"I work my a** off and for that to happen, it s**ked": Alex Karaban opens up on "lowest of lows" in UConn career, says Dan Hurley's advice fuelled him

Following his struggle at the foul line against Villanova on Jan. 8, Alex Karaban bounced back against Georgetown on Saturday. At Capital One Arena, he connected on 4-of-6 attempts from 3-point range to offset his two missed free throws three days earlier.

The No. 9 UConn Huskies defeated the Georgetown Hoyas 68-60 to improve to 13-4 overall and 5-1 in Big East play. Karaban's strong performance came after his rough outing at Villanova when he missed the potential go-ahead free throws in the final seconds of a tight 66-68 loss.

UConn coach Dan Hurley offered some sage advice for Alex Karaban in the aftermath of that defeat, telling him to reflect on his accomplishments and all he has achieved rather than dwelling on the misses.

The message resonated with the junior forward who opened up about his mindset heading into the Georgetown game in the postgame press conference Saturday.

"Doing whatever it takes to win, coach talked a lot about hunger — just being the hungrier team out there offensively and defensively ... we had to respond and really show up and um just really trying to leave that tough loss behind," Karaban said (1:15 onwards).

"That was probably the lowest of lows that I've had in my UConn career, just because I practice free throws all the time. And I work my a** off. For that to happen, it s**ked."

"But it's also credit to coach. He was supportive, he was by my side the entire time and just lifted my confidence after the game, texted me in the morning, making sure I was good."

Alex Karaban stats vs. Georgetown (Jan. 11)

UConn veteran Alex Karaban provided a much-needed heroic performance for the Huskies' win against Georgetown on Saturday, scoring a game-high 19 points while also contributing six rebounds and four assists.

Karaban was especially lethal from beyond the arc, draining four 3-point shots on six attempts — a 66.7% clip, his second-best so far this season.

Here is Karaban's final stat line from the 68-60 victory:

• 40 minutes played
• 19 points
• 6 rebounds
• 4 assists
• 2 blocks
• 1 steal
• 2 turnovers
• 7-10 FG
• 4-6 3PT
• 1-2 FT

Alex Karaban is leading the Huskies in scoring, averaging 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

With the win, Dan Hurley's UConn team relieved some tension after the road loss to Villanova. The Huskies return to Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 18 to face the Creighton Bluejays.