Liam McNeeley recorded 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks to lift No. 25 UConn to a 76-72 victory over No. 15 Baylor in a Big 12-Big East Battle on Wednesday in Storrs, Conn.
Samson Johnson scored 13 points before fouling out and Solo Ball added 11 for the Huskies (6-3), who have won two in a row following a three-game losing skid. UConn also improved to 30-1 in its last 31 games at Gampel Pavilion.
Huskies star Alex Karaban sat out his second straight game due to a head injury he sustained last Wednesday during an 85-67 loss to Dayton on the final day of the Maui Invitational.
Baylor’s Robert Wright III scored 22 points off the bench, Langston Love had 16 and Norchad Omier added 14 before fouling out. Jeremy Roach contributed nine points before sitting out in the second half due to concussion protocol for the Bears (5-3), who have lost two of their last three games.
Baylor pulled within two at 64-62 with 3:45 to play after officials overturned a previously disallowed 3-pointer due to apparent basket interference. Undaunted, UConn saw Johnson power home an emphatic dunk and the teams each added two free throws before Jaylin Stewart came up with a steal with 1:18 remaining.
The Huskies made eight of 10 free throw attempts to offset a trio of layups by Wright and one by Omier to seal the win. UConn sank 26 of 33 attempts from the charity stripe.
Wright converted a three-point play to give the Bears an early 17-6 lead before the Huskies began to chip away.
Aidan Mahaney drained a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions — leading to UConn head coach Dan Hurley headbutting him in excitement during a timeout — and Ball also converted twice from beyond the arc to highlight the Huskies’ 30-18 run. Roach, however, made a driving layup to net the Bears a 37-36 advantage at halftime.
–Field Level Media
