Alex Karaban scores 19 as second-half surge sends No. 9 UConn past Georgetown, 68-60

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Karaban scored 19 points, Solo Ball added 15, and No. 9 Connecticut bounced back Saturday from its first conference loss of the season to beat Georgetown 68-60.

The Huskies (13-4, 5-1 Big East), who fell 68-66 at Villanova on Wednesday, have not lost back-to-back league games since January 2023.

Curtis Williams Jr. had 15 points for the Hoyas (12-4, 3-2), who have dropped 20 consecutive games against ranked teams since winning the 2021 Big East tournament.

Connecticut led 36-31 after 20 minutes, but opened the second half on a 17-2 run to force Georgetown coach Ed Cooley to burn through two timeouts before the Hoyas made their first field goal after the break. The Huskies eventually built a 64-41 advantage.

Huskies freshman forward Liam McNeeley, who is averaging 13.6 points, missed his third consecutive game with an ankle injury.

UConn has won all nine meetings with the Georgetown since rejoining the Big East before the 2020-21 season.

Takeaways

Connecticut: The Huskies smothered a youthful Georgetown roster and created separation in the second half. It was a mature performance from a team that has won nine of its last 10 since dropping three games at the Maui Invitational in November.

Georgetown: Guard Jayden Epps (three points in 14 minutes) returned from a lower-body injury after he played a combined four minutes over the previous three games.

Key moment

With Connecticut up 39-31 early in the second half, Hassan Diarra forced a clean steal of Epps and coasted in for a layup. The Hoyas never got closer than nine until the final 20 seconds.

Key stat

Karaban once again torched the Hoyas. In three games against Georgetown over the last two seasons, the redshirt junior has averaged 23.3 points while shooting 70.3 percent (26 of 37) overall and 66.7 percent (14 of 21) from 3.

Up next

Connecticut plays host to Creighton on Jan. 18.

Georgetown visits St. John’s on Tuesday.

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