The No. 2 UConn men’s basketball team looks to keep things rolling in Big East play this weekend, as the Huskies return home to Hartford after a week off for a clash with Villanova (15-4, 6-2) on Saturday afternoon looking to extend their winning streak to 15 straight games and stay unbeaten in conference play.
The Wildcats rank No. 24 in KenPom, with the No. 33 offense in the country, and 33rd in the NET. After a few disappointing seasons with Kyle Neptune at the helm, Kevin Willard took over this past offseason and has guided Villanova back to relevance both nationally and in the conference. The Wildcats don’t have a bad loss on their resume and look poised to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Jay Wright departed the program after the 2022 season.
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As for UConn (18-1, 8-0), the Huskies sit No. 11 in KenPom and No. 7 in the NET. They have the fifth-rated defense in the country per KenPom and the No. 37 ranked offense. The Huskies have won 14-straight games since their only loss of the season to Arizona. Last Saturday, they won a nailbiter on the road against Georgetown in a game in which they trailed early in the second half.
UConn has had a pretty easy schedule in conference play so far with all things considered, avoiding the three teams ranked directly below them in the standings until Saturday. Could perhaps its toughest Big East test of the season to this point pose some issues?
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 24, 12:30 p.m. EST
TV/Stream: FOX, FoxSports.com
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Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 201, Sirius/XM online streaming
Odds: UConn -9.5, O/U 134.5
Location: PeoplesBank Arena — Hartford, Connecticut
KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 72, Villanova 63
Series History
The Huskies and Wildcats have played 78 times in their history, with UConn holding a slim 40-38 advantage. The Huskies have a 7-4 edge since they rejoined the Big East in 2020, but the teams did play three times while UConn was in the American Conference, with Villanova winning all three. They last faced off on March 13, 2025 when UConn beat Villanova 73-56 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden. Alex Karaban led four Huskies in double figures with 18 points
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Availability report
The Huskies are expected to have all 15 players healthy as they’ve had the past four games.
What to Watch For
The Cats Are Back
After a few pretty mediocre years by their standards, it’s looking like Villanova basketball is finally back on the map as a contender in the conference. Willard has done an excellent job constructing his roster with a mix of key freshmen and underrated transfers that have meshed together quite nicely. The Wildcats have won the games they’re supposed to win and lost the ones many expected to them to lose, with losses to BYU, Michigan, State. John’s and Creighton.
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Nova is a perfect 4-0 on the road in Big East play, winning both close games and in blowout fashion. They have four players averaging at least 12 points per game, including James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay at 14.7 on 40% from three. Acaden Lewis, who had UConn in his final four schools before committing to Kentucky and soon after decommitting and ending up with the Wildcats, has been one of the best freshmen in the conference with four games of 20 or more points.
A Much Needed Break
This past week for UConn was its first “bye” of the Big East schedule, ending a rough five game in 14-day stretch with a full week off after the Georgetown game. With how some of the Huskies have fared as of late, some time off without a game could be pretty beneficial.
Solo Ball may need it more than anybody. The junior guard has three times as many turnovers as made 3-pointers over the past four games, in which he averaged 8.8 points per game on 17% from beyond the arc. Overall on the year, Ball is shooting 27.5% from distance and has been a major liability on the offensive end at times. With some time off, it could clear his head and allow his left wrist, which Ball injured in the Dec. 16 win over Butler, to recover.
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Malachi Smith may benefit from a break as well. Smith has totaled 10 assists in five games since the calendar turned to 2026, averaging under two points per game as well. While Smith has seen less court time due to the emergence of Silas Demary Jr., the Dayton transfer is still a guy who needs to get right for UConn to be at its peak.
Offensively, UConn’s bench as a whole could use the reset to get back on track. In the past five games, the Huskies have averaged 76.2 points per game with just 10 of those being from the bench. The second unit has been regarded as one of the best in the nation when healthy, but they haven’t been playing like it. A week of reset and practice may change that.
Another Battle on the Boards
Both UConn and Villanova range from the middle to bottom half in the conference when it comes to rebounding on average, but the center battle between Tarris Reed Jr. and Duke Brennan is going to be one to monitor. Reed is averaging 8.3 rebounds per game in Big East play, while Brennan is averaging 9.3.
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With the two star bigs potentially cancelling each other out, it’s going to be crucial for other Huskies to crash the glass. Karaban, Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins and others are going to have to be assertive and corral defensive boards.
Welcome to the big leagues?
Through eight games in the Big East schedule this season, UConn’s toughest opponent per KenPom has been No. 48 Seton Hall, and that was just once. Its next most challenging? No. 58 Butler at home. The Huskies still have the return games for both the Pirates and Bulldogs, as well as all six of their matchups with Villanova, St. John’s and Creighton on the horizon in the next five weeks. Eight of their remaining 12 matchups are KenPom Top 60 games, meaning we’ll know pretty quickly what this team is made of.
18-1 is 18-1
For how critical everyone has been of the team, UConn is still ranked No. 2 in the country at 18-1 with its only loss to the undefeated team ahead of them in the rankings.
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“I don’t think our fan base should be nitpicking an 18-1 team that’s 8-0 in the Big East. I think you should just be thrilled to have a team that’s ranked second in the country,” Dan Hurley said after the win over Georgetown.
It doesn’t matter at the end of the day how the team gets it done, whether it be in comeback fashion, controlling from the opening tip, or blowing a lead just to recover (we’ve seen all three), the win is most important. Sure, KenPom or NET may be impacted, and that does affect seeding, but the metric that most people seem to be overlooking these days is the good ole’ fashioned “W.”
