On Saturday evening, it’ll be a battle between a pair of 3–0 teams when the No. 7 BYU Cougars travel to Massachusetts to take on the No. 3 UConn Huskies as part of the Hall of Fame Series in Boston.
This will be only the second ever meeting between the two programs, with the previous matchup coming way back in 2003, when the Huskies defeated the Cougars 58–53 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Much like BYU, this will be the first major opponent UConn will face this season, with their previous three wins coming against teams that are a combined 3–6 so far, beating them by an average of 38 points, while BYU has won its first three games by an average of 22.
Saturday will test how the Huskies perform against their first real challenge since falling to the eventual national champions, the Florida Gators, last March in the NCAA tournament.
The leader of this Huskies squad has been Tarris Reed Jr., who has stepped up with the departure of Liam McNeeley, who was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the first round of the last NBA Draft.
Last season, Reed Jr. averaged 9.6 points a game after taking a significant cut in minutes following his transfer from Michigan. But while the sample size is small, the senior looks poised to have a big season, as he’s averaged 19.5 points so far while also leading the team in rebounds with ten and blocks with three.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley spoke this week about the jump in competition his team will face when they take on the Cougars.
“When you watch clips of BYU and AJ (Dybantsa) and Saunders, you know, they’ve got one of the best point guards in the country," Hurley said. "And when you see that quality on film, you get scared straight, you know things that worked the first three games won’t work. But it’s fun. We’re excited to get a chance to go play in Boston this weekend against one of the best teams in the country, so it should be fun.”
Connecticut, which has won two of the past three NCAA finals, has four players remaining on its roster from its 2024 championship team including Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross, Alex Karaban and Solo Ball.
The Huskies' top dog this season is expected to be Braylon Mullins who, like Dybantsa, will only be in college for a year before heading to the NBA draft where both could be drafted in top ten.
Unfortunately, fans will have to see the two line up against each other as an ankle injury sustained in practice last month will keep Mullins out of the lineup through November.
Even with the missing piece, the Huskies still have players who have won it on the biggest stage with players like Karaban and Ball still in place to keep the winning tradition alive.
Karaban, a 6-foot 8-senior, will return home where he grew up only 30 minutes from where the game will be played in Boston. Every season he’s increased his scoring and efficiency, and this year he’s off to his best start yet, averaging 17.3 points on shooting from the field and from three.
His teammate, Ball, has also spent his entire college career with UConn as he enters his junior year. The guard tallied 23 points in their win against Columbia and has been strong through three games, averaging 18.3 points while shooting well from the field and from the free throw line.
The season is still young, but this could be BYU’s toughest road test of the year. According to ESPN, the Cougars have a 35% chance of coming home with the win, which would be their highest ranked victory since beating No. 2 Gonzaga at home in early 2020.
So will the Cougars pull off a statement win in Dybantsa’s home state, or will UConn double down on BYU after a 20-year wait?
Find out Saturday on FOX, with coverage starting at 5:00 p.m. MST.