March 12, 2026; New York, New York, USA; UConn Huskies forward Taris Reed Jr. (5) shoots past Xavier Musketeers forward Tre Carroll (12) and Xavier Musketeers forward Jovan Milicevic (24) in the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Image NEW YORK — Solo Ball scored 19 points as No. 6 UConn led by double digits for the most part in a 93-68 rout of No. 10 seed Xavier in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night.
The second-seeded Huskies (28-4) led by double digits going into the final 28 minutes and 35 seconds and advanced to the semifinals for the sixth straight season since rejoining the Big East for the 2020-2021 season. UConn faces either Villanova or Georgetown on Friday.
Ball shot 34.1 percent (15 of 44) and made 5 of 12 shots, including 4 3-pointers, over the final five games of the regular season.
Taris Reed recorded his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. Reed had three dunks as part of 8-of-12 from the floor and his efforts helped the Huskies gain a 40-28 rebounding edge.
Alex Karavan rebounded from 2-of-5 shooting in the Huskies’ six-point loss at Marquette on Saturday and added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor.
UConn shot 57.4% and made 12 of 32 triples after missing 21 of 24 triples in the regular season finale. The Huskies also thrived at the rim, going 13 of 18 on layups and converting all six of their dunk attempts while finishing with 22 second-chance points.
Filip Borovicanin led Xavier with a career-high 22 points, but the Musketeers have lost their three meetings with UConn by a combined 80 points. Roddie Anderson III added 15 points and Tre Carroll was 2-of-12 shooting.
Xavier also saw the duo of Malik Messina-Moore and Jovan Milcevic struggle throughout the night. Messina-Moore had five points on 1-of-7 shooting and Milecevic had six points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Xavier shot 37.3%, 9 of 28 from behind the arc and missed 12 of 33 free throw attempts.
An offensive rebound followed by Karaban’s open corner 3 gave the Huskies a 22-10 lead with 12:28 left. The Huskies went on a 12-1 run with two dunks and three layups, and another Caravan basket extended the lead to 39-19 with 5:03 left.
UConn finished the first half with a 50-30 lead after Ball hit three free throws with 35 seconds left.
Xavier scored the first seven points of the second half to cut the lead to 50-37 thanks to two free throws by Vorovikanin with 16:59 left.
UConn gradually clawed its way back and took a 59-41 lead when Reed and Jayden Ross hit dunks just 32 seconds into the game. The Huskies regained a 20-point lead when Ross rolled in a corner 3 with 8:50 left, then took an 80-55 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left when Reed hit a one-handed slam and Ball hit a corner 3.
–Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media
