Alex Karaban rallied to push UConn past Georgetown after the team’s agonizing loss to Villanova.
With 3.1 seconds remaining and UConn down one at Villanova, Alex Karaban went through his standard free throw routine.
One dribble. Shot.
The 82.6% career shooter from the charity stripe missed. Right off the back rim and out. He tried again.
One dribble. Shot.
Again, he missed. Again, right off the back rim and out. The 6’8 forward, who head coach Dan Hurley called “one of the greatest players in UConn history,” let victory slip directly from his hands.
Villanova took the win by a final of 68-66.
To miss two free throws that could have won the game is demoralizing for any player, but for Karaban, it was almost incomprehensible.
“That was probably the lowest of lows that I have had in my UConn career,” Karaban said. “I practice free throws all the time. I work my ass off. For that to happen, it sucked.”
In fact, his missed free throws were just the Huskies’ second and third of the game against the Wildcats. He had never missed two consecutive free throws in his career, and the odds of him missing both shots were three percent.
Losing in that fashion, snapping an eight-game winning streak for their first conference loss of the season, was a punch in the gut.
But Karaban didn’t let it linger.
Three days later, the Huskies hit the floor again, this time against an up-and-coming Georgetown team led by Ed Cooley. Karaban played all 40 minutes and led the Huskies to an eight-point win. He had a game-high 19 points on a wildly efficient 70% shooting from the field (7-10, 4-6 from three). He also had six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. It was almost as if the Villanova game was a bad dream, wiped from memory.
“[We had to be] the hungrier team out there, both offensively and defensively. We really had to respond, focus up, and leave that tough loss behind,” Karaban said after the game.
It was a statement win for the back-to-back national champions, but it was also a statement performance for Karaban, whose season has ebbed and flowed.
He suffered a concussion in the final game of the Maui Invitational, forcing him to sit out the team’s next two games. Two weeks later, he won his first career Big East Player of the Week honor after scoring 41 points in the Huskies’ first two conference games. He faltered against Villanova, putting the blame on himself for the loss, but immediately turned around and helped UConn grab a definitive win over Georgetown.
With Liam McNeeley out with an ankle injury, the Huskies’ offense needed a spark. Karaban was already the team’s leading scorer, but now they need even more from him.
“Credit to coach. He was supportive, by my side the entire time,” Karaban said. “He lifted me [with] confidence after the game. He texted me in the morning, just making sure I was good. And it’s our entire coaching staff, my teammates, my mom and dad, they all lifted me up after the game.”
For Hurley, Karaban’s rebound did not come as a surprise. Despite cracking a joke that Karaban should go home and rub his two championship rings together for better luck on the court, it was clear Hurley never lost faith in his star forward.
“We knew we’d get this type of response from him because he’s one of the best players in college basketball,” he said.
With Karaban back on track and the Huskies back to their winning ways, they set their sights next on Creighton. The Bluejays are 11-6 on the year and 4-2 through their first five Big East matchups. It’ll be the first of two games between the teams this season, with tipoff set for noon on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion.