Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) gets to the bucket against UConn center Eric Reibe (12) during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

For the first time ever, Connecticut has beaten Kansas, and it dealt the Jayhawks a rare nonconference home loss in the process.

On the strength of a 7-0 run engineered entirely by veteran forward Alex Karaban, taking advantage of some rare lapses in an otherwise rock-solid KU defense, the Huskies seized the lead in the second half and did not let it go.

The Jayhawks made just two field goals in the first 14 minutes and 48 seconds of the second period and never found the offensive spark they would have needed to regain control of the game. The result was a 61-56 loss to the fifth-ranked Huskies on Tuesday night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Melvin Council Jr. brought KU within a point at 55-54 with 4:37 to go, and the Jayhawks had several opportunities to retake the lead — they got the stops they needed — but could not capitalize.

Council scored 12 points to lead the Jayhawks on a challenging offensive day, and Elmarko Jackson continued his momentum from the Players Era tournament with 11 of his own. Flory Bidunga had an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Solo Ball served as the engine of UConn’s offense with 17 points, but the Huskies’ breakout star was Braylon Mullins, who added 17 more in just his second collegiate game. Fellow freshman Eric Reibe, filling in for injured star Tarris Reed Jr. at center, had a respectable 12 points and eight boards.

A sequence of five combined turnovers in the opening two minutes ended with the teams tied 2-2. Ball scored the Huskies’ first seven points, including a contested 3-pointer, but it was Reibe who put the Huskies ahead 9-7.

Jamari McDowell responded with back-to-back 3s — one after a loose-ball scrum following a series of misses inside by Bidunga — to bring the KU crowd to life.

KU entered the under-12 timeout with its lead at 17-15 after a behind-the-back pass by Tre White went awry. The Jayhawks forced a series of stops as a bench-heavy group of Huskies faltered repeatedly on offense, and KU went up by as many as six points after Jackson scored everything for the Jayhawks during an 8-1 run.

KU even had the ball with a 27-19 lead after forcing a shot-clock violation, but UConn was undaunted. Led by the freshman Mullins, the Huskies scored seven straight.

Reibe committed his second foul on an offensive foul in the post, further depleting UConn’s frontcourt, and the Jayhawks responded with an immediate alley-oop from Council to Bidunga.

A deep jumper by Ball — which initially appeared to be a 3, then got switched to a 2, then by halftime had been rescored as a 3 again — was the Huskies’ only bucket in the final 5:42 of the first half. That meant KU closed the half well on defense, something it has not often done of late. On the other hand, the Jayhawks went 0-for-6 in the final 3:22, so neither team made much progress on the scoreboard and KU entered the break with a 33-29 lead.

Neither team was able to make a run in the early minutes of the second half, with turnovers once again derailing both teams’ efforts. KU did most of its damage from the free-throw line as it rarely converted in the halfcourt.

UConn made its charge right before the under-12 timeout. Karaban connected on a big-time 3, then scored twice at the rim — once on a second-chance opportunity, many of which KU conceded in the second half — to give the Huskies the lead at 45-44, their first advantage since it was 9-7.

KU remained close, but Bidunga missed a pair of free throws with six minutes to go and Ball responded with a crucial 3 that gave UConn its biggest lead at 55-49.

After a much-needed timeout, the Jayhawks got a dunk by Bidunga and a 3-pointer by Council — sending both teams right back to their huddles as UConn called a timeout of its own.

KU had the ball on a pair of occasions down a point, but McDowell and Bryson Tiller missed 3-pointers. Reibe got through for a layup to make it 57-54 with less than three minutes to go.

Jackson rattled in a shot through a foul at the low block to make it 59-56 with a minute remaining, but missed the free throw. Silas Demary Jr. was just off on a late-clock shot on UConn’s ensuing offensive possession, giving KU a chance with the ball and 23.2 seconds to go after a timeout.

The Jayhawks fell to 6-3 and will face Missouri in a neutral-site rivalry matchup at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, at 12 p.m. on Sunday.

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