UConn looks to start Big East play 5-0 for the first time since 2001-02 season.
UConn men’s basketball (14-1, 4-0) is back on the road to start off the week as the Huskies make the short trip east to Rhode Island to take on Providence (8-6, 1-2) on Wednesday night at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Friars rank No. 64 in KenPom, with the No. 42 offense in the country and rank 84th in the NET. The team struggled a bit in non-conference play, not beating any high-major opponents, but picked up their best win of the season on Saturday against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. Head coach Kim English rebuilt the roster into a group that looks like it can compete for a spot in the top half of the conference. His job likely depends on if the Friars can succeed in doing so.
As for UConn, the Huskies sit at No. 4 in the AP Poll, No. 7 in KenPom, and No. 8 in the NET. They have the third-most efficient defense in the country and peaked as high as second shortly after their 73-57 win over Marquette on Sunday. The Huskies have won 10-straight games and matched their best 15 game start they’ve had in the Dan Hurley era.
Wednesday’s matchup is a Quad 2 game for UConn according to the NET, but has the potential to become a Quad 1 game depending on how Providence fares the rest of the year. The Friars are currently ranked 84th and Top 75 road games are considered Q1.
The Huskies are looking to start 5-0 in Big East play for the first time since the team started the 2001-02 conference season with a record of 6-0.
Date/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 7, 7:00 p.m. EST
TV/Stream: Peacock, NBC Sports Network (for YouTubeTV subscribers)
Radio: UConn Sports Network, Sirius XM 85, Sirius/XM online streaming
Odds: UConn -10.5, O/U 152.5
Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, RI
KenPom Predicted Score: UConn 82, Providence 73
Series History
The Huskies and Friars have played 82 times in their history making this matchup one of the most historic for both sides. UConn has a 51-31 series lead overall. They last faced off on March 1, 2025 when UConn beat Providence, 75-63 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Tarris Reed Jr. led four Huskies in double figures with 24 points.
Inactives
As of Tuesday, there is no real update on the status of Jayden Ross. The junior has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury, but did practice Tuesday. More information will come out at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday when the Big East Availability Report releases.
What to Watch For
Adrenaline rush?
As mentioned, the Friars are coming off of their best game of the season in the win over St. John’s at the Garden. Five players scored in double figures in the comeback win, led by freshman Stefan Vaaks and his 16 off the bench with 15 coming in the second half. Jaylin Sellers and Jamier Jones each chipped in 15 points themselves, while Jason Edwards had 11 and Oswin Erhunmwunse had 10.
After the game, it was clear how badly the Friars wanted to knock off the Red Storm, mostly because of former Providence star Bryce Hopkins being on the other side. After the game, Jones was quoted saying “If he was here this year I should still play over him” in regards to Hopkins, showing how important the win was on a personal level and reenergizing Friars fans.
Now comes the interesting part. How will the Friars respond to or encore their potentially season-altering win?Their first opportunity since the win over the Johnnies will be hosting the fourth ranked team in the nation, so could the adrenaline rush from the 13-point comeback win carry over into Wednesday?
Let the bear eat
Last time UConn traveled on the road to Providence, Tarris Reed Jr. had without a doubt the best statistical game of his collegiate career. The big man had 24 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks in 32 minutes off the bench, carrying the Huskies to a win over the Friars.
Big men have had their way with Providence all season too, so last March’s blow up for Reed wasn’t just a one-time thing on the Friars’ end. In fact, in three Big East games this season, they’ve allowed an individual player to grab at least 15 rebounds each time. Butler’s Michael Ajayi had 15, Seton Hall’s Stephon Payne had a whopping 22, and Zuby Ejiofor had 15 for St. John’s. This is another matchup that heavily favors Reed and has the potential to be a night similar to that afternoon at the AMP last March.
It won’t happen again, right?
For all the positives that have been taken away from UConn’s win over Marquette on Sunday, one glaring negative was the 3-point shooting of the Huskies’ three best perimeter threats. Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins combined to shoot just 2-17 from behind the arc just days after the trio went a combined 10-21 from deep at Xavier.
Coming into Sunday, all three had shot the ball pretty well through three conference games, two for Ball. Mullins was 9-19, Karaban was 6-12, and Ball was 5-12.
It would be surprising to see all three shooters have off nights again all in the same game. Look for improved percentages overall too, Huskies shot 21 percent as a unit against the Golden Eagles with Silas Demary Jr.’s season high 3-3 shooting carrying the load in that department.
Big (little) scoring threat
Providence has four players averaging in double figures, but the player to watch out for is Edwards. The transfer from Vanderbilt leads the Big East in scoring at nearly 18 a game, including five instances of at least 24 points. The 6-foot-1 guard can score in a multitude of ways and has scored at every stop he’s been at in his career.
It will be crucial for guys like Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith to stay out of foul trouble and attempt to disrupt his rhythm. Demary said after the Marquette game that a lot of the foul trouble he’s been in stems from playing smaller guards.
“I feel like I’m a bigger guard. A lot of the time I get in trouble with smaller guards, so I just have to be smarter and not swipe down,” Demary said.
With there being a four-inch difference between Edwards and the 6-foot-5 Demary, it provides another test for the UConn point guard against perhaps the best scorer he’ll be assigned to for the rest of the regular season.
Stay on the floor
Foul trouble seems to be an issue for both teams. In the Providence/St. John’s game, the two sides combined for 50 fouls, 26 from the Friars. The Red Storm took 37 free throws in 40 minutes.
Both UConn and Providence are in the bottom four in the Big East in fouls per game, with the Huskies in eighth and the Friars in dead last. The old saying is that the best ability is availability, so it will be critical for both sides to stay out of foul trouble the best they can, especially UConn with guys like Demary, Ball and Reed.
Category: General Sports
