PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An outlier in the modern college basketball game, Alex Karaban flirted with the idea of leaving UConn for the NBA each of the last two seasons.
Yet the pull of chasing history — of trying to join the rarified air of three-time national champions — always brought Karaban back for another run with the Huskies.
“I ultimately came back here to win,” Karaban said. “Every time I’ve had a decision to come back, I came back just wanting to win and help this team out, but also just enjoying every second I have in a UConn jersey.”
He's not ready to say goodbye to UConn just yet.
Karaban scored a career-high 27 points and had Bill Murray and the rest of the UConn crowd roaring with each splashed 3-pointer, helping send the second-seeded Huskies back to the Sweet 16 with a 73-57 win over UCLA in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
The Huskies (31-5) will play third-seeded Michigan State in the East Region semifinals on Friday night in Washington.
“When we got out of the first round, we become very dangerous because when Huskies get out of the first round, you start believing that a run is coming,” coach Dan Hurley said.
Hurley, who won consecutive national championships in 2023 and 2024, has the Huskies back in a familiar spot after they were bounced in the second round a year ago by eventual national champion Florida.
The Gators are gone already in March Madness. The games will go on for the Huskies.
Karaban was about a one-man show for UConn in the first half with a pair of 3s and 11 points and the fourth-year senior remains in the hunt for this third national championship.
The Bruins (24-12) had no answer for Karaban or how to slow the rest of the Huskies as they gamely tried to make due in the absence of leading scorer Tyler Biloudeau. Xavier Booker led the Bruins with 13 points.
“Can’t score, can’t win,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said.
That’s life in the fast-paced, slam-bang, live-on-the-razor’s-edge games in the NCAA Tournament.
Murray — his son, Luke, is a UConn assistant coach — got in on the fun during the Huskies’ game-changing 14-0 run and even did the “ 6-7 ” hand gesture during a timeout.
Karaban, UConn's career 3-point leader, punctuated the spurt that made it 56-44 with his fourth 3 of the game and the Huskies were never seriously challenged again.
Karaban is a rarity in college basketball in this name, image, likeness era that has rewarded players with the freedom of yearly transfers as they chase greater riches. He's played all four seasons — and started all but one of his 147 games — with the Huskies and has now been rewarded with yet another Sweet 16.
“No one’s been better in college sports the last four years in terms of being a winner,” Hurley said. “So, thank you, Alex.”
UConn's Tarris Reed Jr. would be hard-pressed to duplicate the monster performance of 31 points and 27 rebounds he had in the opener. He followed with a more workmanlike double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Braylon Mullins scored 17 points for UConn.
The Huskies entered March Madness in a bit of a slump by their championship standard after a loss to St. John's in the Big East Tournament title game made them 2-2 over their final four games.
UConn got the last laugh in Philadelphia — well, at least 76ers center Andre Drummond did when the former Huskies star came over to tease fellow Sixers center and former UCLA standout Adem Bona in the waning moments.
Bilodeau seemed on track to play but remained sidelined because of a sprained knee suffered last week against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament.
He averaged 17.6 points and was an All-Big Ten third-team selection.
“It doesn’t matter if we didn’t have Tyler or not,” Booker said. “It’s still 5-v-5. We still have guys capable of winning the game.”
Cronin was whistled for a technical foul when he chirped at an official late in the game. Perhaps his frustration had boiled over after the Bruins failed to get out of the first weekend for the third straight tournament appearance following their 2021 Final Four run.
What needs to change for the Bruins?
“I would like about five more million,” dollars, Cronin cracked.
Jaylin Stewart again sat out with a knee injury that’s sidelined him since late February. Silas Demary Jr., a first team All-Big East selection, returned to the lineup and played 22 minutes after he sustained an ankle injury in the Big East Tournament.
Skyy Clark could not cap his season with a Sweet 16. He only finished with a capped tooth.
Clark lost a tooth in UCLA's first-round win against UCF and needed overnight dental surgery for repairs. Just like Steph Curry, Clark chewed on his new mouthpiece throughout the game.
One UCLA fan bellowed at Clark, “keep firing, Skyy! Keep firing!”
With his back to the stands, Clark nodded at the encouragement – and kept firing.
He buried a 3 for a 42-40 lead — one of the last bright spots for UCLA — and finished with 11 points.
The Huskies continue their quest for their third national championship under Hurley.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
