RALEIGH, N.C. — Solo Ball scored 14 points and Alex Karaban provided 10 of his 13 points in the last 11 minutes to help two-time defending champion UConn survive a West Region first-round game against Oklahoma 67-59 on Friday night.
It was a game-long tussle for the eighth-seeded Huskies, but they won their 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament game spanning three seasons. Tarris Reed Jr. added 12 points and seven rebounds. Karaban also finished with seven boards.
“Just thrilled to advance in the tournament. It feels normal,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “Our defense has probably cost us a lot of games this year, but our defense won this game for us.”
UConn (24-10) next faces top-seeded Florida (31-4), a 95-69 winner against Norfolk State earlier Friday night, in Sunday’s second round.
Jeremiah Fears notched 20 points and Jalon Moore had 13 points and seven rebounds for ninth-seeded Oklahoma (20-14).
Fears, a freshman widely envisioned as a potential NBA draft selection, wasn’t talking about his future after the game.
“I haven’t talked about anything yet. Speak further after this with the coaches and eventually my parents, and just see what the next step is,” Fears said.
If the game lacked in execution, there was plenty of drama. The score was 54-54 with six minutes remaining after a bucket by Moore.
Karaban’s 3-pointer at the 3:40 mark stretched UConn’s lead to 60-56. He had missed his first three 3-point attempts and was whistled for an offensive foul on the Huskies’ previous possession.
Karaban blocked Moore’s shot in the lane with 38 seconds left, keeping UConn up 64-59.
To call it a grind offensively might be too kind given that there was a 10-minute stretch spanning both halves when the teams combined to make five shots from the field.
The Sooners repeatedly failed to convert directly off UConn turnovers, but the Huskies managed only 11 points during the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half.
UConn scored four quick points to expand its lead to 46-40, but the Sooners responded with five straight points, prompting the Huskies to take a time-out.
Oklahoma took its first lead of the game on Mohamed Wague’s putback of his own missed shot with 9:03 left.
Ball had eight of his points in the second half.
“I was trying to adjust to the way they were defending me. You just got to keep playing,” Ball said.
UConn led 30-20 with just over three minutes left in the first half, but clung to a 32-26 edge at halftime. Oklahoma didn’t make a field goal across the final 4:46 of the half, but it relied on free throws as the Huskies were charged with 11 fouls in the first half.
UConn was 4-for-15 on 3-pointers in the half and shot 38.7 percent.
The Sooners shot 29.2 percent overall in the first half but stayed close thanks to 10-for-13 shooting on free throws.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
