After missing two games with a head injury, UConn’s Alex Karaban is expected to return to the lineup when the No. 25 Huskies battle the Texas Longhorns on Sunday in Austin, Texas.
Karaban was injured against Dayton in the final game of the Maui Invitational. Earlier this week, UConn head coach Danny Hurley said Karaban is feeling better, and he told reporters Saturday that Karaban “should be available” to play against the Longhorns, barring any setbacks.
Karaban is averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game. Freshman Liam McNeeley helped fill the scoring void by tossing in 17 points when the Huskies (6-3) beat No. 15 Baylor 76-72 Wednesday in the Big 12-Big East Battle. UConn has won both of its games since going 0-3 in Maui.
“I think part of the problem has been me,” Hurley said following the Baylor win. “I’ve coached these guys frustrated, and I’ve coached them frustrated for too long. This is a team that’s going to be a work in progress, and a team that’s going to get better and better. And we’re relying on a lot of young players and new players.
“For us, I have to coach this team with more grace and more building them up and more enthusiasm and more energy. I can’t coach them mad because we’re not currently playing as well as the last two (UConn) teams have played. And I think, like I said yesterday, there’s been some people that have helped me kind of check, whether it is my ego, or just my approach with the team.”
Texas (7-1) has won seven games in a row since opening the season with an 80-72 loss to Ohio State. The Longhorns are coming off a 63-57 win over host NC State on Wednesday in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Freshman Tre Johnson went 4 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 18 points in the win. He is averaging a team-high 20.8 points per game and is shooting 44.6 percent on 3-pointers (25 of 56). He broke a 57-57 tie with N.C State by making a 3-pointer with 1:43 to play.
“Tre Johnson is a big-time player,” Texas coach Rodney Terry said. “He makes big-time plays. He works really hard on his defense as well, but he’s a guy that throughout the course of the year we’ll play through.”
Arthur Kaluma had 15 rebounds — one shy of his career high — against NC State. Kaluma enters Sunday’s game as the team’s No. 1 rebounder (8.0) and No. 2 scorer (13.6).
“I think my team is growing up,” Terry said. “We still have a ways to go on our journey, but proud of the way they persevered (against NC State) and found a way to win in a tough environment.”
Kadin Shedrick is the only other Texas player scoring in double figures at 10.1 points per game. He also leads the Longhorns with 17 blocked shots. An injury prevented Shedrick from playing when UConn beat Texas 81-71 last season.
“Back-to-back national champions, what else can I say?” Shedrick said of UConn. “They’re really good, and they’re going to be hungry coming off their rough week (at Maui). They’re going to be locked in when we play them, so we’ve just got to make sure we’re locked in and ready for them to want to throw a punch.”
–Field Level Media
