Dan Hurley makes his feelings known after UConn vet Alex Karaban drops the dagger on Marquette

UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley praised Alex Karaban after his brilliant display in the team’s win over the Marquette Golden Eagles. Karaban was in his bag as the Huskies boosted their chances of finishing as a top-three seed in the Big East Conference.

The 6-foot-8 power forward dropped 21 points, seven rebounds, and one assist in 38 minutes of game time as UConn beat the Eagles 72-66.

Karaban was perfect from the free-throw line and made three out of the six 3-pointers he attempted. However, his most important action was the long-range 3-pointer he made with just 24.7 seconds left in the game.

The shot ensured the Huskies would go on to win the game, and Hurley could not be more proud of his captain.

““There’s not a college athlete that deserved that moment more than him,” Hurley said as per UCTV on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Prior to the game, Karaban had struggled with his shots in clutch time and must have been relieved to see one finally go in. The Southborough, Massachusetts, native has also been perfect from the free-throw line in six consecutive games.

This season, Karaban is averaging 14.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, shooting 43.5% from the field.

Karaban and UConn’s mission against Seton Hall

With the win over Marquette in the bag, Karaban and UConn will now turn their attention to the final game of the regular season against Seton Hall on Saturday.

Although the Huskies currently have a 13-6 record in the Big East Conference, the same as the Golden Eagles, Hurley's boys have a better head-to-head record against them, having swept both games played this season.

This means a win over Seton Hall on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion will secure the third seed, guaranteeing the team a bye in the conference tournament and potentially avoiding St John’s in the semifinal.