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Braylon Mullins amassed 17 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Huskies (13-1, 3-0 Big East).
Malik Messina-Moore led the Musketeers (9-5, 1-2) with 16 points.
Solo Ball came back after missing one game with a wrist injury to score 17 points for the Huskies, who outshot the Musketeers 53.2% (33-of-62) to 42.9% (24-of-56).
The Huskies dominated from the 3-point arc, hitting 13 of 28 (46.4%). The Musketeers struggled from long distance all night and were just 4 of 18 (22.2%) on 3-point attempts.
Xavier was able to get within 13 early in the second half when Roddie Anderson III laid in two of his 15 points to make it 53-40.
UConn answered with a 13-2 run with Ball hitting a 3-pointer to start the run and finishing it with a three-point play off a layup for a 66-42 UConn lead with 12:21 left.
The Huskies used a 17-2 run midway through the first half to build a 43-28 lead at the break.
UConn led 16-6 when Mullins hit a 3-pointer and Karaban scored five straight points with a layup and then a three-point play off a layup for a 24-6 lead with 12:39 left.
Tarris Reed Jr. went on an eight-point run of his own two minutes later with a three-point play off a dunk and a layup on the next possession to make it 30-6.
After Pape N’Diaye scored on a layup to stop the scoreless drought, Reed collected a second three-point play off a dunk for a 33-8 UConn lead.
Xavier had five of seven first-half turnovers during the run.
The Musketeers were able to outscore the Huskies 14-10 the rest of the way with Anderson scoring nine of points.
UConn was in command at that point, however, hitting 48.4% of its first-half shots (15-of-31), including 6-of-16 from the 3-point line.
The Musketeers only shot 37.5% from the floor (12-of-32) and missed all 10 of the 3-point shots they took.
UConn outrebounded Xavier 24-15 in the first half.
The Huskies jumped in front right away, hitting 6 of 12 shots to start the game. An early 7-0 run gave the Huskies a quick 12-point lead.
–Field Level Media
