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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
UConn star forward Alex Karaban is out for the in the Big 12-Big East Battle game against No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday, coach Dan Hurley told reporters.
Karaban suffered a head injury at last week’s Maui Invitational and missed Saturday’s win over Maryland Eastern Shore.
“Just still not feeling quite himself,” Hurley said Tuesday. “Feel better today, but not well enough to get out of the … protocol. Not sure about the weekend, but definitely out for tomorrow.”
Karaban, a 6-foot-8 forward from Massachusetts, was expected to be one of the biggest breakout stars in college basketball this season. After starting 77 games over the past two seasons for the back-to-back national champions, Karaban was the only starter back for the Huskies in 2024-25 and was named first-team All-Big East in the preseason.
The redshirt junior opened the season with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 blocks against Sacred Heart. He is averaging 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists on the season, shooting a career-high 46.8% from 3-point range.
Without Karaban against UMES over the weekend, sophomore forward Jaylin Stewart stepped into the starting lineup, finishing with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 23 minutes.
UConn opened the season ranked third in the preseason AP poll, moving up to No. 2 before last week’s trip to the Maui Invitational. The Huskies then lost three games in a row to Memphis, Colorado and Dayton, the shocking defeat to the Flyers coming by an 18-point margin.
The Huskies dropped all the way to No. 25 in this week’s AP poll.